The law of God is a big part of the scriptures.  It is contained in the first five books of the Bible called the Torah.  However, the law is spread throughout the rest of the scriptures as well.  In fact, I would argue that the whole Bible is a law book, from Genesis to Revelation.  For more on this, please read How to Study.  The point here is that God's law is a major part of the scriptures, but it is also one of the least studied topics.  This article is not to convince you that the scripture teaches that we should follow God's law, but to demonstrate why it is beneficial for us to practice God's law.

          The law of God is just like other forms of law.  In fact, the law of God is the first form of law and all others follow its model.  Consider the following, compare the Bible to other forms of law.  Let us use the United States law as an example.  Our country started with the Law of the Land (U.S. Constitution), added to it are several statutes (U.S. Code), and finally all the judgments through the years from our courts.  From this, you derive several Doctrines of Law such as stare decicis, due process, or burden of proof.  This is the law of the United States.  The Bible is written the same way.  The law of God started with the Law of the Land (10 Commandments inside the Arc of the Covenant), added to it were over seven hundred statutes (Supporting commandments placed outside of the Arc of the Covenant), finally there are several judgments decided by Hebrew courts such as found in the book of Joshua and Judges.  From this come several doctrines to be understood such as baptism, justification, and sanctification.  None of which could exist apart from God's Law.  As you can see, all law follows the scriptural model.

          The last similarity is what the scripture calls "blessings" and "curses."   Blessings and curses are what comes as a result of practicing, or not practicing, God's law.  If we obey God and keep His commandments He promised over thirty blessings.  If we do not obey God and keep His commandments He will give us curses.  This is what we would call today the penal clause to the law.  Just as the law of the United States has penalties, so does the law of God.  It is the blessings and curses that I contend demonstrate why we should follow the law of God.  The following are various laws of the scripture.  See for yourself if you think we should follow these laws.

The Obvious Ones:

          We don't need to spend much time defending some of God's laws.  After all, very few disagree with the laws that are against such things as murder, theft, adultery, bribery, etc.  Most of us can see the obvious benefit that comes with a society that practices these laws.  In fact, most secular governments have the same laws within their legal system.  If murder was okay, then only the strongest and the toughest would survive.  If theft was okay, no one would trust anyone in business, and if adultery was okay, then families would be breaking up left and right.  Okay, maybe I should amend my comments on adultery to say that as a society we used to be against it, but nowadays too many people cannot see the error in breaking such a sacred agreement with a spouse.  Regardless, many laws of the scripture are obviously beneficial for us to practice.

The Not So Obvious Ones:

          Many laws of the scripture make no sense to us today.  We read about them, but just don't see why an all powerful God would ask us to do such a thing.  After all, most of the time He did not give us the why to practice these laws, just the commandment to practice these laws.  In fact, God even made it more confusing by not telling us which curses go with which laws.  Maybe this is why we need to, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Tim. 2:15).  Below is a list of many obscure laws of the scripture.  Each one has a simple explanation as to why we should practice these laws.  What might surprise you is the obvious practical benefit for the practice of each.

• Land Sabbath: (Ex. 23:10-11, Lev. 25:2-4)
  
            The land sabbath is a law that most see as "religious."  This law is a seven year cycle for the production of crops.  The first six years we are allowed to sow our fields and harvest the crops, but in the seventh year we are not.  We have to let the land "rest."  The benefits to this are simple.  In the six years we harvest our crops, the soil is depleted.  As fruit and vegetables are grown, minerals from the soil are removed and put into the plant for us to eat.  This is where we get our nutrition from.  If we do not keep the land sabbath, the land will never rejuvenate itself.  For example, on the seventh year the crops must be left alone.  All the fruit from the fruit trees will grow, ripen, fall to the ground and rot into the soil.  This will replace the minerals that were lost over the last six years.  The same is true for the vegetable plants.  All the volunteer plants that grow (and weeds) will grow and rot back into the ground to replace needed minerals.  This is a design mechanism that God made himself and it is for our benefit.
            The long term result of breaking the land sabbath is disease and sickness.  Some of the curses listed are "pestilence," "consumption," "fever," and "inflammation" (Deut. 28:21-22).  This is what will result from food produced in poor soil.  We will not get the vitamins and minerals we should, and the result is sickness and disease.  This concept has been studied as well.  The Nutrition Security Institute did a study involving cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes, and spinaches (click here to see study PDF).  They tested the mineral content in milligrams from 1914 to 1997.  In this short period of time, the calcium, magnesium, and iron content of these vegetables dropped from over 400 milligrams to under 75 milligrams.  Keep in mind, there are over 90 minerals in our fruits and vegetables that we need.  They only tested three.  I wonder what the other mineral content is like.  It takes over seven apples from today to get the nutrition from one apple from 1914.  A drop in minerals like this can definitely cause heart disease, cancer, stroke, etc.  Of course, they did not conclude that we should follow the land sabbath, but with a proper understanding of the scripture you would make that conclusion.  Eventually, if we continue in this practice, God said he will, "bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it.  And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste. Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate" (Lev. 26:32-34).  I don't know when this will happen to America, but rest assured, it will if we continue to break God's land sabbath.
            Other benefits are for the farmers.  The year the land rests provides many opportunities for farmers to mend fences, fix barns, work on projects, travel, etc.   This is where the modern term Sabbatical Year comes from.  Professionals in our society take a year off of work every seven years.  It is called a Sabbatical Year and comes straight from the scriptures.  This year is designed to provide a vacation opportunity for all that practice.

• Mingled Seed: (Lev. 19:19, Deut. 22:9)
  
            Mingling our seed is a concept that is highly misunderstood in the scriptures.  Fortunately, it is not hard to understand through good biblical study.  Most study the two verses regarding mingling your seed and come to the conclusion that God does not want us to mix our different vegetables in the same garden, but this is not true.  As you look at Leviticus 19:19 and Deuteronomy 22:9 it is clear that it is the seed that is mingled, or diverse, and not the field.  We are not to sow our fields with "mingled seeds."  The question to ask is, what is a "mingled seed?"  The Greek word for mingled/diverse is kil'ayim, which means, "in the original sense of separation; two heterogeneities: - divers seeds (-e kinds), mingled (seed)" (Strong's Concordance - H3610).  This is a reference to genetically modified seed.  Remember, the field is not mingled with different kinds of seed, the seed is mingled with two different heterogeneities.  Why would God warn the Israelites about genetic modification thousands of years before this was possible?  The answer is simple, genetic modification had been done prior to Moses and the Israelites.
            In the book of Jasher, which is mentioned in Joshua 10:13 and 2 Samuel 1:18, the author mentions the time of the great flood.  One of the reasons given as to why God brought the flood is because the people, "taught the mixture of animals of one species with the other" (Jasher 4:18).  The book of Jubilees also mentions this as well.  In fact, when you study Genesis 6:1-7 carefully, you will realize that God was angered because "the sons of God," which is a reference to angels, took wives of the "daughters of men."  It was this defilement of God's creation that angered Him enough to destroy the earth.  After all, God designed creation to reproduce "after his kind" (Gen. 1:24).  Apparently, way back before the flood, man knew how to "mingle" the seeds of animals.  We can reasonably assume that they knew how to do this with plants as well.  Obviously God does not want us to do so, but what is the result?
            Breaking this law apparently brings poor health since the result is that your "seeds," "fruit" and "vineyards" will be "defiled" (Deut. 22:9).  If you study genetically modified foods today you will see this result as well.  The purpose of making genetically modified seeds, among others, is to make them grow in poor soil, make them resistant to pesticides, and make them attractive to the eye and taste buds.  This is a marketing strategy to make more money.  The result is a much poorer quality of food concerning our health.  The purpose is to make the apple bigger, and taste better, and look brighter, but not necessarily contain all the healthy ingredients it should have.  We would be wise to steer towards organic products over genetically modified products in our grocery shopping.
            The same is true for genetically modified animals.  In Leviticus 19:19, we are also told to, "not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind."  This is to keep the various kinds of animals pure.  This is important in breeding, especially for the foods that we eat.  Although we have not genetically modified our meat and milk products yet, the risks are considered to be significant.  We have no idea what type of problems genetically modified animals can cause, but we should learn from our experience with genetically modified crops and heed God's warning.

• Just Weights & Measures: (Deut. 25:15, Prov. 11:1, Prov. 16:11)
  
            The God of the scriptures commands us to use a "just weight" and "measure" (Deut. 25:15).  In today's world we don't really understand what this is.  We currently use paper money (fiat currency).  This fiat currency comes with inflation, which is an unjust weight and measure.  To help understand this we will quickly define the difference.
            Fiat currency, "is money that derives its value from government regulation or law" (Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_money).  The only reason this money has value is because a government institution says so.  There is no intrinsic value to a dollar bill.  The paper is worth less than one penny.  Other than the fact that it's value has been declared by government, it is worthless.  However, controlled changes in the economy can dictate the purchasing power of fiat currency.  The result is a fluctuating market that causes inflation and the long term devaluation of your currency.  The end result is that of an ultimate crash of your economy.
            God specifically forbids this type of currency by the use of the words "weight" and "measure."  Think of the meanings of these two words.  A weight is a consistent measurement related to gravitational pull.  A measure is a standard unit.  This is also a consistent way to determine something.  If you put these two together, you have to be able to weigh your currency and measure it to determine it's value.  We do not weigh or measure our dollar bills to determine it's value, we rely on government institutions and the economy to determine it's value.  Gold and silver coin, the currency of the scripture, uses the weight and measure of the property to determine it's value.  We do this today.  When we talk about Gold or Silver, we state it this way; "This is one ounce, 9/10th fine silver."  The weight is "one ounce" and the measure is "9/10th fine silver."  In other words, you have one ounce of 90% silver.  The value of this property never changes.  The scriptures demand a bimetallic (two metals) monetary system of Gold and Silver.
            America started out this way.  In Article One, Section Ten of the U. S. Constitution, it states, "No state shall make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts."  We instituted God's monetary system at the start of this country, but we changed it in 1933.  This is when President Roosevelt changed our monetary system from Gold and Silver coin, to paper money.  The people did not have to consent, but times were tough so they did.  The result is exactly what God said would happen, for what is the penalty for using an unjust weight and measure?  As Deuteronomy 28:44 states, "He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail."  The result of an unjust weight and measure is national debt, for we will not lend to others, but they will lend to us.  Isn't this exactly what happened in 1933?  Since then the U. S. national debt has skyrocketed into the trillions.  This debt is now so large that America is no longer capable of paying it off.  This is a very bad position for us to be in, but God warned us thousands of years ago, if only we would have listened.

• Usury/Debt: (Ex. 22:25, Lev. 25:35-37, Deut. 23:19-20)
  
            The scriptures speak of debt in a very negative light, and usury as an outright sin, but many do not understand why.  God's law is a law that should be followed.  Every commandment, statute, and judgment is for a reason and is beneficial to us.  The laws regarding debt and usury are no exceptions to this.  In the scripture, debt is allowable, but there are rules.  For example, when a brother borrows from you, you cannot collect interest/usury (Ex. 22:25).  There is another statute that mandates the forgiveness of all debt to those who cannot pay on every Sabbath year (Deut. 15:1-2).  This was the precursor to our modern bankruptcy laws, but works much better.  This gives responsibility to both the borrower and the lender.  Keep in mind, there is another statute requiring the borrower to not take advantage of this sabbath year debt release (Deut. 15:9).  A borrower has the responsibility to make sure they can pay the debt back, but having a mandatory release of the debt will make lenders more cautious about who they lend to.  The sabbath year was designed to provide relief for those who legitimately had a problem which caused them to not be able to pay their debt back.
            These types of laws keep countries like America from going into market bubbles in their economy.  For example, a 30 year fixed mortgage would not be allowable under scriptural law for two reasons; 1) the debt cannot last more than six years, and 2) the debt cannot have interest attached.  Without having these types of loans helps keep homes affordable.  Keep in mind, as far as materials go and labor costs, a house does not cost any more than $50,000.  There is no reason to have homes in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.  These laws keep the market stable and without fluctuation.
            It is still legal to get a loan, and the lender can still make money on the loan, they just can't charge interest.  Interest is very dangerous.  Interest uses compound mathematics and makes it hard to see the overall price you are paying.  For example, when you buy a house with a thirty year fixed mortgage, you are really paying the price of three houses, two for the bankers and one for you.  This makes your home purchase more profitable for the bankers than for you.  A lender can loan money with a set amount more to earn if they like.  A loan for $10,000 can stipulate that $11,000 will be paid back.  This is a very clear contract and both parties are able to see the overall price to be paid.  Following God's usury and debt laws will benefit all economies and bring prices down.  Not following God's usury and debt laws will actually cause us harm.  Don't forget, God's law has a penal clause.  One of the penalties for not following God's economic laws is, you will "build an house," but you will "not dwell therein" (Deut. 28:30).  This is seen in America every time a housing market bubble bursts.  Homeowners by the thousands lose their homes to bankers.  We would be wise to listen to God and follow His Debt laws.

• Mixed Fabric Clothing: (Lev. 19:19, Deut. 22:11)
  
            The idea that we should only wear clothing that has 100% of the same fabric does not make sense to most of us.  Why would God have such a ridiculous command?  After all, why should God care what kind of clothing we wear?  The truth is, this question demonstrates the arrogance of man.  Why would we continue to question a God who obviously has far superior intelligence than we do?  Just look at how God answered Job when Job questioned God.  "Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?" (Job. 38:2).  Apparently Job's question was without knowledge.  God continues to question Job, "Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding" (Job. 38:4).  That is a good question for man has been trying to answer this question for thousands of years.  Then God proceeds to ask Job numerous questions that Job obviously does not know the answer to.  In fact, we have just learned some of the answers in modern times, but still don't know most of them.  Yet, we will still question God when He told us not to wear mixed fabric clothing.
            Is it possible that there is a reason God would want us to always wear 100% of the same fabric in our clothing?  Is there some sort of benefit to us for not wearing mixed fabric?  I'm going to be honest, I don't know the reason for this law, but God does.  I will provide some answers that I have heard over the years, but I have no proof of any because I do not have the means to test them.  However, here are the possible reason's God may have for us not wearing mixed fabric clothing.
            Many have suggested that this practice produces a poor quality clothing item.  This would make this law a business practice law.  Some have suggested that this was a specific statute to keep the Israelites separate/holy apart from the rest of the world.  This would make this law an idolatry law.  Another theory is the idea that God ordained all animals to produce after their kind (Gen. 1:25) and mixing their fabric together violates this command of creation.  However, though these theories present an answer, it is my opinion that there is a better answer.  It has been reported on a few different occasions that mixed fabric clothing diminishes a persons magnetic field.  I have read two different reports of a Hebrew man testing magnetic fields of people and comparing the differences between people wearing mixed fabric clothing and 100% fabric clothing.  In fact, many people wearing 100% fabric clothing had their magnetic field measuring over ten feet away from their body, while those who wore mixed fabric clothing had their magnetic field measuring only one foot away from their body.  If this is true then this statute is a health statute.  Perhaps we should give God another chance and not assume He was wrong with some of His laws.  It is true, there is no official study demonstrating this that I could find, but maybe science should focus more on proving God right instead of trying to prove Him wrong.
            I want to be clear, this is not from my first hand experience.  I do not have the means myself to test someone's magnetic field, but this is a report that I read.  Mankind currently does not know much about a person's magnetic field and what sort of health benefits having a strong one might have.  Recently, many products have come out such as bracelets or knee braces to help improve someone's magnetic field for health benefits.  Maybe if we just started practicing this law we would not need such products.  Reading this report regarding wearing mixed fabric has humbled me.  Instead of being arrogant because I don't understand the law, I now believe I should trust the God who made me and only wear 100% fabric.

• Seething a Kid in it's Mothers Milk: (Ex. 23:19, Ex. 34:26, Deut. 14:21)
  
            The three scriptures above are highly misunderstood.  In an attempt to rationalize what appears to be a strange command, we have made the God of the scriptures to appear foolish.  The verse in question goes like this, "Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk" (Deut. 14:21).  The Hebrew word for, "seethe" is bâshal which means, "to boil up; hence to be done in cooking" (Strong's Concordance - H1310).  This verse is saying we are not allowed to boil or cook a goat in its mother's milk.  The meaning of this verse is clear, it is the why to follow this verse that many do not understand.
            Some have taken this verse to mean we are to respect a mother goat by not cooking their kid in her own milk.  This does not make sense because it is not like the mother goat will know that you are using her own milk and why would we be cooking the goat out at the goat pasture anyway?  Just the fact that we are cooking the kid could be construed as disrespectful to the mother goat.  There is no logical way of understanding an interpretation such as this, and I believe the God of the scriptures is very logical.
            Another understanding is that this was a heathen custom and we are not to follow after heathen customs.  Though it is true that we should not follow heathen customs, this custom has more to it than just boiling a goat in its mother's milk.  The custom involved magic and crops to bring forth a plentiful harvest.  This was contrary to the scriptures for other reasons.  Why did God only mention the boiling of a goat and not the others?  In fact, to take this argument even further, why does God pick this heathen custom from the hundreds of other heathen customs to single out.  There is no logical way of understanding this interpretation as well.
            If you look at these verses with logic and modern science, the understanding becomes clear.  First, when a kid is born the mother goat begins to produce milk.  This is true for all mammals.  It is reasonable to assume that the only milk that might be available to cook a kid in is its mother's milk.  Perhaps we are focusing too much on the mother instead of the milk.  If we start to focus on the word milk this verse starts to make more sense.  Is there a reason why God might not want us to cook our milk?  In fact, there is.  Using modern science we now know that pasteurizing (boiling) milk is harmful to our health.  There are many enzymes in milk that our body needs to digest the milk.  One specific enzyme is called phosphatase, which is the enzyme needed to digest calcium.  Other enzymes are required for our bodies to be able to digest milk fat.  Without these enzymes the milk fat will not be digested and we can develop various diseases like heart disease and stroke.  Perhaps this command is God protecting us from these harms, which makes this a health law.  For more on the harmful affects of pasteurized milk click here, here or here.
            One might ask, why didn't God just say, "don't pasteurize milk?"  The problem with this is that thousands of years ago pasteurization would not have even been considered.  The only reason we do this today is to avoid the costly price of having to keep a clean milk factory.  The theory behind pasteurizing milk is to boil away all the bad bacteria so it will not harm us as we drink it.  This would not have been a problem thousands of years ago for milk was not produced in factories, but on small local farms.  Besides, the knowledge of such small bacteria was not widely known, if known at all.  Why would anyone thousands of years ago have taken the time to boil their milk before they drank?  This would not have been a very efficient and cost effective way of producing milk to drink.  When we understand this passage this way it makes logical sense.  This command is a health statute.

• Holydays:
  
            Holydays are the holidays of the scripture.  Believe it or not, God gave us specific holidays to celebrate, but somewhere down the road of history we decided to stop celebrating these holidays.  God's Holydays are designed for our benefit and learning.  For more on these Holydays and whether we should celebrate them or not please read my article called Biblical Holydays.

• Sacrificial System:
  
            The Sacrificial System is one of the most misunderstood topics of biblical study.  If most people understood how this system worked, they might not be so against it.  I have prepared a short video to explain how this system works.  You might be surprised to learn that we practice the Biblical Sacrificial System here in America today.  Please watch my video called The Sacrificial System of America.
  

          The law of the scripture gets a bad wrap today.  Many believers mock God's law and assume it was only for people in the past.  They believe the laws are irrelevant for today and do not make any sense.  The truth is, if we understood these laws we would see their obvious benefits.  A simple way to understand this is to study what is called the Common Law.  In 872 A. D. King Alfred codified the Common Law.  This law gets it's name because it represents the common man.  It was originally called the Law of the Commoners.  What many don't realize is that King Alfred codified the 48 Dooms of the Common Law straight from the Mosaic law.  In many places it reads word for word from the Mosaic Law.  In fact, the Constitution of the United States sets up the Common Law as the law of the land.  This law, which comes from God's law, is designed for the benefit of the common man.  As I have said before, God's law is for our benefit.  America started out practicing God's law (Common Law) and we were blessed.  We now do not practice God's law (Common Law) and instead practice the Roman Civil Law and now we are cursed.  God made the promise that, "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land" (2 Chr. 7:14).  The Hebrew word for "wicked ways" is ra‛ râ‛âh, which means, "evil -  naturally or morally" (Strong's Concordance - H7451).  This verse is a reference from the Mosaic Law  (Lev. 26:40-42).  "Turn from their wicked ways" can also be translated as, "Turn from their [lawless ways]."  Most believers today agree that America needs to "humble themselves," and "pray," and "seek [God's] face," but we will absolutely not turn from our lawless ways.  We refuse to stop breaking God's law.  Perhaps if we followed through with 2 Chronicles 7:14 the land of America could be healed.

By Steve Siefken