Wisdom in God's Commands

The wisdom in God's commands seems to have faded through the centuries as religious leaders added their own traditions and guidelines. Jesus exposed the self-righteousness of temple leaders and through His teachings we have gained much more insight. To help us get a better understanding of this we will examine five different points.

#1. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. (Ex.20:3)

According to Jesus, this is the most important commandment of all. Allegiance to God protected the Israelites from the deception and influence of evil pagan gods which the unbelieving Gentiles worshiped. "...the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God." (1Cor.10:20)

Jesus exposed the wicked world of demons the moment He began casting them out. When He appeared on the scene it seemed to be a complete surprise to them and when He approached they were so terrified that they blew their cover and cried out in fear.

"And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. (Mark 3:11, 1:23-24)

There is a whole other world beyond our corporeal existence in which Satan rules. (Eph.2:2) God was fully aware of the evil power associated with pagan gods. Those who call upon the world of spirits expose themselves to demonic influence. (1Tim.4:11- Eph.6:12) Earthly parents have the same concerns for their children. They know there is evil in the world which is why they warn their children not to talk to strangers.

It is for our own good that God gave us this commandment. Jesus made it perfectly clear that God is our spiritual Father, not to mention the fact that He is the single most powerful living being in existence. Nevertheless, His longsuffering and kindness toward those who belong to Him is unprecedented.

#2. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. (Matt.22:39)

According to Jesus this is the second greatest commandment. "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." (Matt.22:40) God is telling us to love each other and get along. Earthly parents say the same thing to their children. But Jesus went beyond this and explained that love intends no harm. No one would hurt someone they truly love and if we would learn to love one another, none of the commandments would be broken.

Perhaps the kind of love God wants us to have is beyond our human understanding. As we grow in Christ our spiritual awareness expands and His love filters through us to others. "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." (Gal. 2:20)

The attitude we have toward others is the attitude God has toward us. If we are patient, kind and understanding while dealing with others, God will deal with us in the same way. The consequence of disobedience is that we will receive from God what we give to others and rightly so. God is just. How can He be kind, patient and understanding toward us when we are unkind, impatient and insensitive toward others?

#3. Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. (Matt.5:43)

This command seems to agree with what we consider a normal human instinct but Jesus said it was better to love our enemies. He stated this quite bluntly and even went so far as to say that we are to do good to those who spitefully use us.

Jesus might have gone beyond this command to keep us from taking vengeance upon our enemies because God says that vengeance belongs to Him. (Rom.12:19) The application of it would certainly take a lot of effort as it's not easy to love someone who's out to get us. If we have done something to warrant such animosity then the prudent thing to do would be to apologize and do what is right. If we are not at fault then we must assume that our enemy is somehow misguided by greed, envy or any number of sinful things.

Rather than hate them, we must try to find some compassion because if God blesses those who love their neighbor, He would most certainly bless those who love their enemies. It stands to reason that when we are patient and kind to someone who is being mean and nasty toward us it would minimize the animosity. Jesus said that by loving our enemies and praying for them we would be heaping mounds of shame upon their head.

The Bible says that we were once the enemies of God. (Rom.5:10) Since God loved us while we were yet enemies, we should love our enemies as well. We were ignorant before we came to Christ and did things that we are now ashamed of. None of us knows whether or not a person will eventually come to the knowledge of salvation. Therefore, when someone is being unkind to us we should hope that no one remembers the way we once behaved and pray that their behavior not be held against them; just as we wouldn't want our past behavior held against us.

#4. Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. (Leviticus 24:20)

The righteousness of God demands a just balance. Even our own laws demand equal compensation and most of us wholeheartedly agree that if someone destroys something belonging to us, total restitution should be made. Nevertheless, Jesus said that we are not to resist evil. He didn't nullify the commandment. It is still the law of God. He simply went beyond the law to explain that it is better to forgive the debt, which is an act of love for one's neighbor.

Jesus demonstrated this when He went to the cross and suffered the penalty for sins which He did not commit. Sin is a transgression against God. According to God's law, we owed this debt. We owed it to God. God was in Jesus so it was God who suffered what we deserved. Rather than demand equal compensation, which would have wiped out the human race, He took on the debt, suffered the penalty and satisfied the law.

Jesus was trying to help us understand the fact that love, compassion and forgiveness is the very essence of God. Saying we believe it means nothing because if we are not living it we are not believing it. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." (Gal. 5:22-25)

#5. Thou shalt not commit adultery (Exodus 20:14)

This was considered a common sense law until Jesus extended its meaning. "...whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." (Matt. 5:28) This is profound wisdom which not only goes beyond the letter of this particular law but encompasses all of the law. The very idea that the harboring of any unclean thought is as sinful as the act itself is very sobering.

In revealing this, Jesus made it known that our thoughts were open to God as well as our hearts. We understand that an unclean thought can be resisted but if pondered it will grow and in the eyes of God, the thought is no different than the act. "...a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Heb. 4:12)

Jesus also taught us about spiritual adultery which is anything that takes God's place in our hearts. "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." (Matt. 6:24) But money isn't the only thing that can stand between us and God. When our passion for something exceeds our passion for God, it is considered spiritual unfaithfulness which could include things such as career or even our Christian works. We can actually become so caught up in our works that we forget or neglect the One we are working for.

"Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works." (Rev. 2:4-5)

In conclusion, we must look deep within the commands of God and view them as the loving instructions of a nurturing parent. All parents would agree that if our children would only listen to us and obey without question they would grow into outstanding adults. All things considered, God must feel the same way. "Oh that my people had hearkened unto me!" (Psalm 81:13)

Interesting Reading:

Enemies of the Character of God
The Importance of Christian Character
Why Pray?