28 October 2024
We continue on the basis of the previous post: It is policy, not edict.
Thus, for example, divorce: Christ and Paul enunciated a policy that we should avoid divorce. And when divorce is unavoidable -- one party rejects God's policies -- then the obedient servant of God will let them go. Seeking a successor to that marriage partner is generally not a good idea. The underlying priority is that God designed us to have only one sex partner for life. It's in our human biology; we are wired that way. Thus, all the statements about how sacred is the marriage bed, etc.
That kind of thing was pretty obvious to some cultures in the Ancient Near East. Jesus flatly said Moses made this yoke a little lighter than God actually wanted. Moses had some discretion about it, and he allowed concubinage and multiple wives. Jesus said it was not what His Father had in mind, but it was tolerated for reasons only God would understand. The divine standard was quite high. When the disciples heard that, they were shocked. What's the point of getting married? It's such a very high risk. Jesus replied that not everyone can hold to such a high standard. Meanwhile, God still works with us despite our failures.
Are you paying attention here? If your mission and convictions tell you to marry someone else after a divorce, do that. Know that it will be a crippling problem, leaving the door open to defiling influences in your marriage and in your ministry. But it is not the end of the world. God's will cannot be codified in simple rules. What matters is that you are aware of how you cannot simply wipe away the human consequences of bad choices. You must keep your focus on what God demands of you with whatever you have left when certain opportunities are forever lost.
The themes of power in the Unseen Realm still have their affects, dominating our human existence. Don't ignore that. Don't reduce morality to simple rules, because that's how the Devil likes to lead; he invented legalism. The point is that, if you screw up your one chance of getting marriage right, it means there will be a gap in your covenant hedge of protection. It doesn't mean you can't go on living, but you'll need to keep an eye on that vulnerability. It will demand extra resources to stand in that gap.
This is true on the individual level, and it affects the whole covenant community. Some of them will have to help stand in that gap. They all have to be aware of these things and decide whether their convictions allow them to embrace your flaws and go through the hassles that surely follow. Are you enough of a treasure to justify the moral and spiritual expense? Good covenant-minded servants of God tend to be extravagant about such things. Hidebound fools of bad religion aren't so easy to deal with.
On a broader level, the effects of the spiritual realm are actually stronger. The larger the population, the more strict the rules are. That is, when we think about God's policy statements about nations, there is a wholly different logic involved. The flexibility of the personal does not show up at the national level. That's why the Covenant of Moses is harsher on threats to the nation versus threats to the individual.
God is tougher on the nation than on the individual. God's policy for nations is stricter than it is for individuals. Informality is fine with small groups, but the bigger the group, the more strict things must be in order to remain stable and consistent. But where does the burden fall? It falls upon the leader and the group, not on the individual within the group. Yes, the individual must stop to consider how their choices affect the group, but the burden is on the group to guide the individual, to uphold the moral boundaries. This is why the biblical covenants call for a collective orientation. It's not to quash the individual, but to put the burden on the group and leaders.
Deferring to the judgment of the community relieves the individual of anxieties for things they cannot control. And this is why individualism is wrong. Individualism makes the individual the judge, and places an unbearable burden on the individual for outcomes. This is why the Bible says you should hand some portion of your conscience over to the covenant community. Let the community handle the problems they are supposed to handle.
You might be surprised at where this is going. More tomorrow...
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