Monday: Covenants in History
After the flood, God began again, now with Noah and the people who came afterward. With them, too, He sought a relationship, and central to that relationship was the idea of covenant. The Bible identifies seven major covenants that God has made with people:
- 1st Covenant – Adam (Genesis 1:1-3:24)
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Image © Standard Publishing from GoodSalt.com
2nd Covenant – Noah (Genesis 6:1-9:29) - 3rd Covenant – Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3)
- 4th Covenant – Moses and the Israelite nation (known as Sinaitic or Mosaic Covenant; Exodus 19:1-24:18)
- 5th Covenant – Phineas ( Num. 25:10-13)
- 6th Covenant – David (2 Sam. 7:5-16)
- 7th Covenant – New Covenant (Jer. 31:31-34)
Read the following texts. What do they mean by the “everlasting covenant”? (Gen. 9:16, Gen. 17:7, Isa. 55:3, Heb. 13:20).
The Bible incorporates the term “everlasting covenant” sixteen times. Out of them, thirteen are specifically applied to the covenants with Abraham, Israel at Sinai, and David. Each of the covenants mentioned above, although unique, bore the imprint of “the everlasting covenant”. Just as the everlasting gospel is first announced in Genesis 3:15, but then progressively revealed throughout the Bible, the same applies to the everlasting covenant. Each consecutive covenant serves to expound and deepen our understanding of the everlasting covenant of love, which is revealed most fully in the plan of salvation. The New and Old Covenants, as they are often distinguished, contain the same components.
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1. Sanctification: “I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts” (Jer. 31:33,NKJV; compare Heb. 8:10). 2. Reconciliation: “I will be their God, and they shall be My people” (Jer. 31:33, NKJV; Heb. 8:10). 3. Mission: “No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD’, for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them” (Jer. 31:34, NKJV; Heb. 8:11). 4. Justification: “I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” (Jer. 31:34, NKJV; Heb. 8:12). |
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Perhaps the enduring message of the covenants is that God is still with us. He still loves us and is willing to forgive us. He has our best interests at heart.
We have had centuries of Christians giving out the message that God punishes everyone for the slightest misdemeanour and that hellfire awaits those who do wrong. Only today on national TV in Australia, Christians were recounted as putting out the message that the recent bushfires that have destroyed around 500 homes and millions of hectares of farms and bushland were a punishment sent from God for our lax social laws. The irony of the situation is that most of the folk hurt by the fires were hardworking folk trying to make a living and far removed from the graft and self-centredness of the big cities. That contradiction was clearly seen by our cynical unchurched news commentators. Unchurched folk see punishment as the big theme of Christianity. We need to change that to one of compassion and responsibility. Christ's life and death was the covenant in action.
Why did the everlasting covenant need to be restated so many times? Can I suggest that the reason is that sooner or later many of us see the covenants as a statement of privilege and superiority rather than one of responsibility and service.
George Washigton Farewell Speech
"He argues that religious principles promote the protection of property, reputation, and life that are the foundations of justice. He cautions against the belief that the nation's morality can be maintained without religion:
'Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked: Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice ? And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.[1]'
Washington refers to religious principle as the foundation of public morality."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington%27s_Farewell_Address#Religion,_morality_and_education
1 Washington, George (September 17, 1796). Washington's Farewell Address – via Wikisource.
The birth of a nation founded on the principles of God's moral law. Now turning the back on the covenant relationship with God has no foothold to discern right and wrong.
"Let us cry to God that the angels may hold the four winds until missionaries shall be sent to all parts of the world and shall proclaim the warning against disobeying the law of Jehovah."
https://m.egwwritings.org/en/book/87.1465#1468
Let us not forsake of the covenant relationship initiated and established by God himself.
Covenant is a relationship with the LORD, He loves us and we love Him, He guides and protects us, we live by His Principles of Love, so we can all dwell together in peace and harmony.
The combined covenant
I have given you dominion over the earth. I'll never destroy the earth with water again but this current one awaits fire.
I'll make your name great. You will inherit the earth.
I'll make you a treasured possession among all people. You will be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
I'll establish your dynasty forever and you'll live forever in the new earth.
Amen.
Let brotherly love continue-Can only be done with the aid of the Holy Spirit.
As mentioned before, the bible consists of several covenants that God made with humans. No covenant was made with animals, birds or trees. Only humans were made in the image of God, only humans can understand and comprehend such wisdom and knowledge of God.
All of these covenants sum up to: love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, soul, strength and might and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Our neighbor means Humans not (animals,birds or trees). Do humans know/understands what it meant to love the Lord? Do humans know/understands what it meant to love thy neighbor(humans) as themselves.
What about animals, do anyone think animals respond to God like humans?
We talk about religion several times. There are thousands of religions that are not Christ centered. While on the other hand, there are thousands of religion that stated their mission statement is about Christ. Christ said, my sheep hear my voice and follows me.
In my encounter with people at my job and elsewhere, people are not interesting in what day I go to church, how well I can speak, or sing, or know the scriptures. What they are concerned with is, how well do I treat them. Am I a loving person? Did I show love to them? Did I listened to them in their distress? After I do all of what I was supposed to do for them as well as (empathize and sympathies) with then they will ask me " What church do you attend, or where do you worship? I do not have to mention religion to them at first, that comes after. After establishing a relationship. People can read through others to see if we are genuine or not as Christians.
In our everyday life, it is the Spirit of God dwelling in the child of God that subdue the spirit of others and draw them to him. Witnessing can be so easy for the child of God, but we must not let self comes between our relationship with God and man.
God is a God of love and mercy so that is why he has been repeating and re establishing the covenant relationship with sinfufire humanity.
God made a number of covenants through out the bible. The one with Noah. The one in Hebrews 8:7,and others. All of the covenants that are initiated by a powerful and loving God, are there because of His love for us.
Is it possible that the covenant had to be repeated because Israel didn’t really get it? Do we as Christians do the same today? My understanding of what history shows, is that the results of Israel’s rebellion was a natural result of leaving God out of their lives. It seems that when they prospered and had plenty, they began to rely on themselves instead of God. When God could no longer protect them, because they didn’t allow Him to, they suffered. When they suffered long enough, someone would come along and remind them of Gods law. They viewed it as if the law was a means for living with plenty, instead of living in a way that brought all the surrounding nations to know and believe in the true God.
Someone just this week posted a quote on FB, “I don’t listen to what people say, I watch what they do. Behavior doesn’t lie”. I had to look at myself and ask what is my behavior showing others. I understand that there is a line of thinking that our behavior is not what gets us to heaven, and I agree with that. But doesn’t our behavior show where our heart is? The covenant was a written down document that made clear to Israel, how to stay connected to the source of their existence, so that they could be the blessing to the nations that God had promised. God kept giving them the chance to be back in harmony with Him, time and time again.
Spot on Karen!
What you outline is also in harmony with the notion of God holding back the inherent winds of strife in Revelation 7:1 and the synonymous very enlightening passage in 2 Thessalonians 2 where God is the Restrainer AGAINST the activity of the man of lawlessness, the son of destruction (portraying the direct link between lawlessness and destruction).