SECOND QUARTER 2021
SABBATH SCHOOL INSIGHT #2
APRIL 10, 2021
“COVENANT PRIMER”

 

This week’s lesson entitled, “Covenant Primer”, allows us to step back and view the Biblical covenant teaching from a 30,000-foot view. The week at a glance at the bottom of Sunday’s lesson, asks some thoughtful questions such as “what does the word covenant mean?”, “what elements make up the covenant?”, “what was the covenant that God made with Noah?”, and “is the covenant just a deal, or does it have relational aspects to it?” “What is the essence of the New Covenant”. We will address these questions in this insight. Sunday begins our study with the theme, “Covenant Basics”, while Monday through Thursday, points us to specific examples of covenants including Noah, Abram, Moses/Israel, before transitioning to the New Covenant. So, we will do what we are asked to do, which is to set the stage for an in-depth study of the covenants over the next 11 weeks.

 

The New Testament authors choosing a word for God’s covenant with humanity, used the word diatheke rather than the other Greek word that could have been used, syntheke. The word syntheke refers to a mutually negotiated agreement while diatheke is used to describe a will. The significance of this is that the term diatheke suggests that the terms are defined by God, it is God’s initiative. In other words, it is not a business contract, it’s more of a relational concept as we will read in the language of God to Moses in Exodus 6:1-8 and Jeremiah 31:33, 34, which is also echoed by Paul in Hebrews 8. We have all been involved in various types of contracts and contract negotiations over the years, from buying a home, to employment, to remodeling a home etc. and as we review these contracts in our experiences, we recognize that major aspects of contracts are assuring a good outcome for ourselves, as cheap as possible. We may assign penalties if our standards such as deadlines are not met. But in God’s covenant with mankind, He commits Himself to us whole-heartedly even to death if need be. Of note, as part of this He anticipates this same whole-hearted devotion. “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.” Revelation 12:11. The ASV says, “and they loved not their lives even unto death.” The first point is to recognize that the divine covenants in Scripture rather than mutually negotiated, resemble a will more than a contract in that the terms are defined by God Himself. We see this clearly in the passages cited above in Exodus, Jeremiah, Hebrews and many other passages as we will observe.

 

All the covenants are expressions of the everlasting covenant which is rooted in the Godhead. “Yes, He shall build the temple of the LORD. He shall bear the glory, And shall sit and rule on His throne; So, He shall be a priest on His throne, And the counsel of peace shall be between them both.” Zechariah 6:13. Ellen White references this and says, “The relation between the Father and the Son, and the personality of both, are made plain in this scripture also: “Thus speaketh Jehovah of hosts, saying, Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: And He shall grow up out of His place; And He shall build the temple of Jehovah;...And He shall bear the glory, And shall sit and rule upon His throne; And He shall be a priest upon His throne; And the counsel of peace shall be between Them both.” Zechariah 6:12, 13, A. R. V. 8T 269.5. Note the capital letters in this translation. This passage is a reference to the intra-Divine consultation, the parity agreement amongst the Godhead from before time began.

 

The SDA Bible commentary states that the phrase “counsel of peace” “describes the agreement between Father and the Son for the salvation of man.” Ellen White says that “Before the foundations of the earth were laid, the Father and the Son had united in a covenant to redeem man if he should be overcome by Satan. They had clasped Their hands in a solemn pledge that Christ should become the surety for the human race.” DA 834.2. Read Genesis 15: 8-17 and Daniel 9:26. We see that the everlasting covenant was a covenant of redemption for the human race. All other covenants of God including the ones discussed in this week’s lesson, will bear this theme.

 

Sunday’s lesson, “Covenant Basics”, points out that the Hebrew word translated as ‘covenant’ is berith. The term “everlasting covenant” occurs sixteen times in Scripture and all sixteen times the term “everlasting covenant” refers to the covenants made with Abraham, Israel and Moses at Sinai, David and Noah. It included at least three aspects. It included all of God’s creation, (the rainbow in Genesis 9:16), it included His law, and it included the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. These three characteristics are in every one of the covenants God initiated with mankind. Every covenant initiated by God was based on the everlasting truths of the gospel. We see this clearly in the Three Angel’s Messages which start off with the Everlasting Gospel. Every covenant then is a proclamation of this same everlasting gospel, and reflects the truths of the everlasting covenant that existed in the Godhead from before time began (2 Timothy 1:9). All the covenants God made with the individuals mentioned in this week’s lesson are one in the same but slightly different. We will address this difference later. If we review the questions we began with in the first paragraph, we have begun to develop some answers.

 

What does the word covenant mean? It is a divinely initiated will for the purpose of redemption and relationship. It was God’s whole-hearted commitment to all His creation even to death, expecting in return a response of whole-hearted commitment to Him even to death. What elements make up the covenant? We have listed the essential elements above, but we will expand a bit more. What was the covenant that God made with Noah? It is exactly the same everlasting covenant as is the one with Abram, Moses and David. Is the covenant just a deal, or does it have relational aspects to it? The greatest answer to this question is what we see in the Godhead. There are so many passages of Scripture that describe this amazing love that binds the members of the Godhead together. We see it in Proverbs 8, and throughout the Gospels. The covenants are relational.

 

The old and new covenants have been pitted against each other, but are they really at odds with each other. The covenant at Sinai has been portrayed as perhaps legalistic and works-based while the new is based on faith and the gospel. Let us look at these covenant examples and see how they relate to the New Covenant.

 

Exodus 6:2-8   “And God spoke to Moses and said to him: “I am the LORD. 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name LORD I was not known to them. 4 I have also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, in which they were strangers. 5 And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. 6 Therefore say to the children of Israel: “I am the LORD; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. 7 I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God Who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 8 And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage: I am the LORD.”

 

Jeremiah 31:33, 34  “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, “Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

 

Exodus 19:4-6  “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. 6 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”

 

Exodus 20:1, 2  “And God spoke all these words, saying: “I am the LORD your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”

 

Exodus 34:6, 7  “And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”

 

Hebrews 8:8-12 “Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 9 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the LORD. 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, “Know the LORD,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

 

Genesis 12:1-3 “Now the LORD had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

 

Galatians 3:8, 9 “And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” 9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.”

 

Two books have been a blessing to me over the years in appreciating the covenants: The Everlasting Covenant by E. J. Waggoner and In Granite or Ingrained by Skip McCarty and I recommend them to everyone reading. In Skip McCarty’s book he identifies what he terms the “DNA” of the everlasting covenant which is throughout the New covenant and the old covenant. We will look briefly at this “DNA”. The DNA of God’s covenant consists of four promises or provisions, which He made to redeem humanity from sin and restore back into His image. As we examine this DNA, we note that the DNA elements reason from effect back to cause. The first promise or provision is: “I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts” Jeremiah 31:33 and Hebrews 8:10. This is sanctification, the righteousness of God, a process that we cannot do for ourselves, but that God wants to fulfill in us through the working of the Holy Spirit. Promise/Provision #2: “I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” Jeremiah 31:33 and Hebrews 8:10. This is the purpose of the covenant that God has initiated, reconciliation. “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom we have now received the reconciliation. Romans 5:10, 11. “Now all things are of God, Who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” 2 Corinthians 5:18, 19. Promise #2 then is reconciliation.

 

Promise #3 is one that Israel as a nation forgot and which God promised Abraham from the beginning in Genesis 12:3: “And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” This promise stated in Jeremiah 31:34 and Hebrews 8:11 says, “No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, “Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD”. An important part of the covenant blessings of God and part of the DNA is to share the good news of the gospel. “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” Israel was to be a kingdom of priests. We are also called to proclaim the last day message, the Three Angel’s Messages of Revelation 14, the message of justification by faith and Christ our Righteousness to a world that needs to hear and respond. This message was given to this church with clarity at the 1888 General Conference session. It needs to go forward with a loud voice. We are to be a mission driven people. The third DNA marker is mission.

 

Lastly the fourth promise or DNA marker is found in Jeremiah 31:34 and Hebrews 8:12: “For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” This fourth DNA marker is justification.

 

Sanctification, reconciliation, mission and justification, these 4 DNA markers identify all of God’s covenants with His people. These 4 markers are the everlasting gospel expressed in God’s covenant of redemption. We should then expect to find them in every covenant including the old covenant as well. As we look carefully at the Old Testament passages, we see them! Exodus 20:1, 2, Exodus 34:1-7, Exodus 6:1-5, Genesis 12:3, Genesis 9:16, Leviticus 26: 11-13, Deuteronomy 30:11-16, Exodus 19:4-6, Genesis 3:15, Isaiah 53:5, 6 all speak of God’s progressive revelation of His covenant – Jesus Christ the Messiah.

 

Let us end with a few thoughts from Waggoner:

“The cross was at Sinai, so that even there was God’s throne of grace.” “The living stream from Christ was flowing at Sinai, even as ‘the pure river of water of life, clear as crystal’ proceeds ‘from the throne of God and of the Lamb’. The Everlasting Covenant, E.J. Waggoner p 225.

“Someone will probably think to ask, ‘How about the covenant made at Sinai? Do you mean to say that it was the same as that under which Christians live, or that it was good? Are we not told it was faulty?... Very pertinent questions, and ones that are easily answered. It is an undeniable fact that grace abounded at Sinai, -- ‘the grace of God which bringeth salvation, -- because Christ was there with all His fullness of grace and truth.” Ibid 228

“It will be seen by comparing the terms of the new with those of the old, that the end contemplated by each is the same.” Ibid 231

As we study this topic dear to the heart of those blessed by the 1888 message may even we open our hearts to a deeper understanding of this vital message.

 

May God bless us all,

~Lyndi Schwartz