In the beginning, God gave us some simple instructions to follow.  “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die” (Gen. 2:16).  It seems simple enough, but in our youth we couldn’t even follow that one simple rule.  As a result, we became aware of sin and with that awareness, came more responsibility. 

 

As mankind spread throughout the earth, God took a chosen people to treat as his own.  He gave them rules to follow, just as a father does for his children.  God made a covenant with Israel.  If they obeyed the rules (commandments) of the covenant, then God would bless them and keep them safe.  However, if they broke the covenant by breaking the rules, they would be destroyed.  These rules were not given to Israel simply to test their obedience.  All the commandments and regulations that God gave to Israel, had reasons behind them.  They taught his people how to relate to one another and how to relate to God Himself.  For example, the Passover and the Sabbath taught them to reflect and remember what God had done for them. 

 

Sadly; Instead of learning the reasons behind all these rules, the lawmakers of Israel focused on the rules themselves.  They thought that the law was given for its own sake and simply strived to obey the letter of the law - as if the law itself was the important thing, rather than the reason behind it. 

 

When Jews talk about the law, they are not simply talking about ‘the ten commandments’.  There are 613 individual laws in the first five books of the old testament ( 248 do’s and 365 don’ts ).  Then, in addition to God's laws, they have the Halacha, put together to help them better understand how to keep the first 613 laws.  Now; as lifestyle and technologies change, these laws are updated to include things that didn’t exist when the law was first written.

 

For example; the following article appeared in the Sydney Daily Telegraph 17/12/06

 

“GREEN LIGHT FOR KOSHER CROSSINGS” 

‘Australia’s first kosher pedestrian crossings will feature hi-tech detection sensors, allowing orthodox Jews to cross busy Sydney streets safely during the Sabbath…………

Pressing a button on the Sabbath – the period of rest between sunset on Friday and sunset on Saturday – is considered a breach of religious law by Orthodox Jews.

This has created safety fears as members of eastern Sydney’s large Orthodox community dodge traffic on the way to and from local synagogues.’

​

It should be understood by now, that the Sabbath was given to Israel for their own benefit:  “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day.  Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy” (Ex. 20:11).  So the reason for the Sabbath was to "rest", for their own good and to honour God.  As the Lord said, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." (Mark 2:27).  Yet in Sydney in 2006 (according to the above article), there were people risking their wellbeing (and their lives) to avoid pressing a button.  Is this what God intended?  Can dodging traffic and risking personal injury be considered restful?  Of course not, but this is what the law makers were forcing people to do, in order to honour the rule.  So the commandment to “rest” has been nullified by the man made law ‘Do not press a button’.  Thereby making the rule more important than the reason behind it.  A law for it’s own sake!

 

If we took the time to look, we would see that the entire old testament is a lesson.  It’s written for us!  So we can learn from the mistakes of the past and avoid making them again.

“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us,  so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”  (Romans 15:4).

It shows us that we can’t be made righteous by simply trying to follow a set of rules, because we all fall short at some point.  It shows us that regulations don’t make us better people.  They simply make us aware of our flaws.