Few events have influenced the world more pervasively than the special revelation of God’s law to his people at Sinai.  The substrate of almost all Western ethics is found in these ancient words.  Nowadays, people may want to dismiss them as antiquated. Still, their careful concern for community and particular focus on the poor and vulnerable continues to speak to the needs of humanity even to this day.

The sophistication of the law is often overlooked. It is a complex system of thought which doesn’t just represent a rule book for life or an addendum to life.  For ancient Israelites, the law was life.  Its structure sought to represent the cosmic and spiritual dimension of all created existence.  It didn’t merely tell people what to do; it helped them understand who they were, especially in relation to God.

By revealing the law to Moses, God helped people to understand and appreciate the wonder of life.  Through it, the people of Israel gained a rich understanding of the balanced order in which God created the world.  In contrast to other cosmologies of the time, Yahweh’s creation was not at all chaotic. It was finely tuned and delicately balanced.

In addition, the law taught Israel that their God was concerned for their well-being.  In the first place, he didn’t stand at a distance.  Through the law, he came close to his people. Secondly, the law instructed them in ways that would benefit them–individually, corporately, materially, and spiritually. The law represented God’s enduring love and commitment to his people.

In this, we begin to understand why Psalm 19 speaks so endearingly about the law.  Like water in a desert, the law quenched the needs of parched souls.  It was a word of life, without which God’s people would have been left stumbling in the dark. God’s commitment to people like you and me finds such deep expression in his word.  When we soak ourselves in it, we can’t but see its benefit to us, especially as it points us to Jesus, the Word who became flesh and who matched up impeccably to the law’s perfection.  In him is life, and that life is the light of men. May we always walk in the light of his word to us in the gospel.