Governing

The sermons on Deuteronomy are usually thoughtful, creative and stimulating. The one on Deut 14 was in this mould.

It was entitled "God's Macroeconomics", exciting with quotes of Brueggemann (although I am suspicious of the domination of his rhetorical program) and Wright (C, not T).

Then we came to 'application'. That is, what today do we make of this instruction to Israel. The small group study notes asked this:

How do you think we should go about bringing the rule of Christ to bear in the kingdom of this world, in respect to economic and social structures?  What principles or objectives does this passage from Deuteronomy hold for contemporary society and politics? 

 The old 1980s 'sinful structures' talk, and do we turn social policy into a theocratic response? Not so. We cannot take a law based covenental framework into today. We are not subject to the law, but to Christ as part of his regenerated church; we are not Israel and this is not the Promised Land.


My answer is that we do have to care for the poor and the disadvantaged, but the best way is a system that where ever possible does not cushion people from the real world and excite indolence, nor does it selectively support those who would feed at the public trough.


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