Covenants
Dear Brethren,
The subject of the Old and New
Covenants is considered trite and hackneyed by some who think the issue has
become stale through overuse. Nothing could be farther from the
truth! Since the Biblical covenants are nothing less than the promises of
God, their meanings are a virtual treasure trove of hope for God's people
today. A covenant is a binding agreement between two (or more)
entities. When God enters into a covenant, He always performs what He has
promised to do.
For example, because of God's covenant with Noah,
we know that the world and mankind will never again be destroyed by a great
flood. Notice how God phrased it: "I will establish my covenant
with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood;
neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth."
(Genesis 9:11) To this very day, every time we see a rainbow in the
sky, we can take God's promise for granted. He said, "I
do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant
between me and the earth." (Genesis 9:13)
God made a covenant with Abraham. Specific promises
of blessings were made to Abraham and his descendants if Abraham would
leave his home country of Ur of the Chaldees, travel to the land of Canaan,
and walk uprightly
(perfect) before God. "Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my
statutes, and my laws." (Genesis 26:5) This same
covenant was confirmed to Isaac. "My covenant will I establish
with Isaac - and I
will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant,
and with his seed [starting with Jacob] after
him."
(Genesis 17:21,19)
Isaac, in turn blessed Jacob who's name was changed to Israel (Gen
27:30). Abraham's descendants grew to become the nation of Israel.
They found themselves in Egyptian bondage, and their cry came up to
God. "And God heard their groaning, and
God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with
Jacob. And God looked upon the children of
Israel, and God had respect unto
them." (Exodus 2:24,25) God
delivered Israel from Egyptian captivity.
Through Moses God told all Israel:
"If ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye
shall be a special treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is
mine." (Exodus 19:5) God promised to make Israel a great
physical nation "If" they would obey Him. Israel agreed, thereby
entering into a covenant relationship with God. "All the
people answered together, and said, All
that the Lord has spoken we will do." (Exodus 19:8) Israel
affirmed, and then reaffirmed that they would keep all the laws of
God. "Moses came and told the people all the words of the
Lord, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and
said, All the words which the Lord has said will we do." (Exodus
24:3)
This covenant made at
Mt. Sinai came to be known as the "Old" Covenant. Israel was confident
that they would and could fulfill the requirement of obedience to God and His
laws. God gave them His great spiritual law defining, in principle, His
way of life. It was the same spiritual law which pre-dated, and was given
to Adam and Eve. Israel was to obey the Ten Commandments, along with
Statutes and Judgments. "These are the commandments, the statutes, and
the judgments, which the Lord your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do
them in the land whither ye go to possess
it." (Deuteronomy 6:1)
God and Israel entered into a marriage covenant - the Old
Covenant. Jesus Christ, God of the Old Testament, was the "husband"
and provider for Israel. Israel, in turn, promised to be
faithful to Jesus Christ. All marriage covenants exist
only until the death of one of the parties - that is the nature of a
marriage vow or covenant. "The woman which has a husband is bound by
the law to her husband so long as he lives; but if the husband be dead, she is
loosed from the law of her
husband." (Romans 7:2, 1Cor 7:39) Since the Ten
Commandments, Statutes and Judgments were in force prior to the Old Covenant
marriage with Israel, they were not abolished at the death of Jesus Christ when
the Old Covenant came to an end.
The argument is made that Jesus' death did away with the entire Old
Testament system - clean and unclean food laws, Passover, and the Feasts of the
Lord, the Ten Commandments, including the Sabbath, etc. Let's understand
that the laws of God that existed prior to the Old Covenant would have continued
to exist if a marriage covenant had never been made. Any subsequent
covenant, then, could not retroactively abolish any pre-existing laws of
God. However, ritual laws which were added as a result of violations of
the Old Covenant, would only last as long as the Old Covenant, itself, was in
effect - that is, until the death of Jesus Christ. The end of the Old
Covenant could not have done away with the distinction between clean and unclean
animals which clearly dates back to a time prior to Noah's ark, some one
thousand years before the Old Covenant began. (Genesis 7:2)
Paul explained that the temporary ritualistic laws and sacrifices were
added on account of "transgressions" by the Israelites. The Israelites
broke their covenant promise by breaking God's Ten Commandments, Statutes and
Judgments which existed before they entered into their marriage
covenant. "What purpose does the [ritualistic] law then serve? It was
added because of transgressions, till the seed [Jesus] should come to whom the
promise was made." (Galatians 3:19) The end of the Old Covenant
does not mean the end of the spiritual law upon which the covenant is
based.
Israel did not have the strength of character to remain faithful to
God. A repentant attitude was missing in them. "O that there
were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my
commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children
for ever!" (Deuteronomy 5:29) The New Covenant will be a new
marriage contract God makes with spiritual Israel. (Galatians 6:16)
"Behold, the days come,
saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house
of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I
made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them
out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an
husband unto them, saith the Lord." (Jeremiah 31:31,32
)
When Christ returns and pours out His Holy Spirit on mankind, it will
then be possible for man to live according to God's perfect law of
love. Then, because of God's divine nature in man, man will no longer
sin. With God's Holy
Spirit, we can live according to the eternal law of love. God has
promised us this eternal inheritance.
****
The title of tomorrow's Sabbath sermon is: "Covenants."
"The Proclamation of Jesus Christ" airs on www.Radio4living.com. Last week's program was, "Warning to Britain and
America." The broadcast plays throughout the Sabbath every 4 hours
beginning Friday evenings at 6:30 pm Central Time. This week's
program is: "Judgment to Come."