Walk Therein and Live In

“And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the Lord your God. After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances. Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the Lord your God. Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 18:1-5)

God speaks to Moses. He tells him to “speak unto the children of Israel” and tell them not to pick up the customs, ways and life of the Egyptians from whence they came, nor of the Canaanites to which God is leading them to. God is making it clear, that no matter where they’ve been or where God may take them that the Israelites are to continue (do) God’s judgments and ordinances. Most importantly, when it comes to these rules of living, the Israelites are to “walk therein”. He punctuates His edict with, “I am the Lord your God”.

To conclude, God tells them to retain and maintain (keep) His statutes and judgments and makes clear that if a man does them, he must also “live in them”.

It is never really outright discussed in the books of Moses, but one of the objectives of God was to keep His people separated from all other tribes. God did not want sinful influences affecting the Israelites. It’s why God sent Joseph and the 70 down to Egypt, so that they could grow in number and not be swayed, induced, persuaded, or inveigled of sin by other people. God kept them separated until large enough in number and mature enough in God and His ways. Then it was time to move forward.

At the beginning, God’s chosen people were weak in God in terms of faith, belief and knowledge. They had to learn of Him and grow in Him. God kept His people separated from the heathens and pagans so as to prohibit exposure to their false gods and religions, evil customs, and sinful rituals and rites. It was a form of sanctification through separation during this time of learning and growing in God.

We know God today. We have faith, belief and knowledge of Him. We do not need to be separated from the, “heathens and pagans”.  But we “do” have to “keep” God’s judgments, ordinances, and statutes.

What is not of God is to be rejected. We should not allow any culture, society, commonwealth, community, association, club, political/social group or government alter, taint or pervert the will of God.

There are two very important points that God tells Moses. When it comes to His statutes and ordinances, not only are we to do them and keep them, we are also to be them.

First we are to “do” and “keep” God’s edicts. God said, “do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances” and “keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do”.

Doing and keeping God’s way is not enough. All this requires is adopting and following a set of rules. I.e. the Ten Commandments. Even the devil can do that. God requires more. God requires that we “walk therein” and that we, “shall live in them”

“In them”, we are to be “in” those statutes and ordinances that we are to “do” and “keep”. But what does that mean, to be “in” God’s statutes and ordinances?

To be in God’s commandments one must be in God. That’s the point.

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)

When we are first in God, the doing and keeping of His commandments becomes a natural outflow of that relationship.  If all we are doing is following a set of rules and laws, then no relationship or commitment to God is necessary.

Yes God wants us to do the good and the righteous. But more importantly God wants us to be the good and the righteous, and we can only “be” when we are “in” Him and God “in” us.

God isn’t amount rules and regulations. God is about relationship and love.

“Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:10).

Bill Hitchcock