Moses is the towering figure of the Old Testament. No one comes even close to Moses in his importance for the Old Testament faith and the people of Israel. In a sense, Moses had three callings on his life. The first was to speak God word to the people. The second calling was to deliver the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and to lead them to the Promised Land.

The third calling on Moses’ life is our focus today. It is something that he is known for almost as much as delivering the Israelites from slavery. It is that Moses is the great law giver. It was through Moses that God gave the Ten Commandments, 613 additional laws, and renewed God’s covenant with ancient Israel in which he would be their God, and they would be his people.

In this service, we will focus on Moses as the law giver and particularly on the law that God gave to him. We will try to understand the relationship between the Christian faith, our lives as Christians, and the Law of Moses. We will look at the Law of Moses as it pertains to a just society, to public health, and to religion. We will consider how the Law of Moses should be understood in the 21st century in three ways.

1. The Law’s harsh consequences
2. Rule-based vs. Faith-based Religion
3. The Letter of the Law vs. The Intent
of the Law