2012-06-15
Hi There Dear Ones,
Last week, I wrote about covenant-worthy agreements, like the covenant of friendship between David and Jonathan, first mentioned in 1 SAM 18: 1-3. The Holy Spirit bids me to continue looking at examples of them, so that we can all have a better understanding. This is particularly important in the face of Christ’s advice on the taking of vows before God in MT 5: 33-37. Both David and Jonathan knew the meaning of the word mizpah which is “a place of watching” or “watchtower.”
This term arose from the story of how Jacob and his uncle, Laban, had made a covenant at a place where they piled stones to mark that something important involving God was decided here. That place was later called Mizpah. The Aramaic word associated with this is Iegar Sahadutha, and the Hebrew word for that is Galeed. It meant “God would be watching no matter where the parties to this covenant, even when they are absent from each other.” The covenant between Laban and Jacob was after Jacob had worked for 14 years for Laban, had greatly increased Laban’s and his own flocks, had married two of Laban’s daughters-first Leah (the oldest), and then Rachel (the one whom he dearly loved) and their two maids, Zilpah and Bilhah (respectively), and had twelve children so far with them. These children were: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and the sole girl, Dinah [GN 29: 31-30: 24]. (Rachel’s youngest child, Benjamin, had not yet been born. It is with him that she later died in childbirth). The covenant between Laban and Jacob was Jacob’s agreement to always take care of Laban’s daughters and grandchildren, in return for Laban’s agreement that Jacob could take his share of the flock and his family and leave Laban in peace. God was indeed a Party to this agreement, claiming His divine right to watch what each man did in keeping this covenant made at Mizpah. It was a covenant unto death and was taken with Jacob recognizing the God of his father and grandfather, Isaac and Abraham. (Laban had a polytheistic background, which may be seen in his approach to this grave agreement. Nahor was his father, which is why he is mentioned in verse 53 of GN 31. Remember that Abraham-Jacob’s grandfather- and Nahor were brothers.) [GN 31: 42-53]. This covenant was sealed with a sacrifice made in the hill country of Mizpah and a meal shared. The next day, Jacob and his family departed [GN 31: 54-55].
Both David and Jonathan knew the Jews were delivered from slavery in Egypt, because God remembered the covenant He had made with Abraham. We get a view of God’s heart and His recognition of promises made in EX 6: 5-6, “Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered My covenant. Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty act of judgment.’” [Also see: EX 2: 24-25]. The events that followed led to the Passover [EX 12: 21-28].
With the space I have left for today’s message, I would like to bring us up to the present, so we can view how we can honor the Abrahamic and other covenants made now. I’m writing this message just before the Passover [Pesach in Hebrew] season begins. You’ll notice from GN 31: 54 mentioned that as a part of sealing the covenant Jacob’s family and Laban’s family shared a meal. It’s customary at this time to do this. Each year our Lutheran congregation has a shortened version of a seder, a ritual meal in honor of the Passover. There is nothing unusual about this, because the connection is made as the Passover foreshadows the Atonement of the Lord Jesus and His resurrection. 1 COR 5: 6-8, “Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast [a symbol for sin] works through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast –as you really are. For Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival [reference to keeping the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which followed Passover and symbolizes living the Christian life in holy dedication to God], not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but the bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.” While our church follows the seder with the Maundy Thursday service, the traditional Jewish Passover is always on the Sabbath [from sundown Fri to sundown Sat]. Usually, the synagogue has a seder the first night, and a family seder is held in the home on the second night. [Read EX 12: 1-42 for the story of the exodus and first Passover]. In the spring, there are four of the seven major Jewish Feasts: Passover [EX 12: 1-14; LV 23: 5], Unleavened Bread [LV 23: 6-8], First Fruits [LV 23: 9-14], and Weeks (harvest) [LV 23: 15-21]. The Feast of Weeks happens 50 days [7 weeks] after Passover, and it foreshadows Pentecost, celebrated by Christians [and Messianic Jews] as the giving of the Holy Spirit [see AC 2: 1-11]. We already know that the Passover seder helps us to remember the Jewish exodus from Egypt. Unleavened Bread helps us remember God released the Jews from Egyptian slavery in haste-thus no time to put leavening in the bread [the eating of matzo-unleavened bread]. First Fruits is to help us remember the Lord’s bounty in the Promised Land and also given to us. The celebration of Weeks causes us to be thankful for the harvest. Our God is so good; He deserves our eternal thanks and praise!
PRAYER: O Lord, we thank and praise You for giving us Your word, presence, and intervention in our lives. We are called by You to learn from the history You give us and the way You reveal Yourself to us as it continues. At first, we thought about people like David and Jonathan sitting at night in their tents hearing stories about Your interaction with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Then about these young lads acting out some of the stories of covenants being made, and finally, after meeting each other making an important covenant of their own. Reading the Scriptures allows You to “breathe into us” a living, active, and dynamic covenant relationship with You. After all, we are not only Your children, but are Your human partners in our Covenant of Grace. That is because You sent Your Son, Jesus, to suffer, physically die on the cross, and then be resurrected to glory for us [JN 3: 16; RO 3: 24-25; LK 24: 37-39]. We, in turn, became unsettled with the status quo in our lives and came to faith in Him, repenting of our sins [IS 55: 6-7; IS 64: 5; MK 1: 4; LK 3: 3; LK 13: 5; 2 COR 7: 9-10]. We understand that while we are forgiven [1 JN 1: 9], justified [RO 4: 3], adopted as Your children [RO 8: 14-17], and given the gift of the Holy Spirit [JN 14: 16-18; RO 8: 16, 26-27], we must go on to let the Holy Spirit be in leadership in our lives, living the Christian life in righteousness. Yes, Lord, we accept that we are sinners, still capable of making wrong choices. We ask in the holy name of the Jesus Christ that You will give us Your wisdom and guidance, that we will have the courage to take it, and know how blessed we are that You are our God. We offer You praise and thanks in Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: We’ll continue to look at covenant assurances/covenant-worthy agreements, using the story of what David and Jonathan learned from God’s word. If space permits and it’s the will of the Holy Spirit, the subject of seeing the future while remembering the past will be discussed. Otherwise, that will be in the devotion to follow.
There is also more for us to learn about how the Jewish calendar [which differs from the one we use] impacts the culture and beliefs Judeo-Christian people observe. As we can see, this picture has many layers-history, culture, beliefs, observing God’s heart and His will, and so on. I like to think of the Scriptures as an sweet onion which has many layers for us to unpeel in gaining spiritual maturity, closeness to God, and eventually, eternal life. Faith-strengthening in the warm glow of God’s light is a most satisfying activity. There are many ways to go about it. Regular attendance at a spiritually healthy church which focuses on God’s word is one. Daily study of the Scriptures is a second. Having an active prayer life is a third. Serving God by helping others, using one’s talents for Kingdom-building is a fourth. Yet another, a fifth, is witnessing to the truth of the Gospel from one’s own experience. God forged friendships between ourselves and our fellow covenant partners, nourishing these relationships with God’s help is a sixth. Reaching out to potential believers with gentleness, sensitivity, and accuracy to the Gospel is a seventh. Our God deserves nothing less from His human covenant partners. Praise, glory, honor, and thanks go to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
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