Thursday, December 20, 2007

Law and Gospel: Part 5: The Law in the Old Testament (cont’d)

Continuing with my look at the Law in the Old Testament, my final point is:

3. Much of the Law was meant to point towards greater things than the specifics of the Law itself. As we will later see, the New Testament writings make the typological aspects of the Law abundantly clear. While is it also true that some aspects of God’s revelation of Himself through the Law and Prophets were shrouded in mystery and only revealed with the advent of Christ (Romans 16: 25-27), there are also examples in which the Old Testament text itself makes the connection explicit.

One such example is circumcision, which was initially given as a mark of the Covenant (Genesis 7:9-14), but more than just an outward and physical practice was (and is) required of those who would keep faith with God. "Moreover the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.” (Deut 30:6). "Behold, the days are coming," declares the LORD, "that I will punish all who are circumcised and yet uncircumcised-- Egypt and Judah, and Edom and the sons of Ammon, and Moab and all those inhabiting the desert who clip the hair on their temples; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised of heart." (Jer. 9:25, 26).

The phrase “Circumcised yet uncircumcised” strikes at the heart of our problems, we so often think we possess a form of external and comely righteousness, but our hearts are far from God. In summary, in even our brief survey of a few key verses and concepts, the Old Testament makes it clear that those who are God’s People must both believe it is true, but also live like it is, by their actions and attitudes.

Next time, we’ll examine whether Israel ever understood the Law in this way.

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