Thursday: Covenant Obligations
“For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him” (Gen: 18:19).
As we have seen so far, the covenant is always a covenant of grace, of God doing for us what we could never do for ourselves. There is no exception in the covenant with Abraham.
Image © The Classic Bible Art Collection – Formerly Standard Publishing at Goodsalt.com
In His grace, God had chosen Abraham as His instrument to assist in proclaiming the plan of salvation to the world. God’s fulfillment of His covenant promises was, however, linked to Abraham’s willingness to do righteously and to obey Him by faith. Without that obedience on Abraham’s part, God could not use him.
Genesis 18:19 demonstrates how grace and law are related. It opens with grace (“I know him”) and is followed by the fact that Abraham is someone who will obey the Lord and have his family obey, as well. Faith and works, then, appear here in a close union, as they must. (See James 2:17.)
Notice , however, the phrasing of Genesis 18:19, particularly the last clause. What is it saying here about Abraham’s obedience? Though obedience is not the means of salvation, what importance is it given here? According to this text, could the covenant be fulfilled without it? Explain your answer.
The blessings of the covenant could not be enjoyed or maintained unless certain conditions were met by the beneficiaries. Though the conditions were not needed to establish the covenant, they were to be the responses of love, faith, and obedience. They were to be the manifestation of a relationship between humankind and God. Obedience was the means by which God could fulfill His covenant promises to the people.
Covenant breaking, through disobedience, is unfaithfulness to an established relationship. When the covenant is broken, what is broken is not the condition of bestowal but the condition of fulfillment.
| In your own experience with the Lord, can you see why obedience is so important? Can you think of any examples, either from the Bible or from your own experience, where disobedience makes the fulfillment of covenant promises impossible? If so, what are they, and, more important, what is the remedy? |
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If I had only myself to consider, I would go off early in the morning looking for birds to photograph, and spend most of my time doing that during the day. Then I would come home and spend the time processing and cataloguing my photos and sharing them with other bird photographers. But, I have another person to consider, who likes to go shopping occasionally and who thinks that I should do some of the housework. So some mornings, I do the laundry, vacuum the house, mow the lawns, and spend some of that time doing things together with Carmel.
You see Carmel and I have a piece of paper that says we are married - a covenant if you like. We signed that bit of paper when we were in love and quite probably did not understand all the obligations we had signed up to. Ok, we knew the bit about not seeking intimacy elsewhere, but we had to learn a lot about the shared responsibility of living with one another. Love is more than just palpitations on the heart; it is a set of obligations that stretch on throughout life. I don't always say that I do them with a glad heart. Sometimes I hear the call of a bird as I am just about to get into the car and go grocery shopping and that required a bit of unselfish decision making. Obligations are there for the long term.
Obligations are sometimes considered a dirty word in the spiritual sense. We are so focused on the grace of salvation that we think that anything else is works. The eureka moment for me in understanding this was when I realised that salvation was not a reward, received after a long obedient life, but rather it is a way of living now, just like marriage. Nobody considers marriage as a reward. It is a relationship that has to grow and be nurtured to be effective. I don't mow the lawn and go shopping to keep my marriage alive; I do it because I love my partner and accept those "obligations" as part of the way of life.
When we think of salvation as an ongoing present experience of grace, rather than a reward, it makes sense to "work" as a result.
When I quote John 13:35 as I often do:
... that does not mean that I go around saying to people, "I love you!" It is a call to act unselfishly in love. That is the extension and obligation of the grace that has been extended to us.
Thanks my brother Maurice. Greetings from Venezuela.
enjoy your birdwatching and photography. i enjoy golfing as much as you enjoy birdwatching and photography.
1st Cor 13:4-5
Love is Patient and kind;it is not jealous or conceited or proud;5love is not rude or selfish
Abraham did this all through LOVE Otherwise he was to die without even a son. Amazing 👌
Thanks my brother Maurice. Greetings from Venezuela.
A question
How is rev14:6,7 related with this covenant?
The everlasting Gospel and the covenant go to every tribe, language and nation. Every single person.
All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:3 NLT
“And I saw another angel flying through the sky, carrying the eternal Good News to proclaim to the people who belong to this world—to every nation, tribe, language, and people.”
Revelation 14:6 NLT
Grace, mercy, and salvation is for everyone. God loves us and it is His will that none should perish. All are invited to come and worship, believe, and receive by faith that Christ died and rose for all that believe
Alphan, the everlasting covenant given to Abram called for him to " walk before me, and be thou perfect"(Gen 17:1). The first angel's message is asking of all mankind the same thing in calling all to "fear...give glory...worship Him who made..." everything that is made. God is agreeing to restore holiness in all who would be saved from sin's deep impression on their soul. This last call is the everlasting Gospel, which Paul wrote: "is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes"(Rom 1:16).
The gospel is the means for restoring the image of God in man that was lost when man sinned. The covenant is God agreeing to do that in "everyone that believes".
These 3 messages in Rev 14 are the last call to every sinner to be saved "by grace through faith", by making a personal covenant with God.
I remind myself that all the divine covenants are progressive revelations of the LORD's Everlasting Covenant which is grace-based, gospel-bearing, faith-inducing, mission-directed.
a) Revelation of the LORD's true Character - in this covenant it is revealed through the names He uses and what He does and says
b) Abraham's character is acknowledged and developed by walking with the LORD and the LORD blessing him, making his name great, saying "be perfect/blameless" a promise to change his heart.
c) establishing the terms of the relationship - the LORD is the Provider, Protector, and Authority setting out the Principles by which all will live in harmony, and Abraham and his descendants will follow in His Way.
d) Mission - all people will blessed through Abraham & Co's example and future descendant - the Messiah
e) Although it is not spelt out yet, we see that even when Abraham forgets to trust the LORD to keep His Promises, when he repents the relationship is restored.
What I have discovered is - that in terms of this covenant/ relationship - because Abraham's character has been changed He trusts the LORD's instructions, he delights to do the LORD's will and this is called obedience - complying with and living by the LORD's Principles of Life and Love.
Later David was to say: Psa 40:8 MKJV I delight to do Your will, O My God because Your Law is within My heart.
Ellen White said:
All true obedience comes from the heart. It was heart work with Christ. And if we consent, He will so identify Himself with our thoughts and aims, so blend our hearts and minds into conformity to His will, that when obeying Him we shall be but carrying out our own impulses. The will, refined and sanctified, will find its highest delight in doing His service. When we know God as it is our privilege to know Him, our life will be a life of continual obedience. Through an appreciation of the character of Christ, through communion with God, sin will become hateful to us. DoA 668
My question answered. Thanks William 👏👏
"A promise is a promise" is not just a cliche used for as long as we've been alive. It is the fundamental principle upon which contracts such as marriage, civil services (presidents and prime ministers, militarily etc.), are based. As we have studied so far this quarter God Himself instituted covenants or contracts from creation. The stark gruesome consequences of breach of that sacred contract by our fore parents are ever before us; sin has wreaked havoc on all humanity and all God's creation. What a mess! Sickness, disease and death are the preoccupations of our lives, especially in this pandemic. Wickedness, deceit and mistrust mark the tenets of relationships, not only politically but even in person to person interactions.
But God has promised to restore us to His image and to fulfill His original purpose for humanity in and through us, if we enter into faithful partnership wit Him. I say thank you Lord for the plan of salvation made possible through Jesus' sacrificial death for us.
I think our Creator God is a very practical, down to earth, so to speak, heavenly Father. He knows His children, giving only to those He finds well established in Faith, desiring to do His Will, the burden of great responsibilities which impact the welfare of humanity.
Gen.18:17-18KJV ”And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? I believe the ones chosen are equipped to fulfill their commission, otherwise He would not have chosen them.
The wording of this text tells me that the Father knew for certain the *ultimate* outcome of His Covenant with Abraham, chose the timing and responded with what was needed to assure progress. The final outcome's success did not depend on the Covenant's beneficiaries in particular, though individuals and later the whole nation were held responsible for their actions, bringing about joy or misery in their life as they walked with their Lord.
Yes, we, His human children, are benefitting from His Love and Grace. Though, ultimately, I think that His motivation is more practical and inclusive. I believe that His *sense of justice*, motivated by pity and love for the creatures caught up in the effects of the rebellion in Heaven, will make things right; nothing will stand in His way as He redeems His whole Creation - ultimately it's a matter of timing.
Focusing our attention exclusively on ourselves, we overlook that we are only one part of the creation which will be made new again. As it was in Noah's time - ‘come and live inside the Ark, or die if you remain outside of it’ - as simple as that.
We cannot enter and live in the spiritual ‘Ark of the Covenant’ without God’s Grace leading us to believe, and our Faith and Trust in that He can and will save us from the fundamental changes coming upon this world. Our Faith in His living ‘Word’ – His Son, our Savior Christ Jesus and our new life in His Heavenly kingdom, our Ark of His Covenant with man - require that we realize the importance of the spiritual aspects of His ‘Word’ to transform our life from that of spiritual ignorance to understanding, and with that to desire to do the Father’s Will.
It appears to me that lessons focus only on ‘obedience’ in our relationship with the heavenly Father, ignoring our developing loving, grateful joy in our Father-Child relationship. I see obedience necessary to initially help with establishing the young, immature faith, but once the faith is strong and settled in our heart and mind, our new nature, this obedience is transformed into loving acceptance of the Father and our joyfull desire to do all our living according to the Father’s admonitions and guidance – His Will.
I believe the relationship with the Father will no longer be a matter of obedience, but rather one of joyous love and comfort, assurance and gratefulness, longing and satisfaction, expectation and fulfillment – Rev.22:14KJV - ”Blessed are they that DO his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
Jesus has not come yet because christians are sleeping! (Perhaps also because God is too merciful! If we really pay attention to what EG White wrote about these times, the numbers are astonishing!) Can we change that? Which group are we in? Do we have oil in our lamps? Everyone of us is going through an experience that might be useful for our individual mission! Are we witnessing Jesus in our network? What else could it be if not this as our main goal? Are we living Christ?
Being a health professional I'd say that people who were developing Covid-19 were careless! Until I developed myself... While friends and work partners would criticize me for it, and no matter how much I took care, when a single person next to me did not (which could be a spouse, or a kid who went back to school, etc), suddenly you are infected!
Sin is like Covid-19, no matter how much we deny it, we are all infected by it! The only way to change this reality is to accept Jesus as our "vaccine" against sin! The only covenant we cannot miss is this, to make Jesus as our Lord and only Savior!
I don't dispute that obedience is important in the covenant, but I think the lesson doesn't draw attention to where it comes from. When I read Genesis 18:19, I don't see Abraham's obedience as him holding up his part of the bargain. I see it as a natural outgrowth of the relationship. God says, "I have chosen him so that he will direct his children..."The choosing seems to lead to obedience. Of course God knew Abraham would react this way as He chose him, but ultimately obedience results from this relationship. (Although Abraham did not always obey fully - 2 chapters later he is again lying about Sarah being his sister).
Jesus says without me you can do nothing and Paul says it is God who works within you to work and to will. Obedience is God's work too. We need to cooperate, there's no question, but it is still His work.
Thanks for drawing our attention to that, Christina. It seems to me that God made His Promise aka covenant without first requiring obedience. While some instances look that way, other instances look like God just made the Promise, and everything else, including obedience followed. And sometimes obedience wasn't all that great. Although Abraham is called the Father of the faithful, He stumbled many a time, repeatedly lying about Sara, before finally having enough faith to take His son Isaac to Mt Moriah, trusting God to raise him from the dead to fulfill His promise.
Yes Christina, very important to realize that it is "the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes"(Rom 1:16), which is established in the Old Testament(Ps 18:32, Ps 51:10, Jer 31:33, Zech 4:6, etc). What Jesus taught was from Moses and the prophets, saying: "without Me you can do nothing"(John 15:5), who is able to "keep you from falling"(Jude 24).
The covenant and its command to "walk perfect" is an invitation to take hold of God's power by faith, while learning to distrust self.
I think Prov 4:18 describes what you are saying Inge. Many who received the gospel will keep their first Sabbath in heaven.
I really like what the author said at the beginning of today's lesson. "As we have seen so far, the covenant is always a covenant of grace, of God doing for us what we could never do for ourselves. There is no exception in the covenant with Abraham." This confirms my belief that it is important for us to turn to God for our strength to sustain a relationship with Him, and relying on Him for not only physical sustainability, but also for spiritual sustenance.
My daily prayer is:
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from Thy presence; and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation; and uphold me with Thy free Spirit.
13 Then will I teach transgressors Thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. KJV — Psalm 51:9-13
Notice verse 13 has something we can do. Yes with His free Spirit. Amazing. Now we can be called Christ disciple. Because I do believe God answers a prayer before we have even finished.