Was the Old Testament Civil Law Only for Israel?
It is common among those in the Reformed faith, who wan’t to avoid the political implications of the law of God, to argue that the civil case laws, and their penal sanctions (especially the death penalty for certain crimes beyond murder), do not apply to modern nations today because these were only for Israel. While it is true that the cultural aspect of these laws is not binding upon Gentile nations, it is going too far to say that the civil laws (according to their ‘general equity’) were only for Israel. If that was true why did Moses tell the Israelites to obey God’s laws in order ‘to show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people” ‘ (Deut. 4:6 NIV)? Hence, far from being entirely unique to Israel, the civil laws were to be an example to the pagan nations of wisdom and justice. The civil law in Israel, and the penalties for committing crime, was better, fairer, more just, righteous and loving than any other nation on earth. Why was that? Simply because God gave the law to Israel, and God’s definition of crime and His prescription of how it was to be punished was infallible and innerant. Conversely, the laws of other nations, which had their origins in the fallen, sinful and wicked imaginations of men’s minds, were cruel, harsh, unjust and unloving. That is why Moses could say to the people of Israel ‘what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?’ (Deut. 4:8 NIV).
In practical terms, our nation should cease from following the arbitrary dictates of politicians and only punish the sins that God has classified as crimes and punish them in the way that He has directed. This may mean accepting a lot of things that we find naturally offensive (such as the death penalty, by means of public execution, for adultery and persistently rebellious children); however, we must mortify our sinful pride and recognise that the Lord’s ways are not our ways. Ministers need to preach clearly on the relevance of God’s law to the modern state and cease from retreating into pietism by only dealing with matters that they consider to be ’spiritual’. Moreover, individual Christians should not vote for politicians who reject Theonomy (rule by God’s law) in favour of Autonomy (rule by men’s lusts). Even if the candidates are Christians, their rejection of Scripture alone in relation to political ethics means that they can’t properly apply the law of the Lord to the state. Therefore, those of us interested in upholding explicitly Christian politics and Biblical law need to consider founding our own political party, which is based unashamedly on theonomic principles, and not our own sinful ideas.
