2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
There are a few more citations dealing with reminders of important covenant promises that God leads me to share with you. All of this is done with the intent that God has always had for us to take our covenant agreements seriously and to remember them. This is a part of the oneness of the covenant relationship that all believers share with God and with each other. A metaphor that really gives us a picture of this is the story of how people traveling west in wagon trains would meet threats from the outside by gathering their wagons in a circle to protect each other. Any defense they would mount against marauders would be directed by an experienced wagon train master and his professional scout. In our case, our “marauders” are Satan and his evil crew who challenge our faith. Our defense is led by God Himself, and our actions against this spiritual warfare should mirror what Christ has taught us. Our wagon train is our koininea relationship, our covenant connection with God and with each other. The issue is our spiritual survival, and for that we need both God and each other to see that it becomes a reality.
We already know that one way people are reminded of their covenant agreements is in sharing a meal with each other (and with the Lord). Jacob and Laban did this after they agreed at Mizpah to part peaceably with God watching over each of them from that place. GN 31: 54-55, “He [Jacob] killed an animal, which he offered as a sacrifice on the mountain, and he invited his men to the meal. After they had eaten, they spent the night on the mountain. Early the next morning Laban kissed his grandchildren and his daughters good-bye, and left to go back home.” I’m sure this was a very emotional parting, but it was in answer to God’s will. We can be reminded of the wedding receptions in our modern day when parents are at the same time celebrating the covenant vows their children have made and are saying good-bye to them as they go to establish a home of their own. Many of us (as Peter and I did in April of 2000) are doing this knowing their children will live far away from them. Ours live in CA.
There is one kind of wedding with which I personally am quite uncomfortable, despite it is quite common both in the Bible and between royal houses today. It is the wedding for political reasons. One example of this which led to horrific trouble is the wedding of Solomon revealed in 1 K 9: 16-17. “The king of Egypt had attacked Gezer and captured it, killing its inhabitants and setting fire to the city. Then he gave it as a wedding gift to his daughter when she married Solomon, and Solomon rebuilt it.” Solomon used forced labor to do this, but the real issue here is the presence of a town rebuilt as a memorial of the wedding vows exchanged. History shows us that this is the beginning of a serious spiritual downfall on Solomon’s part that would eventually rip open his relationship with God. He was to marry many non-Jewish women and would eventually be led into idolatry. Today, weddings are arranged between royal houses or people of the same social caste that also lead to disaster. The wedding between Prince Charles and Diana is certainly an example.
Back in the time of Joshua son of Nun, persecution against the Jews prevented the wearing of philacteries (the little boxes on one’s forehead and arm containing DT 6: 4-9, 13-21). That is when a red thread was substituted for them. You will recall that in JS 2: 21 Joshua gave a red thread to the prostitute, Rehab, as a token of a covenant relationship to which they had agreed. The Lord’s hand was in all the events leading up to this. Israelite spies had come to Rehab’s home where she hid them from Canaanites in conflict with the Jews over ownership of the land. JS 2: 8-9, “Before the spies settled down for the night, Rehab went up on the roof and said to them, ‘I know that the Lord has given you this land.” That is most remarkable, because Rehab was not Jewish. But nonetheless, she was part of God’s greater plan. JS 2: 14, “The men said to her, ‘May God take our lives if we do not do as we say! If you do not tell anyone what we have been doing, we promise you that when the Lord gives us this land, we will treat you well.’” Rehab was promised that if she and her family remained in their home and said nothing about the spies, the red cord upon which they were to climb down would seal the safety of Rehab and her family during the coming battle if left tied to the window and hanging down. JS 2: 21, “She agreed and sent them away. When they had gone, she tied the red cord to the window.” While none of the people directly involved in this incident were aware of it, we know that God had an even greater plan in mind, that of eventually establishing His Kingdom, in which this unknown Gentile prostitute, Rehab, had a part.
In IS 49: 16, part of a chapter dealing with the restoration of Jerusalem, God reveals another example of blood-covenanting that has great meaning throughout history. “Jerusalem, I can never forget you! I have written your name on the palms of My hands.” The two cherubs on the mercy seat (lid) of the Ark of the Covenant were designed to be looking down toward the blood that was sprinkled there to direct God’s attention to the covenant promises made. God’s unwillingness to forget Jerusalem shows us His attitude and reminds us that it is in the new Jerusalem where all who endure in their faith will live together [REV 21-22]. The sacraments we take are reminders that this promise will be kept and that as long as we are faithful, we are saved and our sins are forgiven forever [1 COR 11:23-26]. That is why all these memorials to the agreements we have made really matter to us today and always.
PRAYER: O Lord, Your message is so clear and Your intent so righteous. We are to remember the covenant agreements we make with each other and with You. You are wise enough to know that we must live up to these agreements, caring for each other and for You, for us to be perfected by You to the point that we can have eternal life. Everything You have done over mankind’s history and will do in the future is directed toward that end. There is nothing more righteous than Your motives for us. If we take the time to study the Biblical accounts of faithful people who demonstrated trust in You before us, we will also see Your righteousness and goodness revealed in a way to which we can relate in our own lives. People who disobey Your commands, as Solomon did, will suffer negative consequences. People who recognize Your agenda and make it their own, as Rehab and Joshua did, will be held in esteem by You and will be blessed. You are the greatest Parent to Your children that the universe has ever known. You have been willing to pierce Your own hands and sacrifice Your only Son on the cross, so that we Jerusalem would be remembered and we could be saved. The desire of Your heart, Dearest Lord, is that as many of us as possible should know the truth and live with you in joyful fellowship for eternity. For all the blessings You make available to us, we offer You our adoration, worship, loyalty, trust, obedience, glory, honor, diligence, praise, and eternal thanksgiving. In Christ’s holy name, we pray. Amen.
Tomorrow we will begin a new segment of covenant messages called “transcending generations.” What this means is the timelessness of covenant agreements. We will begin by attempting to better understand why circumcision is a sign of the old covenant. Just as God directed the actions taken in the citations in today’s message, we can take comfort in knowing that if we listen to Him, He will direct our own actions in our daily lives. His purpose is always righteous, loving, and in our best interests. That is the leadership of a loving Abba Who wants us to know Him better, become His friend, and be blessed by our trust and obedience in Him. We are blessed beyond measure when He becomes the Lord of our lives. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn