COVENANT Hebrews 8__1-10
Hebrews 8:1-10
The Hebrew word berith is translated covenant in the English Bible. Berith appears 227 times in the Old Testament and means confederacy, league, or covenant. (1)
A particularly graphic use of the term in Genesis chapter 15 shows clearly all the elements of making a covenant and drives home to us why the concept of covenant was of critical importance to Father Abraham and his children. The Sovereign Lord appeared to Abram in a vision. Abram complained to God, “You have given me no children.” The Lord promised he would have children as numerous as the stars. Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord promised the land would belong to Abraham and his children. Abram responded, “O Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?”
Then the Lord directed Abraham to bring a heifer, a goat, a ram, a dove, and a young pigeon.
Abraham understood what was to be done; he slaughtered the animals, cut the carcasses in half and arranged the halves opposite of each other. He understood, because he understood the manner in which solemn agreements, covenants were made in the culture of his time.
“As the sun was setting, Abram fell in to a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. Then the Lord said to him, Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a strange country. . . .afterward they will come out with great possessions. When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the the great river, the Euphrates.” The opening line to Abram in this vision is “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield, your very great reward.” (2)
This vision of Abraham’s, from Genesis 15, tells us exactly how ancient covenants were made. The passing between the parts of the slaughtered animal was a ritual that accompanied the making of covenants at the time of Abraham. The literal meaning of the word berith contains that action.
“Berith has the sense of cutting; a compact made by passing between pieces of flesh - a confederacy, covenant, league.” (3)
The NIV Bible describes major types of royal covenants/treaties in the ancient near East.
“Suzerain-Vassal: A covenant regulating the relationship between a great king and one of his subject kings. The great king claimed absolute right of sovereignty, demanded total loyalty and service (the vassal must ‘love’ his suzerain) and pledged protection of the subject’s realm and dynasty, conditional on the vassal’s faithfulness and loyalty to him. The vassal pledged absolute loyalty to his suzerain, whatever service his suzerain demanded, and exclusive reliance on the suzerain’s protection. Participants called each other ‘Lord’ and ‘servant’ or ‘father’ and ‘son.’ (Ezekiel 17:13-18; Hosea 12:1)” (4)
A Greek word that carries similar meaning to berith is the term diatheke which means
“ . . . a will or testament. . . .and especially to dispose of by will. It denotes an irrevocable decision, which cannot be cancelled by anyone. A prerequisite of its effectiveness before the law is the death of the disposer.” (5)
The term diatheke appears 20 times in the New Testament. It is a derivative of the word diatitemai that means to dispose of by assignment, compact or bequest. Hence diatheke is a contract, especially a will, or a covenant as it is translated into English. (6)
Eleven of the 20 New Testament appearances of the term diatheke is in the Book of Hebrews, beginning at chapter 8 verse 6.
“But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises.(7)
The concept expressed by the term berith, was for centuries an important part of the culture of Israel/Judah. The term is used from Genesis 6:18 through to Malachi 3:1.
To Noah the Lord said, AI am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. But I will establish my covenant with you. You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female to keep them alive with you.” (7)
Through the pen of Malachi, God wrote,
“See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty. (8)
We do not know exactly how many hundreds of years passed between the days of Noah and the writing of Malachi, but we do know that throughout that entire period the culture in which Israel and Judah was nourished placed great value on the idea of a covenant relationship with God that brought unity with God, assured his protection and steadfast love for those who were parties to the covenant.
The author of Hebrews 8:6 quoted above, follows his statement that Jesus ministry was superior to those in the Old Covenant and cited the New Covenant prophecy (Jeremiah 31) in which it is indicated that the laws of God would become internal principles in the people of God whom He would enable to do His will. After this, in accordance with the essence of Covenant, the parties (God and His people) would enjoy fellowship. The author of Hebrews then completes his argument in regard to the efficaciousness of the New Covenant by tying the meaning of Covenant to bequest and will, the common understanding of Israel in regard to Covenants. In Hebrews 9:11ff the author argues that Christ is the great high priest who goes not to an earthly but to a heavenly temple to “once for all. . .do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.” The author gives the classic definition of will as he says
“In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. . . . Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, Here I am; it is written about me in the scroll; I have come to do your will O God.” (9) (Compare with Luke 22:42 and John 4:34).
There was a common pattern in making covenants in the culture of ancient Israel. The six common vital elements are
“. . .the preamble mentioning the names of the partners (God and His people); a preliminary history of the relationship of those entering the covenant; a basic declaration about the future relationship of the partners; details of the new relationship; an invocation of God to act as witness; a pronouncement of curse for failing to keep the covenant and blessings for keeping the covenant “. (10)
In following the two terms used for covenant in the Bible it becomes clear that the relationship of the partners (God and his people) are expressed by God’s covenant loyalty, his steadfast, constant love. Man’s remembrance of the covenant expresses itself in action (Psalm 103:17ff) and both share in the covenant meal. (Gen 31:54; Exodus 24:9) The failure of his people to keep covenant did not keep God from returning to the honey-moon ground looking for his lost love.
“Yet I will show love to the house of Judah; and I will save them Bnot by bow, sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but by the Lord their God. . . .Say of your brothers, ‘My people,’ and of your sisters, ‘My loved one.’“ Hosea 1:7 and 2:1) (11)
Though his people were at times feckless, God kept covenant and made it possible for his people to return to the covenant. Throughout the whole Bible the purposes of God, his heart toward his creatures are revealed in his steadfast love and keeping Covenant. The essence of covenant is that to the people willing to keep covenant, God will be their God if they will be his people. (Exodus 6:7)
The love of God is revealed in the teaching of Jeremiah 31:31 and Hebrew chapters 9 and 10. Even though his people had broken covenant by not keeping the Law attached to it (Exodus 20 the 10 commandments), God himself provides the sacrifice, the sin offering to heal the breach. It is God who writes his laws in the hearts of his people (spiritual regeneration), renewing in them God’s image (St. Paul’s words) making it possible for his people to keep covenant and stay in relationship. It is God in the person of the Son who dies to put the eternal will of God; the testament; the covenant into effect.
Paul in Romans 8 expresses that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus the Lord. He writes,
“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come. All this is from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them.” (12)
Paul follows the Jewish understanding of Covenant with God and expands on it in Romans chapter 11:33-36 where Paul states that Israel’s unfaithfulness cannot nullify God’s covenant. The relationship between Israel and the Church is based on the unity with God who calls us into covenant. The hardening of Israel will be overcome for a remnant will be saved. The will, the covenant cannot be annulled. In Galatians 3 Paul argues,
“No one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established. . .the Law, introduced 430 years later does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise” made to Abraham. “For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.” He continues, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you were baptized into Christ and have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.” Galatians 3:15-29 ( 13)
By referring to Covenant and understanding it as a will, Paul made the same point as the author of Hebrew made. The love of God is demonstrated through the death of the testator and the granting of promises that brings all the people of God into unity with Him and with one another.
The Covenant of Redemption is a concept new to theological discussion. It is an agreement among the persons in the Trinity in which
‘. . . the Father agreed to give to the Son a people whom he would redeem for his own possession, to send the Son to be their representative, to prepare a body for the Son to dwell in as a man, to accept him as a representative of his people whom he had redeemed and to give him all authority in heaven and on earth, including the authority to pour out the Holy spirit in power to apply redemption to his people .” (14)
Wayne Grudem continues his explanation of covenant by referring to “the Covenant of Redemption”. He shows that according to the Scriptures, the Son agrees to enter the world as a man, live obediently to the commands of the Father under the Mosaic law, become obedient even to death on a cross and gather a the people Father had given him. The Holy Spirit in this covenant agreed to do the will of the Father by empowering Christ to fulfill his ministry and to apply the benefits of Christ’s redemptive work to his people. (15)
Claude Beaufort Moss has four paragraphs on covenants in The Christian Faith, that I summarize here. In Moss’ view, the church (called out ones) existed before the incarnation of Jesus and begins with the call of Abraham. The remnant of Israel, gathered by our Lord became the New Israel, the Church of the new Covenant. The Lord sent the Holy Ghost to those called out on Pentecost. The New Covenant differs from the Old because it is “after the spirit” and open to all nations. Israel was in process of education (Galatians 3:24-25) while the Church , united to Christ, is grown to manhood, being Spirit filled. The Church is a visible, universal, organic society, united with God by covenant, redeemed by the death and resurrection of the Word of God, and guided by the Holy Ghost and recipient of the blessings bestowed by God on his children. (16)
In this brief review of the Scriptural meaning of covenant we see how Israel’s understanding of the will of God grew, drawing on the events of the people of God from the days of Noah through the first century. The will of God involves more than a set of rules. It is more than commandments and rituals. The word covenant points now, as in the days of Noah, to that hopeful sign of God’s love, the rainbow. God gives us sure signs of his continued love and provision to save the lives of his people.
He meets us, and invites us into Covenant with him as we hear the gracious words of Jesus calling, “Come to me. . . .I will refresh you.” God gives us great signs of salvation in the New Covenant: the sign of baptism into Christ, the sign of the Lord’s continuing presence with his people at Holy Communion, the sign of forgiveness of sins after confession, the sign of healing in laying on of hands, the sign of apostolic ministry of the church through the gift of the Holy Spirit. These and other signs of the Covenant assure us of God’s gracious and loving intention for his people who live in Covenant relationship with him.
He sends the heavenly dove to inform us of his gracious intent as the Son continues to live and appears forever as our priestly intercessor, mediating the love of God to us through the Holy Spirit.
(1) The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, James Strong Editor, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee,1996,Hebrew Appendix p23.
(2) The NIV Study Bible, Kenneth Barker, General Editor, Zondervan Publishing, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA,1985, p 28
(4) Ibid p. 19
(5) Dictionary of New Testament Theology Vol. 1, Colin Brown, General Editor, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids Michigan,1975, p. 365
(6) Op cit., The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Greek Appendix p22.
(7). 1867
(8) Ibid pp 15 and 1426
(9) Ibid. pp 1867-1868
(10) Op cit., Dictionary of New Testament Theology Vol. 1, pp 366-367.
(11) Op cit., The NIV Study Bible p
(12) Ibid. p 1769
(13) Ibid. p 1724
(14) Systematic Theology, An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine, Wayne Grudem, Inter-Varsity Press, Zondervan Publishing House, 1994, p. 520
(15) Ibid
(16) The Christian Faith, An Introduction to Dogmatic Theology, C. B. Moss, New York: Morehouse-Gorham Co., 1943, pp 245-246
Charles R. Scott, Pastor
Church of the Good Shepherd, Anglican
2060 E 54th Street
Indianapolis, In, 46220
crscottblu@yahoo.com
http://www.goodshepherdindy.org
