2
From a formal point of view, the laws (Exod 20:1-17; 20:22-23:33) are part of, and
subordinate to the narrative of Gods establishment of the covenant with Israel at Sinai (Exodus
19; 20:18-21; 24), and more generally this address is a continuation of the exodus story (Exod
1-18) in which God graciously initiates a personal relationship with his people so that Israel will
come to know Yahweh as their God (Exod 6:6-7; 16:12).
It is important to note how God first establishes the relationship with Israel by saving
them, and then subsequently regulates that relationship through the covenant and its laws. In
other words, a relationship with God was established not by law-keeping, but as a free gift.
Israels relationship with God originates before the giving of the law in the divine-human
encounter between God and Israel at the exodus. Bratcher notes, "exodus precedes the giving of
torah at Sinai.... God initiated a relationship with his people by entering history and hearing the
cries of oppressed slaves."
3
The giving of the Decalogue is prefaced on the assumption that
Israel is already "saved" and in personal relationship with God: "I am Yahweh your God who
released you from the land of Egypt" (Exod 20:2). The Mosaic law was not, and never was
intended to be, the means of establishing a relationship with God. Instead it was a means of
regulating Israels relationship with God already established, being guidelines for those already
"saved." Israels covenant relationship with God did not come because they were so good, for
they were a stubborn people (Deut 9:6). The covenant was not granted to them because they
were so great, but because God loved them (Deut 7:7-9). The relationship itself was a matter of
grace, not law.
The law, rather than being a means of salvation, was a means of helping Israel to become
a "holy people" set apart to God (Exod 19:6),
4
for it defines holy behavior. The laws prohibit
3
Dennis R. Bratcher, "Torah as Holiness: Old Testament ,,Law as Response to Divine Grace"
(paper presented at the annual meeting of the Wesleyan Theological Society, Dayton, Ohio, 5
November 1994), n.p.. Cited 12 August 2002. Online:
http://www.cresourcei.org/torahholiness.html.
4
Gordon Wenham, "Law and the Legal System in the Old Testament," in Law, Morality and the
Bible (ed. Bruce Kaye and Gordon Wenham; Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1978), 27.