What if the Jews did not forget the intent of the law?

[kj7gs]

If the Jews had obeyed the law AND remembered & followed the intent of it, would Christ's sacrifice still be necessary? Did the Father send the Son because of the old plan not working? Or did the Father decree that he would NOT accept the circumcision of some, resulting in the NEW chosen of Jew and Gentile, for His glory? I think I just answered my own question, but open to other thoughts...

 

[heymikey80]

If the Jews had obeyed the law AND remembered & followed the intent of it, would Christ's sacrifice still be necessary? Did the Father send the Son because of the old plan not working? Or did the Father decree that he would NOT accept the circumcision of some, resulting in the NEW chosen of Jew and Gentile, for His glory? I think I just answered my own question, but open to other thoughts...

This is a critical question, and a great one. I think you hit something that really distinguishes Reformed thought, too. So grab hold for a sec.

I have one question.

How might the Jews obey, remember & follow the Law's intent -- when the Law is saying explicitly that they won't? Check out Rom 3:9-20.

They can't.

I'd suggest you meditate on that, because that's what made everything else fall into place for me. They can't follow the Law because the Law explicitly jabs everybody in the eye. "You can't do this."

The intent of the Law was to make people realize they needed More. It was to make God's people cry, "Uncle!" To make them realize they needed God's mercy.

That intent was thwarted when Israel decided it could perform the Law. (cf. Rom 9:30-10:4).

The Father intentionally set up the hardening of the Jewish people for the sake of the Gentile people of God. But He didn't set it up by making them follow a bad law. He set it up by making them defy and deny the verdict of a good Law -- one which would otherwise have driven them straight to Christ (cf Rom 11, Gal 3-4).

 

[kj7gs]

I think from a Reformed standpoint then, it's kind of a ridiculous question. It's God's will that we're talking about, and I'm posing this as "what if it wasn't God's will?" I suppose this becomes an interesting thought, but nothing more. The Jews disobeyed and forgot because this was God's decree, and He is glorified in how his Son brought salvation to the ones he has called.

 

[heymikey80]

I think from a Reformed standpoint then, it's kind of a ridiculous question. It's God's will that we're talking about, and I'm posing this as "what if it wasn't God's will?" I suppose this becomes an interesting thought, but nothing more. The Jews disobeyed and forgot because this was God's decree, and He is glorified in how his Son brought salvation to the ones he has called.

If we had an agenda for "what if we could foil God's plan?" then I'd agree, it's a little ... shallow. But I think the question leaves itself open to showing us greater insight into God's plan. I don't particularly think it's a ridiculous question.

The critical point for me was realizing God had a different intent for the Law than humans might expect -- and a different intent for the Jewish people being hardened against the true purposes of His Law than I expected. And that's often the way God teaches us: He points out subtly that our ideas about God's will are ridiculous -- that God is much more intense, much more involved in moving in history than I normally think about, off-the-cuff.

For me it's uncanny. Were the Jewish people to adhere to the Law, there would be no need for Christ. Were the Jewish people to devote themselves to Christ, likely I would be hearing the Gospel in a very different way. As it is it shows me the intensity of God's love for every kind of person.