Today we see the force of God's Law, at least some of the force of God's Law. What jumps out from Leviticus 24? Sin leads to penalty. If you kill, you are killed. If you steal, things are taken away from you. If you do evil, you receive the same evil in return. What could God be getting at in all this? What is the divine design?
We can't begin to exhaust the wisdom of God, but sometimes we can get a pretty good idea of his intent. One of the uses of the Law classified in the Reformation was that of a "curb." God's Law is used, sometimes quite forcefully, to restrain evil. Under real thread of retribution, even we sinful humans are less likely to let our sinful attitudes result in a great deal of overtly sinful behavior. I may dislike someone without a cause, but I'm fairly unlikely to kill that person if I know the result will be that someone kills me. I'm unlikely to steal money from my employer when I know my employer will take it back and then take just as much again from me.
There's a time and place for very strict laws which result in punishment for those who break the laws. May the Lord work in our lawmakers and others to institute and enforce what is truly appropriate in the sight of God as they attempt to promote an orderly society.
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