Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Oct/87

Contributor - Will Kroon

Title - Living The Covenant Part 1 of 2

Topic - Covenant

The following paper on the Covenant was given and discussed at a Faith and Order meeting in Montreal earlier this year. Delegates from the major denominations in Canada were present at that meeting.

Introduction

The study of theology is important to people of Reformed persuasion. It is so important to them for they know that our theology shapes our outlook on life; it guides our thinking, it shapes our faith, it influences our decisions. Our theology is our key to what we see as right or wrong. Keep this in mind when you read the following articles on the Covenant.

Furthermore, it is my conviction that when you understand the Biblical message I of the Covenant, you will be in a better position to understand the Reformed position on baptism, on the care for God's creation and our view of caring for one another.

As one studies the Biblical understanding of the word Covenant, he/she may get the impression that it is primarily the Churches of the Reformed family who take the concept of Covenant seriously. He/she may get that impression since so many Reformed theologians have written on that subject. However, one must not draw the conclusion that the Biblical concept of Covenant is ignored outside the Reformed Family. That is not the case. For instance, we notice that in the Bethel Series, the well-known inter-denominational Bible study course, a great deal of stress is put on the importance of the Covenant. Dr. A. Swiggum, the composer of that series, wrote:

"The covenant between God and Abraham of Ur is of profound significance to the serious student of the Bible. If there is such a thing as an interpretive key which opens doors of understanding in both the Old and the New Testament narratives, then certainly that key is precisely here. It is the conviction of the writer that the Covenant is the very cornerstone on which an intelligent understanding of Israel's history is built."

Historically speaking, it is not difficult to give reasons for pointing out that the word Covenant is one of the key words in the Bible. The Covenant was so important in the Early Church that Melite, Bishop of Sardes (about 1700 A.D.) made a list of the Books of what we call Old Testament but called them Books of the Old Covenant.2 Twenty years later he wrote a letter concerning the Books of the New Covenant of the Gospel. We may add that in some of the old editions of the well known Dutch Bible, De Statenvertaling, one can read the statement: "The complete copy of the Holy Scripture containing all the Canonical Books of the Old and New Covenant."

The word Covenant (Berith) in Hebrew, appears almost three hundred times in the Old Testament alone. It is indeed one of the key words of Scripture. Better yet, it is one of the interpretive keys to an understanding of the history of God s people in biblical times.

In ordinary usage 'covenant' means an agreement between two people such as between David and Jonathan (I Sam. 18:ff). Occasionally, it is so used to describe an agreement between heads of families, such as between Jacob and Laban (Gen. 31:44ff), or it refers to a 'league' which the Gibeonites wished to make with Joshua (Joshua 9:6).

However, the most common interpretation of the Hebrew concept of 'Berith' refers to a relationship between two unequal partners, such as between God and man. Dr. William Barclay, in his book, New Testament Words, puts it this way. He states:

"It (Berith) is specially used of God's agreement with Abraham (Gen. 17:49), and it is used everywhere of the relationship and agreement between the people of Israel and God (Deut. 4:13-23). It is uniquely the word which is used to describe the relationship, the agreement, between God and the people of God."5

And then he goes on to point out that this usage survives in the New Testament.

One of the characteristics of this type of Covenant is that it is always God who takes the initiative in making the Covenant. It is God who calls, who chooses, who elects. We see this in Gen. 15, where the Covenant is sealed between God and Abraham. When sacrifices are made and the carcasses are split in two it is only God who moves between these halves. God and humankind do not meet on equal terms. It is always God who takes the initiative and who, of His own choice and through His free grace, offers His people a relationship which the latter cannot alter, change or annul; as human beings, one can only accept or reject that relationship.

In Gen. 17:lff, we find the well known story of Abraham, whom God had called from Ur of the Chaldees. We read here that called him, set him apart, so that he and his descendants might be a blessing to others. Out of Abraham's descendants the Messiah was to be born.

As we read the above mentioned passage we see that God not only took the initiative in the calling of Abraham, but also that He made special promises to him, promises which are so well described in Gen. 17, where we read:

"I will make you exceedingly fruitful and I will make nations of you. And I will establish my covenant between me and your descendants after you throughout their generations and for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. And I will give to you, and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God."

Abraham, on the other hand, had to receive the sign of the covenant: circumcision, and had to circumcise every male among his descendants after him. God said:

"This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. He that is eight days old among you shall be circumcised; every male throughout your generations . . . any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people, he has broken my covenant." (Genesis 17:11-14)

In the Covenant which God made with the Israelites on Mount Sinai (Ex. 24), we read that here the Ten Commandments are given in the context of entering that Covenant relationship between God and His people. Here we see that the people respond to God's initiative by promising their allegiance to Him. God had promised to love them, to keep and protect them and they on the other hand promised to love, trust and obey their God. In short, the content of the Covenant can be summarized in the words:

"Jahweh will be the God to the people The people will serve Jahweh as their God." (Deut. 26:17-18)

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