How do I screw up Genesis 17? For me, a faux-Jew steeped in somewhat unsubstantiated readings of the Old Testament (thanks, Creation Science!), I stumble in two general directions. One, I can write off the whole thing because God's covenant with the Jews does not technically apply to me. Two, I can appropriate the whole thing since, by virtue of Christ, I am now a one of Abraham's descendants.
Alternately, and in keeping with my goal for today (and probably tomorrow), I can look at Genesis 17 and the idea of a covenant God as critical to me, even though that covenant (this covenant, here) is not intended for me. Because really: am I reading the Bible to find out about me, or am I reading it to find out about God? Whether or not this passage applies to me, personally, it does tell me a lot, I think, about my God.
Such as: God is not a free-lunch God. The fact that we have nothing to offer Him does not dissuade Him from commanding a commitment, because participation in God is a blessing for us. So He says: you must keep My covenant. And, to clarify that this is not about God needing from us, from Abraham, He specifies a covenant that is all about us, that symbolizes our commitment (Abraham's commitment) to do things exactly as God asks, to give God exactly what God requires. Not because God hates foreskin, but because God loves discipline, and discipline, I think, is nothing if it is not the practice of treating what is minor as significant. It does matter if God asks for an animal or a plant as a sacrifice; it does matter if God asks you to circumcise yourself and you don't. Because when you do these things, you indicate that you get it, that you know to Whom you belong.
And here is the beautiful thing: God's not doing this because He's a control freak who wants to own and thwart and control you. He does it because we already belong to Him. That's not His preference; that's the natural order of things. And because we belong to Him, our greatest peace lies in holding onto that sense of belonging. We need to feel like we are participating in it or it is possession, it is control. By establishing a covenant, God says: we are each other's, freely. I wouldn't ask you to be my property; I am only telling you that you are Mine. That you belong to Me, and that that belonging is the only means through which the world can make sense, because to deny it is to deny yourself, as much as it is to deny me. You can't not be Mine; so here is how we can be one another's. And through belonging to me, your flesh, which is temporary, carries an everlasting covenant. By belonging to me, you become what you are meant to be. When you are part of my covenant, you are most fully and wonderfully yourself, because you become exactly what you are intended to be.
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