Faith Tidbit #24

A second type of law or commandment appearing in the Old Testament is civil law. Ancient Israel wasn’t a pluralistic democracy like we have in the United States. It was a theocracy. The people were all of one religion and they were ruled by God Himself. Ancient Israel is in the distant past, though. The civil laws that occupy much of Old Testament books like Deuteronomy, Leviticus, and Numbers no longer apply. As Christians, unless governments dare to command us to do things contrary to the will of God, are duty-bound to "be subject to the governing authorities" for the good of all our neighbors, whether they share our faith or not.