2011-07-29
Good Morning Dear Ones,
The bond that exists between God and a true believer is a serious and permanent one, which is foundational to a covenant relationship. Remember Paul’s inspired words in RO 8: 38-39? “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” There is opposition from the evil one to this bond, but even he doesn’t have the power to break it. We know this from EPH 6: 12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” God gives us His armor: the belt of truth; breastplate of righteousness; shoes of readiness to witness to the Gospel of peace; shield of faith; sword of the Spirit; helmet of salvation; word of God; prayer [EPH 6: 14-18]. It needs to be understood that these are sufficient for us to fend off the devil’s dirty work. If we have any question about the extent of our own power to do spiritual warfare and win it in Christ’s name that is given to us by Him when we entered into this covenant relationship, we need only understand what is said in EPH 1: 18-20. Basically, it’s the same power that God used to raise Christ from death to eternal life, and that is a lot more power than we always remember we have!
The same can be said of our covenant relationship with other true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. This too is serious and permanent, because they are our brothers and sisters in Christ. Let me use an example from the Bible that was a covenant friendship in which God’s involvement in the making of this covenant of friendship is tacit, rather than overt. 1 SAM 18: 1-4, “After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan [Saul’s son] became one in Spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. Form that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his father’s [Jesse’s] house. 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, alone with his tunic and even his sword, how bow, and his belt.” There was nothing unsavory about this two-way covenant. As a matter of fact, later on [1 SAM 20: 3-17] Saul forced Jonathan into a situation where Jonathan had to make a choice between being loyal to Saul causing David’s death, or being loyal to David, who had kept on treating Saul with kingly respect. David showed Saul this respect even though Saul had made numerous attempts on his life. As I have said so many times before, I believe that if Saul had been alive in modern times, he would have been diagnosed with schizophrenia, due to his Dr. Jekyell/Mr. Hyde behavior.
There was more to this covenant of friendship than meets the eye, and it had rather long-ranging effects. Not only was God a tacit Partner in this covenant, but it was not only between the two men themselves, but also included their whole families. It was an also an assumption of mutual enemies, meaning an enemy of the house of Saul was also one of the house of David, and vice versa. Several years ago, I wrote about the ancient Hebrew rules concerning kinsmen redeemers. These are found in LV 25: 25 (where sold land can be redeemed by a kinsman, so it doesn’t go out of the hands of a citizen of Israel) and RU 4 (where Boaz becomes Ruth’s kinsman-redeemer as well as her husband). A covenant between friends also is a promised source of support [whether physical as it was in the case of David taking in the crippled relative of Saul, Mephibosheth [2 SAM 4: 4, 2 SAM 9: 11-13]. This is expressed so simply and beautifully in ECCL 4: 9-10, “Two are better than one. If one falls down, his friend can help him up.” Such a covenant is the death of living independently without ties and in self-centeredness. It has to be, because the rights and needs of one’s covenant partner must always be considered. David never minded having the crippled Mephibosheth or his son, Mica at his table. Ancient covenant relationships often involved the co-mingling of blood, since the dictates of LV 17: 11 and HE 9: 22 are a reality. “For the life of a creature is in its blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life…In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” In David’s time, such a covenant also meant the mutual ownership of material belongings. It is the assumption of a new identity as a covenant partner, in much the same way that we were adopted into God’s family when we came to faith in the Lord Jesus [RO 8: 14-16]. In ancient times there was a memorial of stones set up, a planted tree, a written contract, or some other testimony to the covenant’s existence. In modern times, for example, we have a marriage contract. In the modern Jewish household, there is a ketubah, which is a written marriage contract that is established as the first mutual act of the bride and groom. We gave our Jewish son and daughter-in-law a ketubah which was beautifully lettered, illuminated, and framed and hangs on one of the walls of their home. And, we all know that some friends are closer in their relationship with us than our own genetic family members.
PRAYER: O Lord, we acknowledge You and Your superiority and supremacy in our lives. This acknowledgement is not just offered out of blind obedience, but out of the love for You we have in our hearts. For it is through the atoning blood of Jesus shed for us on the cross that You made us Your friends, even when we had been Your enemies [RO 5: 9-11]. You chose us first, rather than the other way around [JN 15: 16], and then, You commanded us to love You and one another [JN 13: 34-35]. We acknowledge that You brought us from the wide, easy path that leads to spiritual death to that “hard path that leads from a narrow gate” [MT 7: 13-14] that leads to eternal life. While it is true that Your will prevails [IS 46: 9-10], You were courageous and generous enough to yield just enough of Your power to allow us free agency in making the choice as to whether or not we would repent of our sins and come to faith in the saving grace of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Now, we are Your covenant partners, and despite our imperfections (which are many), You love us with patience, show compassion for us, and lend us Your wisdom. You never will abandon us and are a Refuge for the oppressed [PS 9: 9-10]. You allow us to suffer in measured amounts, promising never to allow a challenge greater than our ability to remain firm in our faith [1 COR 10: 13]. With the love You have for us, You have given us eternal forgiveness and the gift of the Holy Spirit [1 JN 1: 9; JN 14: 16-17, 25]. Dearest Abba, You have given us a two-way communication channel - prayer, so that we need never be unable to talk with You and hear Your wisdom shared [PS 86: 5, 7], and You reach down to us to heal our sorrows and our maladies [LK 9: 11; 1 PET 1: 4, 6 ]. We offer You thanks and praise, our loyalty and honor-for in Your glorious grace, You deserve nothing less. We acknowledge Your every attribute and loving deed, in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: As the Holy Spirit directs, I will continue with this “Bonded by Blood” segment of the “Our Covenant” series to write about how we are pledged unto death. If that seems shocking, it serves to only point out how important and permanent our covenant relationships really are. We’ll look at Christ’s views on the taking of vows and other related issues in the messages to come. In the meanwhile, we will find ourselves wanting to make a list of the many reasons why being in the Covenant of Grace with our Lord has so many advantages beyond the obvious. We can make our own “glow books” [to use a term coined by Thomas and Nanette Kinkaid in Lightposts For Living]. I will forever be delighted at the story from their own lives that they tell. While they were engaged and each living on the opposite side of this country from one another, they jotted down every blessing during the day they experienced. Then in a nightly long-distance call, they would share them with each other. Thomas became the famous “painter of light,” they married, and they have four lovely daughters growing up in Placerville, CA. The most important lesson from this keeping of “glow books”: learning to acknowledge all the wonderful things that God brings into their daily lives. It’s a lesson we should learn too. I think that it will add great texture to our lives and appreciation for the awesome God Who is our Covenant Partner and a true Resident in our households. PS 31: 19, “How wonderful are the good things You keep for those who honor You. Everyone knows how good You are, how securely You protect those who trust You.” Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15