April 24

“And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” —EZEKIEL 36:27

The law of God has a very interesting history in Scripture. When God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses, it was the only part of biblical text written by the finger of God Himself. The rest of Scripture was written by men carried along by the Holy Spirit, but the law of God came down from Mount Sinai with the highest pedigree possible.

The historical books of the Old Testament record the law as the plumb line for measuring human behaviour. The poetic books meditate on the law. The prophetic books preach the law, and when you get to the end of the Old Testament, the law is still in a highly esteemed position. When Jesus came on the scene, He affirmed the law. It remains fully intact until you get into the epistles of Paul where it suddenly becomes a harsh word with negative connotations. Galatians 3:10 says, “All who rely on observing the law are under a curse…” And verse 13 says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law...” The law that came from God and highly regarded for generations has now become our jailor and oppressor.

This change in perspective was not because of any problem with the law, for the law is a revelation of the moral character of God, and God does not change. The problem was that the law was given to Moses on tablets of stone and was externally applied. It could demand righteousness, but could never accomplish it. All the law could do was house train people. This is actually the opposite of faith. It’s the enemy of truth in the sense that it is the jailor that imprisons us.

The New Covenant which Ezekiel writes about does not impose a law from the outside, but places the law of God on the inside. It is no longer a response to what we will do, but what God will do. Not only is there a high priest in Jesus Christ operating for us, but there is also a new power operating in us by the Holy Spirit. It’s exactly the same law, but based on different locations. The difference between the Old and New Covenants is that in the Old Covenant, the onus was on the people to keep the laws, but under the New Covenant, God says, “I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” The onus is now on God. The first indication that God has placed His Spirit in us is that He imparts a hunger and thirst for righteousness, which is what gives us the desire to keep His law.

PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for indwelling me and giving me the desire for a godly life. Help me to fulfill that more each day. 

TO REFLECT UPON: In what ways has a hunger and thirst for righteousness changed my life?