The Politics of Biblical Law
Spirituality is reality. And that includes political reality. The question that seals our fate as a society is whether we are a nation that engages with reality or not. Are we a society that is willing to recover, and to attend, to the Scriptures, as we have done in former times, or are we not?
In Old Testament: Torah and Constitutionalism I argue that although biblical Israel had no modern-style constitution, Torah contains recognisably constitutional elements which have profoundly shaped Western constitutional thought. The Torah provided a moral and structural framework for organising biblical Israel’s public life, shaping authority, limiting power, and grounding communal identity. The “constitution” of biblical Israel is grounded in covenant; a relational, morally binding agreement that balances freedom and obligation. This covenant establishes the foundational relationship between God, the people, and their leaders, functioning as a higher authority that constrains rulers and empowers citizens. The quasi-constitution of Deuteronomy sets out the balance of power between four different sources of authority in biblical Israel. These separated but shared powers involve the following offices:
- Judges. These are positioned first in Deuteronomy because they are the most visible representation of the people’s personal responsibility for good government.
- The King. Radically constrained by the standards of the ancient Near East, the Israelite monarch is also required to study Torah daily as a servant-king under law. The king’s requirement to write and read his own copy of the Torah is an early form of constitutional limitation on executive power.
- Priests. These are denied land ownership, preventing the accumulation of economic power.
- Prophets. These are able to challenge rulers but are themselves constrained and held accountable through public tests for truthfulness.
This dispersal of power prevents any single authority from dominating and keeps Israel in the freedom God won for her through the Exodus. Critically, everyone was to be subject to the law rather than above it, with God Himself acting as the ultimate reference point for justice. The Torah promotes constitutional values including justice, equality before the law, protection of the vulnerable, and public virtue. In doing so, it offers a constitutional imagination based on shared responsibility. Biblical constitutionalism manifests practical wisdom and so is applicable across a range of polities, including tribal federation, judgeship, monarchy as well as post-exilic nomocracy. Throughout all this, divine sovereignty remains non-negotiable, for idolatry invariably produces injustice. The New Testament intensifies these themes: Jesus as Lord relativises all earthly power, deepens servant leadership, and extends prophetic challenge. Christians live without a territorial covenant-nation, yet Torah‘s constitutional wisdom remains instructive for shaping just political order.
In The Spirit of Biblical Law I argue that biblical law has been wrongly dismissed as an irrelevant, archaic collection of commands. On the contrary, it is a rich, relational, and morally energising vision rooted in narrative, covenant, and wisdom. The Ten Commandments cannot be reduced to conventional orders backed by threats; instead, they are life-giving divine “utterances” that echo creation and birth a nation. The article surveys biblical law’s substantive vision across seven domains:
- Land and rootedness. Land is covenantal, not commodified whilst the jubilee laws restore families and promote intergenerational justice.
- Finance. The ban on interest fosters relational, risk-sharing investment over detached debt.
- Immigration. Hospitality to strangers flows from Israel’s own Exodus memory, balanced with concern for cultural cohesion.
- Political power. Authority is diffused and accountable with the people bearing responsibility for securing justice.
- Family. The extended family is the primary unit of welfare and identity in biblical Israel.
- Environment. Humanity rules through service, limiting its take so creation can flourish.
- Justice. Justice is dynamic liberation of the oppressed, pursued communally and expressed through right relationships.
The “spirit” of biblical law is fundamentally restorative, seeking to mend relationships and to protect the vulnerable. This integrated, relational vision profoundly shaped Western civilisation and deserves recovery as a moral resource.
In Reforming the Nation: The Radical Acts of a Righteous King I explore some of the potential contemporary application of the life of King Josiah for today, based mainly on the account given in 2 Chronicles 34–35. Reforming the Nation presents Josiah’s life in five phases, each of which holds potential lessons regarding national and personal reform.
- In Phase One Josiah begins to seek God at the age of sixteen and resists the idolatrous culture he inherited. Rejecting mere cultural conformity, Josiah chooses a different path. He is inspired by the example of his ancestor David to act with courage, make use of his unique opportunities, and to pursue reform from a pure heart.
- In Phase Two Josiah’s focus moves from tearing down idols to rebuilding the Temple. Here, Josiah redirects resources, seeks to build consensus and values unseen faithfulness. He also recognises divine provision when Scripture, in the form of the “Book of the Law”, is rediscovered. This is the turning point in Josiah’s story.
- In Phase Three Josiah consults the prophetess Huldah, who confirms national judgement but offers Josiah personal mercy. Remarkably, Josiah continues his reforms knowing they cannot avert disaster. Here Josiah models obedience without guaranteed success, faithfulness in regard to future generations, and confidence that nothing done for God is wasted.
- In Phase Four, and now formally informed by Scripture, Josiah undertakes deeper reforms by cleansing the Temple, abolishing longestablished practices, and expanding his reach. Here we see the importance of tackling manageable tasks first, grounding reforms in Scripture, receiving greater responsibility through faithfulness, submitting even to the “hard” parts of God’s Word, and resisting the temptation to idolise reform itself.
- In Phase Five, Josiah leads the nation in celebrating a Passover unmatched since the time of Samuel. Here we see how Josiah replaces idols with true worship and integrates the message of atonement with his social action. Josiah also embraces his moment in history and encourages others to step up into roles when those who occupy them fail in their duties. His later misjudgement – ignoring God’s warning through Pharaoh Neco – leads to his death and to Judah’s decline, pointing to the political need to choose battles wisely, and to maintain a lifelong vigilance against both obvious and more subtle idols.
Josiah’s relative failure at the end indicates that, although he was a mixture of Moses, Joshua, David and Solomon, and had many Messianic qualities, he was not Israel’s Messiah. Nevertheless, in important respects, he pointed towards the Messiah that was and is to come.