Chapter 7
The Law and Its Order,
Prefiguring the Righteousness of Christ

The law of God plays an important role in God's communion with Israel in Mosaic times. To begin with, in terms of sheer quantity law-like material dominates: it makes up a considerable fraction of the five Books of Moses. Moreover, the ten commandments as a heart of the law receive special attention. God spoke the ten commandments directly to all Israel from the top of Mount Sinai, in contrast to the rest of the material that the people received through Moses (Exod. 20:1-21; Deut. 4:10-13). The ten commandments alone were written directly by the finger of God on the two stone tablets that Moses received on Mount Sinai (Deut. 4:13; 10:4). In the beginning these tablets alone were deposited in the ark (Deut. 10:1-5; Exod. 25:16; 40:20). The many other instructions that God gave through Moses were also later written down and put not inside the ark but beside it (Deut. 31:24-26). The ark itself, the most central and most holy item associated with the tabernacle, is specifically designated "the ark of the testimony" (Exod. 25:22; 26:33, 34; 30:6, 26; 31:7; etc.) or "the ark of the covenant" (Num. 10:33; 14:44; etc.). In these designations it is understood that the "testimony" or "covenant" refers to the ten commandments (compare Exod. 25:21 with Deut. 10:1-5). Thus the main function of the ark is to contain the tablets of the covenant with the ten commandments written on them.

The law as the sovereign treaty of the great King

To an Israelite the basic function of God's law was clear. God's law was the treaty of God the Great King. In it he promised care and benefits for his people, and they pledged their loyalty and obedience to him. As we have seen (chapter 5), the law had some notable formal parallels with treaties and laws of Ancient Near Eastern kings.

When the ancient Hittites made treaties, they produced two copies, one for the suzerain and the other for the vassal. Corresponding to this practice God wrote the ten commandments on two tables--almost certainly two copies of the same ten commandments rather than one copy in two parts. Both copies were deposited in the tabernacle since in the case of Israel the central residence of God the suzerain was simultaneously the central point for Israel the vassal.¹

Thus the law was the instrument and expression for God's kingly rule over Israel. Such a perspective is quite compatible with what we have seen from the tabernacle. The tabernacle by imaging heavenly realities emphasizes the exalted, heavenly character of God's presence within Israel, whereas the treaty pattern emphasizes the analogy between the rule of God and the rule of human kings. But these two emphases are two sides of the same coin. The tabernacle, heavenly as it is, constantly uses analogies, both analogies with the visible heavens and analogies from the Israelites' experiences of deliverance. The presence of analogy and the fact that the tabernacle is itself a copy, not the original, bring its message down to earth. Conversely, when we start with the analogy with Hittite treaties, we must simultaneously recognize that God's kingship is the origin and pattern for all earthly kings. Hence his treaty is exalted and unique, not like that of a merely human king.

The tabernacle itself suggests a harmony between the two viewpoints because it is a replica of the heavenly palace of the great king of the universe. The ark resembles in shape the footstool of a king. The two copies of the treaty, as we have seen, are deposited in the ark. The two cherubim attached to the ark and the cherubim woven into the pattern of the curtains represent guards of God's throne room. Hence the basic imagery of the tabernacle affirms the kingship of God and puts the law in its rightful position as the treaty-deposit of the Great King.

Moreover, the insight that God is the great King of the whole universe is powerfully expressed in the tabernacle by the use of imagery from creation. The symbolism of the tabernacle combines imagery from creation and redemption. The lampstand simultaneously has a connection in two directions, with the supernatural redemptive light that God provides in the fiery cloud, and the natural creational light from the heavenly bodies. The bread of the Presence simultaneously has a connection with the supernatural redemptive manna from heaven and the natural creational supply of food that God brings about through ordinary agricultural processes. The tabernacle as a whole is simultaneously an image of the creational structure of heaven and earth and the redemptive structure of the animal sacrifices and the priesthood. All these relations are no accident. The same God is both creator and redeemer. More than that, redemption is itself a kind of new creation or re-creation. The fall damaged the whole of the lower creation. Effects flowed out from Adam who was the key representative. Appropriately, redemption repairs and overcomes this damage. Effects flow out from Christ, the representative to the whole of creation (cf. Rom. 8:22). The idea of a representative standing for a larger group runs through the entire plan. Adam as the creational son represented all his descendants. He was placed in the garden of Eden, a plot representative of all the earth. Similarly, Christ as the redeemer Son represents all those who are united to him (Rom. 8:29-34). Israel in the Old Testament typified Christ. As a redemptive son Israel was to be placed in the new garden land of Palestine, flowing with milk and honey.

The same insights are reexpressed when we look at God as the great king. At creation, the king originated his dominion by speaking words of power and order that called the world into being and gave it structure. The same king in the exodus originated a re-creative dominion over Israel (a kingdom of priests) by speaking and acting through Moses. He redeemed Israel out of Egypt and then gave the law. The law as his word of order formed Israel into a structured nation under God.

The law expresses God's rule in at least three complementary ways. First, it publishes and imposes an order, a system of regularity, righteousness, and fitness. It specifies the way life is to be lived within God's dominion and the distinctions and orders that are to be preserved. Second, it expresses the character of God and opens to Israel a personal communion with God the speaker. God's communication to Israel embodies an intimacy with Israel unlike his relation to other nations (cf. Ps. 147:19-20). Third, it expresses the awesomeness of punishments and judgments that fall on people who are disobedient and unholy, and the rewards for the obedient.

The tabernacle expresses God's rule in visible form in these same three ways, as we saw in the preceding chapter. Thus the law and the tabernacle are complementary expressions of the same basic realities about the character of God, his dominion and his fellowship with Israel. Law and tabernacle are each to be used to appreciate more deeply the meaning of the other. Each is a guide to properly understanding the other. In fact, in certain respects each is the origin of the other.

First, consider the tabernacle. The tabernacle is built according to specific law-like instructions. Law in the general sense of instruction from God makes up the key chapters Exod. 25-30 describing the design of the tabernacle. The order of the tabernacle itself is thus a replica of the order given in the designs or law set forth in Exod. 25-30. The chapters Exod. 36-39 repeat Exod. 25-30 almost exactly, in order to stress that Bezalel in constructing the tabernacle carried out God's designs exactly. In addition to all these facts, one might almost claim that the tabernacle as a whole is designed to house the law, since the copies of the law are the main things deposited in the Most Holy Place. The holiness of the tabernacle is thus in one respect a replica of the holiness of the law.

Second, consider the law. Though the ten commandments were spoken to Israel with the direct voice of God (Deut. 4:12-13), this direct communication was an exceptional procedure used to validate the mediation of Moses (Deut. 4:14; 5:28-30; Exod. 20:18-19). God indicated that as a general rule he would speak to Moses from "above the cover between the two cherubim" (Exod. 25:22; see. Exod 33:7-11). That is, God communicated the bulk of the law through the means of his symbolic presence represented in the tabernacle system. Moses heard the law spoken from the presence of God in the Most Holy Place of the tabernacle. From this point of view, the law of Moses as a whole embodies the verbal side of God's communion with Israel through the tabernacle.

This point becomes still clearer if we go beyond the tabernacle itself to consider what the tabernacle symbolizes. The tabernacle symbolizes the heavenly presence of God, the throne room of God in heaven where God sits as king (cf. Isa. 6:1-4). From God's throne come all his utterances. Hence the tabernacle symbolizes and depicts the majestic divine origin of all God's speech to human beings.

We have already seen that the tabernacle foreshadows the coming of Christ as "Immanuel," God with us. The tabernacle signifies the reconciliation and communion with God that we enjoy through Christ. The close connection between the law and the tabernacle suggests that the law must fundamentally foreshadow and signify the same realities. The law is the treaty of the great King. This great King came to reign in fullness when Christ came. Christ's own message on earth is summarized in the words, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matt. 4:17). The kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God is the saving rule of God, exercised in fulfillment of all the promises of salvation in the Old Testament. Thus the Old Testament proclamations of God the King foreshadow this final proclamation through Christ. "In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe" (Heb. 1:1-2). The Old Testament treaties or covenants made by God anticipate the great new covenant later made through Christ (2 Cor. 3:1-18).

Christ brought to fulfillment the three sides of God's rule that we have already seen. He brought to expression the order of God's life by his example, his teaching, and the teaching of the apostles sent by him. He also opened the way to a new depth of communion and personal fellowship with God as he revealed to us the very character of God. He is "the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being" (Heb. 1:3). And he made the definitive atoning sacrifice for sins when he died on the cross, thus satisfying the law's penalties for disobedience.

The law articulating God's order

The law of Moses sets forth a detailed order for Israel's existence and life. Orderliness is a characteristic of God, since he is in fact the source and creator of all the order of the universe. Any people who live in his presence as Israel did must submit to his order and reflect in their own lives the order and righteousness of God. They must be imitators of God. Their moral behavior must conform to the purity and righteousness of God. Thus the ten commandments set forth the basic features of God's moral order, an order required as part of our submission to God.

We also see the order of God reflected in a striking way in those more puzzling aspects of Mosaic law, namely the laws for diet and for cleanness and uncleanness. Many people have seen nothing but arbitrary commands in the distinctions between clean and unclean foods and in the instructions for cleansing from ceremonial defilements. But a closer look at these commands shows their inner rationale.

To begin to understand the special distinctions between clean and unclean, we must keep clearly before us two basic facts. First, God as the creator of the universe is the origin, standard, and life-giving creator of all order in the universe. God by creating the separations between heaven and earth, sea and dry land, divided the universe into "rooms," analogous to the separations within the tabernacle. God also populated the universe with plants and animals that reproduce "according to their kinds" (Gen. 1:11-12, etc.). Thus he produced an order among living things, and gave to those living things a limited ability to spawn further production of order as they reproduce other living things having the same orderly pattern. Human beings as the crown of creation embody the order of God in a most special way. Of course, like the animals they have capability of reproducing further order according to their kind. But in addition they are made "in the image of God" (Gen. 1:26). In a special way they replicate on earth the order of God their designer. They are the unique representatives of God on earth. The unique ability of human beings to know God, to respond actively to him, to use language, to think, to exercise dominion over the lower creation--all these things imitate God's original knowledge, language, thought, and dominion, and contribute to human ability actively to represent God's presence on earth.

Second, the original created order of God described in Gen. 1-2 has been disrupted by the fall. In God's acts of salvation he undertakes to restore and advance his order. Salvation thus takes the form of renewal or re-creation. We see hints of this language in the Old Testament (e.g., Isa. 65:17), but the fuller realization comes in the New Testament. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Cor. 5:17). The Old Testament naturally represents this renewal not in its final form but by way of foreshadowing. The land of Palestine is a kind of new Eden; but of course in many respects it remains a land like all other lands, and becomes subject to curse when the people of Israel disobey God. The people of Israel themselves are a kind of small-scale version of a renewed humanity; but their disobedience shows how they fall short.

The laws for cleanness and uncleanness fit into this picture in a natural way. They signify and foreshadow the way in which God cleanses sin. They show that a renewed or recreated people are characterized by renewed behavior, behavior conforming to God's order and separating them from sin. A close look at the classification of things into categories of holy, clean, and unclean shows a pattern of order.² God the ultimate creator of order is supremely holy. He is the origin of life with its order-producing potential. By contrast, death is associated with sin and disorder. Hence things associated with death or producing disorder are unclean. Created things that are closely associated to God or the initiation of life are counted holy. Thus the tabernacle as the center of order is holy. The first-born human being or animal is holy and belongs to God in a special way.

Dead bodies are unclean both because of the immediate connection with death and because they degrade the order of living things back to the relative disorder of the nonliving earth. Birds that feed on carrion (dead bodies) are unclean. Things that are somehow defective or deviate from a paradigmatic order are also unclean. Fish with scales are the paradigmatic form of water creature; hence all water creatures without scales or fins are deviant and unclean. Animals with "real" legs functioning in a familiar way are normal; but all kinds of crawling animals and insects are unclean. Grasshoppers and other hopping insects with "normal" legs are clean. Defective animals, with disease or an injured part, are not acceptable for sacrifice, even though they are not literally unclean. Animals that chew the cud and have parted hoofs are regarded as normal, possibly because these are the most common herd animals; but animals that do not have these two key features deviate from the norm and are reckoned as unclean.

It may be that the classifications are also related to the curse in Genesis 3.³ In Genesis 3 the snake and the ground are cursed because of sin. Hence all the things that creep on the ground like a snake are unclean (Lev. 11:41-45). Animals that have no hooves but walk in direct contact with the ground are also unclean (Lev. 11:27). Animals that part the hoof and chew their cud are clean (Lev. 11:3). Possibly chewing the cud suggests a greater separation in taking in the food that comes from the ground, and the cloven hoof suggests a greater separation with respect to contact with the ground.

We do not know for certain which kind of connection may have been uppermost in the mind of an Israelite. But in a sense it does not matter. The two themes--the theme of order and the theme of separation from death and the curse--are in fact complementary, since death and the curse bring disorder and frustration.

Mixtures are usually regarded as deviant, though in some cases (e.g. the special fragrant incense and the priestly garments) they are holy. Thus Israelites are told not to mix two kinds of seed in sowing a field, and not to mix two kinds of cloth in a garment (Lev. 19:19).

A spreading skin disease makes a person unclean because it is producing disorder. ⁴ When the disease has covered the whole body, it is no longer producing more disorder and the person can be pronounced clean (Lev. 13:12-13). Spreading mildew in a house is creating disorder in the house and makes the house unclean (Lev. 14:33-53). Any abnormal bodily discharge is creating disorder and makes the person unclean (Lev. 15:1-33).

In the light of modern medical knowledge we can appreciate the hygienic value of some of these laws. The instructions concerning infectious skin disease are similar to modern quarantine procedures, while the prohibitions with respect to dead bodies, carrion birds, and pigs guard the people from sicknesses transmitted through contaminated food. God promised to deliver the people from "every disease," especially "the horrible diseases you knew in Egypt" (Deut. 7:15). Doubtless God fulfilled his promises partly through the natural means involved in the dietary and quarantine procedures, though he was also free to employ special supernatural protection when appropriate. When the people disobeyed, they would experience the diseases of Egypt as part of God's curse (Deut. 28:60-61).

Yet our modern medical knowledge must not become the most basic framework through which we read the Old Testament laws. Their own context says nothing about hygiene but stresses the need of Israel to "be holy, because I, the LORD your God, am holy" (Lev. 19:2). The entire system is a pervasive expression of the orderliness and separation required of a people who have fellowship with God the Holy One, the creator of all order. As Gordon Wenham says, "Theology, not hygiene, is the reason for this provision." ⁵

The law expressing the way of life

The theme of order is closely related to the theme of life. God is the source of both order and life. In creation God not only brings order out of chaos but life out of nonlife. The world is created not only to express the order and beauty of God, but to serve as a suitable arena for human life. The disorderly watery chaos of Gen. 1:2 cannot sustain life, and a return to watery chaos in Noah's flood extinguishes life. Moreover, the life of both plants and animals manifests itself preeminently in their powers of reproduction, which enable them to replicate order "according to their kind."

The fall exhibits the stark contrast between life and death. God is the source of life, and disobedience to him fittingly results in death (Gen. 2:17). Life means first of all spiritual life, real life in communion with God. On the day when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, they died in a real and spiritual sense. But physical death is a fitting concomitant to this deeper spiritual death. Because human beings have renounced and destroyed their true life with God, their own physical life is in turn destroyed. Physical death is thus simultaneously a punishment and a symbol of deeper spiritual loss.

In the Exodus God gives Israel new life. They are redeemed not only from the physical oppression of Egyptian slavery but the spiritual bondage and deceit involved in worship of the Egyptian gods. God commands them to worship himself alone as their true life (Exod. 20:2-3). Accordingly, the law in its total scope sets forth the way of life. True life comes from God and involves fellowship with him. If the Israelites obey the commandments, they will live (Lev. 18:5; Deut. 28:1-14), and if they disobey they will die (Exod. 19:21-22; 32:9-10; Deut. 6:15; 28:15-68). The ten commandments embody the core of this life. They express what true life is like in our relations directly to God (primarily commandments 1-4) and in our relations to fellow human beings (primarily commands 5-10).

The laws concerning clean and unclean also embody the themes of life and death, often on an indirect, symbolic plane. Contact with the dead body of a human being is of course direct contact with human death, the primary curse of the fall. It creates maximum defilement, requiring seven days for cleansing (Num. 19:11-19). An animal that has died by itself is a more distant mirror of the curse of death; accordingly, it requires only part of one day to become clean again (Lev. 11:24-40). Creatures that crawl on the ground are indirectly associated with the curse on the ground and the curse on the serpent. Hence they are unclean and unsuitable for food (Lev. 11:41-45).

All the things described in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 are unclean for Israel. But Deut. 14:21 explicitly allows Israelites to sell carcasses to aliens and foreigners. What is prohibited to Israel is not prohibited to others. Rather, the prohibition rests on the fact that "you [Israelites] are a holy people to the LORD your God" (Deut. 14:21). The world has been contaminated with curse and uncleanness originating in the fall. The Gentile nations participate in this uncleanness through their contact with unclean animals. But such uncleanness is not in itself sin. It is merely symbolic of sin. And separation from uncleanness accompanies symbolic holiness. Israel alone is required to observe a special ceremonial cleanness, because they are the holy people. Their special access to God makes it necessary for them to maintain special distance from the fall and its curse. At the same time, all these special observances serve to reinforce their consciousness of being a unique nation. They are thereby reminded not to participate in the idolatry and moral corruption of the surrounding nations.

New Testament application of laws of cleanliness

In the light of the New Testament we know that the distinctions between clean and unclean were temporary in nature. Jesus' teaching while he was on earth already pointed to the fact that all foods were to be reckoned clean (Mark 7:19). The Apostle Paul explicitly confirms this teaching (Col 2:20-23; 1 Tim 4:3-5). Thus on the level of literal observance the Old Testament foods laws are obsolete.

But such laws still have their symbolic value. The general principle of separation from what is unclean is still valid. For example, Paul counsels us not to compromise with unbelief or commit ourselves to unnatural alliances with unbelievers:

Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? . . . As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people." "Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you." (2 Cor 6:14-17)

In v. 17 Paul invokes the Old Testament prohibition against touching unclean things in order to reinforce the general principle of separation from sinfulness.

Paul's use of the Old Testament here is quite in line with its real meaning. The disorders of unclean things in the Old Testament symbolically indicate the disorders of sin itself, which is the root of uncleanness. Israel's separation from unclean foods also proclaims its obligation to be a uniquely holy nation, a kingdom of priests. In the Old Testament the principles of holiness and separation were temporarily expressed on a symbolic, physical level in the distinction between clean and unclean foods. Such a symbolic distinction was appropriate during the time when salvation as a whole was expressed in a symbolic and shadowy form. Salvation had not yet come in its definitive and final form, namely, Christ himself and his sacrifice on the cross. The sacrifices of the Old Testament cleansed copies and shadows of heavenly things, but they did not permanently cleanse the heart. The earth itself and all its creatures had not been cleansed definitively through the power of Christ's blood.

Hence it was appropriate that the need for cleansing the heart be expressed in external ways through food distinctions. It was appropriate also that these distinctions be related to separation from the curse of Gen. 3. Thus these distinctions foreshadow the need for a recreative work of God that will affect the curse on the lower creation.

The orderliness of the distinction between clean and unclean, and the rejection of the disorder of unclean things, signify beforehand the comprehensive character of the order of Jesus Christ, King of kings and Lord of lords, who rules all things (Heb. 1:3) and to whom all authorities in heaven and on earth are subject (Eph. 1:21). All order in the original creation derives from him who is the Word of God and the wisdom of God (John 1:1; Col. 2:3). The distinction between life and death in Old Testament cleanliness laws signifies that Jesus Christ is the originator of life and the overcomer of death.

Now in the time of fulfillment in the New Testament we see clearly the meaning to which these distinctions pointed. Sin and righteousness are shown forth fully in the cross. Life and death are shown fully in Christ's death and resurrection. All foods are cleansed by the word of God and by prayer now offered in the name and power of Christ (1 Tim. 4:1-5).

Order in personal relationships: the ten commandments

How do the ten commandments more specifically embody God's order and God's life? The ten commandments make up the heart of the Mosaic law. Fittingly, they focus on permanent obligations for personal relationships rather than on temporary obligations concerning the distinction between clean and unclean. But they reflect the same pervasive themes of divine order and divine life.

The first three commandments deal focally with responsibilities in the relationship between God and human beings. The holiness and order of God must be properly reflected in the very character of our relations to him. True life is expressed only in service to him. First and foremost, as the first commandment insists (Exod. 20:3), God must be acknowledged as the sole Lord, the sole creator and originator of order. Any competition with another supposed source introduces a most fundamental confusion and disorder and leads to spiritual death. In the first sin Adam and Eve listened to a competitive source, the deceit of the serpent. They ended by virtually setting themselves up as judges of right and wrong. They aspired to be prime sources rather than grateful receivers of God's order. Every sin has this same character at its root. Sin is always a kind of idolatry and destructive confusing of order at the most fundamental level, namely confusing who God is as the standard of all earthly order.

With Reformed and Greek Orthodox interpreters I maintain that the second commandment begins with Exod. 20:4 and discusses the question of making images for worship. ⁶ It goes beyond the first commandment by forbidding not only the worship of false gods but the pretended worship of the true God through making an image of him. Not only is the attempt to make an image of God principially inappropriate, but it misses the fundamental character of the revelation at Mount Sinai, a revelation where no image appeared (Deut. 4:15-20). Worship of God must conform to the order of God's own revelation, not only in the general sense that it follows the way that God commands, but more particularly in the sense that it harmonizes with the character of God. The character of God is expressed in the fact that he reveals himself apart from any permanent, reproducible image. So his worshipers must not make an image for themselves.

The third commandment, Exod. 20:7, enjoins us to protect the holiness that marks God's name, that is, the revelation of his character. This commandment is one instance of the preservation of distinctions between holy and unholy.

The fourth commandment, Exod. 20:8-11, has a special character. It undoubtedly focuses on human relation to God, not on fellow human beings. Yet it involves a creational pattern as well, namely the pattern of succession of days. Therefore it is not quite so direct an expression of the orderliness of God's character as are the first three commandments. As we shall see, it forms a kind of mediating point between the commandments concerning God and those concerning one's neighbor. For the moment, it is sufficient for us to observe the way in which it expresses a pattern of divine order. Human beings made in the image of God are to replicate God's order of work and rest in creation. They are to preserve a distinction between holy and unholy by distinguishing in their activity between the holiness of the sabbath and the common character of the other days of the week.

The fifth commandment, Exod. 20:12, concerning honoring parents, is the first commandment dealing primarily with our responsibilities to other human beings. Some have argued that this commandment still expresses responsibility to God, since human authorities like parents represent the authority of God within a limited sphere. Certainly it is appropriate for the first commandment concerning other human beings to involve a unique relation to divine authority as a background element. Nevertheless, if we bear in mind what would be most obvious to an Israelite, this commandment belongs first of all with those involving responsibility to human beings.

The divine orderliness is expressed in this commandment in terms of preserving the created structure of the family and the orderly authority that it embodies. The family is also the proper place for the production of new life, in the form of offspring. Hence the protection of the family is a preeminent form of honoring human life, life derived from God. In addition, because parents had a key responsibility for teaching their children about God and his law (Deut. 6:6-9), the parents represent the primary channel through which knowledge of and conformity to the divine order is passed on and preserved for the next generation. An attack on the authority of parents is most grievous because it threatens the most precious heritage of Israel, its knowledge of God, and thereby also threatens possession of the blessings flowing from this knowledge ("that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you").

The sixth commandment enjoins the preservation of human life itself, and the orderliness expressed in life. Human beings created in the image of God replicate on earth in their own persons a special form of divine order on earth. Their degradation into the disorder of death is a most serious disruption of divine order.

The seventh commandment enjoins orderliness in human sexuality. Since human sexuality is closely related to the creation of new life and new order in human reproduction, the preservation of orderly sexuality is a natural consequence of the call to holiness.

The eighth commandment enjoins the orderliness in human property. Theft violently disorders the relations of human ownership. Since human ownership is closely related to the dominion that human beings have been given, which in turn imitates God's dominion over the world, preservation of orderly ownership is a reflection of the order of God's rule over the world. In addition, property is an important support for sustaining and enhancing human life. The destruction or expropriation of property is therefore an indirect attack on the human life supported by it.

The ninth commandment enjoins orderliness in human speech. Lying speech used as a weapon against other human beings perverts the natural function of human speech, namely to be an instrument of fellowship and dominion. Truthful human speech imitates the truthfulness and righteousness of God's speech and God's law.

The tenth commandment enjoins orderliness in the desires of human beings and in their hearts. Jesus pointed out that the overt actions violating the other commandments all originate in the heart of men (Mark 7:20-23). Disorderliness of the heart generates disorderliness in action.

Because human beings are made in the image of God and are called on to imitate God, we can also see various relations of analogy between the first four commandments and the last six, that is, analogies between responsibilities to God and responsibilities to other human beings. For example, in honoring our parents we ought to imitate the honor that is due to our heavenly Father (Mal. 1:6). Similarly, in not killing but protecting human life in the image of God, we ought to imitate the practice of loving God and protecting his honor. The practice of not committing adultery but enhancing the order of marriage ought to imitate Israel's responsibility to be the faithful "wife" of God and not to prostitute herself with other gods (see Ezek. 16; 23). The practice of not stealing but protecting human property ought to imitate the practice of dealing responsibly with God's property, that is, everything that we receive from God (cf. Mal. 3:8-11). In not bearing false witness but speaking truthfully we ought to imitate the truth of God's speech. Our desire for the neighbor's good and not covetousness ought to imitate God's goodness, his love, and the purity of his own purposes.

The relation between the tabernacle and the law is further cemented by a certain amount of common order even in their arrangements. Recall that the ten commandments are placed in the ark within the most holy place (Deut. 10:1-5). In the spatial arrangements of the tabernacle we have already seen a pervasive theme of replication. The holy place in its shape and furniture imperfectly replicates the most holy place. The priestly garments suggest that Aaron replicates the tabernacle as a whole. And so on. Within this context it is not unnatural to notice that the number of the commandments, ten, is replicated in the dimensions of the most holy place. The context already suggests the idea of replication. Moreover, the tabernacle as a whole is made after a heavenly pattern, the same as the origin of the ten commandments (Exod 25:9, 40). The form of the tabernacle must conform exactly to the verbal instructions of God (a kind of law) specifying its plan.

Next, notice that the order of the ten commandments suggests a transition from heaven to earth, just as does the order of the tabernacle from inside to outside. The first three commandments deal with heavenly order, that is, responsibilities to God. The first commandment expresses the same message as the singleness of the tabernacle, of the ark, and of the throne of God, namely that there is only one true God. The second commandments expresses the reality of the single way to God represented by the tabernacle. In particular, it expresses the fact that no image appears between the two cherubim over the ark. No Israelite is to make an image for any other dwelling place, in conformity with the fact that the central dwelling place in Israel, the tabernacle, has no image of God within it.

The third commandment enjoining honor of the name of God is a verbal counterpart to the practice of honoring the place of God. God's dwelling place is the place where he has put his name (1 Kings 8:29). Just as the name of God is the verbal expression of his character and his attributes, the tabernacle is the visible expression.

The fourth commandment corresponds to the transition from heaven to earth. That is, it enjoins sabbath observance as first of all a responsibility to God, and in this sense involves heavenly responsibility. But it also involves responsibilities downward to other human beings, sons, daughters, servants, aliens and even animals (Exod. 20:10). Because it involves observance of a periodic seven-day pattern, and because the pattern of day and night is controlled by the heavenly bodies (Gen. 1:14), it also reminds us of Israel's relation to the visible heavens as the good creation of God. Thus it corresponds in some ways to the holy place, where the seven lamps corresponds to the light of seven days of the week. It forms a transition between the invisible heavens of the most holy place and the earthly space of the tabernacle courtyard.

With the fifth commandment, then, we move out into the courtyard, as it were, and into the domain of responsibilities to other human beings. But fittingly the first responsibility mentioned is that of honor to human representatives, to those in authority, who still in some pronounced way represent God. The priests who minister in the courtyard of the tabernacle embody this same representative function in their own priestly way.

The sixth through the tenth commandments discuss various "horizontal" responsibilities, so it need not be the case that there is any order in them. But still some degree of order seems to be observable. Violations that cause more overt damage and are difficult or impossible to repair come first, followed by violations involving less serious disruption of the environment. Last comes the commandment concerning covetousness, a sin that though very serious does not overtly disrupt the environment around a person. We might also argue that the commandments start with the most elementary and basic responsibilities and move out to more complex responsibilities. Thus the sixth commandment enjoins the responsibility to preserve human life itself. This responsibility is most basic and all the other human responsibilities make no sense without it. Following this commandment comes one affecting our most intimate and basic relations, namely sexual relations. Then two others touch first on the tangible possessions of neighbors, then on the intangibles, namely their reputation and legal security. The commandment concerning covetousness is the most complex and most intangible, because it involves direct assessment of motives.

In fact, all the commandments reflect the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the true God and as such is himself the divine standard that we are called on to imitate. Jesus Christ is also true man and as such was perfectly obedient to God. He perfectly reflected God's standard in human life. He alone of all human beings consistently and thoroughly served God and no idol. He alone kept pure the proper way of worshiping God, following God's own commandments. He alone perfectly honored the name of God by perfectly revealing God in human form. He alone perfectly kept the sabbath by accomplishing the recreation of the world, the purpose to which the sabbath pointed forward. He alone perfectly honored not only his human parents (Luke 2:51) but his Father in heaven. He alone single-minded sought and perfectly embodied the divine ordering and not the disordering of human life, sexuality, possessions, speech, and desires of the heart. All his achievements came to a climax on the cross. In obedience to God the Father he surrendered to destruction and death his human authority, his life, his sexuality, his possessions, his power of speech, and his heart, in order that the Father would be obeyed and honored, and the disorders and death of humanity and creation be remedied.

Thus Jesus Christ perfectly kept the law, perfectly embodied it, and perfectly exemplified it. The mystery and wonder of his work is even greater than what we can express. Christ's work does not come as an afterthought appended to an already self-existing, self-sufficient law. The law of the Old Testament is not a mere datum or a mere code book, but the personal word of the great King of the universe. And who is this King? From eternity to eternity the Word was with God and was God (John 1:1). The King is the trinitarian God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God the Son was always at work from the beginning. The law of Moses is a reflection and foreshadowing of the absolute perfection and righteousness of Christ, rather than Christ being a reflection of the law. This conclusion confirms what we have already seen through the tabernacle. Both tabernacle and law express in complementary ways the communion with God that achieves full expression only through the coming of Christ and his uniting himself to us by faith.