1S21-14: The Difference Between The LETTER And The SPIRIT Of The Law

It’s one thing to study Torah…

It’s another thing to apply it in your daily life.

For instance, what would you do in the following situations?

SCENARIO 1:

While you’re going for a stroll on the Shabbat, you come across an animal that has fallen into a hole.  

Do you break the Shabbat by pulling it out?

Or do you not help the animal to keep the Shabbat, which is one of God’s most important commandments?

SCENARIO 2:

You are a Levitical priest, and you come across a man lying down on the ground in dire need.

He is either seriously injured or dead.

Do you risk defilement by trying to help this man?

Or do you keep yourself ritually clean per the Torah commandment, and ignore the man?

SCENARIO 3:

You are a German in Nazi Germany who is hiding your Jewish neighbors in your home.

A Nazi soldier knocks on your door asking if you know the whereabouts of those Jewish neighbors.

Do you break the Scriptural commandment to always tell the truth and lie to the soldier by telling him you have no idea where your Jewish neighbors are?

Or do you decide to be truthful and turn over your Jewish neighbors to Hitler’s henchmen?

SCENARIO 4:

You are the High Priest of Israel tending to affairs at the Sanctuary when all of a sudden a young member of the King’s court comes running up to you.

He appears famished and in a panicked state.

He asks you for some food and a weapon.

You realize the only food you have at the moment is the holy shewbread that only the priests are allowed to eat.

Do you give him the loaves of the shewbread in direct violation of the Torah?

Or do you refuse to give the man the shewbread because to do so would be unlawful?

What would you do in these situations?

I would hope the answers are obvious to you.

Of course, you should…

Pull the animal out of the hole…

Immediately tend to the well-being of the man lying half dead (or maybe even completely dead) on the ground…

Outright lie to that Nazi soldier knocking on your door…

Feed the young man in need of food (and also fleeing a murderer) the shewbread…

Do you see what I’m getting at here?

This is essentially the application of the KAL V’HOMER or “Light versus Heavy” principle which states that when two laws collide, you obey the commandment that prioritizes life.

This is also why Yeshua so heavily criticized the Pharisees of his day.

They were so focused on following the letter of the Law, that they violated the Spirit of the Law.

They ignored human need because they feared they would sin or become defiled.

Or to put it another way, they ignored the greatest commandment of all…

“To love the Lord thy God
with all thy mind,
heart and strength,
and to love thy
neighbor as thy self.”

See, here’s the thing.

Because we live in a fallen world, we’ll inevitably find ourselves in situations where we will be forced to sin.

If we obey commandment A, we break commandment B…

And if we obey commandment B, we break commandment A.

Sometimes we compliment and say nice things to people even if it isn’t true, because it is the RIGHT and MERCIFUL thing to do.

Ambulance drivers and doctors work on the Shabbat because saving human lives is more important.

You may not realize it, but it takes wisdom to obey God in a fallen world.

We’re in a constant struggle to have to choose between the lesser of two evils.

So let me close with this question:

“If we sin for what seems like a good reason, does that mean from God’s perspective it’s no longer sin?”

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

We’ll pick up this topic the next time we meet.