Was Moses a loving man?

Was Moses a loving man? 

If one were to take Leviticus' early chapters as a guide, maybe we might doubt that love even entered into the list of duties that governed the Hebrew people under Moses' leadership. That is, until we get to chapter 19. 

Prior to this chapter, we've read about burnt offerings, peace offerings, sin offerings, trespass offerings, the consecration of Aaron and his sons and the ram of consecration, laws prohibiting certain foods, the purification of women - and later, of men, tests for discerning leprosy and rites for cleansing a leper, the concept of the scapegoat, and rules for human relations. With chapter 19, there is a new element. 

Here, Moses' instructions now require generosity, honesty, fairness and respect. 

• Generosity - Leave some of your crop "for the poor and stranger" to gather (verse 10).
• Honesty - Don't "deal falsely, neither lie one to another" (verse 11).
• Fairness and respect - Don't "defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him"  and don't delay to pay what you owe (verse 13).

This culminates in the famous instruction to "...love thy neighbour as thyself" (verse 18), which of course was later reiterated by Christ Jesus.

The whole verse reads: "Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord."

So, those instructions were about neighbours, presumably fellow Hebrews. But what about foreigners? 

With the world awash with asylum seekers and migrants today, Moses' instructions in 33-34 are worth a thought: "And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God."

A quick search for Biblical instances of the phrase "love thy neighbour" (I searched in the brilliant program Concord) reveals just one instance in the Old Testament and seven in the New. So, we can be grateful that Leviticus contains this precious instruction and that Jesus, as a well-versed student of the Torah, was keenly aware of it. 

In fact, Jesus amplifies Moses command. In his sermon on the mount, he tells his disciples that they have to love their enemies! (see Matthew 5:43-47).

 Mary Baker Eddy's famous article Love Your Enemies (see Miscellaneous Writings 1883-1896, pp. 8-13) begins: "Who is thine enemy that thou shouldst love him? Is it a creature or a thing outside thine own creation? ... 'Love thine enemies' is identical with 'Thou hast no enemies.'"

I do think Moses was a loving man. He must surely have felt God's loving counsel and direction in all his labours. I am grateful.

Julie Swannell