A general sense of law that's somewhat pervasive and current or contemporary thoughts typically

view it as somewhat invasive and oftentimes as arbitrary. We find law discomforting, especially

when it curtails our free expression or prevents us from doing things which we think

manifestly obvious or otherwise convenient.

And there can be a kind of general exasperation with law which pervades contemporary

culture.

And you see this exasperation also when it concerns ecclesiastical law, right?

So whether it be marriage law or family law or things pertaining to human sexuality, the church

will often be painted as outdated, authoritarian, kind of anachronistic almost. And so a lot of

people approach law with the disposition that it is a violence or that it is an affront to my

otherwise manifestly reasonable sensibilities.

But there's a tradition in the Western world that speaks of law as the wise restraints that

make men free. So we want to drill down in the time that we have specifically examining what

about law is binding and what about law is freeing, and then transition to a

consideration of what about law can be broken or under what circumstances. So here, a theological

overarching narrative will be helpful for presiding precisely what we mean. So I want to take

the story of the Exodus as a way of orienting our conversation.

So the book of Exodus, you know, occurs in the first five books of the Bible,

often referred to as the Pentateuch or the Torah or the law in the Jewish tradition.

And the Exodus occurs as the second of those five books.

So you recall that it begins with Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Neuteronomy.

And within the book of Exodus, you have some of the most significant events in the cultural and national identity of the people of Israel.

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