How Things Work: A Brief History of Reality
BOOK II: The Power of Three (Science & Religion) – Consideration #92. "Moses and The Law"
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Tuesday July 18, 2023
The fundamental basis of this Nation's law was given to Moses on the Mount. The fundamental basis of our Bill of Rights comes from the teachings which we get from Exodus and St. Matthew, from Isaiah and St. Paul.
– Harry S. Truman
PREFACE
Welcome Everybody!
It was becoming apparent that God continually interacting with His people through Moses was not a long-term strategy, for either God, Moses, or the people. The Israelites being stubborn, impatient, and somewhat indolent, essentially representing all human beings, needed clear, concise, and authoritative guidance and guidelines if they were to grow into the “righteous” people God had intended. To accomplish this, God would personally provide the Israelites with The Law they were to follow, including The Ten Commandments.
God’s deliverance of ‘The Law’ becomes a clear demarcation in the relationship between God and ‘Mankind’…”
From a Biblical perspective, God’s deliverance of “The Law” becomes a clear demarcation in the relationship between God and “Mankind,” the Israelites in particular. In the Garden of Eden there was no Law; because human beings were unified by the “grace of God.” However, dualism shatters this unity and human beings begin to continually choose evil as opposed to good. God determines “He” cannot “live” or “coexist” with human beings any longer, and therefore gives them “The Law” as a blueprint for “righteous behavior.” Essentially, The Law replaces God’s “direct presence” in the empirical world.
With the establishment of The Law, God no longer interacts directly with human beings other than through “the prophets.” Until the New Testament.
CONSIDERATION #92 – Moses and the Law
In Judaism, “the law” is the essence of how they practice their faith. More than just the Ten Commandments, it encompasses all aspects of everyday Jewish life from how food must be prepared to who pays for a donkey that falls into a hole that wasn’t filled in properly. Much of “the law” is about the details of everyday living during the time period in which they lived. Often, when we read about laws related to that time, “fair treatment of slaves,” for example, we are offended.
“The goal of interacting with human beings was to help them build a better world.”
However, God talking about the moral treatment of slaves in no way suggests that God approves, or is in favor, of slavery. It is about treating all human beings as human beings. God was dealing with life on earth at an extremely base and brutal time which “He” described as “wickedness.” A state of “Nature” that Hobbes would later describe as “A war of all against all.”
At that time everyone on earth was involved in some kind of depravity, including slavery. The goal of interacting with human beings was to help them build a better world. This was just the beginning. The purpose of “the law” was to move people from their baser, animal, behavior to a more spiritual “righteous” behavior that would make them better people and the world a better place.
“Treating slaves fairly, like human beings, is the first step in understanding the immorality of slavery.”
Therefore, rules that appear cruel by today’s standards, must be understood in the context of their time. Treating slaves fairly, like human beings, is the first step in understanding the immorality of slavery. Logically, the more you treat someone as a human being, the more you recognize the self-evident truth that they should not be a slave in the first place.
There were also laws limiting how long a person could actually be held as a slave, generally six years, unless the servant voluntarily chose to go through a process allowing for lifelong servitude. While abhorrent by our current standards, these were benevolent propositions for their time.
“The essential idea behind The Law was to ‘condition’ human beings into ‘righteous’ behavior through consistent practice and policy.”
There are longer term goals embedded within the law that may not be obvious at first glance. The essential idea behind The Law was to “condition” human beings into “righteous” behavior through consistent practice and policy. Remember, that the main idea of the entire story of Exodus is to free the Israelites from bondage.
We have grown and learned a lot over the last four thousand years, hopefully. History is about context. Try not to let your mind become imprisoned by the context of the present when considering the reality of the past.
“The Ten Commandments would become the foundation for the entire Western system of law.”
Penalties for breaking “The Law” were severe, including death. These “Jewish Laws” were only for the Jewish community. However, The Ten Commandments would become the foundation for the entire Western system of law. These laws were not about daily chores, or the capricious inclinations of a human ruler such as a monarch. These laws were the eternal laws of God, and they were to be applied equally to all human beings. Everyone knew the rules, and everyone would be held equally accountable under them.
“King Solomon builds the original temple in Jerusalem for the purpose of housing the Ark of the Covenant…”
God tells Moses to create a special “ark” to hold the stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments that He has given them. He includes a very detailed set of instructions for what would become one of the greatest religious relics of all time, the Ark of the Covenant.
What the ark really was, is unknown. However, it did more than just hold the Ten Commandments. It was reported to have had incredible power and was used to defeat the enemies of Israel in war. In the First Book of Kings, King Solomon builds the original temple in Jerusalem for the purpose of housing the Ark of the Covenant in approximately 970-930 B.C.E.
However, it mysteriously went missing from the temple, and the truth of what happened to it, and where it went, is the source of many myths and legends.
POSTSCRIPT
Exodus 19:1-8
Once again God makes a covenant with His people, and once again they fall short.
On the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt—on that very day—they came to the Desert of Sinai. After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain.
Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, “This is what you are to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel… Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”
So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the Lord had commanded him to speak. The people all responded together, “We will do everything the Lord has said.” So Moses brought their answer back to the Lord.
When Moses goes to the top of Mt. Sinai to “talk” with God and receive “the law” the Israelites become bored and restless. They revert back to their pagan ways by creating and worshiping a golden calf. Immediately breaking the first, and second, commandments. Moses becomes so angry he smashes the tablets holding The Law that God had just manifested. God becomes so angry; he decides to wipe out the Israelites.
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”
“I have seen these people,” the Lord said to Moses, “and they are a stiff-necked people. Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them...”
Exodus 32:7-10
However, Moses reasons with God on behalf of the Israelites, reminding Him of His promise to Abraham.
“Lord,” he said, “why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’?
Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’”
Then the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.
Exodus 32:11-14
This serves as direct evidence that God is reasonable. Human beings can reason with God. He is not arbitrary in His actions or intentions. However, God would no longer reside with the Israelites. Partly out of a fear that they would eventually anger Him to the point that He would destroy them.
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way.”
Exodus 33: 1-3
Originally, God had hoped to reside with His people in the Promised Land as their living God. However, their evil nature was too great. God could not abide with them any longer. It was too dangerous for them.
No more would He communicate directly with His people; although He would provide kings and prophets to help them along the way. However, He had fulfilled His covenant with Abraham, and the Israelites now had The Law to help them become a more righteous people. Also, God had come to respect Moses.
Next week we will consider the original model and foundation for Western Law, the Ten Commandments…
This Week on “The Thread”…
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•Untangling the Knots of Reality: Online Video Preview – “Untangling the Garden of Eden.” (“As mythology, the Garden of Eden story utilizes archetypes and metaphors to explain why human beings are different from other animals on earth. It establishes that after obtaining the ability to distinguish opposites, such as good and evil, human beings became more like the Divine, or God. What makes human beings “God-like” is their ability to use reason as a way of understanding how things work. This same reason also gives them the God-like power of Creation, resulting in art, architecture, music, storytelling, and more…
As a religious narrative, the Garden of Eden is not a stand-alone story. It is the opening act of a much larger narrative called the Bible. It not only explains why, and how, human beings became separated from the Unity of God; it also sets up God’s Divine Solution for repairing the relationship…”)
• “Reality by a Thread” Discussion Thread: BOOK VI PREVIEW (The Rational Being) – “Understanding The Rational Being” (“There are three key essential elements that make up what we once called “computers,” that can now be more appropriately considered to be “digital intelligence,” and which today is commonly referred to as Artificial Intelligence. All “intelligence,” even Artificial Intelligence, needs to be trained, or “educated.” The essence of what I call “The Rational Being” is a combination of the following three critical constituents: input, algorithms, and training computation...”)
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Podcast #4 – Untangling The Physical World
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Podcast #7 – Untangling Zen & the Shaolin Temple
Podcast #8 – Untangling the Mystery of Taoism
Podcast #9 – Untangling The Noble Eightfold Path
Podcast #10 – Untangling Plato's Realm of Forms
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