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*January 4 - 10 |
Covenant Primer |
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*January 4 - 10 |
Covenant Primer |
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MEMORY TEXT: "Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine" (Exodus 19:5, NRSV).
LAST WEEK LEFT OFF WITH THE FALL OF HUMANITY, due to our first parents' sin. This week is a quick summary of the whole quarter, as we take one day each to look at the early covenants, the ones that were all, in their own way, present-truth manifestations of the true covenant, the one ratified at Calvary by the blood of Jesus, the one that we, as Christians, enter into with our Lord.
We begin with the covenant God made with Noah to spare him and his family from destruction. We proceed to the covenant with Abraham, so rich and full of promise for all of us; then to the covenant at Sinai and the importance of what was proclaimed there; and finally we look at the new covenant, the one that all the others pointed toward. All of these, of course, will be studied in more depth in the next several weeks. This week is just a sneak preview.
THE WEEK AT A GLANCE: What does the word covenant mean? What elements
make up the covenant? What was the covenant that God made with Noah? What
hope was found in the covenant with Abraham? What role do faith and works
play in the human end of the covenant? Is the covenant just a deal, or does
it have relational aspects to it? What is the essence of the "new
covenant"?
*(Please study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, January 11.)
"And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee
exceedingly"
(Gen.
17:2).
The Hebrew word translated as "covenant" (appearing about 287 times in the Old Testament) is berith. It can also be translated as "testament" or "last will." Its origin is unclear, but it has come "to mean that which bound two parties together. It was used, however, for many different types of 'bond,' both between man and man and between man and God. It has a common use where both parties were men, and a distinctively religious use where the covenant was between God and man. The religious use was really a metaphor based on the common use but with a deeper connotation [meaning]."—J. Arthur Thompson, "Covenant (OT)," The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, revised edition (Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1979), vol. l, p. 790.
Like the marriage covenant, the biblical covenant defines both a relationship and an arrangement. As an arrangement, the biblical covenant contains these basic elements:
1. God affirmed the covenant promises with an oath (Gal. 3:16; Heb. 6:13, 17).
2. The covenant obligation was obedience to God's will as expressed in the Ten Commandments (Deut. 4:13).
3. The means by which God's covenant obligation is ultimately fulfilled is through Christ and the plan of salvation (Isa. 42:1, 6).
Look at the three elements listed above (God's promises, our obedience,
and the plan of salvation). How can you see those factors at work in your
own walk with the Lord? Write down a paragraph describing how they are manifest
in your life now.
In the Old Testament, the sacrificial system of types instructed the people regarding the entire plan of salvation. Through its symbols, the patriarchs and Israel learned to exercise faith in the coming Redeemer. Through its rites, the penitent could find forgiveness for sin and release from guilt. The blessings of the covenant could thus be retained, and spiritual growth—restoring the image of God in the life—could thereby continue, even when humankind failed to uphold their end of the bargain.
| Though there are covenants made between people, the main use of the
word berith in the Hebrew Bible deals with the relationship between
God and humanity. Considering who God is and who we are in comparison to
Him, what kind of relationship would such a covenant depict?
|
"But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into
the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee"
(Gen.
6:18).
In the above verse the word covenant appears for the first time in the Bible, and, in this context, God has just told Noah about His decision to destroy the earth because of the massive and continuing spread of sin. Though this destruction will come in a worldwide Flood, God is not forsaking the world He created. He continues to offer the covenant relationship first set in operation after the Fall. The divine "I" who offers the covenant is Himself the ground of Noah's security. As the covenant-keeping God, the Lord promised to protect the family members who were willing to live in a committed relationship with Him, one that resulted in obedience.
Was the covenant with Noah just one-sided? Remember that the idea of a
covenant implies more than one party. Did Noah have his end of the deal to
uphold? What lesson is there for us in the answer to these questions?
God tells Noah there is going to be a flood, and the world will be destroyed. But God makes a deal with him, in which He promises to save Noah and his family. Thus, the stakes were quite high, because if God did not uphold His end of the promise, then no matter what Noah did, he would have been wiped out with the rest of the world.
God said He would make a "covenant" with Noah. The word itself implies an intention to honor what you say you will do. It is not just some whimsical statement. The word itself comes loaded with commitment. Suppose the Lord had said to Noah, "Look, the world is going to end in a terrible deluge, and I might save you, or I might not. In the meanwhile, do this and this and this, and then we'll see what happens, but I'm not making any guarantees." Such statements hardly come with the kind of assurance and promise found in the word covenant itself.
| Some people have argued that Noah's flood was not worldwide but merely
a local deluge If so, then in the context of what God promises in
Genesis
9:15 (see also
Isa.
54:9), every time another local flood happens (and they seem to happen
all the time), God's covenant promise is broken In contrast, the fact that
there has not been another worldwide flood proves the validity of God's covenant
promise. In short, what does this tell us about how we can trust His promises?
|
"And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee:
and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed"
(Gen.
12:3).
Read
Genesis
12:1-3; list the specific promises God made to Abram.
Notice that among these promises God says to Abram that "in thee shall
all families of the earth be blessed"
(vs.
3). What does that mean? How were all the families of the earth blessed
in Abram? See
Galatians
3:6-9. In what ways can you see in the promise the promise of Jesus the
Messiah? See
Galatians
3:29.
In this, the first recorded divine revelation to Abram, God promised to enter into a close and lasting relationship with him, even before He uses any language that speaks about covenant making. Direct references to the covenant that God would make come later (Gen. 15:4-21; 17:1-14). For the moment, God offers a divine-human relationship of great significance. The repeated "I will" in Genesis 12:1-3 suggests the depth and greatness of God's offer and promise.
In addition, Abram receives a single, but testing, command, "Go forth." He obeyed by faith (Heb. 11:8) but not in order to bring about the promised blessings. His obedience was the response of his faith to the loving relationship, which God desired to be established. In other words, Abram already believed in God, already trusted in God, already had faith in God's promises. He had to; otherwise, he never would have left his family and ancestral land to begin with and head into places unknown. His obedience revealed his faith both to men and to angels.
Abram, even back then, revealed the key relationship between faith and works. We are saved by faith, a faith that results in works of obedience. The promise of salvation comes first; the works follow. Although there can be no covenant fellowship and no blessing without obedience, that obedience is faith's response to what God has already done. Such faith illustrates the principle in 1 John 4:19: "We love him [God], because he first loved us."
| Read
Genesis
15:6. How does it, in many ways, show the basis of all covenant promises?
Why is this blessing the most precious one of
all? |
Read Exodus 6:1-8 and then answer these questions:
1. What covenant was He talking about? See
Genesis
12:1-3.
2. How was the Exodus to be a fulfillment, on His part, of the covenant
promises?
3. What parallel can you find between what God promised the people here
and what He promised Noah before the
Flood?
After the Exodus, the children of Israel received the covenant at Sinai, given in the context of redemption from bondage (Exod. 20:2) and containing God's sacrificial provisions for atonement and the forgiveness of sin. It was, therefore, like all of them, a covenant of grace, God's grace extended to His people.
This covenant reiterated, in many ways, the major emphases in the covenant with Abraham:
1. Special relationship of God to His people (compare Gen. 17:7, 8 with Exod. 19:5, 6).
2. They would be a great nation (compare Gen. 12:2 with Exod. 19:6).
3. Obedience was required (compare Gen. 17:9-14; 22:16-18 with Exod. 19:5).
"Note the order here: the Lord first saves Israel, then gives them His law to keep. The same order is true under the gospel. Christ first saves us from sin (see John 1:29; 1 Cor. 15:3; Gal. 1:4), then lives out His law within us (Gal. 2:20; Rom. 4:25; 8:1-3; 1 Pet. 2:24)."—The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 1, p. 602.
| Read
Exodus
6:7. What is the one thing that comes through in the first part, where
the Lord says they will be His people and He their God? Notice the dynamics
there. They will be something to God, and God will be something to them.
Not only does God want to relate to them in a special way; He wants them
to relate to Him in a special way, as well. Does the Lord not seek the same
kind of relationship with us today? Does that first part of
Exodus
6:7 reflect your relationship with the Lord, or are you someone whose
name is just on the church books? If your answer to the first part of that
question is Yes, give reasons why.
|
These passages are the first time the Old Testament mentions what is referred to as the "new covenant." It is lodged in the context of Israel's return from exile, and it talks about the blessings they will receive from God.
Again, as in all the others, it is God who initiates the covenant, and it is God who will fulfill it by His grace.
Notice, also, the language there. God referred to Himself as husband to them; He talked about writing His law within their hearts and using language from the Abrahamic covenant, He says He will b their God, and they will be His people. Thus, as before, the covenant is not just some legal-binding agreement, as in courts of law today, but it deals with something more.
Read
Jeremiah
31:33. Compare it with
Exodus
6:7, which details part of the covenant made with Israel. Again, what's
the key element that comes through here? What does God want with His
people?
Read
Jeremiah
31:34. Compare what is being said there to
John
17:3. What is the key thing the Lord does that builds the foundation
for this relationship?
In Jeremiah 31:31-34, one can see the elements of both grace an obedience, just as in the earlier covenants, as well. God will forgive their sins, God will enter into a relationship with them, and God will bestow His grace in their lives. As a result, the people simply obey Him not in some rote, mechanical way but purely because they know Him because they love Him, and because they want to serve Him. This captures the essence of the covenant relationship the Lord seeks with His people.
How do you understand this idea of the law being written in our hearts?
Does it imply that the law becomes subjective and personal, something to
be interpreted and applied according to the individual configurations of
our hearts? Or does it mean something else? If so, what?
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FURTHER STUDY:
The yoke that binds to service is the law of God. The great law of love revealed in Eden, proclaimed upon Sinai, and in the new covenant written in the heart, is that which binds the human worker to the will of God. If we were left to follow our own inclinations, to go just where our will would lead us, we should fall into Satan's ranks and become possessors of his attributes. Therefore God confines us to His will, which is high, and noble, and elevating. He desires that we shall patiently and wisely take up the duties of service. The yoke of service Christ Himself has borne in humanity. He said, 'I delight to do Thy will, O My God: yea, Thy law is within My heart.' Ps. 40:8. 'I came down from heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me.' John 6:38. Love for God, zeal for His glory, and love for fallen humanity, brought Jesus to earth to suffer and to die. This was the controlling power of His life. This principle He bids us adopt."—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, pp. 329, 330.
See also Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets,
pp. 132-138;
Prophets and Kings, pp. 569-571.
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SUMMARY: The entrance of sin ruptured the relationship the Creator
had originally established with the human family through our first parents.
Now God seeks to reestablish that same loving relationship by means of a
covenant. This covenant signifies both a committed relationship between God
and us (like a marriage bond) and an arrangement for saving us and bringing
us into harmony with its Maker. God Himself, motivated by His great love
for us, is the Initiator of the covenant relationship. By gracious promises
and gracious acts, He woos us to come into union with
Him.
J. H. Zachary
James Adu is an 86-year-old evangelist in Ghana, West Africa. Although he cannot read or write, he has won thousands to Christ using a unique object lesson to point people to the Savior.
Adu sets a sapling of the kwame [kwah-mee] tree on a table and explains that for centuries Ghanians have called the kwame the "God tree." Long before Europeans came to Ghana, the people worshiped the Creator God on the seventh-day Sabbath. And through the centuries the kwame tree has reminded Ghanians of those spiritual roots.
Adu points to the four branches at the top of the tree, which, he says, point in the four directions of the compass, signifying that God created all things on earth. The tree's branches are soft and pliable, which reminds listeners that God never forces people to come to Him. Ghanians have long used the kwame tree for medicinal purposes, and this reminds them that God, the Creator of the kwame tree, is the Great Physician.
Adu tells his audience that his father told him long ago that God gave the kwame tree to Adam and Eve. He adds that for generations in villages throughout Ghana drums were beaten on the sixth day of the week to call the people to prepare for worship on Kwame, Sabbath. Adu then appeals to today's Ghanians to return to their roots and keep holy the Sabbath day.
Adu has filled his mind with Scripture texts that support the ancient tradition of Kwame. As he places a white cloth around the kwame sapling, he explains that the living God is a righteous God. He places a small bowl of water in the four branches on top and explains that the water represents the Holy Spirit, whose coming is often referred to as rain. He then fastens a chain to one of the top branches and lets it hang down to the ground. The chain, he explains, is like Jesus, the One who connects heaven and earth.
Using these symbols makes it easy for the audience to respond to the appeal to come to the living God, who gave the Ghanian people the sacred kwame tree.
Today George Adu has joined his grandfather's evangelistic ministry. Together they see thousands return to the worship of the living God on the sacred Sabbath that their forefathers learned about untold generations ago.
J. H. Zachary is coordinator of international evangelism for The Quiet Hour.
Join the SSNET moderated email discussion group. You are also warmly invited to join a group discussion of this lesson Sabbath morning with your local Seventh-day Adventist congregation.
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