A sword

It's Easter this weekend, and I was thinking about images of Mary, either standing at the foot of the cross or holding the dead body of her son, like Michelangelo's Pietà:

It's hard to imagine Mary's pain. Never mind that this was God's son, foretold by the prophets: this is her son, whom she carried and nursed and bathed and worried over. And it can't have made it any easier that she'd been warned about this pain three decades earlier.

In Luke's gospel, just at the end of the Christmas story, there's the account of Mary and Joseph taking the forty-one day old Jesus to the Temple, as required by the Law. They meet Simeon, who takes Jesus and praises God; he then blesses the parents and tells Mary three things.

Purge the evil from among you

The instruction to "purge the evil from among you" appears seven times in the book of Deuteronomy and "purge the evil from Israel" appears twice. On all but one occasion it's in the context of capital punishment (and the other time is punishment for someone who has made a false accusation - they are to receive whatever punishment they had sought for the innocent person). So anyone who kidnaps a fellow Israelite or commits adultery, anyone who is contemptuous of the priest and the judge, anyone who worships other gods and anyone encourages other people to do so should be killed. Sons who don't obey their parents, daughters who have sex before marriage, rapists (and their victims if they didn't cry out for help) all should be stoned to death.

This seems extreme, even barbaric. Few modern societies use capital punishment to this extent, and those that do are frequently criticised. Yet here is a direct command from God to kill people for disrespect or laziness or choosing a different religion. How can we understand this?

Little by little

The book of Deuteronomy is written as a speech by Moses, delivered shortly before he dies and the Israelites cross over the Jordan and begin to conquer the Promised Land. Moses reminds the people of their journey to this point and recaps the Ten Commandments and the other laws that God has given them. In chapter 7 Moses gives instructions for the conquest of the land. Unsurprisingly, given the fact that last time the people were at this stage they were too afraid, Moses gives lots of encouragement. He reminds the people that God has chosen them and that God has done amazing things for them already. He promises a life of fertility and riches.

It's made very clear to the Israelites though that there are to be no half measures. They are to completely drive out the people who are in the land; they are not to intermarry with them. Otherwise, says God, the people will be tempted to begin worshipping other gods. The promise of a land for God's people will be watered down and they'll become just another nation living among many and indistinguishable from them. This dishonours God: He has chosen this people and if they don't remember that they're different then they're ignoring His choice.

Many Christians use this model in their own lives. They set a boundary, a line that divides their ideas and behaviour from the thoughts and behaviour of the world. Depending on how they or their church or denomination interpret what the Bible says, this dividing line makes them more or less different from the world. Many Christians also use this approach when they are aware of areas of sin in their own lives; they want to change some aspect of themselves and decide that there must be no compromise with their old life. They must change completely. This is the point where it's useful to remember verse 22.

Does God hold grudges?

Psalm 95 ends with a reminder to listen to God's voice, by referring to an incident which is first described in Exodus 17. God's people have left Egypt and are wandering in the desert. They are thirsty and they quarrel with Moses - in fact they are so angry that Moses thinks they're ready to stone him to death. God provides them with water, but the incident is remembered not so much for God's provision as for the Israelites' doubts. Even Moses and Aaron are criticised, not for complaining but for not giving the honour to God.

So when God says in Psalm 95 not to be like the Israelites at Meribah and Massah, He's talking about people who doubt His provision and don't give Him honour. Don't test God, says the psalm, but trust Him. But the psalm then ends with God saying He was angry for 40 years, and because He was angry He decided that none of the adults who were there at Meribah would enter the Promised Land. Does that mean that God held a grudge against a whole generation? What happened to a God who loves and forgives?

What comes after forgiveness?

Psalm 51 is one of the great prayers of penitence. This is David's prayer after Nathan comes to him and rebukes him for committing adultery with Bathsheba and having Uriah killed. David asks again and again for God to have mercy on him, to cleanse him, to heal him. But then his prayer changes slightly. He moves from asking God to forgive his past and starts to focus more on the future. Then he begins to talk about what he will do. And in verse 13 he promises to teach God's ways to "transgressors" - in other words, to other people who have sinned - so that they will turn back to God.

I often go to God and ask for forgiveness. When I'm feeling dirtied by sin I ask Him to make me clean again. I sometimes use David's phrase and ask God to "renew a steadfast spirit within me". And when I read this Psalm I often linger over the words "Restore to me the joy of your salvation". And why not? Being cleansed, being made steadfast, regaining joy - those are all wonderful outcomes. But then comes the second half of verse 12 : "grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me". Sustain me for what? For what actions will I need a willing spirit to sustain me? The answer comes in the next five verses: after forgiveness comes evangelism, praise and sacrifice.