2014-04-11
Good Morning Dear Ones,
There is quite a history that leads up to a handshake between covenant partners. It all began, as I’ve detailed at length, with GN 15: 17. “When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot and a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces (halved animal sacrifices).” This was God “cutting” the Abrahamic covenant—making it official. For these sacrifices to be present, their blood had been spilled, in accordance with the understanding that God has given us in LV 17: 11 and HE 9: 22, which tell us “the life is in the blood,” and “blood must be shed for forgiveness.” So far in this series of messages, we have seen that cutting a covenant between covenant partners has taken the form of passing one’s hand between thighs, embracing, even giving a partner one’s sandal. In reality there are lots of other forms, e.g. nose rubbing as Eskimos do, rolling upon one’s back, hand striking, hand shaking, a legal contract, a pledge of allegiance, etc. All of these covenant sealing methods are followed by a change in attitudes and behavior, if the covenant partners keep their two-way promises.
In the course of incredible pain and sorrow, Job was unable to find comfort from his friends. In his angst, he called out, in JOB 17: 3-5, “Give me, O God, the pledge You demand. Who else will put up security for me? Who have closed their minds to understanding; therefore You will not let them triumph. If a man denounces his friends for reward, the eyes of his children will fail.” Verse 3 in some versions reads, “Who will “strike” hands with me?” The Hebrew word תקע [taw-kah] means to strike, slap, drive a nail or tent-pin, or to pierce. With this last meaning, how can we miss the foreshadowing here of Christ’s death on the cross, and Thomas’ part in it’s aftermath? JN 20: 25b-27, “But he [Thomas] said to them [the other disciples], ‘Unless I see the nail marks on His hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into His side, I will not believer it.’ A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then He said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.’”
Job knew he needed more than flesh to supply his needs, and Thomas learned the same thing that day mentioned above. Faith in something far greater and more important that flesh, which is ephemeral, is needed. Both men had come to understand the principle of IS 40: 6-8, “A voice says, ‘Cry out.’ And I said, ‘What shall I cry?’ ‘All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.’” The consistency of God’s word is not just the only supernatural aspect of it. The same can be said of its eternal application, when one realizes that Job’s earthly lifetime was between 1200 and 1000 BC, and Isaiah ministry began in 740 BC. Now we can see another example of this in JER 17: 5-6, “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.” Jeremiah’s time was 626-586 BC. Solomon wrote long before that in the 10th century BC, PR 9: 9-10, “Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Each of these principles still applies today and will for all time! A wise person knows that only God can supply all his needs.
We might ask in the course of self-evaluation, “Are we willing to allow our Covenant Partner to teach us what we need to know? What is the condition of our faith in Him?” The answer is unique to each individual, each congregation. IS 50: 4, 8-9, “The Sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught…He Who vindicates me is near. Who will bring charges against me? Let us face each other! Who is my accuser. Let him confront me! It is the Sovereign Lord Who helps me.” Our Covenant Partner has shaken our hand, stretching out His hand and His heart to help us. He has shown us by the example of His Son what it means to be a covenant partner, what covenant friendship is all about. He has chosen us first [JN 15: 16], invited us to be His friends (not just His servants) [JN 15:15], given us reconciliation [RO 5: 9-11], and He gave His physical life on the cross for us [JN 3: 16: RO 3: 24-25; JN 15: 13].
PRAYER: O Lord, how many times have we come before You, that You have shown interest in our concerns, listened repeatedly to our prayers, and intervened in our lives with Your wisdom, compassion, and love? There have been so many times in the past, You are with us now in the present, and You will be with us in the future, that we could never count them. For this and so much more, we begin this prayer, offering You our praise and thanks. EX 15: 2, “The Lord is my Strength and my Song. He has become my Salvation. He is my God and I will praise Him; my Father’s God, and I will exalt Him.” HE 12: 28, “Therefore, since we are receiving a Kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe!” You never leave us alone [PS 9: 9-10], and You offer us Your wisdom and guidance. PS 37: 23-24, “The steps of the godly are directed by the Lord. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will not fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.” Your grace is a great gift, one that only You can rightly receive credit for giving to us [EPH 2: 8-9]. You have given us talents to use to Your glory. You have given us Your Son on the cross, so that we may, through our faith in Him, gain eternal life. Throughout our lives, even when we didn’t realize it, You were there. You cheer us on to victory in His name, and You pull us out of the pit of our despairs [PS 40: 1-2]. You gave us the Covenant of Grace, so that we might serve You and acquire other human covenant partners. By Your Holy Spirit, You put the right words in our mouths that bring other people to Him, that He may give them faith and the blessings all Your children enjoy. PS 119: 24, 93, “Your instructions give me pleasure; they are my advisors…I will never neglect Your precepts, because they them You have preserved my life.” With all, we are still sinners in need of Your presence and intervention. We thank You and will do so forever. We eagerly await the day when we are glorified and evil is stopped, as we offer this prayer in Christ’s holy/mighty name. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I have been led by the Holy Spirit to begin a new segment of this “Our Covenant” series called “Richer Than Imagined.” He wants us to learn together about the “wealth” that comes from covenant friendships, and especially from our covenant friendship with the Lord Jesus. In the meanwhile, we should always be reminded that as we belong to Him, we also belong to each other in the manner of a family. This last week, our congregation has been memorizing 1 JN 2: 2, “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.” This is what the Lord models for us; this is what He wants us to learn in our sanctification. The week beforehand, we memorized MT 11: 28-30, “Come to Me, all you who are heavy-laden; and you will find rest. Take My yoke and put it on you; learn from Me, because I am humble and gentle in Spirit; and I will give you rest. For the yoke I give you is easy, and the burden is light.” This passage gives us a view into the heart of our Covenant Partner and His compassion. It gives us an alternative to permanent negative consequences that come from the harsh realities of life based on Satan’s strongholds allowed to be successful. Having reverence for our Covenant Partner is right and a natural outgrowth of living according to His principles taught to us. God wants us to know Him better and better as we mature in our faith in Christ. We don’t have to give up the culture we were born to, only to live to celebrate it standing on the Lord’s ethics and wisdom imparted to us. In doing this, He will give us “the peace that goes beyond human understanding” [PHIL 4: 7]. We can do this living our lives in humility and cooperating with the Lord’s daily efforts to bring us to a greater knowledge of Him [COL 3: 10]. Praise and thanks be forever to our Covenant Partner!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2014. All Rights Reserved.
<-- Back to Archives