So it is important to consider, as a follower of Christ, what does it mean to be the covenant faithful in the world today? Wisdom and covenant faithfulness have to do with individual lives as they relate to the community of faith and our role in the world.
In Deuteronomy 6 Moses challenges the people to keep God’s commandments so that it may go well with them, they are also to teach them to their children and not forget; especially when they come into the Promised Land and there is the temptation of the gods around them they need to be faithful to God. A significant part of the passage of Deut 6 talks about how when their children ask them why they should follow the law, they are to tell about God’s deliverance and power and how he gave them the commandments for their lasting good to keep them alive. Proverbs 1:2-7 also refers to the fact that the proverbs are given so that the people (both simple and wise) will basically learn to live in community in a ‘righteous, just and equitable’ way. Why should they live like that? The same reason that God gave them the covenant, for their good! Deuteronomy 28 contrasts the different results between whether the people stay faithful to the covenant or if they turn away, there will either be life or death. Again there is the dichotomy between the two. Deuteronomy 28 and Proverbs line up so well beside each other because they show that choosing God’s way leads to life, but choosing the way of the foolish leads to death. However, is it just life for the individual or death for the individual? No, it is community-wide. God judges Israel as a whole and blesses them as a whole, in the same way, our actions do not only affect us but they affect the whole.
This leads into the thought that in both Proverbs and the passages of Deuteronomy following God’s covenant will affect every area of their life, from the food they eat to their enemies around them. Likewise, if they are not faithful to God’s covenant with them then they will experience judgement in every area of their lives from their children, to their harvests, to their enemies, and even their reputation. Being faithful to God’s covenant was much bigger than simply obeying God’s commandments regarding the temple and the sacrifices; being faithful to God’s covenant had to do with their heart. “Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” (Deut 30:19b-20) It would affect all the areas of their life. Proverbs 1:2-7 also encompasses all areas of life, because they are about learning about wisdom, gaining instruction about wise dealing, righteousness, justice, and equity, teaching shrewdness, knowledge, prudence, learning and acquiring skill. If I put these in today’s terminology they would say: business, morality, law, economics, common (street) sense, education, rhetoric, trades.
So what does it mean to be the ‘covenant faithful’ today? It means that I allow God’s wisdom to affect every area of my life. Moreover, I need to look at how my actions affect the bigger picture; not just myself but my community. I need to be faithful to God not only in Spirit but in action and obedience to what He calls me to in His Word. This is what wisdom really is, letting God’s Spirit and timeless truths in His Word shape how I live, not to only agree in my head but to put feet to my actions. Also, I need to realize that my actions affect my community and that God desires that I have a positive affect on my community. I am responsible for how my community lives in some way.
I have to admit that I am not very good at this, my decisions usually only consider myself and maybe Ben and the kids. If I am tired, I don’t think about how my negative down attitude could affect my coworkers. My pride actually stems from individualism, and not a community mindset, because I am more concerned about building myself up than others. If I was truly more community oriented and kingdom focused, and I saw something that I judged that could be done better, I would find a way to help without having to take credit for the improvement. I am focused on living a life that is pleasing to God by: having integrity, being faithful to my husband, having time set apart with God, prayer, and other ‘disciplines’. I see that these things are all very ‘me’ focused and, though not wrong in themselves, they need to be balanced with actions that build up others and the community that I live in.
Deuteronomy Chapter 6- These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you. Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. Do not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah. Be sure to keep the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you. Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors, thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the Lord said. In the future, when your son asks you, “What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded you?” tell him: “We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Before our eyes the Lord sent signs and wonders—great and terrible—on Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household. But he brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land he promised on oath to our ancestors. The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today. And if we are careful to obey all this law before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness.”
