THIRD QUARTER 2025
SABBATH SCHOOL INSIGHT #10
SEPTEMBER 6, 2025
"THE COVENANT AND THE BLUE PRINT."

 

It has been several years since I became a Realtor in the Chicago area.  One of the first things in which I familiarized myself was the real estate purchase agreement (i.e., the sales contract).  I have probably written several thousand of them over the years.  Although there have been several changes and modifications through the years, one thing remains the same:  Two parties, a seller and a buyer, making a mutual agreement to transfer real estate ownership.  Both parties are on equal ground and mutually agree to perform certain duties to bring the transaction to a closing. 

Simply stated, the seller takes the initiative by putting their property on the market.  The buyer responds by taking the initiative in preparing an offer.  The negotiating process runs its course and, if successful, the result is moving trucks parked at the curb. 

Is this how God operates within His Covenant? 

One of the things that struck me in studying this week’s lesson is that it is God Himself that establishes a relationship, whether personal or corporate, with humanity.  This He had done by Promise and then with the fulfillment of the Promise, that is, the Messiah.  All we can do is respond to His initiative.  All the prayer, study and witnessing on our part only demonstrate how we value the relationship the Lord has established.  The trap we often fall into is believing, perhaps subconsciously, that our positive response is part of that establishment.  Considering our frailties and weaknesses, this sets us up to be easily manipulated and discouraged by the enemy. 

The lesson states, “The focus should be on God, not on ourselves,” and uses Hebrews 12:1, 2 as a reference: 

“Therefore, since we also have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let’s rid      ourselves of every obstacle and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with endurance the race that is set before us,  looking only at Jesus, the originator and perfecter of the faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (NASB)

I underscored this NASB version as it uses the definite article, rightly pointing out that the focus is the faith of Christ, not our faith in Him.  Our job is to “look” and in doing so, “we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord”  (2 Corinthians 3:18, NKJV) 

Here is where the miracles happen—studying the Word, heartfelt prayers and effective witnessing are engaged, not to maintain a relationship with God but an outgrowth of it.  It becomes the new normal—a lifestyle.  

“God’s word sets forth the will that is to be carried into the recesses of the soul. If the human agent consents, God can and will so identify His will with all our thoughts and aims, so blend our hearts and minds into conformity to His word, that when obeying His will we are only carrying out the impulses of our minds. All such will not possess an unsanctified, selfish disposition, ready to carry out their own wills, but will have a jealous, earnest, determined zeal for the glory of God. They will not want to do anything in their own strength, and will guard strictly against the danger of promoting self.” —Ellen G White, The Bible Echo, July 20, 1896. 

This New Covenant experience was expressed in the life of Abraham as he matured in his understanding of righteousness by faith.   When Christ brought His people out of Egypt to Mt Sinai in Exodus 19 He intended to reaffirm the covenant with those redeemed from Egypt.  He instructed Moses in vs 3-6: 

“Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. 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. 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.” 

The Hebrew word for “obey” in v. 5 is shama.  Strong’s defines it as “to hear intelligently…. discern, give ear…. listen” to His voice.  Most translations use the word obey but I found a handful that translate shama as “hearken” with the Complete Jewish Bible saying, “Now if you will pay careful attention to what I say….” and shamar (tr. guard, protect, attend, regard) “My covenant” you’ll experience the blessings spoken of to Abraham. 

But the people were laden with fear.  What they had witnessed God do in Egypt drew them to conclude that Yahweh was dangerous and to be avoided.  They suggested Moses handle the intimacy (“I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself”) and they would follow instructions void of “relationship.”  Verse 8: “ Then all the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” 

Now, instead of being beneficiaries and receivers of the covenant they became co-relationship players.  A relationship that exchanged a covenant of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) written on the heart, for a covenant of death written on stone. An exchange that revealed Christ in the law for “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them” (Galatians 3:10). 

The people had unwittingly brought a curse upon themselves promising to do “all that the Lord has spoken” when only the Lord, Himself can produce righteousness.  And, in doing so, they created a “ministry of death.”

“But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious?  For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory”  (2 Corinthians 3:7-9). 

The failure to welcome the good news of God’s Everlasting Covenant and exchange it for a futile promise to do the impossible has serious consequences that continue to this day. 

“If man had kept the law of God, as given to Adam after his fall, preserved by Noah, and observed by Abraham, there would have been no necessity for the ordinance of circumcision. And if the descendants of Abraham had kept the covenant, of which circumcision was a sign, they would never have been seduced into idolatry, nor would it have been necessary for them to suffer a life of bondage in Egypt; they would have kept God’s law in mind, and there would have been no necessity for it to be proclaimed from Sinai or engraved upon the tables of stone. And had the people practiced the principles of the Ten Commandments, there would have been no need of the additional directions given to Moses.”  —Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 364. 

Those “additional directions given to Moses” were designed to arouse the people to their folly but the record shows in Exodus 24:3, “So Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which the Lord has said we will do.”” And they repeat it again in verse 7. 

Shortly after, the Lord allows the leadership team to have a personal visit with Him “and they saw the God of Israel” and enjoyed a banquet with Him.  Even this experience, if viewed through the old covenant spectacles of “all that the Lord has said we will do,” fails to produce a Christian character as many of the team apostatize.  Paul suggests that the old covenant puts us under a spell, “Who has bewitched you?”, and that it creates obstacles to a genuine walk with the Lord, calling it “bondage” and admonishing the Galatians to “cast [it] out”  (Galatians 3:1; 4:24, 30). 

Later, a new leadership team comes together—the disciples.  They also “saw the God of Israel” but at a more intimate level.  Christ repeatedly shared the New, yet Eternal Covenant with them detailing what was to come.

“And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again” (Mark 8:31). 

“For He taught His disciples and said to them, ‘The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And after He is killed, He will rise the third day"" (Mark 9:31).

“Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished. For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again’” (Luke 18:31-33). 

Yet we see even here, where the Old Covenant mindset, “Lord said, we do” leads.  Motivated by self-interest, the disciples were concerned about whose ideas, skill set, resources, “expert” advisors, training, etc. were to be adopted as superior and to be at the forefront in “the work.”

“They had [a dispute] among themselves who would be the greatest”  (Mark 9:34). 

The leadership team was obsessed with this privately, along the road and the upper room.  Jesus tells them about the burden of what it will take to save the world and, “At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, ‘Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’”  (Matthew 18:1).

After the resurrection, and Jesus has instructed them for forty days, their concern was, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”  (Acts 1:7). In other words, “Is it time for us to assume our cabinet positions?” 

This is the how the natural human heart thinks and behaves while under the spell of the Old Covenant.  We are all in danger.   

“Then they returned to Jerusalem ….  These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication…. When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly….”  (Acts 1:12, 14; 2:1). 

“As the disciples waited for the fulfillment of the promise, they humbled their hearts in true repentance and confessed their unbelief. As they called to remembrance the words that Christ had spoken to them before His death they understood more fully their meaning. Truths which had passed from their memory were again brought to their minds, and these they repeated to one another. They reproached themselves for their misapprehension of the Saviour. Like a procession, scene after scene of His wonderful life passed before them. As they meditated upon His pure, holy life they felt that no toil would be too hard, no sacrifice too great, if only they could bear witness in their lives to the loveliness of Christ’s character. 

“Oh, if they could but have the past three years to live over, they thought, how differently they would act! If they could only see the Master again, how earnestly they would strive to show Him how deeply they loved Him, and how sincerely they sorrowed for having ever grieved Him by a word or an act of unbelief! But they were comforted by the thought that they were forgiven. And they determined that, so far as possible, they would atone for their unbelief by bravely confessing Him before the world.

“The disciples prayed with intense earnestness for a fitness to meet men and in their daily intercourse to speak words that would lead sinners to Christ. Putting away all differences, all desire for the supremacy, they came close together in Christian fellowship. They drew nearer and nearer to God, and as they did this they realized what a privilege had been theirs in being permitted to associate so closely with Christ. Sadness filled their hearts as they thought of how many times they had grieved Him by their slowness of comprehension, their failure to understand the lessons that, for their good, He was trying to teach them.

“These days of preparation were days of deep heart searching. The disciples felt their spiritual need and cried to the Lord for the holy unction that was to fit them for the work of soul saving. They did not ask for a blessing for themselves merely. They were weighted with the burden of the salvation of souls. They realized that the gospel was to be carried to the world, and they claimed the power that Christ had promised.”  —Ellen G. White, Acts of the Apostles, pp. 36, 37. 

The power to obey was indeed in their unity with Christ, but unity could never happen without first a surrender to the leading of the Holy Spirit.  Joyful obedience was the result.  The disciples did not have a one hour prayer meeting.  They met for ten days.  The Spirit brought up buried animosity and hostility, much of which was likely expressed during those “disputes.”  There was a great need to make this experience far beyond a superficial apology.  They opened their hearts, as the faith of Jesus said they would in Acts 1, and freely, openly confessed their sins to one another, repenting of their harshness to Christ and to one another.  This led to unbridled power in the work which included the sick being healed by the mere passing of a shadow (Acts 5:12-16).  Today’s leadership team, receiving and surrendering to the New Covenant, has broad evangelistic potential. 

It has always been God’s desire to dwell in His people (Colossians 1:27).  This was purposed in the New Covenant as Christ bore them “on eagles’ wings and brought [them] to [Him]self…” making them “a special treasure to [Him]…. a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”  Revelation takes it further to call His people “kings.”  (Revelation 1:6; Revelation 5:10). 

Israel’s failure to allow the Covenant of Peace to be written on their hearts and minds facilitated a need to have it spelled out for them in rules and ordinances.  A vacuum of wisdom existed that required the desire of God to be expressed as an object lesson.  “Let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them” (Exodus 25:8). If He cannot dwell in them, He will dwell among them.  Every service and item of the sanctuary pointed to His doing in justifying, sanctifying and glorifying the fallen race (1 Corinthians 1:30, 31), eventually fully expressed in the humanity of Christ. 

For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect…. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins. 

Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: 

“Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, 
But a body You have prepared for Me. 
In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin 
You had no pleasure. 
Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come— 
In the volume of the book it is written of Me— 
To do Your will, O God.’ ” 

Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the law), then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.  Hebrews 10:1-10. 

Additional consideration from “The Glad Tidings,” by E. J. Waggoner:

“That the covenant and promise of God are one and the same thing, is clearly seen from Galatians 3:17, where it appears that to disannul the covenant would be to make void the promise. In Genesis 17 we read that God made a covenant with Abraham to give him the land of Canaan—and with it the whole world—for an everlasting possession; but Galatians 3:18 says that God gave it to him by promise. God’s covenants with men can be nothing else than promises to them: ‘Who hath first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things.’ Romans 11:35, 36.   

“It is so rare for men to do anything without expecting an equivalent, that theologians have taken it for granted that it is the same with God. So they begin their dissertations on God’s covenant with the statement that a covenant is ‘a mutual agreement between two or more persons, to do or refrain from doing certain things.’ But God does not make bargains with men, because He knows that they could not fulfil their part. After the flood God made a covenant with every beast of the earth, and with every fowl; but the beasts and the birds did not promise anything in return. Genesis 9:9-16.   

“They simply received the favor at the hand of God. That is all we can do. God promises us everything that we need, and more than we can ask or think, as a gift. We give Him ourselves, that is, nothing, and He gives us Himself, that is, everything. That which makes all the trouble is that even when men are willing to recognize the Lord at all, they want to make bargains with Him. They want it to be a ‘mutual’ affair—a transaction in which they will be considered as on a par with God. But whoever deals with God must deal with Him on His own terms, that is, on a basis of fact—that we have nothing and are nothing, and He has everything and is everything, and gives everything.” —p. 131.

 

~ Michael Clendenning