The Spirit of the Law

 There was a time before David had become the king of Israel, in which he was fleeing from the wrath of king Saul.  At some point David came across the house of God in Nob.  A few of his men had become near to starvation.  David begged the priest for some loaves of bread for the men, so that they would live and not die.  Long story short, David is told that the bread is for the priests alone.  However, he is convinced that his men should not perish.  The priest then feeds the starved and weary men with bread that lawfully they should have never partaken of.

It is centuries later that Jesus comes on the scene.  One day He is walking with his disciples through a field.  Being hungry, the men begin to pick some fruit from the field and eat of it.  Now some of the pharisees come along.  “Why do your disciples do what is unlawful on the Sabbath,” they ask.  The Lord’s reply is, “Did you not ever read of when David and his men were near to starvation?  And so, they ate of the showbread, a thing that was unlawful for them to do.  He then spoke twelve of the most powerful words ever.  Simply He said, “Man was not made for the law, but the law for man.”

I am convinced that in the church of Jesus Christ today, we turn the words of our Lord totally around.  I think that it is the great majority of believers who are convinced that our Great God in heaven holds the laws that He has given to men as being more important to Him than Man himself is.  Where it comes to this matter, nothing can be further from the truth.  Therefore, the born again man surely has become His most prized possession, who is no longer under law, but under grace – and in this great truth works the Spirit of the Law.

And so, it is the Spirit of the Law that supersedes the laws of Sinai.  Because of this Jesus commends David in his choice to feed the men with the holy bread, something that only the priests were entitled to.   Yes, it seems as though David was a man before his time – a New Testament thinker in an Old Testament world. 

And so believer, what if you were taking a stroll in the woods on a beautiful sunny Saturday morning.  Suddenly you come across a fairly large pond of water.  Out near the middle of the pond you see a young boy thrashing away with his arms and crying out for help.  You begin to remove your clothes, so that you can swim out to the boy in an attempt to save him from drowning.  Now suddenly you see a sign that reads:  No swimming – offenders will be prosecuted.  Do not cry out to that boy to give you his name and address, so that you can inform his parents that their son had drowned.  Instead, you need to dive in and swim out to the child.  You must break that law and hopefully save a life.  Remember, even as the Saviour said, “Man was not made for the law, but the law for Man.”   In this is found The Spirit of the Law – the Spirit of the Law at work in us to save lives and not see lives destroyed.  Even as it is written, “The letter kills, but the Spirit gives us life.”

What if persecution should soon come to the children of God – right here in America?  Now, what if I were hidden away in a house with a number of other believers?  Then, what if the enemy broke into the house and caught hold of me?  They asked me to give them the whereabouts of certain church leaders.  I will not give them the information they seek.  Instead I will mislead these men, or even straight-out lie to them.  Yes, I will break the law of Moses and Sinai if I have to.  Is this not what David did in order to save the lives of his comrades, so that they would not starve?  Now remember how when centuries later, when Jesus came on the scene, how he commended David for what he had done that day, though he had transgressed the law.  We need to always remember the words of the Son of God.  “Man was not made for the law, but the law for man.”  It is in this that we see the Spirit of the Law at work in us to save lives and not destroy it.

All blessing and honor and power and glory be unto the Lord our God!  He alone is Truth!  He alone is the One True God!  He is Father, Son and Spirit – the mystery of the Godhead!