This is Spoken Gospel.

We’re dedicated to seeing
Jesus in all of scripture.

In each episode, we see what’s
happening in a Biblical text

and how it sheds light
on Jesus and his gospel.

Let’s jump in.

As Moses wraps up his unpacking of
the TenCommandments, he concludes

with various laws focused on
maintaining a holy community.

While basically all of the final six
commandments are addressed in some way,

the commandments against stealing and
coveting seem to get the most attention.

These commands begin with a lengthy section
about keeping the land and people pure.

Purity is maintained by
excluding unacceptable groups

from full-fledged membership
in Israel's religious community.

Even when the army camps out during
war, they must keep themselves pure;

going as far as burying
their waste underground.

Next, are commands about
fairness in the community.

Israel must act with equity because
that is also one of the ways they
keep themselves and their land pure.

The point of all these laws
is not to earn God’s favor.

Israel already has that.

It is also not to prevent God’s wrath.

These laws are about maintaining
the relationship Israel has with God.

Listen to the reason Moses gives for why
men in the army must bury their own excrement.

It’s because God walks among them.

Purity is important because
God’s presence is important.

So, when we read rules about honest business
practices, caring for widows, and protecting slaves,

we need to remember what was
at stake - the presence of God.

What makes the good news of Jesus so good is
not that these requirements are taken off of us.

It’s not that we no longer have to treat one
another with dignity and defend the defenseless.

If anything, Jesus
intensified these commands.

The good news of Jesus is that

he does both the purifying and the
protecting, the cleansing and the caring.

Like Israel’s atoning sacrifices,
Jesus’ blood makes us completely pure.

Even though we deserved to be excluded from
his assembly because of all our uncleanness,

Jesus cleans us up once and for all.

But he also gives us his Spirit to move
toward the widow, the orphan, and the slave.

This is why the New Testament can say that it is
God who wills and acts within us for his good pleasure.

Jesus saves us by his blood and then uses
us to act out these laws to our own communities.

Our actions aren’t the cause of his
purification, his purification is
the cause of our actions.

I pray that the Holy Spirit would open your eyes
to see the God who loves both purity and justice.

And that you would see Jesus as the only
one who can accomplish both in our lives.