Does God Submit to A Rule of Law?

I see Psa 138.2 as our "Magna Carta":

I will bow down toward your holy temple
and will praise your name for your love and faithfulness,
for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.

Here's how I understand this verse:

It is first of all an explicit expression of gratitude and praise by King David for God's faithfulness. Notice that it is a poetic triplet. The first line describes David's physical action; the second line echoes it by expressing the spiritual component (and motivation) for the physical action. Finally, the third line specifies what God has done to prompt David's praise of God's faithfulness.

The third line is the main statement that the triplet builds up to. What does this third line mean? The Hebrew is a little difficult by way of ambiguity, and this is reflected in the variations of translation in our different versions. Part of the ambiguity is whether God has exalted both His Name and Word above everything else (NIV, RSV, ESV, TNK), or rather His Word above His Name (NKJ, KJV). There is no ambiguity about the compound word translated your-name. Commentators are agreed that this is a poetic reference to God's reputation and character.

Perhaps the key word, however, is 'imrah which can be translated either word in the sense of decree or law, or promise. Commentators Keil and Delitzch, whom I often refer to, see 'imrah in this Psalm as referring to God's promise to David. They understand the important third line as David saying:

God, you have fulfilled your promise to me in a way that has surpassed everything you've done before, even those great deeds by which you have established a Name for yourself.

In other words, they understand the Hebrew as meaning that God has exalted His Word (= promise to David) above His Name (= previous reputation).

I find this hard to swallow, though. Without denying that God promised and did great things for David, the events of David's life can hardly surpass God's works in Creation and the Exodus. I don't see God exalting His Word above His Name here. I prefer to go with the newer translations, including the modern Jewish Bible (TNK), that understand the verse as saying that God has exalted both His Name and His Word above everything else.

The meaning then boils down to this: David is confessing that God, by flawless faithfulness, has confirmed and maintained His divine character and decrees as more glorious and more sure than all other principles of life.

Does this mean that God Himself submits to a rule of law? No, Psa 138.2 doesn't say that directly. What it says is that His "track record" of abiding by His own character and decrees is flawless. From the other Scriptures, we know that His "track record" has been flawless from the Creation to the present! (Nor does God submit to a rule of law in exactly the same way that we do. For us, the rule of law is imposed from outside of ourselves, by the greater community or government. What God "submits to" is His own character, and the principles dictated by that character, such as truth and faithfulness.)

The reason Psa 138.2 is significant to me, is that David is putting into words what all his generation could observe in the preceding history of their nation, namely that God's Word does not fail and God's character does not waver. In our generation, we can look back on the greatest test of God's Word and Character that could ever occur: the test of whether He would keep His promises of redemption even at the cost of His own Son. Since God passed that test, we now know beyond question that God will never go back on His Word nor alter His character. The result for us is indeed much like the result of the Magna Carta for the English barons: we can live securely under the rule of our king, knowing that He Himself abides by the very laws and principles He imposes upon us.

Was Aaron Above The Law?

Billie Smith wondered if God really held Aaron accountable when both Aaron and Miriam began to speak against Moses (Num 12). It doesn't seem like it at our first examination of the text: only Miriam is struck with leprosy.

However, let's do a thought experiment. Think of the person you love most in this world. It could be your Mom, your spouse, fiance or kid sister. Now ask yourself this question: "How would I feel if that loved one were struck with incurable cancer because of my actions?"

The point is that God chastened Aaron (as well as Miriam) by inflicting Miram with leprosy. Aaron and Miriam were apparently very close. Not only were they siblings, having grown up together, but they apparently were both prophetically gifted and shared that ministry affinity (Num 12.2). They were certainly close enough to develop a shared beef against their brother Moses (Num 12.1). So, with this in mind, notice what Aaron says when he sees his sister white with leprosy: "Please, my lord, do not hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed." I don't think anyone in the community felt that Aaron was getting off without being called to account for his sin. Not even the top leaders of Israel are above accountability to God's laws and principles!

What Kept Moses Out?

Why did the Lord chasten Moses and Aaron by withdrawing their privilege of entering the Promised Land? Psa 106.32,33 says that Moses "spoke rashly" on the occasion of the waters of Meribah. On that occasion, the Lord explicitly reproved Moses and Aaron for a lack of trust (Num 20.12). God had said "take the staff" and "speak to the rock" and "it will pour out its water." Doing nothing but speaking to the rock would have pointed to divine agency (like prayer). On the other hand, striking the rock drew attention to the staff and suggested a purely natural event (like breaking open a hidden reservoir).

Remember that Aaron is included in God's rebuke; the problem was not so much that Moses struck the rock, but that both Moses and Aaron failed to speak to the rock as God had commanded both brothers to do ("speak ye"; see Heb. or KJV). In Num 20. 24 God declared that both Aaron and Moses had "rebelled against my command." Their punishment may seem harsh, but God sees the heart and would not countenance rebellion in His chosen leaders.

Fallenness & How It Is Passed Down

Great discussion last week! For those of you who missed it, we talked about "fallenness" and how this sin problem is passed down from generation to generation. The mystery was why Jesus didn’t "catch it." Our thinking and the Scriptures compelled us toward the idea that fallenness is not a substantive thing, like a disease germ, but rather a deficiency. In scriptural terms, it is a deadness of spirit, requiring new birth of the spirit by the Spirit. When Adam and Eve sinned, they lost the ability to bequeath a healthy spirit to their offspring. Because we are born without a healthy, living spirit, our flesh takes over and our every inclination is selfish and sinful. Even as Paul emphasized, we were "dead" in our sins (Eph. 2.5; Col 2.13).

Had it been possible for Mary alone to conceive Jesus, Jesus also would have been born with this deficiency. But as Neal Wolbert pointed out, Christ’s having God as His father compensated for the deficiency from Adam. Jesus, even more so than John the Baptist, was full of the Spirit from the womb (He didn’t have to wait till His baptism; the manifestation of the Spirit on that occasion was a different kind of event).