It is commonly taught that the law of God is no longer meant for us today.  It is said to be an old and outdated law that has no application in the modern world.  Due to this type of teaching, many students of the scripture never even bother to study the Mosaic law.  Perhaps if we did, we would not be so against it.  The truth is, when properly understood, the law of God is perfectly applicable for today.  In fact, this law affects everyone in the world today.  This article will take a look at law in general, and the law of God specifically.  Once you understand the nature of law and how it works you might see the benefit to practicing the law of God.

The Law in General:

          Simply put, law is the set of rules that govern a body of people.  Bouvier's Law Dictionary puts it this way, "Law signifies a rule of action; and this term is applied indiscriminately to all kinds of action; whether animate or inanimate, rational or irrational."  Law, in its basic sense, is a contract that sets forth rules of action.  It is a contract in that both parties agreed to the set of rules.  It might seem odd to view law as a contract, but consider this example.  For a contract to be a contract there has to be four distinct elements; 1) an offer, 2) with acceptance, 3) over time, 4) with consideration.  When two people shake hands to sell an item, we have a contract.  The offer is made and the other party accepts the terms.  There is a time limit for payment to be made and the item given, and the consideration is the item and payment.  This is a basic contract.  Law, from the lowest to the highest form, is also a contract.

          Consider the laws of the road.  When we signed up to get our drivers license we agreed to this contract.  The State made an offer and we accepted this offer by signing our driver's license.  The time limit is generally five years for the license to expire and the consideration is the DMV fees we pay.  Another example would be laws of our State.  We signed up for these laws when we became citizens, although, for most of us our parents made this choice for us.  However, we did agree to the terms the minute we acted on this contract as an adult.  The State made an offer and we accepted the terms and became citizens.  The time limit is our own lifetime and the consideration are the taxes we pay.  The same is true for the laws on a national level as well.  As you can see, all laws are contracts, including the law of God.

The Law of God:

          God's law is no different than other forms of law.  In fact, God's law is the original and highest form of law.  All other laws originate from this law, and just like we agreed to the terms of other laws, so to we agreed to the terms of God's law.  You might be wondering, when did I agree to God's law?  After all, no one alive today was around when God's law originated.  How could any of us have agreed to it's terms?  It is no different than other forms of law.  Our ancestors agreed for us, and we accepted the terms when we acted on them as an adult.  Here is an example; The Constitution of the United States was signed on September 17, 1787.  I was not personally there and did not sign the document, however, this law still applies to me today.  The term in law is, "It inures to the heirs and assigns forever."  This concept applies to all laws that have a time limit longer than the life of a human being.  The Constitution of the United States is one such law.  My ancestors signed and agreed to this law.  It inured to the heirs and assigns forever (grandparents, parents, and myself).  I was born into this law at my birth and I agreed to this law the minute I acted such as an adult.  I could have expatriated by my own choice, but I chose not to.  I am now bound to this contract/law.

          The law of God is no different.  God made the offer on Mount Sinai to Moses.  Moses accepted the offer on behalf of all Israelites (Ex. 19:8).  The time is forever (Ex. 19:9) and the consideration is obedience to God's law as our part and the numerous blessings and curses as God's part (Lev. 26:2-13, Deut. 28:1-14, Lev. 26:14-39, Deut. 28:15-45).  All those who are part of the Commonwealth of Israel are bound to this contract.  Many have expatriated, or have been "graffed out", while others have become citizens and have been "graffed in" (Rom. 11:17-25).  Those who are Israelite by blood are born citizens of the Commonwealth of Israel.  If they are among those who believe not in the Messiah of Israel, they are expatriated (excommunicated) and "graffed out."  Those who are not Israelite by blood can become citizens, if they believe in the Messiah of Israel.  Those who do believe in the Messiah of Israel can be "graffed in" to the Commonwealth of Israel (Eph. 2:12-13).

          As you can see, all laws work the same and come from God's law.  It is our choice as to whether or not we practice this law.  We can choose, "this day whom [we] will serve; whether the gods which [our] fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land [we] dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD" (Josh. 24:15).  When we put our faith in the Messiah of Israel we are making a choice.  We are choosing to become part of the, "commonwealth of Israel" (Eph. 2:12).  The word for commonwealth is the Greek word politeia, which means, "citizenship; concretely a community: - commonwealth" (Strong's Concordance - G4174).  When we put our faith in the Messiah we are becoming citizens of the commonwealth of Israel.  When someone changes their citizenship from one country to another, they stop practicing the laws of their former country and start practicing the laws of their new country.  When we became citizens of the Kingdom of God, we stopped practicing the laws of this world and started practicing God's law.  We are choosing to follow the God of the scripture and practice His laws.  Sadly today, many do not recognize this.

God's Law is Natural:

          One might ask, how is this law enforced?  Can we see its affects on our lives?  Where is the evidence?  Believe it or not, the evidence is overwhelming.  All you need to do is search out the blessings and curses of God's law and all becomes clear.  After all, the terms clearly state, "if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth" and He lists several blessings He will give (Deut. 28:1).  Likewise, "if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee" (Deut. 28:15).  Can the nations of the world see this law affect their existence?  I contend that you can.  In fact, I believe the rise and fall of all nations on the earth are based upon the practice of this law.

          America started out practicing God's law.  Our Constitution has over twenty principles from the Mosaic law.  Most of these principles come from the Common Law of King Alfred in 872 A.D.  King Alfred codified his 49 dooms of the Common Law from the Mosaic law.  In fact, many of these Dooms read word for word from the Mosaic law.  Our Constitution is based on this Common Law, which is from the scriptures.  When America started, we received many blessings from God because we were practicing His law (maybe not all of it, but most of it).  Now America has stopped practicing many of these laws and is receiving more curses than blessings.  Here are a few examples.

          Early in American History, Andrew Jackson fought the British military on the Chalmette Battlefield.  He was outnumbered by thousands, but still defeated the British handily.  This was a blessing from God for practicing His law.  God promised that if we practice His law we, "shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before us by the sword.  And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword" (Lev. 26:7-8).  For practicing God's law other nations will fear us, which is exactly what America had.  Now that we no longer practice God's law, the fear of God for us is no longer in other nations, as evidenced by recent wars.

          Many of God's laws are economical in nature.  One law says to use a "just weight and measure" (Deut. 25:15).  We followed this principle of law in Article One, Section Ten of our Constitution where it says, "No state shall make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts."  The blessing from God's law is that we will lend and not borrow from other nations (Deut. 28:12, 44).  When we followed this law we were financially stable and sold and loaned our goods to other nations.  In 1933, we stopped using gold and silver coin and started using paper fiat currency.  Since 1933, our national debt has skyrocketed into the trillions.  We now borrow from other nations instead of lend to them.

          Many laws in the scripture are health laws.  America has practiced most of them for centuries, but recently things have changed.  Our food, such as our crops and animals, are genetically modified against the scripture (Lev. 19:19).  The scripture is also clear not to put toxins and animal byproducts in our bodies such as found in vaccines (1 Cor. 6:19-20, Lev. 17:14).  We pasteurize our milk against the scripture as well (Lev. 14:21).  The penalty for breaking these health laws are sickness and disease (Lev. 26:25, Deut. 28:21-22).  Since America has been breaking these laws our health has deteriorated.  In 1900, only 1 out of 33 people had cancer.  Now, one out of two people have cancer.  Heart disease, stroke, and many other common diseases have been on the rise for decades.  This is all a curse from God's law.  When we genetically modify our food it loses nutrients.  When we don't let the land rest with a land Sabbath our land does not replenish the minerals needed for healthy food.  When we put toxins in our bodies we damage our immune system and get diseases.  These laws of God are natural.  The blessings and curses just happen as we choose to follow or break these laws.  This can be on an individual level as well as a national level.  The law of God governs the entire universe.
 

Thoughts to Consider:

          Here is a list of other laws and their penalties.  Read through them and judge for yourself.  See if America might be receiving some of these curses.

• 5 will chase 1,000, 100 will chase 10,000 (Lev. 26:7-8)

• We will lend and not borrow (Deut. 28:12)

• Disease and sickness will be across the land (Lev. 26:25)

• We will receive a lower status in the land (Deut. 28:43-44)

• We will lose our crops to our enemies (Lev. 26:16)- The majority of our crops come from outside our borders, and what we do produce gets shipped away.

• All we produce will be consumed by our enemies (Deut. 28:33) - Most of our industrialized production is now being produced over seas.

• Adultery will be rampant (Deut. 28:30) - No need for explanation here.

• Your houses will be taken from you (Deut. 28:30) - 100 years ago the majority owned their homes outright.  Now we have mortgages and many lose their homes.

• Our food will be cursed (Deut. 28:18)

• Drought will be across the land (Deut. 28:22)

• Crops will be destroyed by insects (Deut. 28:38) - we fight this with insecticide

• Our food (bread) will come from factories with no nutrition (Lev. 26:26)

          Read through Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 and you can see just how many curses America has.  If we stop now and turn this around, maybe we can start getting more blessings instead of curses (Lev. 26:40-42, 2 Chron. 7:14).  For more on this topic please read my article Why We Should Follow God's Law.

By Steve Siefken

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth

not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

2 Timothy 2:15 KJV