In the book of Deuteronomy, we see Moses recollecting the event where the judges were selected(Exo 18:13-26) with some more detail. This system established at the time of Moses was to continue(Deut 16:18) with the help of the priests according to God’s own command (Deut 17:8-12), and was even in effect after the return from the Babylonian exile(Ezr 7:25, 10:14). From Saul onward, the kings acted as the head judge – to whom all hard cases were brought to(1King 3:16-28).

God was supreme ruler and judge of the children of Israel at the time.Īfter Moses, the mantle of judge passed onto Joshua (Deut 31:14,23) and then to the judges mentioned in the book of judges(Judg 2:16-18) until the time of Samuel, when God gave the people a king at their request. This was the system of Law at the time – the god fearing rulers/judges would try the easy cases while bringing hard ones to Moses – the head judge, who in turn went to God, when he was unsure of a matter(Exo 18:26). Moses in turn would bring any matter he was unsure about before God for resolution(Exo 18:23, Lev 24:12). These rulers were to judge the people under them, and bring any case which was hard for them to resolve, unto Moses (Exo 18:22). Heeding the advice of his father-in-law, Moses chose God-fearing men of truth, and appointed them rulers of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens – teaching them God’s ordinances and Laws (Exo 18:19-21). It was his duty to enact fair judgement according to God’s Law and statutes (Exo 18:16). He was the only judge at that time, and did his duties from morning to evening (Exo 18:13). When God led His people out of Egypt, at the helm was Moses. And as we will see below, similar to the Law of the secular world, God’s Law (when it came to public matters) was to be put to effect through a system of Law. The critical question which needs to be asked is “can anyone stone a sinner?”. It is such a pity that we have been taught to view God’s Law which was called liberty by David(Psa 119:45) & James(Jas 1:25), in such a way. No trial? No judge? No witnesses? Immediate punishment! What sort of land would that be? But this is exactly how Christianity views the Land of Israel under God’s Law in the time before Christ. Imagine a land which is run on a law that specifies that anyone can give the lethal injection to a person accused of murder or adultery. And it involved stoning as an act of putting fear in the Godless. There were certain acts which were punishable by death – according to God’s Law. Many countries have laws, that if broken can lead to capital punishment. – much like the laws that govern us in our own respective countries. There were commandments for land owners, men, women, soldiers, fathers, levites, aaronic priests, judges, witnesses, etc.

When God led the Children of Israel out of Egypt and gave them His Law, many commandments were set forth.

So enough about me – on to the question in hand! I had little understanding of the Old Testament Scriptures, even though I had read parts of it – And was ready to defend my faith against who I believed to be “Judaizers” with comments such as “We don’t need to keep God’s Law. In fact, understanding this subject could bring any Christian who can look at theology in a critical fashion, a bit closer to God’s Word. While this post will focus on the “issue of stoning”, if you would like to read into God’s Law a bit further – please go here.įirst of all, I must explain that I, myself as a Christian who was taught that God’s Law was done away in Christ, had the same opinion as the brother whom I mentioned earlier. The “issue of stoning” is taken as one of the easiest argument against keeping God’s Law – in a haphazard way, with little to no understanding of how the Law functions.īut is it a pointless question to ask? Absolutely not. Stone, stone, stone.” While I completely understand the point of view, and the hint of frustration in this brother’s words, I believe this common view among Christians is quite a misinformed one at best. And to reiterate the point by commenting that “We should stone. A recent comment I received from a dear brother read “If we cannot pick and choose which ceremonial law applies to us, then when keeping the OT law after being saved, we should be sure to stone adulterers.” He went on to ask why Christ forgave the woman who was accused of adultery. Congratulations to all the Team Cup prize earners.It is part of God’s Law – So, should we? As a means of showing the impracticality of God’s Law, many pose the question, “if we are keeping God’s Law, why don’t we stone adulterers and other sinners specified by the Law?”.

Elizabeth lyn vargas net worth