The Atonement and Galatians 3 - part 2
Contiuing to look at Galatians 3 and the atonement. See part 1 here and part 3 here.What is the nature of the
curse of the law?
This is the easy(ish) part of an exegesis of this passage. If the curse is that
set out in the law, we need go no further than the law to find out. The law
contains a wide range of curse, ranging from the curses on individuals for
various acts of immorality (e.g. Lev 18) to curses affecting the whole people
such as disease and crop failure (Deut 28). In both Leviticus and Deuteronomy
the size and scale of the curse is on both and individual and corporate level,
but in both books the curses snowball into one climactic national curse, the
curse of exile:
"You will be uprooted from the land you are entering to possess. Then the LORD will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship other gods—gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known. 65 Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the LORD will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart." (Deut 28:64-68)
and in Leviticus 28:
The curse of the law is multi-faceted and extensive, but the disobedience of Israel and the subsequent curses upon her will lead to the final act of curse, namely the expulsion of Israel from the Land, and her defeat and oppression at the hands of foreigners. This is the full and final outworking of the curse which the law holds out for Israel, and must be borne in mind what Paul has in mind when he evokes the idea of covenant and curse in Galatians 3. Read this way, it becomes difficult to see how the "curse" can be read as some kind of divine legal penalty which rests on all of humanity at all times. The curse and restoration It must be remembered that the law is not an open book as regards the future of Israel. It does not seem to offer a will-they-won't-they? situation where Israel may in fact fulfil the law and so (it must be remembered) bring the blessing promised to Abraham to the entire world. Neither Moses nor God himself expect Israel to obey what has been set out for them to do, and indeed the law closes with solemn pronouncements that Israel will indeed disobey the law and all the curses therein will come upon her (see Deut 31-32).'If in spite of these things you do not accept my correction but continue to be hostile toward me, 24 I myself will be hostile toward you and will afflict you for your sins seven times over. 25 And I will bring the sword upon you to avenge the breaking of the covenant. [...] I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out my sword and pursue you. Your land will be laid waste, and your cities will lie in ruins. [...] You will perish among the nations; the land of your enemies will devour you. 39 Those of you who are left will waste away in the lands of their enemies because of their sins; also because of their fathers' sins they will waste away."
The curse of the law is an inevitability, but equally the law also envisages that following the curse of exile there will also come a time of restoration (Deut 30:1-10, Lev 26:40-45). This idea is picked up and anticipated by the exilic and post-exilic prophets in turn who envisage that after the exile, a new people of God will be born; they will have the Spirit, and they will be obedient to all that God has set forth. Ultimately, God will have a people who share in the blessing promised to Abraham, who have the Spirit, and who are obedient but this is not accomplished in the usual manner of sacrifice and repentance as set out in the law (apologies to N T Wright for stealing this idea) but rather God envisages a people who will come into being only after the process of exile is completed and there is restoration.
Go to part three.