Written for Our Instruction: Reading the Law as Wisdom

ABSTRACT: What role does the law of Moses play in regulating Christian conduct? Following an interpretive strategy anticipated in the Psalms, exemplified in Jesus and Paul, and reflected in Lutheran and Reformed catechisms, Christians read old-covenant law as wisdom for living. Such an approach internalizes the law, takes careful notice of its basis in the order of creation and the character of God, and then makes expansive applications to the Christian life. Laws about tithing, stealing, and mu