The seal of God’s covenant

Then Laban answered and said to Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day for these my daughters or for their children whom they have borne? Come now, let us make a covenant, you and I. And let it be a witness between you and me.” So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. And Jacob said to his kinsmen, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there by the heap. Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed. Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me today.” Therefore he named it Galeed, and Mizpah, for he said, “The Lord watch between you and me, when we are out of one another’s sight. If you oppress my daughters, or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one is with us, see, God is witness between you and me.” (Genesis 31:43–50)

Today if we need a document to signify an agreement, it can usually be found with our phones. In OT days, no one carried so much as a notepad and pencil to jot down the details. Instead, they used stones to mark out the occasion and place representing  various covenants and agreements. In the above case, Jacob had been badly treated by his father-in-law so took his wives and left. Laban wasn’t happy about that so chased after him to establish a formal agreement of peace. This pile of stones was their reminder to get along and that God wanted that and would also watch over them to ensure this covenant would not be violated.

There could be more significant details, but what stands out in this one is the dad being willing to let his daughter’s go but at the same time wanting them cared for. Jacob already had a reputation of doing things his way and even though Laban had his flaws too, the idea of sealing their intentions with “a heap of witness” showed a desire on both sides to do things right.

These days, we have contracts and all sorts of legal documents to protect ourselves and our investments. It is not unheard of to use them to protect family members, but rarely do they have the intimacy of agreement that shows up in this one.

I’m also reminded that when Jesus died for me and testified to not only save me but take care of me forever, that old rugged cross and His shed blood are the “heap of witness” that solemnly and yet wonderfully stand as witness of what He has done and that He will keep “watch between us” even if I cannot see what or how He is doing just that. A cross on a chain might only be jewelry to some, but to me, it is a reminder of God’s everlasting covenant.

Jesus, I’m so thankful that You keep watch over me, even during those times when I am unaware of Your care. Right now, I am preoccupied with feeling weak and ill, but You are faithful,  even when my mind is elsewhere. For this, I am so very grateful. 

God made a deal with me . . .

God is a dealmaker in His relationship with humanity. Theologians attempt to define how people divide the Bible into various sections using those relationships. One of them is called “dispensationalism” with seven major categories. They are innocence, conscience, human government, promise, Law, grace, and the millennial kingdom of Christ. This is a man-made way of understanding what the Bible reveals about God's purposes towards humanity, a system of trying to organize and understand God's work.

Another one is about COVENANTS. It is more complex. They are described as “contractual arrangements between God and a person or persons that require binding action from one or both with God having higher status in the arrangement.” Some think these were based on existing agreements in the pagan world between kings and their vassals. However, God’s covenants had several distinctives, one of them being that God initiates these agreements and people were recipients, not contributors. He determined the elements in the ‘deal’ without their input and expected them to respond as He demanded.

The Bible speaks of two types: conditional and unconditional covenants. The first is an “if you will, then I will” with God promising to bless His people if they fulfill certain conditions. Their response to the agreement brings either blessings or curses, and people must meet their conditions before God meets His. The two conditional covenants are the one made in Eden and the one made through Moses.

The second type is unconditional where God obligates Himself to bless His people. It is an “I will” agreement in which God determines to keep His promises by grace. Some conditions may be there, but they are to be fulfilled out of gratitude and are not the basis for God doing His part. The unconditional covenants are identified as Adamic, Noahic, Abrahamic, Palestinian, Davidic, and the New Covenant.

Also, four were made with Israel (Abrahamic, Palestinian, Mosaic, Davidic) and the others were made between God and man in general (Eden, Adamic, Noahic and New).

 The idea of covenants has always baffled me. It helps to know that the NT word is also translated as “testaments” much like our notion of a “last will and testament.” The person making it says what he wants done and it is binding (after a death) according to his will. The recipient cannot change or alter the provisions in the will. A covenant made by God is like that, particularly for the unconditional ones.

The conditional covenants are different. A comparison to a will might be a provision in the will that says a recipient must be 18-years old before receiving his inheritance. In the case of the conditional covenants, the first required that the initial people, Adam and Eve, did not eat from the tree of knowledge. Not far into the book of Genesis it says that they did not keep that condition, lost their place in a perfect environment, and were cursed by God for their disobedience. From then forward, all humanity has been born with a sin nature. We “all sin and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

The second conditional covenant was the Mosaic one where God gave laws to His people and commanded them to fulfill them for blessings or they would experience curses and all sorts of adversity for disobedience. This was not about eternal salvation. Those laws described how they were to live as God’s distinctive people. They were already delivered from slavery to sin (illustrated in the Exodus) but needed to reflect the image of their Creator. This they failed to do, continually breaking their relationship of faith and love toward Him.

This is the bad news, a reality that most of humanity cannot see or accept. Those that do discover something wonderful about God — even though we cannot keep our promises, He always does!

GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. Thoughts about covenants will continue tomorrow, but today I want to focus on the promise-keeping nature of God. Since He is sinless and cannot lie, He also cannot break His Word. In simple terms, He tells me that if I put my faith in Jesus Christ and am reborn into His family, He will take me to His heavenly realm when my physical body is finished. Simple put: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” and “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (John 3:16 and Romans 8:1)

Jesus also promised this part of His unconditional covenant: “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” (John 10:28–29)