August 21 – LD 34, Day 2: The Completeness of the Law

Read: Psalm 119:97-112

We commonly speak of the two parts of the law of God; the first four commandments which contain our duty towards God, and the last six commandments that speak of our duty towards our neighbor. We often refer to this as the “two tables” of the law, for God wrote with His finger on two stones the original copy of the Ten Commandments.

More important than recognizing the division of the law, is seeing its completeness. There are ten commandments. Ten, in the Scripture, is the important number of completeness and fullness. The Ten Commandments are a statement of the entire will of God for man. This does not mean that all the other commands or statements of what God expects of us in Scripture are not important. Rather, all of them fall under the scope of these Ten. Everything God requires of us is summed up in these Ten Commandments.

In the gospels, Jesus gives us an even more succinct, and deeper, summary of the law. In Matt 22:37-39, he gives us two commandments, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Jesus shows us the depth of the law, that obedience requires the whole man, not just what he does, but also his heart, mind and will. Jesus also shows us that the law has to do with relationships; our relationship to God and our relationship to our fellow man. We are created to be creatures of covenant, of fellowship. The law shows us how we are to live, in covenant with God, and in covenant with each other.

God's law is perfect – it shows us the perfection of God, and gives us the complete summary of what God requires of man.

God's law is permanent – Jesus says that He did not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill and to establish it (Matt 5:17, Rom 3:31).

God's law is powerful – it convicts and converts sinners (Psa 19:7). It is the schoolmaster which leads us to Christ (Gal 3:24).

God's law is precious. The Psalmist exclaims, “O how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day” (Psa 119:97).

Do you love the law of God?