How should Christians think about certain “unpleasant” parts of the law, given through Moses, to the people of Israel? For example, how should they think about certain kinds of slavery, and about stoning people to death? These commandments are not applicable to Christians today, but they were still given by God at one point in time.
Christians need to appreciate that, although this set of laws was given by God, it does not necessarily represent God’s highest ideal.
This conclusion can be seen from one of Jesus’ comments when he was asked about divorce. In the Bible (Matthew 19:3-10 NIV), the Pharisees came to Jesus, attempting to trap Him with questions about the Law. They asked him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?” Jesus informed them that divorce was not part of God’s plan.
Then they asked him a follow-up question: “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning.” If the Mosaic Law allowed for divorce then it must be God’s will, they reasoned.
But Jesus responded that this provision was not really God’s ultimate desire. He stated, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning.”
What this shows is that even though the Mosaic Law required and permitted certain things (e.g. slavery and stoning), they do not have to be taken as the highest moral ideal.
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