Do you recall the account of Moses placing the tablets of the Law into the Ark of the Covenant? The Law can seem so different from the society we have today, what with all the washings and sacrifices and ceremonies. But all of it points to Jesus, so all of it matters. But then, were all of the first five books of Moses placed into the Ark? After all, the Pentateuch is often referred to as the Law.
It is helpful to remember that there are three primary categories of Law. There is the Civil Law, which applied only to the nation of Israel until the deconstruction of the nation in AD 70. There is the Ceremonial Law, which applied until the Resurrection of Jesus (see the book of Hebrews) and then there was the Moral Law, which includes concepts beyond the Ten Commandments, but were all condensed within the Ten and also encapsulated with the Two Commandments to love God and Neighbor.
The Moral Law of the Ten Commandments was placed into the Ark of the Covenant, not the other two categories, which were never summarized. That means something. The Ten Commandments is a reminder of the provision of God for the people, which is why Aaron’s staff and some of the manna were also placed in there. But not all of the law was in the Ark. In fact, none of the civil or ceremonial law was placed as a permanent reminder of God’s provision. Only the Ten Commandments.
Deuteronomy 10:1-5 “At that time the Lord said to me, ‘Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and come up to me on the mountain and make an ark of wood. And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets that you broke, and you shall put them in the ark.’ So I made an ark of acacia wood, and cut two tablets of stone like the first, and went up the mountain with the two tablets in my hand. And he wrote on the tablets, in the same writing as before, the Ten Commandments that the Lord had spoken to you on the mountain out of the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly. And the Lord gave them to me. Then I turned and came down from the mountain and put the tablets in the ark that I had made. And there they are, as the Lord commanded me.”
I say that the commandments were the provision of God and I hold to that. This was the first written instructions given to a people who had marinated in pagan Egypt for 400 years. They saw the ten plagues, they crossed the Red Sea on dry ground, they saw the mountain burning, then they were given instructions on what it looks like to live as free people. That is provision! All they knew was how to serve as slaves and beg for food from Egypt. But YHWH was to be their God and provider. No idols were to be made. They were to honor their parents. They had to be commanded to rest. They didn’t know how to live as the people of God. And living as people of God can be summarized by these ten commandments far more than obeying regulations regarding washings, tenths and festivals.
God wrote on tablets of stone the ten rules for how to live freely. And this was also a metaphorical writing on stone the rules for life. You see, the law is written on hearts of stone among people worldwide. This was alluded to in Job 41:24 and continues on through the Bible as one sees over and over again that humanity is skewed at a core level. We lean toward our flesh until God intervenes
Ezekiel 11:19-21 And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord GOD.”
You can go to the most remote people group, learn how to communicate, and find out that they believe murder is wrong. They know that one ought to honor their parents. They even know that there is a creator God so that Paul says in Romans 1 that everyone in existence is without excuse. The law condemns even those who never hear the name of Jesus, which is why we must continue to send missionaries both locally and to the ends of the earth. But as you teach your neighbor to know the Lord, you cannot end with teaching him to obey all that Jesus commands. You must also lead your neighbor to the gift of grace extended only to those who have transgressed the law. (Mark 2:17)
What you don’t have to do is command them to put tassels on the corners of their clothing. You don’t have to tell them to live in a booth for a festival. You don’t have to give them dietary laws or tell them not to mix fabrics. None of that law is written on any heart and it was not included in the Ark of the Covenant. You can eat shellfish as a free person! But moral sin will place you into the bondage of slavery. So live as one whose heart of stone has been exchanged for a heart of flesh even as your sin has been transferred to a sinless savior so that His righteousness could be transferred to you.
2 Cor 5:21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
