Lessons from the
Wilderness, Volume 51: What is Covenant? What is our relationship to the God of
Covenant? Let us see…
©2022, David E.
Robinson: At the Gates of Yerushalayim Ministries
Lessons from the Wilderness,
Volume 51
Covenant and Relationship Part One[i] [ii] [iii] [iv]
·
Thus, I establish My covenant
with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood;
never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth… Genesis 9:11
·
I set My rainbow in the cloud,
and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. Genesis
9:13
·
Now therefore, if you will indeed
obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me
above all people; for all the earth is Mine… Exodus 19:5
·
So, he was there with the
Lord forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water.
And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten
Commandments. Exodus 34:28
·
So, He declared to you His
covenant which He commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote
them on two tablets of stone. Deuteronomy 4:13
·
Therefore, know that the
Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps
covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep
His commandments. Deuteronomy 7:9
·
And the Lord, He is the
One who goes before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you nor forsake
you; do not fear nor be dismayed. Deuteronomy 31:8
·
But the mercy of the Lord is from
everlasting to everlasting
On those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children’s
children,
To such as keep His covenant,
And to those who remember His commandments to do them. Psalm 103:17-18
·
And for this reason, He is the
Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the
transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive
the promise of the eternal inheritance. Hebrews
9:15
·
Now may the God of peace who
brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep,
through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good
work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through
Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Hebrews 13:20-21
·
But now He has obtained a more
excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which
was established on better promises. Hebrews 8:6
·
I have made a covenant with my
eyes; Why then should I look upon a young woman? Job
31:1
·
“For the mountains shall depart
And the hills be removed,
But My kindness shall not depart from you,
Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,”
Says the Lord, who has mercy on you. Isaiah
54:10
·
Likewise, He also took the
cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My
blood, which is shed for you.” Luke 22:20
·
31 The days
are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the
house of Israel and the house of Judah. 32 It will not be like
the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to
bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was
their husband, g says the Lord. 33 But this is the
covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the
Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I
will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 No longer
shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they
shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I
will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more. Jere 31:31-34[v]
Isa
42:1-12
Behold
my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put
my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. 2
He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.
3 A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax
shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.
4 He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he has set
judgment in the earth:
and
the isles shall wait for his law.
5 Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens,
and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh
out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them
that walk therein: 6 I the LORD have called thee in
righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for
a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; 7 To
open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that
sit in darkness out of the prison house.
8 I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give
to another, neither my praise to graven images. 9 Behold, the
former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring
forth, I tell you of them.
10 Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise from the end of the
earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein: the
isles, and the inhabitants thereof. 11 Let the wilderness and
the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit:
let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the
mountains.
12 Let them give glory unto the LORD and declare his praise in the
islands.
If
I were to ask you to describe one theme that is consistent throughout the
entire bible using only one word [and not using the word love] what comes to
your mind?
There may be many answers, and
none of them would be wrong, as there is no wrong in God’s word. But I have a
specific word in mind that I will talk about today, though most of the words
you can think of are worthy of an epistle on their own merit. Since I am
writing this though, I get to use my word, and that word is:
Now, as seen in the verses I gave
at the beginning of this epistle, covenant bears heavy on the relationships
YHVH has made with His creation. Let me share a brief explanation of
the covenant with you:
…The
Concept of Covenant…
“… A covenant in the ancient world was similar to what we in the
modern world would call a contract, treaty, or a will. Each covenant
established the basis of a relationship, conditions for that relationship, promises
and conditions of the relationship and consequences if those conditions were
unmet. One of the most familiar examples of a covenant for us is marriage.
Why do I think understanding covenant is so important? It is
because the covenants provide the skeletal framework for how the whole biblical
story holds together. As the story of the Bible unfolds, we see God is a
covenant making, covenant keeping, and covenant fulfilling God. God establishes
covenants with certain people and these covenants are the way God unfolds his
redemptive plan. The covenants are the structure of the story.
The
Biblical Covenants
There are several covenants in the Bible, but five covenants are
crucial for understanding the story of the Bible and God’s redemptive plan: the
Noahic Covenant, the Abrahamic Covenant, The Mosaic Covenant, the Davidic
Covenant and the New Covenant.
The
Noahic Covenant
From Genesis 9, this is a covenant God establishes with Noah after
the flood in which he resets and renews the blessings of creation, reaffirming
God’s image in humanity and the work of dominion. This covenant promises the
preservation of humanity and provides for the restraint of human evil and
violence.
The
Abrahamic Covenant
See Genesis 12 and 15. This is the most central to the biblical
story. In it, God promises Abraham a land, descendants and blessing. This
blessing promised to Abraham would extend through him to all the peoples of the
earth. Understanding the Abrahamic Covenant is paramount to understanding
theological concepts like a Promised Land, election, the people of God,
inheritance and so on. It provides context for understanding practices like
circumcision, conflicts with surrounding nations and divisions between Jews and
Gentiles.
The
Mosaic Covenant
See Exodus 19 and 24. This is the covenant God establishes with
the people of Israel at Mt. Sinai after he led them out of Egyptian slavery.
With it, God supplies the Law that is meant to govern and shape the people of
Israel in the Promised Land. This Law was not a means of salvation but would
distinguish the people from the surrounding nations as a special kingdom of
priests (Exodus 19:1-7). This covenant was conditional and defined blessings
and curses based on obedience or disobedience (see Deuteronomy 28-29).
Understanding the Mosaic Covenant is foundational to understanding the cycles
of blessing and curse in the Old Testament, the exiles of Israel and Judah, the
disputes between Jesus and the Pharisees and Paul’s pastoral teachings about
law and grace.
The
Davidic Covenant
See 2 Samuel 7. This is the covenant where God promises a
descendant of David to reign on the throne over the people of God. It is a
continuation of the earlier covenants in that it promises a Davidic king as the
figure through whom God would secure the promises of land, descendants, and
blessing. This covenant becomes the basis for hope of a Messiah and makes sense
of the Gospels’ concern to show Jesus was the rightful King of the Jews.
The
New Covenant
See Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Luke 22:14-23. This is language first
used in Jeremiah’s promise of rescue and renewal of the exiled people of God in
Babylon. It promises a coming day when God would make a new covenant unlike the
one which Israel had broken. This coming day would bring forgiveness of sin,
internal renewal of the heart, and intimate knowledge of God. On the night of
Jesus’s Last Supper, Jesus takes the cup and declares that his death would be
the inauguration of this new covenant…”[vi]
Now I could have given you my own take on each of these covenants,
but I wanted to show you, dear reader, what the covenants look like to the
typical western 21st century mindset. This is not saying that the
opinions cast are wrong in anyway, but they have a slight bias attached to
them. That bias is how we in the west conceive of the topics in the Bible. To
Mr. Berger’s credit, he addressed this very issue in the beginning of his
article with this:
“…For a long time, I had a tough time understanding the
Bible. That is not to say that I have all my questions answered now. It is
simply to say that when I read the Bible in the past, there seemed to be a disconnection
between my expectations, my preconception, and what the Bible said. It was
difficult for me to see how the whole thing fit together, especially when it
came to the relationship between the Old and New Testaments.
A Conceptual Gap
Part of this difficulty is the distance of
time, space, and culture that stands between the texts of the Bible and me. A
major gap stands between 21st century America and first-century Palestine that
can make understanding difficult…”[vii]
And it is this conceptual gap that allows
error to creep into our understanding of the Scriptures as a whole; we try to
force the text to fit what our conceptions are [this is called eisegesis], instead of letting the text tell us what it means [this is
exegesis]. These two approaches
to Biblical study are described this way:
“…Exegesis and eisegesis
are two conflicting approaches in Bible study. Exegesis is the exposition or
explanation of a text based on a careful, objective analysis. The word exegesis literally
means “to lead out of.” That means that the interpreter is led to his
conclusions by following the text. The opposite approach to Scripture is
eisegesis, which is the interpretation of a passage based on a subjective,
non-analytical reading. The word eisegesis literally means “to
lead into,” which means the interpreter injects his own ideas into the text,
making it mean whatever he wants.
Obviously, only exegesis does justice to the text. Eisegesis is a mishandling
of the text and often leads to a misinterpretation. Exegesis is concerned with
discovering the true meaning of the text, respecting its grammar, syntax, and
setting. Eisegesis is concerned only with making a point, even at the expense
of the meaning of words.
Second Timothy 2:15 commands us to use
exegetical methods: “Present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who
does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” An
honest student of the Bible will be an exegete, allowing the text to speak for
itself. Eisegesis easily lends itself to error, as the would-be interpreter
attempts to align the text with his own preconceived notions. Exegesis allows
us to agree with the Bible; eisegesis seeks to force the Bible to agree with
us.
The process of exegesis involves 1) observation: what does the passage say? 2)
interpretation: what does the passage mean? 3) correlation: how does the
passage relate to the rest of the Bible? and 4) application: how should this passage
affect my life?
Eisegesis, on the other hand, involves 1) imagination: what idea do I want to
present? 2) exploration: what Scripture passage seems to fit with my idea? and
3) application: what does my idea mean? Notice that, in eisegesis, there is no
examination of the words of the text or their relationship to each other, no
cross-referencing with related passages, and no real desire to understand the
actual meaning. Scripture serves only as a prop to the interpreter’s idea…”[viii]
Okay, so now
that I have that off my chest, let us move on…
The five big
covenants mentioned above, are not the focus today, except to get you to study
and understand them [with proper Exegesis
of course].
I want to focus on the notion that covenant equals relationship, and that can
be shown by the relationship covenants:
·
The Covenant
of the Blood
·
The Covenant
of the Salt
·
The Covenant
of the Threshold
This may be
a long study, to do honor to each Covenant. We will see where we arrive and how
long we may have to make each topic fit, to give one more than just a glance
over of the concepts presented. Most of what I will present to you comes from
the following sources, each written by the same author, H. Clay Trumbull.[ix] Though
many other books have been written on these subjects, I find Trumbull’s view to
be the most comprehensive, for he covers each subject in lecture form. The
Blood Covenant covers a period of lectures given in 1885. While it seems dated,
please note that from a period of time in from 1850 to the 1900’s, there was an
uptick in Old Testament related studies. Scholars and teachers and pastors
alike all found a renewal in becoming Berens and searching the Scriptures to
see if these things spoken were so.
May this be our cry today as we launch a new series of studies to explore the covenantal relationships that form our faith and hold fast to the things of God. Why is this important? Words and languages imply that there are limitations and a type of imperfect understanding in the transmission of ideas. No language can contain a one-on-one translation of concepts. Take the word covenant: do we even understand the fullness and importance of what this word is actually trying to convey? Ideas precede words,[x] just as action precedes understanding. What I mean is this: sometimes you just have to do what God expects, even if you do not understand why.
Understanding follows the
action; what is important is that we act. The heart will follow with our
obedience. That is the only way to prove to God that we actually love Him, by
keeping His commandments and His word. Yeshua said this also:
John 14:12-15
Truly,
truly, I say to you, He who believes on Me, the works that I do he shall do
also, and greater works than these he shall do, because I go to My
Father. 13
And whatever you may ask in My name, that I will do, so that the Father may be
glorified in the Son. 14
If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.
15 If you love Me, keep My
commandments.
We can see
this further in the epistle of 1 John:
1 John 5:1-5
Everyone who believes that Jesus is
the Christ has been born of God. And everyone who loves Him who begets also
loves him who has been born of Him.
2 By this we know
that we love the children of God, whenever we love God and keep His commandments.
3 For this is the love of
God, that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome.
4 For everything that has been born of God overcomes the world.
And this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith. 5 Who is he who overcomes
the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
Covenant
with God depends on three factors:
1.
Obedience to The Father’s word.
2.
Believe in Yeshua the Messiah.
3.
A continuous walk with YHVH, following His commandments,
precepts, and ordinances while holding onto the faith [trust] in the finished
work of Machiach.
This is what defines our love of Him
and Yeshua.
1)
It is not with our lips, for our lips can and do speak false
hoods.
2)
It is not with words or oaths, for our words ring untrue, and
our oaths are quickly forgotten.
3)
It is in what we do.
a)
Do we keep [guard
and obey] His words? Do we trust in them? Do we walk in the Torah of Adonai?
b)
Do we seek,
do we treasure, do we proclaim His ways?
c)
Do we
rejoice, do we meditate, do we delight in All he commands? [xi]
If we do, then we have covenant with Him. We are in a relationship with Him and for Him. And what if we are not? Some would say, “Well, we have Christ!” The role of Christianity in the world seems to tell us this, but are Christians in covenant with God? There is no “Christian” covenant mentioned in the Scriptures. What of the Jews? What of their covenant, broken and shattered so many times by disobedience? Are they in covenant still?
Can we as humans, regardless of
ethnicity, or background, can we fulfill the assignments that we are given?
Look at this broken, shaken world. How can a holy God create human beings that
are capable of so much evil as well as good, and then expect so much from
frail, fallible, and mortal beings? If we are so fallible, so capable of
sinning continuously, how is it even within our natures to make good a covenant
that none have been able to keep? Why must God continuously be disappointed in
us, when we are unable to keep the simple things He demands, when we act out
our role as human beings with all our faults?
Are we able
to rise above our own condition? Are we so neurotic that we seek religion or
spirituality, so we can take upon ourselves a role that is realized in “I will
be your God, and you will be my people”? Is that even a role that belongs to a
Christian? A Buddhist? A Hindu? A Moslem? Or does it belong to a people chosen,
the Jew?
The question
of our lives is “Who are we?” Judaism does not exist without Jews. Christianity
does not exist without Christians. Islam does not exist without Moslems. A Messianic
does not exist without two components, a Messiah and the religion of the Jews. So,
who are we then to God? What are we? What do we stand or fall upon?
Can we know
anything? Can the nature of Scripture tell us anything? Do the ethics of the
Jewish Scriptures, their social norms, their dogged hope in the olam haba,
the world to come matter to humanity at all? Do the other “great” religions
have anything to add to the story of God, or our own story? Does covenant equal
a relationship? [xii]
These
questions define our worldview, our perspective on who we are, and what is
expected. God expects something, and it is our role to find out what that
something is. But we will have to wait till next time.
May God richly bless you
all, my beloveds
Amein.
[i]NOTICE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
RIGHTS: Unless
otherwise cited, all material found on this blogsite (original text, opinions,
conclusions, and other material not related to cited sources remains the
collected intellectual property of the author of this site, David E. Robinson,
Elder, Teacher, and are owned and controlled by myself and are protected by
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unfair competition laws of the United States, foreign jurisdictions, and
international conventions. Any errors found within, rest solely upon me; please
do not blame the Father for my mistakes. I am teachable and correctable, also
fallible. 😊
[ii] FAIR USE DISCLAIMER: This
blog site may contain content that is not authorized for use by its owner. All
such material will be cited back to its original source. According to Section
107 of the Copyright Act: “…the fair use of a copyrighted work […] for purposes
such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies
for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of
copyright…” I have made and will continue to make every effort to stay within
all ethical and moral guidelines in the use of material presented here, and the
use of these materials is solely intended for educational purposes only, and
all efforts to obtain or sustain fair use of non-owned material will be made.
[iii] Author’s note: This site is
for education only and is not affiliated with any institution, organization, or
religious group. It is the sole production of its editor. Use of information
from Jewish-themed websites (or any other source material) should not be
construed as these sites endorsing or confirming any thesis introduced by the
author of this epistle. I present the information from their respective sites
for instructional purposes only and/or to aid in the readers understanding of
the subjects discussed.
[iv] Author’s
note: Throughout this study I may be using the NET Bible® and the NET
Notes®: within the notes you will see symbols like this: (א B Ψ 892* 2427 sys). These are
abbreviations used by the NET Bible® for identifying the principal manuscript
evidence that they (authors and translators of the NET Bible®) used in
translating the New Testament. Please go to https://bible.org/netbible/ and see
their section labeled “NET Bible Principals of Translation” for a more complete
explanation on these symbols and other items pertinent to the way the NET Bible
uses them.
vThe Holy Bible: New
Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers,
1989), Je 31:31–34.
[vi]
From the article “Theology Thursday: What Are the
Biblical Covenants?” by Brett a. Berger ThM, GSU University:
[vii] Ibid
[viii]
https://www.gotquestions.org/exegesis-eisegesis.html
[ix] The Blood Covenant: A
Primitive Rite and its Bearing on Scripture first published 1896; The
Threshold Covenant: or The Beginnings of Religious Rites published in
1896; The Covenant of Salt: As Based on the Significance and Symbolism of
Salt in Primitive Thought, first published in 1899.
[x] I wish I could claim preeminence
for this profound truth, but it comes from, alas, an unknown author, whom even
though anonymous, I wish to give them credit for it. Such truth needs to be
shared…
[xi] See Psalm 119.
[xii] I give credit where credit is due.
The last few paragraphs of this epistle are adapted from Our Covenant
with God, by Arnold M. Eisen, who asked deep and poignant questions. I
wish to explore these and others in our following posts. You can read Mr. Eisen’s
post at https://www.jtsa.edu/torah/our-covenant-with-god/
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