1 Timothy 1:9 New International Version (NIV)
We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but
for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and
irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers,
Is this talking about the
civil law?
Also is this talking about
oral law?
But
Deut. 27:26
So
what does this talk about?
Galatian 3:10
10 For all who rely on the works of the law are under a
curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do
everything written in the Book of the Law.”
You
have asked three different questions.
From my perspective the three passages are all about different aspects
of the same thing. The passage in
Deuteronomy is foundational, and the other two are essentially derived from
it. The book of Deuteronomy is a
recapitulation of everything in the four previous books of the Torah with
primary emphasis of the experiences of the Israelites during the 40 years of
wandering prior to entry into the land of Canaan. As you should remember, the word Torah in Hebrew primarily
means instruction, and the instructions found in the five books of the Torah
include examples from history, commands, laws, statutes, and judgments. Every time you see this law in the English translation of Deuteronomy or elsewhere, think this Torah, because that is the wording in the Hebrew text. The phrase this Torah is ambiguous: it could refer
to the combined instruction of all five books, just to the content of this particular context or book, or to a single instruction or ceremony. However, since Deuteronomy
is a recapitulation of the instructions from the entire Torah, this distinction
is not particularly important.
Now,
you cited just the last verse of chapter 27, but this verse is a summary of the
preceding ten verses. The entire
context is Moses’ instructions for a covenant renewal ceremony for the entire
people of Israel. Moses gave these
instructions before his death, but the people were to perform the ceremony
after they had entered and taken possession of the land. Chapters 27 and 28 contain a series of
blessings and curses – curses for violating specific aspects of Torah and
blessings for carefully following all aspects of Torah. There is no hint in any of this context about an “oral
law”. The Ten Words (Ten Commandments according to Christian teaching) were written
down and constitute a summary from which all else was dependent. The commands, judgments, and statutes
were applications to specific circumstances but consistent with the content of
the Ten Words.
Galatians
3:10 contains a specific reference to Deut 27:26, which is a summary of the ten
curses in the previous verses of that chapter. All Israelites, and all people who attached themselves to
Israel, were under obligation to carefully govern their lives in accordance
with every aspect of Torah.
Failure to do so opened an individual to one or more of the curses
listed in Deuteronomy chapters 27 and 28.
This is the major lesson provided by the ancient history of Israel. Paul’s point in Galatians is that
nobody obtains justification before God by doing the works found in Torah. Such works are obligatory, a
requirement, for everybody under God’s Sinai covenant with Israel. Failure to do so brings a curse;
careful obedience to the covenant may bring temporal blessings, as listed in
Deut 28, but this is not the same as justification (i.e., being declared
righteous by God). But note
carefully, the reference is to the old covenant made at Sinai not the New
Covenant, which has somewhat different provisions.
You cited 1 Tim
1:9, but to grasp his point one needs to view the entire context (vss 1:3 – 11):
(3)
As I urged you upon my departure from Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus in order
that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines (4) nor to pay
attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation
rather than the administration of God, which is by faith. (5) But the goal of our instruction is
love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (6) For some men, straying from these
things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, (7) wanting to be teachers
of the Torah, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or
the matters about which they make confident assertions. (8) But we know that Torah is good, if
one uses it lawfully, (9) realizing the fact that law is not made for a
righteous man but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and
sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or
mothers, for murders, (10) immoral men, homosexuals, kidnappers, liars,
perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, (11) according to
the glorious gospel (ευαγγελιον =
good news) of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.
Paul
does not specifically identify the kind of individuals whom he is opposing, but
the reference to strange doctrines, myths, and genealogies suggests that they
were either Jews or gentile proselytes who were advocating adherence to some
aspects of ancient Jewish tradition.
This might be considered an early version of the “oral law”, which was ultimately codified in the Talmud centuries later.
According
to a book I read recently, there were several versions of religious practice
among the Jews during the time of Yeshua.
These different practices developed largely as a result of the
Babylonian captivity. At that time
the majority of prominent Jews from Judea were taken captive, but the poor of
the land and those in Galilee were not.
Those in Babylon developed a different set of traditions that they
brought back with them 70 years later, but those who remained in Judea and
Galilee continued following earlier traditions. Yeshua grew up in Galilee and learned the practices of that region. This difference can be
seen in the Gospels when Yeshua rebukes the Pharisees in particular for adhering to
traditions that nullify specific commands in Torah. This, I think, is Paul’s objection to these men, whoever they were.
Some
people do find verses 8 and 9 difficult, and some people have used them as a basis for asserting that Torah is obsolete. Paul’s point is this: Torah, and particularly the Ten Words,
lists a set of absolute standards for personal conduct and attitudes. Violation of any one of these standards
makes a person guilty before both God and men and worthy of death. We as ordinary humans would not know what constitutes sin in
God’s eyes without these absolute standards. That is the whole purpose of Torah. Apart from absolute standards we naturally revert to a relative standard -- i.e., I am no worse than anyone else, or I am not as evil as Hitler was, or the like. Absolute standards imply that all humans are responsible to the one who established those standards and will be judged on the basis of them. Under the Sinai covenant the summary of
the Torah was inscribed as the Ten Words on tablets of stone, but these
standards remained external to every human. Under the New Covenant (Jer 31:31-34) the Torah is written
on the heart of each person connected with this covenant through faith in
Yeshua. That is, Torah is within
such a person, and so he knows God.
The godless need to know that they fall short of God’s standard and so
are in need of redemption. That
ultimately is the function of the commandments presented to us in Torah.
