Thurlow Switzer: Pursuing Covenant

The Bible is all about covenant. Covenant is perhaps the most central and vital theme in the scriptures. Covenant is a lost perspective for most people, and this is to their loss. The Bible is a written record of how humans can know, understand and witness God’s revelation of Himself. Covenant is the story of God coming to us in the Mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ. Covenant is the earthly manifestation of the Kingdom of God, of which the Church of Christ is the covenant expression, God extending His covenant to and through the Church.

Ps 50:5 – “Gather My saints together to Me, those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice." NKJV

Covenant has to do with the words that are spoken. God made a covenant with Jeremiah and put His words in Jeremiah’s mouth. Covenant people must speak covenant words if they are to make a difference in our world, in culture and in society.

Jer 1:9-10 – “9 Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. 10 See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant." NKJV

Covenant is not a mechanical formula, nor ideological prescription, but a dynamic relationship between two entities; vertically between God and man, and horizontally between two individuals.

Jer 18:5-11 – “5 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 6 "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?" says the Lord. "Look, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel! 7 The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, 8 if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. 9 And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, 10 if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it.” NKJV

Many have misunderstood the primary purpose of prophecy making is a matter of prediction, when in fact, prophecy is much more about understanding how to evaluate man’s ethical response to God’s Word.

In 2 Chron 34, repeated in 2 Kings 22, we see the story of King Josiah, a man who sought to do what was right in the eyes of the Lord, to walk in the ways of his father David and purge Judah and Jerusalem of unworthy practices.

2 Chron 34:1-3 – “Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. 2 And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images.

Starting in verse 14, we see that the stewards of the House of God discovered and brought to King Josiah the long-buried “Book of the Law.”

II Chron 34:14, 18, 21 – 14 Now when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the Lord, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord given by Moses. … 18 Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, "Hilkiah the priest has given me a book." And Shaphan read it before the king. 19 Thus it happened, when the king heard the words of the Law, that he tore his clothes. … 21 "Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for those who are left in Israel and Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found; for great is the wrath of the Lord that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord, to do according to all that is written in this book." NKJV

This “Book of the Law” was probably the Book of Deuteronomy, the second giving (”deuteron” = twice, plus “nomy” = law) of the Law of God.

Deut 29:2-4, 9 – “2 Now Moses called all Israel and said to them:"You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land — 3 the great trials which your eyes have seen, the signs, and those great wonders. 4 Yet the Lord has not given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear, to this very day…. 9 Therefore keep the words of this covenant, and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do.” NKJV

Josiah initiated the re-institution of the covenant and brought about a great national reform in the official thought of society of his day, thereby impacting the culture of the nation. He reestablished the dominion of the Lord. For his commitment to God’s ideals and heart, Josiah was identified as one of the greatest kings of Israel, even of larger esteem than David and Solomon.

2 Kings 23:21-25 – “21 Then the king commanded all the people, saying, "Keep the Passover to the Lord your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant. 22 Such a Passover surely had never been held since the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah this Passover was held before the Lord in Jerusalem. 24 Moreover Josiah put away those who consulted mediums and spiritists, the household gods and idols, all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might perform the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord. 25 Now before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses; nor after him did any arise like him.” NKJV

We do well today to rediscover our covenant roots and to embrace the highest ideals of what it means to be a covenant people and society. At minimum, the Church of Jesus Christ ought to function according to covenant principles, for then we will be expressing the Kingdom of God on earth. Then we will truly see “peace on earth, goodwill to men,” and this expressed by those who choose to express God’s covenant heart and ways as the salt and light to the world, a city set upon a hill.

As far back as the second century, Irenaeus wrote: “Understanding…consists in showing why there are a number of covenants with mankind and in teaching what is the character of these covenants.” Covenant is the principle that unites the New Testament with the Old Testament, and at the same time, provides the nexus point that unites the various branches of theology. All are firmly grounded in Jesus Christ, the center of Scripture.”

There is much to be said about covenant, but for now, consider four practical benefits of covenant in the lives of those who respond to God’s covenant and maintain that covenant by reciprocal faithfulness.

1. A Covenant of Healing (Ex 15:26) "Then the LORD made a decree and a law for them and there he tested them. He said: "If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes; if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I AM the LORD who heals you." KJV

2. A Covenant of Eagle’s Wings (Ex 19:4-6) "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."

3. A Covenant of God’s Presence with Us (Ex 33:12-15) "Moses said to the LORD, "You have been telling me, `Lead this people', but you have not let me know whom you will send with me...teach me your ways.…" "The LORD replied, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." Moses said, "If your Presence does not go with me, do not send us from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?"

4. A Covenant of Love and Faithfulness (Ex 34:6-14, 27) “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished.... Then the LORD said, I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world.” NKJV