Have you ever read through the Old Testament? Around Exodus and Leviticus, the Bible becomes very detailed. This is where Bible reading can feel slow going. It’s stuff like, “If an ox gores a man or woman to death, it must be stoned, and the flesh cannot be eaten.” There are hundreds (it seems like) of these dos and don’ts! Seeing what God has for us in this level of detail can be challenging. In my chronological Bible reading plan, I have just entered this zone.
As I thought about the verses I was reading, civility came to mind. Civility is orderly behavior. Another thought that came to mind was the consequences of actions. God is separating His people from the chaos of the wicked around them through the dos and don’ts of civility. God wants His people to be civilized! To reinforce civility, He introduces consequences for actions. In other words, if your ox is known to gore people and you fail to keep it under control, and it kills someone, the ox and the owner must both die. The basics of civility are in the dos and don’ts and the consequences of actions. How good of God to bring civility to chaos!
God wants to bring civility to the chaos in our lives! He has given us His Word. Obedience to His Word, even in the details of our lives, will make our lives different from the chaos of the wicked around us.
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. (Titus 2:11–14, KJV)
Let us be civilized in a chaotic, crooked, and perverse world! Why?
Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. (1 Peter 2:12, KJV)
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