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Inside-out--The rule that God prescribes for His people, and which He enforces by promises and sanctions, is a prescription for a pious and just society,
The Rule of Law: Government of the Soul (1)
The benefits of God’s Law are realized inside-out.
“And the LORD said to me, ‘I have heard the words of this people, which they have spoken to you. They are right in all that they have spoken. Oh that they had such a mind as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever!” Deuteronomy 5.28, 29
The rule that God prescribes for His people, and which He enforces by promises and sanctions, is a prescription for a pious and just society, in which love for God and neighbor are the defining characteristics. But, as Jesus complained with respect to the religious leaders of His day, this is not a government that can be achieved merely superficially (Matt. 23.25-26). The rule of Law and the benefits of that rule are realized inside-out, or not at all.
Hence God’s complaint against His people, even as He prepared to lead them into the land of promise: they did not have the kind of internal fortitude and character that would long abide by His covenant and rule. They lacked a heart for God; their souls were inadequate to the task and blessings He had marked out for them.
The ESV’s choice of “mind” to translate the Hebrew, lev, “heart,” reveals an editorial bias – often associated with reformed theology – with respect to the nature and function of the soul. Nevertheless, the translation does serve to point us inward, where God looks on the hearts of men in order to determine their true worth (1 Sam. 16.7 – curiously, the ESV translates lev here with “heart”).
For the Law of God to perform its intended purpose of bringing the blessings of God to men, those who would enjoy those blessings must take the Law of God to heart. The rule of God begins with the government of the soul. Only where God is feared, loved, served, and obeyed from the inside-out will He grant the fullness of His blessings to those who seek them.
For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the life of faith, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.ailbe.org and click on our Book Store.