God’s Grace
in the Old
Testament
(Study 3 in a
series of 7)
The Promise key as
Covenant
In the first session
we asked the
question, “Is there a
key or central theme
of the Bible that
comes from the text
itself?
The key to unlocking
the grace of God in the
Old Testament comes
when we understand
the biblical concept of
promise. It is because
of God’s covenant love
for us that he promises
to save and protect us.
This is a demonstration
of his grace.
Last time we
looked at
‘blessing’. This is
one of many
aspects of the
central key of
promise in the
Old Testament.
The most common setting
for blessings is in the family
of people who love God.
Fathers have blessed family
members at weddings;
they have blessed their
members before they left
on a journey; and those
who were facing death
blessed their offspring.
Unfortunately, God’s
promised blessing is
met with human
rebellion. The human
condition is found in
each of the three
catastrophes
(creation/fall; flood; &
tower of Babel). The
consequences were a
promised word (of
judgment from God).
Yet despite the human
failure there was a
follow up blessing in
each case.
After the fall,
there was the
promise of a
blessing: a Seed
(Genesis 3:15).
After the flood there is
the promise of another
blessing: God dwelling
in Shem’s tents
(Genesis 9:25-27).
After the fall of the
Tower of Babel, there
is yet another promise:
a worldwide blessing
(Genesis 12:1-3).
Abraham was blessed
in order to be a
blessing to others.
We shared blessings
we had received.
Being blessed by God is a
sign of his covenant love.
But the opposite is not
the case. That is, trouble,
heartache and sorrow
are not because God has
removed his blessing
from us. The difficult
times are there to
enable us to trust that
God is still with us, just
like he promised.
This time we will
look at the
concept of
‘covenant’, as a
symbol of grace in
the Old
Testament.
Covenants are
agreements which bind
two parties together.
Furthermore, covenants
between people in the
ANE had religious
content. The most
significant examples of
covenants in the Bible are
those between God and
his people.
What sort of
covenants do we have
today? In what ways
can they be binding?
What do covenants
do?
There were several OT
words used to
describe the making
of a covenant. God
would ‘cut’ (kārat)̠ a
covenant (Genesis
15:9-18) with
Abraham as Abraham
had ‘cut’ the sacrifices
(15:10).
God would ‘give’ / ‘grant’
(nāta̠ n) (NIV = confirm)
his covenant with
Abraham
(Genesis 17:1-2).
God would ‘establish’ (hēqȋm) an
everlasting covenant that would bless
Abraham’s descendants through Isaac.
(17:4-8, 19-22).
The Lord would ‘swear’ (nišba‘) a covenant
with Abraham (22:15-18), that his family
would be as numerous as the stars in the sky
or the grains of sand on the beach.
In David’s last
words he affirms
that the Lord can
‘set down’ (śȋm) a
covenant
(2 Samuel 23:3-5).
The Lord
reminded Joshua
that He did
‘command’
(șiwwâ) a
covenant that
needed to be
enforced
(Joshua 7:10-12)
The covenants
God made were
with individuals or
groups of people.
The covenant that God
made to Noah, sealed
with a rainbow, was to the
world; while the covenant
with Abram was God’s
promise to one man. But
the covenant that God
made through Moses (the
Law) was his promise for
the whole nation of Israel.
The new covenant that
God has made through
Jesus benefits the whole
world.
In the business world, if a
covenant was broken by either
party, there were usually dire
consequences for the one who
broke it. But, in the Bible, God
keeps the covenants he makes
with his people. But always,
the ones with whom God
makes his covenant, break
their part. Yet, God’s covenant
always contains mercy.
In what ways did the
people of God benefit
from the covenants that
the Lord made with his
people?
The old
covenant is
ratified by the
blood of
sacrificed
animals.
The new covenant is
ratified by the blood
of Jesus.
In what ways is
God’s new
covenant of
benefit to you?
© 27th September 2011, K. Sarlow