Menu
Cutting a covenant
Did you know that you are more likely to accomplish something if you are told to do it than if you chose for yourself to do it? Supposedly it is true scientifically... I read that there is actually , indicating that when someone else tell us to do something, we are far more likely to choose to do it than if it is something we think we are choosing for ourselves. We will sooner change our minds about doing something we think we have chosen than about doing something someone else -- or something external -- tells us to do. So much for one's decision to lose weight?
It would seem then that this science reinforces the necessity of the community when it comes to the covenant we have with God and one another, and even with our discipleship to Jesus. The notion that "external" voices are "more valid" than "choosing our own path" may not be democratic, nor politically incorrect, it is what the Bible, (and now science), show to be most effective if the desired outcome is lasting change.
God's covenant here is not with the individual making choices. And it is not the individual's choice to make that covenant. It is God's covenant. God inscribes the law on the hearts of the people, collectively and individually. It is for them to live out what God has inscribed. It is for the person with this covenant cut and law inscribed by God into our heart muscle that they can become bearers of the authority with which God touches our lives and changes us.
It used to be that covenants were cut. They were cut, not just agreed to. There was a cut, a mark made on the person to show that a covenant was in place. Then there was a cut made involving an animal which was to say: "may this happen to me/us if I/we do not uphold the agreement we have made."
God spoke of cutting a covenant on the hearts of his people: a spiritual open heart surgery. It would have been nice had Israel just been obedient but their stubbornness brought the necessity of a drastic measure: thus came open-heart surgery- which is what their exile was about. God performed open heart surgery on the people cutting through self-reliance and status, and with this came conditions of obedience. God's cutting involved losses of identity, homes and bringing suffering into their lives, which in turn resulted a change in what they valued and who or what they worshipped. When all was said and done, God's hand was clearly seen to have been at work.
What came out of their exile -- was a change in the hearts of the nation as they now took the initiative to ask: "How are we to live under God's rule and guard our lives so that we not face this kind of captivity again? How do we live spiritually?" One great thing that came out of this is the development of community. Israel would struggle in their future but now within community. They would not go back to the time of the judges when each person did what was right in their own eyes.
Successful heart surgery today requires effort which often comes from the outside. People around you help you to remember what to do or not do, what to eat or not eat, what meds to take, etc. Out of this cutting- the making of a new heart arises a faith centered in accountability. It thrives best in the sense of community. It is not a biblical concept to think one can stand alone in their faith. We are a part of the body of Christ that is designed to function together, minister to each other and strengthen each other in a way that pleases God and moves forward in the work of God's kingdom.
There is plenty of outside nudging and encouragement to help one be accountable in this journey of faith. There are enough wildernesses about us to benefit from the support, much less the company. If science is right, one is better off being in a place where they can mature in their faith and in this we are more and more conformed to the image of Christ- together.