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Bible Q

Why did God give the Law to the Israelites?

This is an interesting question with several mutually possible ways of answering. Although some elements of the Law appear to have already been in place with the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the 10 Commandments and the detailed Law were given only from the time in the wilderness onwards. The following are explanations that the […]

Is it OK for a Christian to drink wine?

The full question: I would like to know whether I could drink wine.  I heard over a television site (Christian) that we should not drink anything that is fermented.  Also, regarding eating crab, prawns (shell fish), and any fish without scales. The short answer is yes, it is permissible for a Christian to drink wine […]

Why did the Old Testament make a distinction between certain meats (i.e., clean and unclean) but not plants, even though some plants are poisonous?

There are two possible reasons why the law was given distinguishing between clean and unclean animals: (1) The main reason, because it is the one explicitly stated in the Bible was that the people were to “not defile themselves”, the physical defilement apparently emblematic of spiritual defilement. Leviticus 11:43-44 Do not make yourselves detestable by […]

If the law of Moses is truth, the way, life, the light, the path, perfect and liberty why is it considered bondage, fulfilled, old, a yoke, impossible to keep and irrelevant for today?

It is true that the law of Moses is truth because it was a law given for a time from God – Psalm 86:11: Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. It was also the way the people of Israel (pre-Christ) were […]

What does the Bible say about people who practise witchcraft?

Witchcraft was forbidden under the law of Moses (e.g., Deuteronomy 18:9-11). However it might be helpful to focus on the New Testament. Galatians 5:19-21  Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,  (20)  idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,  (21)  envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like […]

Why do you suppose the Judaizers found it so hard to accept that God no longer required his people to keep the law he had given to Moses? (Galatians 2:11-21)

The Jewish believers in New Testament times had grown up with the Law of Moses. It was the structure through which they had learned to worship God, and the framework for their relationship with God. To have that suddenly removed would have been very difficult for them to understand as they needed to learn to […]

Should High Holy days be observed today as in New Testament times?

In the early days of Christianity, almost all believers were Jews and for a while it seems that they continued to keep the Jewish Sabbath and Old Testament festivals such as Passover and the other feasts (e.g., Acts 21:21-24) However, once Gentiles became part of the Christian church it was necessary to decide whether keeping […]

In what way were sacrifices “shadows”?

A shadow is a picture cast by a tangible object. The sacrifices were a representation of the atonement/reconciliation/forgiveness of sins the coming messiah would achieve. Jesus the Messiah was the tangible reality. The sacrifices were the picture illustrating aspects of this amazing salvation to come through Jesus. The Law of Moses, extensively used physical things […]

Is Joshua 20:1-6 condoning manslaughter?

When someone had carelessly but non-maliciously killed someone, then God’s Old Testament law made provision for him to escape capital punishment, whilst not trivialising the killing. There was no expensive prison infrastructure. So banishing someone within the land of Israel to a city of refuge was a practical humane solution. This was not condoning manslaughter; […]