Moving forward to
Noah, one finds the actual first use of the word “covenant” (at least in terms
of an English translation of Scripture). The Creator God is reported to
have judged the earth with a worldwide flood. This actually allows an
observer to see the two-fold nature of judgment. In one sense, the
judgment brought destruction, in that the God of creation destroyed all but
eight people. In the other sense, the positive side of judgment can be
considered, as the same God’s judgment liberated the world (albeit temporarily)
by purging from what was said to have become the overwhelming wickedness of
man, and its effects, that had abounded upon it.
So yes, the judgment
of the covenant God can be both destructive and liberating, and every attempt
should be made to see what type of judgment is being presented when read about
in the Scriptures. Following the flood, the Creator God is said to have
made a covenant with Himself, with a man (Noah) presumably standing as witness,
that He would never again bring about His judgment with a worldwide
flood. As there have been no additional worldwide floods, the history of
mankind sets itself forth as clear demonstration that the Creator God has been
faithful to this covenant. Thus, the Creator God is righteous (faithful
to His covenants).
The next covenant to
be found in Scripture was the one that is reported to have been struck with
Abraham. In that story, the Creator God entered into history and chose a
man for Himself to bear the light of His glory to the world, to represent Him
to all nations, and to be the progenitor of a people that would do the
same. The one that would eventually be known as the God of Israel (and
often as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) said to Abraham (paraphrasing),
“I will do this, and you will do that, and this will be the result.”
Additionally, his God gave to him (Abraham) the sign of the covenant, which was
circumcision. This covenant would be passed along through Abraham’s son
Isaac, on to Isaac’s son Jacob, and on to Jacob’s progeny, which came to become
known as the nation of Israel.
In each instance, the
passing along of the covenant included the Creator God’s foundational (again,
paraphrased) statement of “I will do this, and you will do that, and this will
be the result.” With the nation of Israel itself, in its receipt of their
God’s law at Mount Sinai following their exodus from Egypt, their God expanded
and expounded upon what it was that He was requiring of His covenant holding,
light-bearing and glory-reflecting people, asking them in no uncertain terms to
take measures to dramatically set themselves apart from the peoples that they
were going to encounter in the land that had been promised to Abraham and to
them.
These additional
expectations were put in place because, presumably hearkening back to His
covenant with Abraham, the Creator God desired to bless all peoples through His
covenant people. “Blessing” was a major
component of the Abrahamic covenant. This blessing of all peoples would
be accomplished because the covenant God of creation was going to bless His
covenant people if they fulfilled their end of the covenant. If they fulfilled their end of the covenant
by meeting the requirements that were set forth (primarily the issues of being
circumcised, reverencing the sanctuary, keeping the Sabbaths, and not
worshiping other gods), this would mean that they were “justified” before
God. They would be in right standing in relation to the covenant. They would be considered to be righteous, and
all peoples would then be able to see the blessings upon God’s covenant people
and in turn be drawn to those same people.
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