Chapters 7 & 8

God Commands Us to Do What?! The Strange Laws of the Bible;
Is the Law Engraved in Stone? The Dynamic Nature of God's Law

Discussion Questions
What’s the weirdest thing you heard about another culture doing?  What things in the Bible strike you as especially strange?

Chapter 7 talks about Deuteronomy 25:11-12:

• “If men get into a fight with one another, and the wife of one intervenes to rescue her husband from the grip of his opponent by reaching out and seizing his genitals, you shall cut off her hand; show no pity.” (NRSV)
  

Chapter 7 explains why a biblical text would prohibit interfering with a fight in this way.  However, the end of the text still sounds brutal: “you shall cut off her hand; show no pity.”  This punishment obviously shouldn’t be carried out today.  So what do we make of it?  Does anything from chapters 6, 7, or 8 help?  Is it useful to remember that ancient Israel had neither a modern police force nor a modern prison system?

Chapter 8 talks names several essential themes in Old Testament law, especially holiness, disgust, caring for the poor, and the tabernacle.  What would it look like for one of these themes to become more central to your own faith?

Above: Moses from the Louvre's Cour Carrée (early 19th century)

A Quote to Contemplate
Motivational speaker Zig Ziglar is quoted as saying, “If God would have wanted us to live in a permissive society He would have given us Ten Suggestions and not Ten Commandments.”  Is this a useful quotation?  Do the Ten Commandments apply just to ancient Israel?  Do they also apply to the church today?  Do they apply to all of society, regardless of their faith?

Another Resource
Tidball, Derek. The Message of Holiness. The Bible Speaks Today. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 2010. (Amazon)

• This book offers a recent overview of biblical teaching on the concept of holiness.
  

Next Chapter
Click here for a companion to Chapter 9.