COVENANTS
Definition
DEFINITION:
A formal agreement, a contract
SYNONYMS:
Contract, deal, pact, agreement, treaty, alliance, pledge,
constitution, testament or will.
A
covenant, in contract law, is a legally enforceable agreement
between two or more persons to do or to refrain from doing a certain
act, or specifying that a given state of facts does or does not
exist.
A
modern legally binding contract between people could be described as
follows:
There
must be at least 2 parties.
Both
parties must voluntarily agree to enter into the contract (no
duress).
The
contract might have all terms stipulated by one party (e.g. hire
purchase) or could have terms negotiated by both parties (e.g.
business partnership).
There
might be conditions (about either promised action and/or
non-action) attached to one or both parties (e.g. inter-country
alliance treaty) or it may be unconditional (e.g. last will or
testament).
A
contract with conditions attached might require mediation by a
third party.
If
either party breaches the agreement by not adhering to the
stipulated conditions, the other party is automatically released
from their obligations, and the contract becomes null and void.
There may be a penalty clause to penalise the offending party.
The
conditions of the contract can only be legally changed by consent
of both parties, or by the existence of a more recent contract,
which supersedes the previous one.
The
contract must be signed by both parties and countersigned by
witnesses to make it legally binding.
Typical
commonplace contracts are marriage, business partnerships, sale of
property, insurance policies, hire-purchase agreements, rental or
lease contracts, inter-country treaties etc.
A
CONTRACT OR COVENANT HAS ALWAYS BEEN A CRUCIAL PART OF GOD'S
RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS PEOPLE.
Covenant
is a legal concept often used in the Bible as a metaphor to describe
the relationship between God and humankind… The idea of a covenant
between God and humankind lies at the heart of the Bible. This idea
explains the selection of the word testament, a synonym for
covenant, in naming the two parts of the Bible.
God
always honours his covenants, unlike people who often make covenant
vows and then dishonour them. The marriage covenant where people
swear “until death us do part” with God as a witness, and then
lightly disregard this is but one example.
Malachi
2:13-16 Another thing you do: You flood the LORD's altar with tears.
You weep and wail because he no longer pays attention to your
offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. You ask,
"Why?" It is because the
LORD is acting as the witness
between you and the wife of your youth, because you
have broken faith with her,
though she is your partner,
the wife of your marriage covenant.
Has not the LORD made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his.
And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. So guard
yourself in your spirit, and
do not break faith
with the wife of your youth. "I hate divorce," says the
LORD God of Israel, "…
Types of
covenants
Equals and
non-equals
In
ancient times, a covenant was a treaty between two parties. There
were two kinds of covenants:
a voluntary agreement between equals
(as with David and Jonathan - 1 Samuel 18:3) and
treaties of loyalty between a great king and a lesser king
(his vassal). In the Bible, covenants
between God and his people are always of the second type.
God
always dictates the terms
of His covenants, which assert His sovereignty and kingship, and the
people's obligation of faith and obedience.
The
Hebrew for covenant is “berîth”.
In
the OT
berîth
identifies three different types of legal relationships.
A
two-sided covenant between human parties, both of which voluntarily
accept the terms of the agreement… God
however never "enters in" to such a covenant of equality
with men.
A
one-sided
disposition imposed by a superior party
(Ezekiel 17:13-14) .
God the Lord thus “commands" a berîth
which man, the servant, is to "obey"
(Joshua 23:16).
God’s
self-imposed obligation, for the reconciliation of sinners to
himself (Deuteronomy 7:6-8, Psalm 89:3-4)
Not
only the Hebrew, but also the Greek, emphasises that God’s
covenants are not an agreement between equals. The Septuagint (LXX),
which is the Greek translation of the Old Testament by 72 Hebrew
scholars before the time of Christ, is useful in ascertaining the
equivalent Greek terms for the Old Testament Hebrew. In its
translation of the Hebrew berîth,
more light is thrown in this regard:
The
LXX avoided the usual Greek term for covenant, synthêke
(Meaning a thing mutually
"put together"),
as unsuitable
for the action of the sovereign God
and substituted diathêke
(a thing, literally, "put through"), the primary meaning
of which is "a disposition of property by a will."
We
are familiar in modern times with contracts where we are not able to
negotiate conditions but are obliged to accept what the initiating
party has stipulated (e.g. a rental agreement). Our extent of
negotiation is in accepting or rejecting the terms altogether, but
not in modifying them.
Likewise,
the covenants between God and man do not have the conditions
negotiated by both parties. God stipulates the conditions for men,
but in his love, also imposes conditions on himself, albeit not due
to pressure or bargaining by men (e.g. the Abrahamic covenant).
Man’s freedom of choice allows for acceptance or rejection of the
contract, but not for variation of God’s stipulated terms.
Joshua
23:16 If you violate the
covenant
of the LORD your God, which
he commanded you,
and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the LORD's anger
will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good
land he has given you.
Major
types of Covenants
In
the ancient Near East there were 3 main types of covenants; the
Covenant of Parity, a Royal Grant and the Suzerain-Vassal Covenant.
Commitments
made in these covenants were accompanied by self-maledictory oaths
(made orally, ceremonially, or both). The gods were called upon to
witness the covenants and implement the curses of the oaths if the
covenants were violated.
Parity
Parity:
A covenant between equals, binding them to mutual friendship or at
least to mutual respect for each other’s spheres and interests,
Participants called each other “brothers”.
This
was the type of covenant entered into by Abraham and Abimelech,
Jacob and Laban, and David and Jonathan.
Royal
Grant
Royal
grant (unconditional): A
king’s grant of land or some other benefit to a loyal servant for
faithful or exceptional service. The grant was normally perpetual
and unconditional, but the servant’s heirs benefited from it only
as they continued their father’s loyalty and service.
There
were different kinds of covenants in the biblical world, however,
just as there are different kinds of contracts today. One type of
ancient covenant that serves as a model for certain biblical
passages is the royal
grant.
In this type of covenant, a king or other person in authority
rewards a loyal
subject
by granting him an office, land, exemption from taxes, or the like.
It is typical of such covenants that only
the superior party binds himself; conditions are not imposed on the
inferior party.
Such covenants are also referred to as covenants of promise or
unconditional
covenants.
The covenants God made with NOAH (Genesis 9:8-17), ABRAHAM (Genesis
15:18), and DAVID (2 Samuel 7; 23:5) fit this pattern. In each of
these cases, it is God alone who binds himself by a solemn oath to
keep the covenant.
Suzerain-Vassal
Suzerain-Vassal
(conditional):A
covenant regulating a relationship between a great king and one of
his subject kings. The great king claimed absolute right of
sovereignty, demanded total loyalty and service (the vassal must
"love" his suzerain) and pledged protection of the
subject’s realm and dynasty, conditional on the vassal's
faithfulness and loyalty to him. The vassal pledged absolute loyalty
to his suzerain - whatever service his suzerain demanded - an
exclusive reliance on the suzerain's protection. Participants called
each other "lord" and "servant", or "father"
and “son”.
The
Mosaic covenant (Exodus 19-24; Deuteronomy; Joshua 24) seems to have
been modelled on another type of ancient covenant, the political
treaty between a powerful king and his weaker vassal. Following the
standard form of such treaties, God, the suzerain, reminds Israel,
the vassal, how God has saved it, and Israel in response accepts the
covenant stipulations. Israel is promised a blessing for obedience
and a curse for breaking the covenant.
All
covenants between God and man before the New Covenant are either of
the Royal
Grant or Suzerain-Vassal
type, or both.
Testament
or will
Jesus
Christ added another model, that of a last will and testament. At
the Last Supper, he interpreted his own life and death as the
perfect covenant (Matthew 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20).
Table :Types of covenants
COVENANT
|
TYPE
|
PARTICIPANTS
|
Edenic
|
Suzerain-Vassal
|
Adam
& Eve
|
Adamic
|
Royal
Grant
|
All
mankind
|
Noachic
|
Royal
Grant / Suzerain-Vassal
|
Noah,
his descendants and every living thing on earth
|
Abrahamic
|
Royal
Grant / Suzerain-Vassal
|
Abraham
|
Mosaic
|
Suzerain-Vassal
|
Israel
|
Phinehas
|
Royal
Grant
|
Phinehas
|
Davidic
|
Royal
Grant
|
David
|
New
|
Last
will or testament
|
All
men who believe
|
Covenants
of parity
Abraham
and Abimelech made a covenant of parity. In return for securing
property rights for water wells in Beersheba, Abraham promises to be
kind to Abimelech and his offspring. The covenant was sealed with an
oath and the 7 lambs set apart from the others as a witness were
probably used in the treaty ceremony. As equals they negotiate the
terms of the treaty.
Genesis
21:22-31 At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his
forces said to Abraham, "God is with you in everything you do.
Now swear
to me
here before
God
that
you will not deal falsely with me or my children or my descendants.
Show to me and the country where you are living as an alien the same
kindness I have shown to you." Abraham said, "I swear it."
Then Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well of water that
Abimelech's servants had seized. But Abimelech said, "I don't
know who has done this. You did not tell me, and I heard about it
only today." So Abraham brought sheep and cattle and gave them
to Abimelech, and the
two men made a treaty.
Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs from the flock, and Abimelech
asked Abraham, "What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs
you have set apart by themselves?" He replied, "Accept
these seven lambs
from my hand as
a witness
that I dug this well." So that place was called Beersheba,
because the two men swore
an oath
there.
The
Philistine Abimelech who was originally hostile to Isaac, decided to
negotiate a covenant of parity indicating mutual respect
Genesis
26:26-31 Meanwhile, Abimelech had come to him from Gerar, with
Ahuzzath his personal adviser and Phicol the commander of his
forces. Isaac asked them, "Why have you come to me, since you
were hostile to me and sent me away?" They answered, "We
saw clearly that the LORD was with you; so we said, `There
ought to be a sworn agreement between us'--between
us and you. Let
us make a treaty
with you that you will do us no harm, just as we did not molest you
but always treated you well and sent you away in peace. And now you
are blessed by the LORD." Isaac then made a feast for them, and
they ate and drank. Early the next morning the men swore
an oath
to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they left him
in peace.
Jacob
and Laban entered into a covenant of parity sealed with an oath.
Boundaries were agreed upon and Jacob promises to be kind to Laban’s
daughters. A sacrifice was made to seal the covenant and God was
called as a witness. Despite their differences Jacob and Laban agree
to a covenant of mutual respect.
Genesis
31:43-54 Laban answered Jacob, "The women are my daughters, the
children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks. All you see
is mine. Yet what can I do today about these daughters of mine, or
about the children they have borne? Come now, let's
make a covenant,
you and I, and let it serve as a witness between us." So Jacob
took a stone and set it up as a pillar. He said to his relatives,
"Gather some stones." So they took stones and piled them
in a heap, and they ate there by the heap. Laban called it Jegar
Sahadutha, and Jacob called it Galeed. Laban said, "This heap
is a witness between you and me today." That is why it was
called Galeed. It was also called Mizpah, because he said, "May
the LORD keep watch
between you and me when we are away from each other. If you mistreat
my daughters or if you take any wives besides my daughters, even
though no one is with us, remember that God
is a witness
between you and me." Laban also said to Jacob, "Here is
this heap, and here is this pillar I have set up between you and me.
This
heap is a witness,
and this
pillar is a witness,
that I will not go past this heap to your side to harm you and that
you will not go past this heap and pillar to my side to harm me. May
the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father,
judge between us." So Jacob
took an oath
in the name of the Fear of his father Isaac. He
offered a sacrifice
there in the hill country and invited
his relatives to a meal.
After they had eaten, they spent the night there.
In
return for offering the Israelite spies protection, Rahab negotiates
a covenant for her family’s protection. The scarlet cord, which
symbolised this agreement, has been regarded as typical of the
blood, which would symbolise the New Covenant, which protects us
from God’s righteous anger against sin.
Joshua
2:17-21 The men said to her, "This oath
you made us swear
will not be binding on us unless, when we enter the land, you have
tied this scarlet cord in the window
through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your
father and mother, your brothers and all your family into your
house. If anyone goes outside your house into the street, his blood
will be on his own head; we will not be responsible. As for anyone
who is in the house with you, his blood will be on our head if a
hand is laid on him. But if you tell what we are doing, we will be
released from the oath you made us swear." "Agreed,"
she replied. "Let it be as you say." So she sent them away
and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window.
To
confirm certain oaths or seal a contract in Biblical times, a man
plucked off his shoe and gave it to the other party, as was the case
with Boaz
.
Ruth
4:7-8 (Now in earlier times in Israel, for the redemption and
transfer of property to become final, one party took off his sandal
and gave it to the other. This was the method of legalising
transactions in Israel.) So the kinsman-redeemer said to Boaz, "Buy
it yourself." And he removed his sandal.
When
Jonathan made a covenant of parity with David, he went even farther
than this and gave him his own garments.
1
Samuel 18:3-4 And Jonathan made
a covenant
with David because he loved him as himself. Jonathan
took off the robe
he was wearing and gave it to David, along with
his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.
God
does not enter into covenants of parity with men as we are not his
equals.
Isaiah
40:25 "To whom will you compare me?
Or who is my equal?"
says the Holy One.
Dispensational
covenants
A
dispensation can be defined as a period during which God deals with
His people in a particular manner. Each one is ushered in by a
distinct covenant and terminated by a judgement. These
dispensational covenants are as follows:
The
Age
of Innocence
was ushered in by the Edenic
covenant
and ended with the judgement
of man and the serpent.
The
Age
of Conscience
commenced with the Adamic
covenant
and ended with the judgement
of the Deluge (flood).
The
Age
of Human Government
commenced with the Noachic
covenant
and ended with the judgement
at Babel.
The
Age
of Patriarchal Rule
started with the Abrahamic
covenant
and ended with the judgement
of the 10 plagues in
Egypt. While normally the covenant also ended with the
dispensation, in this case Scripture teaches that the Abrahamic
covenant didn’t cease when the newer Mosaic covenant was put in
place (see next section for elaboration).
The
Age
of Law
began with the
Mosaic covenant
and ended with the judgement
of man’s sin through Jesus’ crucifixion.
The
present Age
of Grace
began with the New
Covenant
in Christ and will end with the judgement
of the tribulation.
Dispensation
|
Covenant
started with
|
Judgement
ended with
|
Innocence
|
Edenic
covenant
|
Judgement
of serpent and man
|
Conscience
|
Adamic
covenant
|
The
flood
|
Human
Government
|
Noachic
covenant
|
The
tower of Babel
|
Patriarchal
Dispensation
|
Abrahamic
covenant
|
The
10 plagues
|
The
Law
|
Mosaic
covenant
|
The
crucifixion
|
Grace
|
New
covenant in Christ
|
The
tribulation
|
The
Millennium
|
New
covenant with Israel
|
The
Great White Throne
|
Table
2:Dispensational covenants
Figure
1:Dispensational covenants and judgements
The uniqueness of the
Abrahamic covenant from a dispensational view
While
normally the newer covenant displaced the previous, Paul indicates
in Galatians that this was not true of the Abrahamic covenant. The
Abrahamic covenant did not cease with the Mosaic covenant and we
remain recipients of the main promise of the covenant which is:
Genesis
22:18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed
Paul
makes it clear that Jesus is the seed referred to and all nations
being blessed refers to the blessing of salvation we have received
by virtue of Jesus who was Abraham’s seed.
In
fact, in Galatians Paul explicitly says that the Mosaic covenant did
not set aside the previous Abrahamic covenant, although it was more
recent.
Gal
3:17 What I mean is this: The
law,
introduced 430 years later, does
not set aside the covenant
previously established by God and thus do away with the promise.
Is
the Abrahamic covenant no longer applicable to Israel but only to
the church?
However
although the Abrahamic covenant is still intact and we are
recipients of the blessing of the seed – most of the Abrahamic
covenant does not apply to the church. This is because the covenant
also included very specific promises regarding land to Abraham’s
physical descendants (i.e. the land of Israel) which is still to be
fulfilled in the future Millennial kingdom. Abraham’s covenant
also included the seal of circumcision (not required by New Covenant
believers).
Most
Amillennialists take the view that the promises made to Abraham have
all been passed on to the church and that God has finished with
Israel. However the Premillennial view is that God deals with man in
dispensations and that while “Israel has experienced a hardening
in part” (Romans 11:25) – Paul qualifies this statement by
saying that this is only until “until the full number of the
Gentiles has come in.” He then adds “And so all Israel will be
saved” (Rom 11:26). So God will restore Israel as promised in
Romans 11 and then they will receive all the other promises (of
land) that were part of Abraham’s covenant.
Stephen
indicates that Abraham’s covenant included the sign or
circumcision and the NT makes it clear that we are no longer
required to be circumcised.
Acts
7:8 Then he gave Abraham the covenant
of circumcision.
Rather
the sign of our new covenant is baptism:
Col
2:11-12 In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the
sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but
with the
circumcision done by Christ,
having
been buried with him in baptism
and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who
raised him from the dead.
So
in summary:
1)
Jesus indicates that he instituted a ‘new covenant’ (contrasted
with the old Mosaic covenant of Law) with the cross:
Luke
22: 20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying,
“This cup is the
new covenant in my blood,
which is poured out for you.
2)
And the book of Hebrews says our covenant is not only new – but
better than the Mosaic covenant:
Heb
7:22 Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a
better covenant.
3)
So while we have a distinct “new and better” covenant, the
church has still received the specific promise of the Abrahamic
covenant that was made to “all nations of the earth” (i.e.
Abraham’s spiritual sons in faith as opposed to Abrahams physical
descendants).
The
necessity of blood
Just
as a contract without signatures is not legally binding, so God's
covenants with man (except the Edenic because of innocence) are all
sealed with a "blood signature”. Blood contains the essence
of life, and for this reason God forbids Noah and his descendants to
consume it.
Genesis
9:4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof,
shall ye not eat.
This
was one of the few regulations that was carried through in the New
Covenant as indicated by the letter from the Council at
Jerusalem to the Gentile believers.
Acts
15:28-29 It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden
you with anything beyond the following requirements: You
are to abstain from
food sacrificed to idols, from
blood,
from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You
will do well to avoid these things.
From
the beginning we see that the shedding of blood was necessary to
clothe man’s spiritual nakedness. After the Fall in Eden man
attempted to clothe his nakedness (type of sin) with fig leaves
(type of “good works”). God, however, clothed them with garments
of skin, which would have necessitated the shedding of blood of an
animal (type of Jesus’ sacrifice).
Likewise
Cain's sacrifice of the fruit of his labour (which speaks of good
works) was not acceptable, while Abel's sacrifice of fat portions
from the firstborn of his flock was (the blood of the innocent being
shed for the guilty). Even at this stage it appears that the
significance of the blood pointing to future redemption by the “seed
of the woman” was accepted by the righteous through faith.
Hebrews
11:4 By
faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice
than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when
God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even
though he is dead.
Noah
sacrificed animals when God established His covenant with him, as
did Abraham. The blood of the Passover lamb “covered” or
protected those who sprinkled it on their doorframes from God’s
wrath.
Exodus
12:13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are;
and when
I see the blood, I will pass over you.
No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.
Notice
that charismatic religious fetishes like "pleading the blood"
over places are on a par with lucky rabbit's feet and good luck
charms. The
blood in the Scripture is never to protect us from Satan’s wrath
but from God’s wrath.
Remember the Passover when God's destroyer passed over the houses
when he saw the blood; likewise God “passes over us” when he
sees the blood of Christ.
The
Covenant with Israel was a “blood covenant”.
Exodus
24:8 Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said,
“This is the
blood of the covenant
that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.”
The
Law required that the blood of animals be sprinkled on the altar for
a sin offering, indicating the substitution of the victim’s blood
for that of the sinner.
Hebrews
9:22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed
with blood, and
without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
To
bring about atonement and to establish the New Covenant it was
necessary for Jesus to shed His blood.
Luke
22:20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying,
“This cup is
the new covenant in my blood,
which is poured out for you.”
COVENANT
|
BLOOD
|
Adamic
|
Animals
killed for garments
|
Noachic
|
Sacrifice
of clean animals and birds
|
Abrahamic
B
|
Sacrifice
of heifer, a goat and a ram, along with a dove and a young
pigeon.
|
Abrahamic
C
|
Sacrifice
of the ram in Isaac’s place
|
Mosaic
|
Blood
of lambs, bulls and goats
|
New
|
Jesus’
blood on the cross
|
Figure
2:Blood covenants
The
covenant sign
A
covenant sign was a visible seal and reminder of covenant
commitments. The rainbow was the sign of the covenant with Noah.
Genesis
9:12-16 And God said, “This
is the sign of the covenant I
am
making
between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant
for all generations to come:
I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the
covenant between me and the earth.
Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in
the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all
living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a
flood to destroy all life, Whenever the rainbow appears in the
clouds, I
will see it and remember
the
everlasting covenant between
God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”.
Circumcision
was the sign of the covenant with Abraham, and the Sabbath was the
sign of the covenant with Israel at Sinai. Both of these practices
have been contentious issues in the church. However as they
are remnants of previous covenants, it is important to remember that
legally a more recent covenant supersedes previous ones.
This explains why neither of these apply to the those who partake of
the New Covenant.
The
sign of the Abrahamic Covenant is circumcision.
Genesis
17:9-11 Then God said to Abraham, "…This is my covenant with
you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep:
Every male among you shall be circumcised. You
are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant
between me and you..”
But
Paul writes to those partaking of the New Covenant:
Galatians
5:6 For in
Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value.
The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
COVENANT
|
SIGN
|
Noachic
|
Rainbow
|
Abrahamic
|
Circumcision
|
Mosaic
|
Sabbath
|
Davidic
|
A
son
|
New
|
Baptism,
the table
|
Figure
3:The covenant sign
The
sign of the Mosaic Covenant is the Sabbath.
Exodus
31:13 "Say to the Israelites `You must observe my Sabbaths,
This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come…”
But
Paul writes to those partaking of the New Covenant:
Colossians
2:16-17 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or
drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon
celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that
were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
The oath
As
was typical of covenants of parity, the covenant between Abraham and
Abimelech was sealed with an oath.
So too were the covenants between Isaac and Abimelech,
and Jacob and Laban.
The oath made the covenant binding.
Hebrews
6:16 Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath
confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument.
Jacob
insisted on Esau swearing an oath when he covenanted to give him the
birthright.
Genesis
25:33 But Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore an
oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.
Jehoida’s
covenant with the commanders ,
and David’s covenant with Jonathan
were also sealed with oaths. The oath was seen as a ratification of
the covenant, as evidenced by Joshua’s treaty with the Gibeonites.
Joshua
9:15 Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live,
and the leaders of the assembly ratified
it by oath.
So
too God confirms his covenants with an oath.
Deuteronomy
4:31 For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or
destroy you or forget the
covenant with your forefathers, which he confirmed to them by oath.
Abraham
tells Eliezer about God’s oath:
Genesis
24:7 "The LORD, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my
father's household and my native land and who spoke to me and
promised me on oath,
saying, `To your offspring I will give this land'
Moses
emphasises to Israel that their covenant is sealed with an oath from
God:
Deuteronomy
29:12-15 You are standing here in order to enter into a covenant
with the LORD your God, a
covenant the LORD is making with you
this day and sealing
with an oath,
to confirm you this day as his people, that he may be your God as he
promised you and as he swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob. I am making this
covenant, with its oath,
not only with you who are standing here with us today in the
presence of the LORD our God but also with those who are not here
today.
The
Davidic covenant was bound with the surety of an irrevocable oath:
Psalm
132:11 The
LORD swore an oath to David,
a sure
oath that he will not revoke:”
One of your own descendants I will place on your throne…
When
Jesus is appointed the high priest of the New Covenant forever, God
guarantees this with an oath.
Hebrews
7:20-22 And it
was not without an oath!
Others became priests without any oath, but he became a priest with
an oath when God said to him:” The Lord has sworn and will not
change his mind: You are a priest forever.' " Because
of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.
We
too as the “heirs of what was promised” in the New Covenant have
our covenant confirmed by God’s oath.
Hebrews
6:17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose
very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with
an oath.
The
covenant meal
In
the ancient Middle East there was often a covenant meal, celebrating
the sealing of the covenant. Hence we read regarding the treaty
between Isaac and Abimelech:
Genesis
26:26-31 Let us make a treaty with you …. Isaac then made a feast
for them, and they ate and drank.
When
Jacob and Laban entered into a covenant we also read of a covenant
meal.
Genesis
31:43-54 Laban answered Jacob, "…Come now, let's
make a covenant,
… So Jacob
took an oath
in the name of the Fear of his father Isaac. He
offered a sacrifice
there in the hill country and invited
his relatives to a meal.
The
first Passover and all subsequent ones were associated with a
covenant meal.
Exodus
12:3-11 Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of
this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each
household. ….That
same night they are to eat the meat
roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made
without yeast. …. This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak
tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in
your hand. Eat it in haste; it
is the LORD's Passover.
Jesus
used his last Passover meal with his disciples as a covenant meal to
institute the New Covenant in which he would be the Passover lamb.
Thus the bread and the wine have become the symbols or sign of this
covenant
John
13:1-2 It was just
before the Passover Feast.
Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go
to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now
showed them the full extent of his love. The
evening meal was being served,
…
Luke
22:20 In the same way, after
the supper
he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new
covenant
in my blood, which is poured out for you.
At
his last Passover meal, Jesus referred to his body as bread and to
his blood as wine--he was the Passover Lamb who was symbolically
eaten by his disciples as a
covenant meal.
Covenant
mediators
A
mediator is someone who acts as a negotiator
between 2
or more parties
either to settle a dispute, or to bring about a settlement or
agreement. A covenant mediator belongs to the latter group.
A
covenant
mediator
is someone who arbitrates
between the covenant parties to bring
about agreement
on the covenant terms.
Galatians
3:20 A
mediator, however, does not represent just one party;
but God is one. Since the promise God covenanted with Abraham
involved commitment only from God's side, no mediator was involved.
Thus
a royal grant requires no mediator, while a Suzerain-Vassal does.
Once
more Joshua assembled the tribes at Shechem to call Israel to a
renewal of the covenant. It was his final official act as the Lord's
servant, mediator of the Lord's rule over his people. In this he
followed the example of Moses, whose final official act was also a
call to covenant renewal--of which Deuteronomy is the preserved
document.
Following
is the dialogue of Joshua acting as mediator between Israel and God
for the covenant renewal.
Joshua
24:19-27 Joshua said to the people, "You are not able to serve
the LORD, He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive
your rebellion and your sins. If you forsake the LORD and serve
foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end
of you, after he has been good to you."
But
the people said to Joshua, "No! We will serve the LORD."
Then
Joshua said, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you
have chosen to serve the LORD."
"Yes,
we are witnesses," they replied.
"Now
then," said Joshua, "throw away the foreign gods that are
among you and yield your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel."
And
the people said to Joshua, "We will serve the LORD our God and
obey Him."
On
that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and then at Shechem
he drew up for them decrees and laws. And Joshua recorded these
things in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and
set it up there under the oak near the holy place of the LORD.
"See!"
he said to all the people. "This stone will be a witness
against us, it has heard all the words the LORD has said to us. It
will be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God."
The
2 central mediators in the Bible are:
Mediator
of the Old Covenant (Testament): Moses
Mediator
of the New Covenant (Testament): Jesus
John
1:17 For the Law
was given through Moses;
Grace
and Truth
came through Jesus
Christ.
The
Mosaic covenant was a formal arrangement of mutual commitments
between God and Israel, with Moses
as the mediator