I have a few friends who occasionally shoot me emails and ask random Bible questions, often because someone asked them and they weren't sure, so they ask me. I received one of these the other night: In both Exodus and Deuteronomy it talks about the 10 commandments and refers to not coveting your neighbors wife. Why doesn't this refer to spouse? The problem the individual who originally asked the question had, was that it's sexist by only addresses men coveting women. So, how do I address this?

First, I think we need to ask, "What's the context of the Law, from the 10 Commandments on down to the final details in Numbers to the second giving in Deuteronomy?"

In Exodus to Numbers, the Law is what God gives to his people at Sinai after he's taken them up and out of Egypt. The giving of the Law begins with a statement of this Gospel action, then moves on to the 10 Commandments, and then on to the rest of the Law. In Deuteronomy, it's a reminder of this Law being given to the people before they enter the Promised Land.

So, why does this matter? Quite simply, because the Law, in both cases, is being given to a group of people who are categorized by their ethnicity and history. They are descendants of Jacob who were brought out of slavery in Egypt (either personally or their direct ancestors). This means that, literally, the 10 Commandments don't apply to you and me.

Now, before anyone loses it, take note of that word, "literally". Because, in a way, the 10 Commandments do apply to you and I. They are, after all, a solid framework for understanding God's will, especially when we follow Jesus interpretation of them as opposed to the interpretation of the Pharisees.

So, for our purposes here, the key for you and I isn't the letter of the 10 Commandments, but their heart ... and that heart doesn't include sexism.

But this still leaves us with the problem that, in the original giving of the Law, God gave the command specifically to men so, "Was God being sexist? Shouldn't God have said that you shouldn't covet your neighbor's spouse?"

In response to this, my mind flashed to Matthew 19 and Jesus teaching on divorce. In short, he doesn't think divorce is a good thing, which makes sense because I've never found anybody who thought divorce was something they were just dying to experience. Challenging Jesus anti-divorce stance, the Pharisees point back to Deuteronomy 24:1-4, part of the Law, which gives permission for a man to divorce his wife because, "he has found some indecency in her".

How did Jesus respond? He says that the Mosiac Law is something less than God's design and is, in a sense, scaled back because those God was giving the law to, had hard hearts. In other words, could their be sexism in there, absolutely, but not because God desires it, but because God recognizes the human condition. I'd say the same thing goes for all those men in the Old Testament who had multiple wives.

If you expand this same heart of God beyond this one issue, it's actually a very good thing that God is aware of our condition, and is willing to work with us in our weakness to accomplish his much larger purposes.

Over the past few days, when I've had a few free moments, I've been watching a really interesting series from Concordia Seminary titled, "Paul Through the Ages" (click here to download it on iTunes).

It explores how Paul's discussion about the relationship of the Law and the Gospel in Galatians has been understood at different points in history. It explores early heresies and reactions to them, Augustine, the Roman Catholic interpretation throughout the ages, and then on into Luther. I still have a few shows left so I'm not sure how far it will go, but it provides a really interesting look into theology, the Law, and it's impact on the Christian life.

One of my favorite things about Scripture is all of the common threads that weave their way through the overall story. One of these threads is God calling people to himself and telling them to live lives that look different from the rest of the world around them, lives that display the grace, mercy, and power of God.

A clear example of this theme comes in Exodus 19 and 1 Peter 2. In Exodus 19:4-6, God has brought Israel up out of Egypt and brought them to himself. As they gather at Sinai, God tells them: You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be  my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”

This setup is followed up by the giving of the covenant that they are to obey, the 10 Commandments and the rest of the Law. Now, as the people live according to the Law, they will serve as a "kingdom of priests", that is, the people who stand between God and the Gentiles. The rest of the Old Testament holds to the idea that when Israel is obedient, all nations will see the greatness of Yahweh, and come to worship him. Of course, Israel as a nation didn't do this, but Israel reduced to one, Jesus, did.

Now, keeping in mind Exodus 19, read 1 Peter 2:9-10: But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Notice how once again you have the action of God, this time in Christ, redefining the lives of the people and placing them in the position of priests, that is those who stand between God and the rest of the world and are to serve as a witness to the grace, mercy, and power of God.

As 1 Peter continues, in chapter 3, he identifies how the people are to live, specifically in the vocations of family and as citizens. The witness of this different life comes to fruition in 1 Peter 3:15 where non-believers approach Christians asking about the hope that is in them. In other words, the life of the Christian is so impressive that those outside the faith look at Christians and want what they have which provides the opportunity for the evangelistic proclamation of Jesus.

Tying this back into yesterday's post, the "as you go" involves living out a life of faith that looks different and opens up teaching moments as non-believers see Christ working in your life and come to you asking about the hope you have that enables such a life.