Covenants - Part 3

Continuing my investigation into the Covenants the Lord made with us, and with Israel - I am continuing in Deuteronomy 29:1-4, 9-15 NIV: Renewal of the Covenant

'These are the terms of the covenant the Lord commanded Moses to make with the Israelites in Moab, in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Horeb. [2] Moses summoned all the Israelites and said to them: Your eyes have seen all that the Lord did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials and to all his land. [3] With your own eyes you saw those great trials, those signs and great wonders. [4] But to this day the Lord has not given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear."

[9] "Carefully follow the terms of this covenant, so that you may prosper in everything you do. [10] All of you are standing today in the presence of the Lord your God---your leaders and chief men, your elders and officials, and all the other men of Israel, [11] together with your children and your wives, and the foreigners living in your camps who chop your wood and carry your water. [12] You are standing here in order to enter into a covenant with the Lord your God, a covenant the Lord is making with you this day and sealing with an oath, [13] to confirm you this day as his people, that he may be your God as he promised you and as he swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. [14] I am making this covenant, with its oath, not only with you [15] who are standing here with us today in the presence of the Lord our God but also with those who are not here today."

This whole chapter is titled Renewal of the Covenant. It is interesting that Moses refers to the two covenants, one made in Moab, the other at Horeb. They were essentially the same Covenant, made years apart, with refined terms, and now they were being asked to renew the Covenant, because they had broken the covenant. The Covenant was not, in God's eyes, a one chance agreement, but rather an agreement He entered into with the nation and the people of Israel, and one He was willing to see renewed. Most of the commentary authors think this renewal of the Covenant was due to the fact that most all the people who had made the first covenant with God had died in the desert, and this new generation was being given the opportunity to say yes as well. This is important in that God sees the covenant both as a generational agreement and an individual agreement. One can clearly se that defined as both in verse 14 and 15, where He addresses not only those standing present, but those "who are not here today" an inference of the generations to come.

Another important point is the ability to renew a covenant. It had been broken, but by renewing the people were able to step back into the conditions of the covenant. We see an example of this in our own lives, where married couple renew their vows. This is the renewal of the covenant of marriage. It can be done purely for symbolism of continued commitment, or in a very real sense renewing the covenant that had previously been established, but which had been broken by one or both people. Renewing a covenant makes the terms fresh and new, and as is seen in the old testament, some times the terms of the covenant are modified slightly.

It is a significant deal that God welcomes renewal of His covenant- for this indicates His willingness to forgive, and have mercy. This is the core understanding behind God's desire to send Jesus to establish a new covenant. God was essentially renewing His promise to have a people who were His own, and was willing to forgive all the past transgressions and enter into relationship with generations and people and individuals again.

Continuing on, we see God and the people reaffirming the covenant through Joshua at the end of the Book of Joshua - Joshua 24:24-26 NIV:
[24] "And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God and obey him.” [25] On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he reaffirmed for them decrees and laws. [26] And Joshua recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak near the holy place of the Lord."

We see the convent renewed again in 2 Kings 11:17 NIV: "Jehoiada then made a covenant between the Lord and the king and people that they would be the Lord’s people. He also made a covenant between the king and the people."

And again renewed by Josiah in 2 Kings 23:1-3 NIV: "Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. [2] He went up to the temple of the Lord with the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the prophets---all the people from the least to the greatest. He read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which had been found in the temple of the Lord. [3] The king stood by the pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord---to follow the Lord and keep his commands, statutes and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, thus confirming the words of the covenant written in this book. Then all the people pledged themselves to the covenant."

God also made other covenants with individuals - here we see the covenant the God made with David referenced in 2 Chronicles 21:7 NIV: "Nevertheless, because of the covenant the Lord had made with David, the Lord was not willing to destroy the house of David. He had promised to maintain a lamp for him and his descendants forever."

The covenant God made with David is interesting because other than David and an occasional King down through his lineage, most of the other Kings did not abide by the terms of the covenant God established with David, yet God was true to his side of the agreement. The reality is God never breaks covenant, nor the agreement. He is always willing to maintain His side of the agreement. God is faithful, always. He is true to His word, and will never break His promise or oath.

So clearly covenants, although they can be broken, can be renewed. God was willing to continually extend to the people the same terms of the original covenant, willing to bless them, prosper them and protect them. He didn't reduce the terms of the agreement, giving the people less, or punishing them for their unfaithfulness. God, in the same way, continues to offer to us the same promise of relationship, no matter how many times we fail. This is such Great News! He has infinite patience, and an unchanging heart towards us, and is willing to renew the covenant over and over.