As we study the numerous and specific laws of an Old Testament society I can't help but consider the laws of our current society (or should I say the lack thereof).
We read through Deuteronomy and Numbers through the lens of an "over-lawed" generation. To us laws seem unnecessary and pushy and are all together to much related to the dislike of authority we have all come to hold dear. We forget that in the time of Moses what we would consider common decency was not part of the cultural conversation. In the society we live in today moral codes can seem almost inborn when in fact they are but tiny pieces of an overall structured and unchanging puzzle we like to think of as postmodern society.
I propose that we have built a house of cards and that what seems to be a well run law abiding society is in fact riddled with chaos. Laws are not taught anymore. It is assumed that humans of the 21st century, specifically in the developed Western World, know how they should act and why they should act that way. But it seems to me that this is merely a curtain being drawn over the larger problem. In the time of Moses there were clear black and white reasons, rules, and consequences...the world we live in is gray. Each person is free to develop their own black or white and at the end of the day each person has their own set of laws.
I am a product of this society and as such I can not imagine life any other way but gray and I admit to enjoying the freedom of thought and choice that goes along with that...but I can't help but wonder if life would be much simpler if we all had the same black and white...all be it boring...laws to live by.
I ask you....what would society be today if we all lived by the same code?
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