Law was an impossible system to keep

[mfblume]

Originally Posted by Aquila

I don't know if this is even relevant to this conversation, but as I was reading posts I remembered a conversation I had with a rabbi (half of my ex-wife's family was Jewish). This rabbi said that he didn't believe that the Law was designed to be kept literally. He said it was a two edged sword. I questioned what he meant by that, and he took the law on adultery as an example. He said how the Law required adulterers to be stoned. He said that the Law condemns the adultery and expresses that the adulterers are worthy of death by demanding death. However, it also judges the heart of the one who would take up stones against them. The heart that could actually stone them, is a murderous heart, even though they are fulfilling the Law to the very letter. However, the heart that looks at the Law's demand, yet finds it impossible to do out of compassion, that person's heart is right before God....even though they refused to follow the Law's demand. It's almost as though the Law is saying, "See them? Their guilty! Worthy of death, kill them! Kill them! Kill them now!" The heart that drops the stone and says, "I can't.", that heart is righteous.

Now, I'm not sure about every nuance of that take on it. But it did remind me of how Jesus dealt with the adulterous woman brought before him who was caught in the act of adultery.

I don't know if this post even fits with this topic. But it was a memory that just came back to me as I was reading.

Could very well explain a lot of things about this issue.

[aegsm76]

Originally Posted by Aquila

I don't know if this is even relevant to this conversation, but as I was reading posts I remembered a conversation I had with a rabbi (half of my ex-wife's family was Jewish). This rabbi said that he didn't believe that the Law was designed to be kept literally. He said it was a two edged sword. I questioned what he meant by that, and he took the law on adultery as an example. He said how the Law required adulterers to be stoned. He said that the Law condemns the adultery and expresses that the adulterers are worthy of death by demanding death. However, it also judges the heart of the one who would take up stones against them. The heart that could actually stone them, is a murderous heart, even though they are fulfilling the Law to the very letter. However, the heart that looks at the Law's demand, yet finds it impossible to do out of compassion, that person's heart is right before God....even though they refused to follow the Law's demand. It's almost as though the Law is saying, "See them? Their guilty! Worthy of death, kill them! Kill them! Kill them now!" The heart that drops the stone and says, "I can't.", that heart is righteous.

Now, I'm not sure about every nuance of that take on it. But it did remind me of how Jesus dealt with the adulterous woman brought before him who was caught in the act of adultery.

I don't know if this post even fits with this topic. But it was a memory that just came back to me as I was reading.

Interesting thought.
I need to do some study on this thought.
My initial reaction is that this is a Jewish thought on the law, converted to modern times.
The Jews in Jesus day were prepared to stone the woman, so that "thought" did not apply at that time.

[Aquila]

Originally Posted by aegsm76

Interesting thought.
I need to do some study on this thought.
My initial reaction is that this is a Jewish thought on the law, converted to modern times.
The Jews in Jesus day were prepared to stone the woman, so that "thought" did not apply at that time.

We know that the Pharisees and Sadducees might have certainly been prepared to stone the woman. However, other Jewish sects may not have (Essenes, etc.).

[Esaias]

Originally Posted by Aquila

We know that the Pharisees and Sadducees might have certainly been prepared to stone the woman. However, other Jewish sects may not have (Essenes, etc.).

About those Essenes:

"The Essenes had strict discipline. Those caught in grave faults would be expelled from the camp, often dying of starvation. The community took many of them back at their last gasp, believing that they had suffered for the expiation of their sins. But their judgments were exact and impartial; their decisions irrevocable.37 Some of their laws were very detailed. For example, one could not spit in the middle of the company on the Sabbath day. Another more superstitious law related to this is that no one could spit to the right.38 With the Essenes the Sabbath day was more rigorously kept than with any other group--one could not even go to stool."

from https://bible.org/seriespage/4-essenes