LAW AND SOCIAL IN ISRAEL: AN IMPLICATION FOR THE NIGERIAN SOCIETY

Abstract

Law is an orderly system of rules and regulations by which a nation is being governed. Every nation needs rules and regulation with enforcing penalties for civilized life. These laws regulate how they should behave or conduct the affairs of life and the society. It is a common phenomenon for societies to view part of their law as having been divinely revealed to the spiritual heads such as the king, prophets and priests. Ancient Israel was virtually a theocracy and her laws were synonymous with morality. It is an expression of what God requires of people which rests on the eternal moral principles of God himself. Besides, their law viewed all human life as especially valuable, because people are created in God's image. It avoided mutilation and other savage punishments instead; it was a mandate for equality. These laws were all encompassing and well embracing as it covered every aspect of their lives and society. This study will adopt the social-critical approach. The practice of this system of law brings social order, political stability and economic boom. This paper seeks to provide a sound biblical understanding of law in biblical perspective, to explain its character, to illustrate how it ensured social order in Israel and to show its implication for the Nigerian society.