The Code.

I did some electrical work recently for someone. And whoever had worked on the house originally had clearly got no idea of what he was doing. You see, electricians have a book of regulations that we work to. We simply refer to it as “The Regulations”. But in reality it has a very long title with British Standard Classification numbers and other various legal documents referred to within it. It is also sometimes referred to as “The Code Of Good Practice”.

This is the “go-to” document for all electrical standards within the U.K. And although other countries have their own versions of these documents when it comes to how a electrical circuit is actually wired the wiring is pretty similar the world over.

However. I’m not so sure that the guy who had previously wired this house even knew that such a document ever existed. Every single part of the wiring circuit was wrong. Oh, it worked. But, like everything, all’s well and good until something goes wrong.

And that’s where the problems appear to have started with this job. Someone appears to have done something and a little mistake was made along the way. I’m not sure what the mistake was but when I got to the job I stood in amazement at how amateurish and so wrong the original job was.

But my friend and I got our heads together and called on all our years of experience and got the job sorted in a few hours. Job done. One happy customer. And two happy friends who have known each other for nearly 50 years and are still working together.

But. In order to get the job finished properly we had to know “The Code”. And to get to know that involved several years at Technical college sitting tough exams as an apprentice and then several major updates and exams at training courses over the years to become competent enough to be able to face up to the task. It was our grounding in The code that guided us through this maze of electrical wiring.

Israel had a code of sorts. The TORAH. Basically, is the writings of Hebrew Law as written in the first 5 books of the Bible. It came in two parts and was known as The Laws of God and The Laws of Moses. They were the standards that Israel lived by and they covered everything from civil law to financial conduct to neighbourly disputes, etc. Over the centuries the Laws were left in the charge of the Prophets, the Priests and the Kings of Israel to administer and adjudicate with.

But, being the humans that they were, a lot of these men did not interpret the spirit of these laws properly. A lot of them were interpreting these laws for their own gain, whether it was familial, political or financial. As a result the ordinary worshipers in the Temple began to lose sight of what The Law was truly meant to represent – Fellowship and Communion with God.

The Messiah came and lived on this Earth. God took on human form, lived for 33 years and subjected Himself fully to these laws. The religious authorities tried to trick Him and trip Him up all the time on matters of The Law. But he was able to turn it back on them and show their faults. The Devil tried to tempt Jesus for 40 days in the wilderness. But Jesus just responded with quotations from The Law and confounded the Devil’s temptations.

In the end Jesus was betrayed again and the High Priests sentenced him to be put to death. Not put to death in the Hebrew manner ie, stoning. But put to death after the manner of Roman criminals. Crucifixion.

The Bible has given us a lot of instructions and advice about staying within the Biblical Code.

Joshua ch1 v9 says…

                Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be                             dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."

And Psalm ch1 v1-2 instructs us…

⁽¹⁾Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of             sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; ⁽²⁾But his delight is in the law of the LORD,

If these Priests had been living their lives and guiding the people according to The Code of God’s Law then Jesus would not have needed to die. But die he did. Even though He was guiltless and blameless He allowed Himself to be betrayed, beaten, tortured and to be put on the cross to die.

But Jesus didn’t do it for Himself. He did it for us. Because He knew that we could never keep The Law fully. He also knew that the sacrifices of repentance that The Law asked for were being misused and coming to have no real effect on redeeming God’s people. So He presented Himself as a living sacrifice so that we all could be free.

So let us always remember a few simple things from God’s Law.

Trust - The God of my rock; in him will I trust. 2 Samuel ch22 v3

Pray -     In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice;
               In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch. Psalm ch5 v3

Believe -  As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the LORD is proven; He is a shield to all who                     trust in Him. Psalm ch18 v30 

Guilty, vile and helpless we.

Spotless Lamb of God was He.

There He died to set us free:

Hallelujah, what a Saviour!