God is faithful and good. God is sovereign. God is our redeemer.
What did God's covenant require of His people?
Act Three: REbellion, Week 7
A covenant is not just a promise; it is also an agreement. Covenants are one of the most important themes in the Bible. They are the backbone of God's redemptive plan to restore His people. The fact that God's covenants are not just a promise is important to understand. It is like this: imagine it is a hot beach day and I promise my kids ice cream. I love them, and I want to give them this creamy treat. My heart (and my tastebuds) have every intention of keeping this promise. However, upon arriving, we discover the shop has closed its doors and does not intend to re-open. I am not able to keep my promise due to factors beyond my control. This is not the case for God. He is always in control. Remember, He is sovereign and omniscient. His plan cannot be thwarted. When He makes a promise, He knows it will not become a closed ice cream shop; it is a covenant, an agreement, full of grace, made between God and His people.
In the Bible, God makes two types of covenants with His people with the intent to restore and redeem humanity. Some covenants are unconditional—guaranteed by God, meaning there are NO conditions of any kind needed from man to fulfill the agreement (i.e., Genesis 12:2-3). Others are conditional, requiring obedience; these clearly specify the consequences of disobedience (i.e., Genesis 2:15) and the blessings in obedience.
Knowing what God requires of us should bring great comfort; it gives us a "checklist" of sorts on how to live. Easy right? Well, not really. We will see over the course of the next few weeks that even with the perfect checklist, people fail, continuing to rebel from a Holy God. We all crave the structure for measurement of success, but, like Israel, we are tempted to do it our way. Fulfilling God's law takes more than being given a command; it takes an inner transformation that only God can do. What God requires, only HE can do.
"What does God's (conditional) covenant require of His people?"
“And now, Israel, [CrossWay] what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD..." (Deuteronomy 10:12-13).
Do not fear; consecrate (set apart, humble) yourself so that you can hear. Obey my voice and keep my covenant (paraphrased Exodus 19:5).
“You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth" (Exodus 20:3-4).
We are given a glimpse into God's redemption plan in Exodus 24. After hearing all that the Lord ordained, Moses "took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, 'All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.' And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, 'Behold the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words'” (Exodus 24:7).
God is faithful, HOLY, and good to tell us what He requires of us. He is patient to teach what is pleasing to Him. Without the knowledge of the law (the book of the covenant) that God made with His people, the Israelites wouldn't have known what was required of them. Andrew Murray, in his book, Two Covenants, relates this to us (and warns us), saying, "Today, for you and I, the Bible is the Book of the New Covenant. And the Holy Spirit is the only minister of what belongs to the Covenant. Expect not to understand or profit by thy Bible knowledge without seeking continually the teaching of the Holy Spirit. Beware lest thy earnest Bible study, thy excellent books, or thy beloved teachers take the place of the Holy Spirit! Pray daily, and perseveringly, and believingly for His teaching. He will write the Word in thy heart."
If you have not already, stop rebelling. Repent and return to God. Read the Bible, relying on the Holy Spirit to teach you what it means. If we do these things, we will know God and what He requires of us.
♥️ Meghan
