September 23 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

If we take careful note of the time the law was given, we will also learn what purpose the law is supposed to fulfill in the lives of the redeemed.

The law serves its purpose between the exodus and the promised land. Israel is now in the desert, at the foot of Mount Sinai. The exodus is behind them. They have been redeemed. They were delivered from the house of bondage not by keeping the commandments but by God's grace and might. God took pity on them. They owe their freedom not to their own works but to God's love. Their salvation was the work of God.

Now they are in the desert through which they have to travel to reach their destination. At this point they receive the law as a road map and a guide for the lives of a redeemed people. This law is the covenant pact with their Redeemer. These are the rules for God's people in their part­nership with their Lord.

So it follows that the law is never a way of salvation. Yet it's almost impossible to get rid of the human tendency to regard the law as a way of salvation.

The Israelites regarded the possession of the law—or the keeping of the law—as the means by which they would obtain righteousness. Ever since the apostle Paul's letters, all preachers of the gospel must spend a great deal of time explaining that the law is not a way of salvation and that it is not abolished.

The exodus is the salvation. And that mighty act is entirely a work of God. The law spells out the way of obedience. It explains how a redeemed people should now live in gratitude to their Redeemer.

Later, in the New Testament, the meaning of the law is deepened, and the power to keep the law is revealed. But the function of the law is unchanged: by obedience to God's law, God's people honor the God of the exodus.

REFLECTIONS

How does God's law act "as a roadmap and a guide" for your life?

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published by Paideia Press in 1977. This updated edition is copyright 2009 by Faith Alive Christian Resources. You can order a copy of this revised version of the book directly from the publisher.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this updated edition of Daylight are from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version copyright 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society.