COVENANT: GOD’S PLAN TO RESTORE RELATIONSHIP
July 2, 2020 2024-05-10 13:04COVENANT: GOD’S PLAN TO RESTORE RELATIONSHIP
HOW DID YOU BECOME A CHRISTIAN?
Take a moment to think about how you became a Christian. Or, if you’re not yet a Christian, what prompted you to check out more about it? Odds are there was a person in your life who first told you about Jesus. There are, of course, exceptions, but the overwhelming majority of believers have someone in their life who first introduced them to faith in Christ. For me, it was my parents. I would suggest that the norm has always been that God would draw people to himself, bless them, and they would, in turn, have the responsibility to bless others.
CORRUPTION IN CREATION
Scripture opens with the story of creation. In the first couple chapters of the Bible we read that God created the world and when everything was put together and functioning as it should, God looked at it and said it was very good. But then sin entered the world and that which was very good got corrupted, the effects of which we still see today.
As the opening chapters of Genesis roll on we see that by chapter 11 things have gotten so bad that people are being scattered across the face of the earth and there seems to be no hope for the unsullied relationship between God and people that were presented in Genesis chapter 2.
GODS PLAN
Then we roll into Genesis 12 and we read of God’s plan to begin restoring his relationship with people. He calls Abram, later Abraham, and tells him to go to the land God will show him and that God is going to bless him and make his name great and that Abram’s job is to be a blessing to the nations. The basic idea is that God is:
pulling Abram aside
pouring out his blessing on him
commanding Abram to be a blessing to the nations.
This was God’s missions plan to reach the nations. People would look at Abram, see that he was being blessed, and desire to know who his God was.
GOD MAKES A COVENANT
Fast forward to Exodus 19 and we see the same basic idea on the national level. Here we have the nation, freshly released from slavery in Egypt, gathered at the foot of Mt. Sinai, and God is going to make a covenant, a treaty, with them to bless them so they can be his representatives to the nations.
Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, “This is what you are to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”
So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the LORD had commanded him to speak. The people all responded together, “We will do everything the LORD has said.” So Moses brought their answer back to the LORD. –Ex 19:3-8 (NIV)
SAVED FROM SLAVERY
The first thing to notice from this passage is that the people are already saved from slavery. They could go their own way at this point, but God is giving them the option of entering into a treaty relationship with him where they will be his people and He will be their God. The law comes in the next chapter because God has always been about drawing people into a relationship with himself prior to addressing issues of behavior. In other words, we shouldn’t expect unbelievers to act like believers prior to coming to faith.
GOD PROMISES
There are a few key promises God is making to the Israelites in this passage.
They will be a holy nation. This simply means that they will be set apart from the other nations to be God’s special people.
They will also be a kingdom of priests. In other words, they are to be his representatives to the nations. Just like Abram, they will be blessed by God and they will in turn be a blessing to the nations.
SPECIAL AND SET APART
The next big concept in the passage is that Israel will be God’s special possession or his ‘special treasure.’ The word here indicates that Israel will be what the special treasure was to kings in the ancient Near East. The Assyrians were masters at this. They would have foreign dignitaries walk down special halls full of unique, exotic treasures and wall reliefs depicting the many Assyrian military victories. The goal was that by the time the delegate reached the presence of the Assyrian king he would be completely overwhelmed by his majesty. It’s a similar idea to a foreign ambassador visiting the White House. They don’t typically go to McDonald’s. Rather, they have a lavish meal at the White House designed to show off the wealth and prosperity of the US. What God is saying to Israel is that she is to function like the royal treasure, showing off to the world how amazing the Lord is.
This was God’s missions plan to reach the nations, and it’s the same for us today.
Peter wrote,
As you come to Jesus, the living Stone, rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him, you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
–1 Peter 2:4-5, 9
Peter was writing to believers scattered through the provinces of Asia Minor and his message holds for us today. We are built into a spiritual house, which likely means we are made into a house for the Spirit of God. As we are built into this house, we are to be God’s special treasure that he uses to show his glory and draw people to himself. Our job–our mission–is to declare the praises of him who called us out of darkness and into his wonderful light.
