God’s Reaction to My Behavior

I just finished grading the former prophets’ class presentations concerning God’s reaction to Israel’s “doing” (or not) the Torah. I get concerned when I put God into a nice neat box, but in this case it maybe ok, sort of. Torah is simply “instruction for living.” What behaviors, what type of behavior God expects from those to whom he said: “I am your God; you are my people.” Now that they had these instructions–many would have been those traditions long held and already in process–as individuals, families, clans, tribes, and finally as a nation, they either obeyed or disobeyed. The community had the responsibility to monitor and address the extent to which Torah was followed.

But what about God reaction to Israel’s Torah adherence? A survey of the Pentateuch demonstrates a simple, yet profound relationship between people, God, and their mutually binding Torah. The covenant renewal ceremony illustrates the basic principle: if Israel obeys, God blesses–after all he wants them to obey so why not encourage them to do so?  Secondly, if they chose to disobey, he “curses,” or to use a more theological term, zaps them–but even here it’s because he loves them and desires their return to Torah obedience.

Now it gets more complicated. The golden calf story from Exodus demonstrates that God’s commitment to his people extends beyond mere tit for tat, lex talionis. Guilty though they all were, God chose to be merciful– in spite of their disobedience. In this case, disobedience brought blessing–the opposite of above.

Finally, an example from the wilderness journey further complicates. Israel left Egypt, carrying water with them; 3 days later the supply ran out, but an oasis conveniently appeared. Ugh! it was contaminated. As we all know, the issue gets resolved, but not as could have been: Israel complained about the lousy water (Wouldn’t you have done the same?) rather than seeking divine help or searching for alternatives. The lesson, though, derives from God’s action: he did this to test them. The bad water was not a “curse” because of their disobedience, but a test to mature their faith. The writer requires us to assume their obedience walking up to the well. Thus this situation mirrors that above, God reversed the “normal” behavior-reaction association: when God tests, obedience brings a curse.

All this leads me to conclude: when Israel obeys God often blesses but may curse–a test, and when they disobey he curses but may bless–his mercy. God is unpredictable! No box with him.