The Law of Moses vs the Law of God

 The Law of Moses is another name for the Law of God as it was given through Moses. God tailored the instructions he gave Israel through Moses to fit their specific circumstances, and this leads to some theologians to differentiate between the Law of Moses and the Law of God, but this is a shallow, self-serving doctrine that is completely foreign to the Scriptures.

Every single instruction that God gave to Moses was an expression of his own character and will. He told Israel to behave in a particular way because that behavior pleases him. No commandment is arbitrary. Every commandment is instruction in how to love God and love one another. Every single one.

God didn't give Israel different rules than gentiles just to make them stand out from the other nations. He gave his Law to Israel and not to the nations because he chose Israel to be the conduit through which the rest of the world would learn his standards of behavior. He wasn't establishing special handshakes for his special club. He was teaching right and wrong and expecting Israel to teach the rest of the world.

If God had given Moses his law today, it might mention cars and cell phones instead of donkeys and clay pots, but that doesn't nullify any of the Law of Moses. It only means that it must be understood within the ancient context in which it was given and that modern applications must frequently be extrapolated.

The Law of Moses IS the Law of God as it applies in an ancient, agrarian context. Our job is to study it and figure out how to apply it in a modern, technological context.