THE COVENANT PRINCIPLE

1. Adamic Covenant. – Unconditional

   1. The constitution of the covenant.

      1. Made with Adam in Eden, before the expulsion.

      2. It is unconditional and consists of a curse and a promise

      3. Genesis 3:14-19 To order the life of man outside Eden

         1. Cherubim – Holiness of God.

         2. Seraphim – Uncleanness of people of God.

   2. The Contents of the covenant.

      1. The curse of Satan – Genesis 3:14.

      2. The judgment on the woman – Genesis 3:16.

         1. Multiplied conception.

         2. Maternal sorrow.

         3. Subordination to man, the headship being invested in man.

      3. The judgment on the man – Genesis 3:17

         1. The ground is cursed for his sake.

         2. He must labor for his living.

      4. The curse on creation – Genesis 3:18.

         1. Caused to bring forth thorns, thistles, etc., and all things which tend to make cultivation difficult.

         2. Genesis 3:17, Sorrow – toil.

      5. The promise – Genesis 3:15.

   3. The Conclusion of the covenant. – Runs on to the renovation of the earth by fire.

   4. The Seal –

      1. Genesis 3:21

      2. Clothing

      3. Genesis 3:23,24

      4. Driven out of the garden.

ISRAELITES OR JACOBITES??

HEBREW HONEYCOMB

William Andrew Dillard

Much is heard of Israel in their present conflict with a radical segment of Arabic people. Most of the Christian world, and this writer, too, are pro-Israel. The children of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob were the recipients of the Law Covenant from God, and though left desolate in their official rejection of the Messiah, the nation has a future in the work of God. However this should not blind the Bible student to obvious truth regarding the subject, and how that applies to the present people of New Testament Covenant relationship with Him. Please put on your thinking cap!

To be anti-Israel is to be anti-Semitic. But wait, to be anti-Arab would also be anti-Semitic since both descended from Abraham and are by virtue of that Semites. However, Bible students know that God rejected Ishmael, the father of Arabic people as the heir of Abraham, choosing instead the son of Promise: Isaac. To Isaac was born two sons: Esau and Jacob. Covenant lineage is traced through Jacob due to the faithless rejection of Esau of his birthright. Stay with me in this thinking.

“Jacob” (trickster) received a name change from God to that of “Israel” (He who contends with God and prevails) in his wrestling with an angel all night, signifying his hot pursuit of heavenly help in view of what he considered the Imminent, murderous wrath of Esau. Thus does his name have such marvelous and practical meaning. Quite naturally, Jacob’s children then became known as the children of Israel whether their faith and deportment merited the name or not. Happily, much of the time it did.

But in the fullness of time, God sent them the promised Messiah whom they rejected on a wholesale basis officially. While their rejection of Him is more than ample evidence that they were no longer Israel in meaning, a remnant of the faithful received the Messiah, and were by virtue of their faith and obedience to Him the sole nucleus of the New Covenant expression of God on earth, His New Testament Church. They were then the true Israel, and the New Testament Church continues to be so today. Gal. 6:16. What about the political nation that rejected Jesus, the Messiah? Jesus said their house was left to them desolate (devoid and separated from the presence and protection of God as they had known it). This precipitated the massacre and destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 by the Romans. It caused the great diaspora of the last near 2,000 years. It precipitated the holocaust in WWII. It has brought on them the many and continued conflicts with Arab nations presently. The present political nation is mainly the children of Judah; hence, Jews. They have chosen to use the term Israel, but they do not have its meaning. They are in fact Jacobites. But, one day, the nation will become Israelites again. May the Lord hasten that glorious day when they shall look on Him Whom they have pierced, know true repentance, and be brought into New Covenant relationship with Him to once again be “Israel” in the sight of God.

Want

 

chāsēr

David writes in Psa_23:1, “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” After using God’s covenant name LORD and then picturing such a personal relationship by likening Him to a Shepherd, the first blessing David mentions receiving from his Shepherd is that he does not want for anything.

The Hebrew chāsēr (H2637) means “to be lacking or needy or to decrease.” The first two of its some twenty occurrences reflect that latter idea when the waters of the Flood “were abated” and “decreased” (Gen_8:3; Gen_8:5). The idea of lacking is apparent in the third occurrence when Abraham found a “lack” of righteous people in Sodom (Gen_18:28).

Our text, however, says that David did not lack for anything, that he was not needy, that there was no decrease of any necessary thing in his life. The most frequent use of chāsēr, in fact, is to show that God’s provision is sufficient to meet the needs of His people. As one might expect, we find this very word in the account of God feeding His people in the wilderness. God’s provision of manna was so miraculous that “he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating” (Exo_16:18).

That is, indeed, the Shepherd’s promise. If we follow Him, we will want for nothing. As Spurgeon writes, “I shall not lack for temporal things. Does he not feed the ravens, and cause the lilies to grow? How, then, can he leave his children to starve? I shall not want for spirituals, I know that his grace will be sufficient for me. Resting in him he will say to me, ‘As thy day so shall thy strength be’ [Deu_33:25]. I may not possess all that I wish for, but ‘I shall not want.’”

Is there a prerequisite for such provision, or is it automatic no matter how one might live? As David makes clear elsewhere, “They that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing” (Psa_34:10; also Mat_6:25-34). In contrast, when God’s people turned to idol worship, “[They] wanted all things, and [were] consumed by the sword and by the famine” (Jer_44:18). While there are starving people in many places in the world, the problem is not a lack of resources, rather a wrong response to God, not a lack of food, rather a lack of faith.

Scriptures for Study: Read the following passages, noting the promise of God’s provision in each: Deu_8:3; Deu_8:9 (also Mat_4:4); Mat_6:25-34; Php_4:19. Is there ever a reason to doubt?

 

 

Atonement

kāpar
Woven into the very fabric of Scripture, and a key to understanding the OT concept of forgiveness of sin, is the word atonement. The Hebrew is kāpar (H3722), from which is derived kippūr (H3725), as used in the name of the well-known Jewish feast Yôm Kippūr (“day” of “atonement” in Leviticus 16).
The root kāpar, as well as its Arabic equivalent, means “to cover over or pacify,” but not in the sense of simply trying to conceal something. “It suggests the imposing of something to change its appearance or nature.” In Isa_28:18, for example, it refers to a covenant being “disannulled” (i.e., “written over”). It also appears in Gen_6:14, where it is translated “pitch,” a substance put over wood to make it waterproof, that is, to change the appearance and nature of the wood. To illustrate further, painters often paint over an existing picture they no longer want and create a new one. The old picture is still there, but has been covered over in such a way as to change its appearance.
This fundamental meaning tells us the true nature of OT atonement: It was a covering for sin not simply to conceal it but to change its appearance and nature. It didn’t remove the sin totally, as Christ’s sacrifice would do, but it did “paint over it.” As mentioned earlier, that is exactly what it means in Gen_6:14 (which actually is the very first occurrence of kāpar). While it’s rendered “pitch,” this is not the usual word for this bituminous substance. Moses’ infant basket, for example, was waterproofed with “pitch,” which is zepeṯ (H2203), what we think of today as “tar” (Exo_2:3). “Whatever the exact nature of this pitch [in Genesis],” writes Henry Morris, “(probably a resinous substance of some kind, rather than a bituminous material), it sufficed as a perfect covering for the Ark, to keep out the waters of judgment, just as the blood of the Lamb provides a perfect atonement for the soul.”
So while “it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins” (Heb_10:4; cf. Heb_10:10), which was only an atonement, our Lord’s sacrifice on the cross did just that. “This man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God” (Heb_10:12). While the OT priests never sat down, since the work of sacrifice was never complete, our Lord was the Last Lamb.
Scriptures for Study: Read the following verses, noting what Christ’s sacrifice accomplished: 1Jn_1:7; 1Jn_2:1-2; 1Jn_4:10.

 

Sacrifice

zāḇach
Another crucial word in the context of the offerings of the OT, of course, is the word sacrifice. The Hebrew is zāḇach (H2076), which means “to slaughter, to kill, to offer, to sacrifice.” While at times it refers to killing an animal simply for food (Deu_12:21; 1Sa_28:24), it is used mainly for the slaughter of animals for sacrifice, either to the true God or even a false one (Jdg_16:23; 2Ch_28:23).
Why was sacrifice required? Because the result of sin is death (Rom_6:23; Jas_1:15), and the only thing that can pay the price of sin is blood—“without shedding of blood is no remission” (Heb_9:22; cf. Lev_4:20). It was, therefore, the Lord Jesus who was the focal point of the entire sacrificial system. Everything pointed to Him, for He would be the perfect “Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (Joh_1:29), it was He who would “save his people from their sins” (Mat_1:21). It was, in fact, the OT Passover itself that pointed to “Christ our passover” (1Co_5:7), whose “precious blood” is “as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1Pe_1:19).
What has happened to the old system? Heb_8:13 declares, “A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.” Chapters 9 and 10 detail how the Mosaic system, from symbols to sanctuaries to sacrifices, vanished. In fact, that system began to decay when Israel rejected Christ (Luk_19:37-44) and finally disappeared with the destruction of the temple in AD 70. The Mosaic system was but a “shadow of good things to come” (Heb_10:1, emphasis added), but Jesus is the substance.
Does all that mean there is no kind of sacrifice today? No, but all sacrifice we offer to God is living. No longer is there the dead sacrifice of the Old Covenant, rather the dynamic sacrifice of the New. That’s what Paul meant when he wrote, “Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God” (Rom_12:1) and what Peter referred to as he wrote to Christian Jews, As “[living] stones, [you] are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (1Pe_2:5). Our entire lives now—all we do and say—are living sacrifices to God.
Scriptures for Study: Read the following verses, noting what kind of “spiritual sacrifice” each emphasizes: Rom_15:16, Eph_5:2, Php_4:10-18, Heb_13:15-16; Rev_8:3.

 

David’s Covenant with Jonathan

1 Samuel 20:14-17
“So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, Let the Lord even require it at the hand of David’s enemies,” 1 Samuel 20:16.
The concept of covenant relationships—especially in friendships—is not common in our culture today. Some may understand “covenant” (verse 16) as it relates to marriage, but most people do not engage in covenant relationships. Why is covenant so foreign to our relationships? One of the biggest reasons more people are not keen to the concept of covenant is because it entails, first and foremost, unconditional love.
We are familiar with the ideas of acquaintances, informal friendships and contracts, but these types of relationships can easily be manipulated by the participants for personal gain. If I approach a relationship with a mind-set of a contract, I will only be your friend as long as it suits me, and as long as you are benefitting me in some way. This kind of friendship is really not friendship at all because I can end it if I think you are not upholding your end of the bargain.
The kind of relationship that existed between David and Jonathan was a covenant friendship. This kind of relationship is not dependent upon either party fulfilling a set of obligations but is much deeper, founded upon the bedrock of truth and unconditional love. This is the preferred kind of relationship because it shows the kind of love God has for each of us. He has sworn a solemn vow to us in a covenant relationship through His Son, Jesus. When we strike up these deep relationships with others, we display God’s covenant-keeping love for us.

JUST A THOUGHT
Will you display God’s unconditional love today?

Mark Clements

God’s Promise to David

Psalm 132:1-18

“If thy children will keep my covenant and my testimony that I shall teach them, their children shall also sit upon thy throne for evermore,” Psalm 132:12.

 

How often do you ask God to establish and protect your home and prosper your family? When we recognize God’s sovereignty over everything, we understand that He is the reason we experience good, and He knows exactly what is best for us. As we understand God’s grace more and more, it makes sense that we continually go to Him more and more with our petitions.

By the time David drew closer toward the end of his life, he came to understand God’s grace more and more as well. In this Psalm, we observe him requesting God to establish his home and kingdom long after he passes. Of course, God replied with a beautiful and powerful promise to prosper David’s family by setting up his son, Solomon, to rule as king.

After that promise, God said something interesting, He told David that his sons and grandsons after him would be prospered as long as they kept God’s testimonies. This condition is a great reminder that each person is accountable for obeying God’s Word on his own. We cannot expect to receive the manifold blessings of God based solely upon the obedience of our parents or grandparents. Yes, our parents and grandparents may be responsible for many of the blessings of God we enjoy, but there must come a time when we own our faith and walk in obedience to God all on our own.

 

JUST A THOUGHT

Will you own your faith today?

Mark Clements

 

David’s Prayer and Praise

2 Samuel 7:18-29
“Then went king David in, and sat before the Lord, and he said, Who am I, O Lord God? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?” 2 Samuel 7:18.

When God established His covenant with David, He reminded him that, when God chose David, he was simply a humble shepherd keeping sheep. It was God’s idea to elevate him from a keeper of sheep to the king of Israel. David realized that he had done nothing to promote himself to his position of prominence and did not deserve this kind of recognition. He rightly asked, “Who am I, O Lord God? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?” (2 Sam. 7:18).
In today’s culture, it is easy to cultivate an attitude of entitlement. Success and fame are almost expected by everyone and certainly are pursued by the majority of people. This attitude goes against the grain of Christianity because, in Christ, we begin with an understanding that we are not entitled.
Jesus came to this earth precisely because we are unable to help ourselves and none of us deserves Heaven. We only enter into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ after we have realized our desperate circumstance. David realized his humility, and we need to take note. The next time you are tempted to boost your own pride or take credit for anything good that has happened to you, take a cue from David and, instead, lift up God in praise. None of us deserves to be called the children of God, and, yet, He still reaches out to us and lifts us up from the pit.

JUST A THOUGHT
Will you deflect praise to God today?
Mark Clements

33 – February 03 – THIS DAY IN BAPTIST HISTORY PAST

 

 

Wm. Howard Doane

 

He made a covenant with God

 

1831 – A BAPTIST BUSINESS MAN WHO WROTE THE MUSIC FOR FANNIE CROSBY’S POEMS – William Howard Doane was born on February 3, 1831.  He was saved at 16 and was baptized into the fellowship of the Central Baptist Church of  Norwich, Connecticut in 1851. He worked most of his adult life as an accountant for a woodworking firm in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Early in life he became a first rate musician and served as conductor of the Norwich Harmonic Society and became known for his musical productions.   At 31 he developed heart disease and he made a covenant with the Lord to promote the gospel.  He composed many songs to be used in Sunday school and evangelistic meetings, also Christmas Cantatas.   His business flourished and he gave a large gift to Denison University, a Baptist Institution, to construct a library building.  Doane wrote much of the music for Fannie Crosby’s poems.   Some are, “Safe in the Arms of Jesus,”  “Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior,”  To God Be the Glory,”  “I am Thine, O Lord,”  “Near the Cross,” and many more,   In 1888 Doane edited the Baptist Hymnal.  He died Christmas Eve 1915 and no doubt heard the angels sing.
Dr. Greg J. Dixon, from: This Day in Baptist History Vol. I: Cummins Thompson /, pp. 46.

 

The post 33 – February 03 – THIS DAY IN BAPTIST HISTORY PAST appeared first on The Trumpet Online.

 

 

The Faithful God

 

“Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations” (Deuteronomy 7:9).

 

God will always keep His word.  He is “the faithful God.”  He is immutable (unchangeable).  Because He is the perfect God, He cannot change, nor can He ever lie. The writer of Hebrews reminds us that this truth should result in hope, like “an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast” (Hebrews 6:19).  The faithful promises of God keep us secure, like an anchor, during the storms of life.

 

You can count on the promises of God. They are true and will be fulfilled, just as He has said. As Moses wrote, God will keep His commandments, even to a thousand generations.  Most people believe that one generation is 20 years.  If that is so, God’s promises are good for at least 20,000 years! Now that is a guarantee worth believing!

 

God is faithful for a lifetime and throughout eternity.  Upon what promises of God are you building your life? Upon what word from our faithful God are you depending?

 

At times you may not be faithful, but you can depend on the faithful God!

 

Larry