7 – Looking Back – (Covenants in review)

CHAPTER 7

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LOOKING BACK:

The Covenants in Review

•     Covenants help us know God better

•     Covenants give shape to the OT

•     Covenants help us interpret the OT

•     Covenants enrich appreciation of Jesus

•     Covenants help us understand many Bible promises

When we began our look at the biblical covenants, I suggested several reasons why understanding them is important for Christians. Let’s briefly review those reasons, and see how what we’ve learned can help us.

THE BIBLICAL COVENANTS HELP US KNOW GOD BETTER

The God who reveals Himself in His covenant promises is truly a wonderful God. He is a God who is fully aware of human flaws and frailty, and He cares about humankind. He is a God who was moved by love to choose to help us, and to reveal His intentions in the form of covenant promises. He is a God of grace, who has set out to bless us not because we deserve it, but because He cares. The God of the covenants is a God who is utterly trustworthy. He is a sovereign God with the power to accomplish all He has promised. He is a God who wants us to understand how completely He is committed to keeping His promises. And He is a God who has shown Himself willing to accept our faith in His promises in place of a righteousness that we human beings simply do not have.

What a wonderful God is revealed to us in the biblical covenants.

THE BIBLICAL COVENANTS PROVIDE A ROAD MAP TO THE OLD TESTAMENT

The Old Testament perplexes many Christians. Why tell the stories of Abraham and the patriarchs? What is so special about the Jewish people? What purpose is there in speaking of kings who ruled a tiny land thousands of years ago? What is the meaning of the words of the prophets? Why don’t we just start with Jesus and the New Testament and forget the Old Testament except for a few of its favorite tales?

When we understand the biblical covenants, everything falls into place. We realize that God chose Abraham and his descendants to become a channel of blessing for all humankind. We see the Old Testament stories as stops along the way to the blessings which God intends to bestow on all humankind. We see in the stories of judges and kings the outworking of God’s eagerness to bless along with His willingness to discipline. And in comparing the goals set in covenants with Bible history and with the predictions of the prophets, we see the direction in which history is moving. This helps us gain a sense of what God may do next.

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The son of David proclaimed by the crowds was also the Son of God.

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THE BIBLICAL COVENANTS ARE A KEY TO INTERPRETING THE OLD TESTAMENT

When we understand God’s covenant promises, we gain fresh insight into the significance of Old Testament people and events. We grasp the lesson taught in the fall of Jericho’s walls followed by the defeat at Ai. We sense the foundation of the faith that supported Jeremiah’s forty-year prophetic ministry in the face of ridicule and rejection. When we turn to the prophets, words that seemed obscure become clear as we link a prophet’s vision to God’s promises to Abraham or David.

Again and again, we see the covenant promises emerge as central themes of prophecy as well as history. The rise and fall of ancient empires is seen in a new light when understood in their relationship to the blessing or cursing of God’s people. And at every turn the sacred history reflects another facet of a covenant promise that God made to Abraham and his descendants. We see more clearly the role of the Old Testament, and we begin to understand why Old Testament Law does not apply today, even though we are called to holiness, just as Israel was. The covenants are a lens through which the meaning of the Old Testament comes into clear focus for modern believers.

THE BIBLICAL COVENANTS ENRICH OUR APPRECIATION OF JESUS CHRIST

When we understand the biblical covenants, we gain a fresh appreciation for Jesus. In the Old Testament, we discover aspects of His role we may have overlooked in reading the New. In the Old Testament, Jesus—the promised Davidic King—becomes the focal point of history. He is both the suffering Savior and the triumphant King.

Isaiah, who portrayed Jesus’ sacrificial death in chapter 53, also provides sharp images of the Savior’s triumphant rule throughout his book. In Jesus, the world is set right. In Him, the sin that has tormented humankind is done away with, and the earth itself is reshaped and nature pacified. Through Jesus, individuals as well as the nations of the world will be restored to harmony with God and one another. In Jesus, all the promises of God find their Amen.

THE BIBLICAL COVENANTS PROVIDE PERSPECTIVE ON MANY BIBLE PROMISES

As we read the Bible, we come across many wonderful promises that are made by God. Can we claim these promises as our own? Are they for us?

Understanding the biblical covenants, we will immediately recognize many promises as expressions rooted in what God has stated He intends to do for Israel, or through the Messiah. Some are conditional and depend on His Old Testament people being loyal to Him and His Law. Recognizing such promises will help us immensely as we sort through all of God’s promises and wonder, “Is this promise for me? Can I claim it today?”

Promises that have a direct link to the covenants and which were made to God’s Old Testament peoples often have some application to us as well. But we as modern believers should not assume that every biblical promise was meant for today.

As we move on to the next section of this book, we will learn many things. We will discover wonderful promises that we can count on as we grow in our own relationship with the Lord. And we will not be disappointed—if we understand the promises correctly and claim only those that are meant for us.

Understanding Bible covenants and God’s covenant promises does make a difference to us today. It may seem tedious to study them as carefully as we have done in this first section. But when we understand the covenants thoroughly, the Bible becomes a more exciting and meaningful book.

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