“And the Lord said unto Moses, Depart, and go up hence, thou and the people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land which I sware unto Abraham, to Isaac, and Jacob, saying, Unto thy seed will I give it.” Exodus 33:1
The origin of any covenant between God and man, begins in the heart and mind of God. That covenant is a specific, verbal declaration, of God’s commitment to man, to work in a certain and particular way. It is always intended to show forth the glory of God, and unveil and realize the blessing of man. Never was such a covenant devised by man towards God. Imperfect and sinful man, in and of himself, is always deficient, and lacking in strength and resolve, in every capacity to fulfill perfectly any commitment to God. When Scripture tells us that God “sware” to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that He would bring them into the promised land to possess it, His resolve and commitment, and holy capacities, to fulfill that covenant were perfectly, and overwhelmingly, sufficient and used to accomplish His promise. One of the reasons that the Apostle James writes in his letter that the believer is to “…sware not,” is simply because the sinner does not possess in and of himself, the absolute capacity like God, to first utter truthfully a certain and absolute declaration of commitment, nor does he have the capacity to perfectly fulfill it. How then is man to respond to the revelation of this perfect covenant of God? How did Abraham respond?
The Covenant God began to deal with Abraham when he lived in Ur of the Chadees, in southern Babylon. Scripture doesn’t tell us exactly how God revealed Himself to Abraham. That which we do know is that Abraham understood the words of the Lord, His commandment to leave his country, kindred, his father’s house, to go to a land that the Lord would show him.(Gen. 12:1) We discover in Abraham a person who is open and willing to respond to the assured presence, and person of Christ. He believes God, and obeys Him. Later on, when Abraham was in Canaan, in the land of promise, God would make more specific his covenant to him. He brought Abraham outside on a clear, star-lit night, to tell him: “Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, ‘So shall thy seed be.'” The response of Abraham to the declared covenant, and its specific realization was, “…he believed in the Lord; and he (God) counted it to him for righteousness.” (12:6) Herein is the only true response to the covenant that God gives to man. It is the response of faith, absolute trust in the One who has declared it. Abraham simply believed and obeyed God. The same call is constantly brought before all men to “Have faith in God,” or to “Trust in the Lord.” God does not need man to make another covenant, one which is tainted with sin and imperfection. He waits to be gracious to the one who will respond in humble, obedient faith. He gives sufficient and abounding faith, to the one who is willing to respond in this manner.
What about man’s imperfections, and incapacity, to fully respond in perfect faith to God according to the covenant? Does the covenant remain valid, and in tact, between the Holy God and the imperfect sinner? First of all, the perfect covenant was ratified, sealed, and certified in the eyes of God the moment that Jesus on the cross said: “it is finished.” The perfect, unchanging promises associated with the blood of Christ, and this new all-encompassing covenant, dealt with the total forgiveness and cleansing from sin. It also dealt with the need for a perfect righteousness to be given to the believing sinner, made now complete and accepted before God. The powerful blood of Christ became the guarantee and certainty of access to God, providing peace with the Father. The promised way into the holy presence of God, was accompanied by abundant grace and mercy, to know Him.
Dear Father, Strength us to believe Thee according to Thy covenant. In Jesus’ name, Amen.