Relationships: By the Book - Part 1 (OT)

Because God is emphasizing relationships in the Body of Christ as a means to help us grow and change into His likeness, it is very important to know in even more detail what healthy relationships look like. (For more on the subject, see the series on worship that discusses proper relationship with God, and the articles on God building His church regarding the importance of right relationships with one another.) As an effort to explore this topic further, I am beginning a series on relationships, the first subject being an overview of relationships in the Bible (called By the Book). It amazes me that in the midst of a society (or world) with very unhealthy relationships--sometimes "just" co-dependent relationships, sometimes abusive relationships, and the whole spectrum in between--He chooses to redeem us from that milieu and say, "Now I want you to learn to play well together." Not only that, He uses something that can be a means of very real damage and destruction, turns it on its ear (or inside out) and says, "Folks, this can be redemptive; after all, I was the Author of relationships--just follow Me" (while to the world who hasn’t received Him He says, "Just watch!").

So how does God take relationships, which are so frequently unhealthy at best and destructive at worst and turn them inside out, making them part of His redemptive plan? Let’s go to the Book He left as His record and guide to examine a birds-eye-view of the history of relationships, and where God wants to take them. In our search, let's look at first things first. To do that, we must begin with the Old Testament, since that's where God began. In there is a book (Proverbs) with very practical “get along” principles. There was also the law—which began to give pictures through ritual and traditions and types (the wilderness tabernacle and its furnishings, the different offerings, and the laws, statutes and ordinances of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers) of what kind of God we serve, and what kind of people we are. He was explicit about the fact that we all are “marred pottery” and “damaged goods,” but that we can be reclaimed.

Then there are stories of God’s relationships with people, His creation, before Jesus. Genesis tells of man’s fall into sin, and the struggles that resulted in relationships between God and us and between us humans. We see right away the hiding from God and one another, the denial of responsibility, and futher, the distortion of husband/wife relationships prophesied by God in Genesis 3 as being a consequence of sin, but not the pattern He originally intended for those relationships. Soon after follows the first murder and disavowal of responsibility for it and the murderer's sin in the relationship that prompted the murder (Gen 4:1-10). However, Genesis 3:14-15 is the first intimation that it will take a Person God sends to make this right…but there were “in the meantime” provisions even before the Law. God pulled a man/family out from relationship to a pagan nation to make a “new nation” to be in relationship with Himself, and demonstrate Himself through. He molded and trained them, and in doing so, began to reveal His ways-in-action as well as law.

In Deuteronomy and Joshua we see this nation stumbling and falling, but by God’s grace getting up again, learning more about relationship with this holy God and each other (see Joshua 6:15-21, 7:1-23) all the while. Judges tells us a historical story about what happened when this nation wanted nothing to do with a relationship with the God Who called them. It is a story of what happened when they “did what was right in their own eyes” making no pretense of following God—things got even more twisted and broken.

In the books of Samuel, Kings and Chronicles, we see what happened when the people chose not to be led directly by relationship with God but wanted a king. He gave them what they desired, but Saul was a co-dependent/unhealthy ruler at best. We see the results of that, then the results of David, the first godly ruler in the generational line that would produce Jesus. Continuing after David was his son Solomon. Israel rose to her greatest heights at this time. Her temple was finally built; even the rulers of the day came to hear and see the wonders of Israel and her ruler. But sin and trusting other-than-God were still at the heart of the nation. Solomon brought idolatry (relating to false gods) into Israel by marrying foreign wives who believed in false gods and propagated those beliefs throughout Israel.

Reading on, we see continued refusal of relationship and disobedience of leaders and people which led to captivity in Babylon, even after repeated warnings by prophets God sent... . It was interesting that as soon as the discipline happened, the prophets spoke encouraging words to the people about seeking [relationship with] God and seeking the welfare of the place where they were taken captive, giving hope through the promise of future restoration.

After 70 years was up (see the book of Daniel) it was time to seek God for the time of prophesied restoration. Even after captivity and during the process of restoration, (Ezra chapters 7-10), people were still refusing right relationship with Him by going against God's direction. After the captivity, people got smarter (or more devious)—they gave “lip service” to God, instead of out and out rebelling. Their thinking was to give Him what He wanted without giving their hearts. That is impossible, for a God Who wants relationship knows if they refuse to give their hearts, anything else they do is a sham. This resulted in self-righteousness and pride, and so we learn that law without heart or relationship is legalism. It turns on us and makes everything cold, twisted and distorted.

This is the context in which the Old Testament closes. Four hundred years later, the curtain again rises--on the New Testament dealings of God-with-us. In His continued dealings with His creation, we see that He will go to any lengths to bring His errant creation back into right relationship with Himself (which will also yield the possibility of right relationships between people). That is where we will pick up in part two of Relationships: By the Book.