Lesson 11: Relationship to Three Covenants

The end has come! We made it through our study of covenant! This last lesson was an important one in bringing the whole study together. Rebecca did a fantastic job connecting all the dots and wrapping everything up. A special thanks goes out to the teachers, small group leaders, and goodie bringers for this past semester. I hope it was a heart-changing study and something you'll continue to look back upon as you continue in your study of Scripture. If you don't know, we'll be doing Esther starting next year (2013?? already?) so be looking for more information!

This was the diagram that we made contrasting all 3 covenants. NOTE THAT ALL OF THE COVENANTS pointed to the fact that we ARE SAVED BY FAITH! 

2 Corinthians 3:1-18

-Spirit and Law (Old and New Covenants) contrasted

- Old Covenant called Ministry of Death and Ministry of Condemnation

-New Covenant called Ministry of Spirit and Ministry of Righteousness

-Old Covenant was written on tablets of stone and New Covenant written on hearts of flesh.

Exodus 34:29-35

-Moses went to get the law and his face shone when he returned from being in the glory of God

-He spoke to the people while he was still "shining" and then put on a veil. 

-He takes it off in the presence of God

-Why did he put the veil on? To hide the fading glory; the glory of the Old Covenant faded because it wasn't everlasting. With the New Covenant, we can always be "shining" because we are always in the presence of God.

Galatians 3:1-29

-Galatians was written in response to Judaizers' teaching that it was salvation by faith plus perfection by law.

-Paul calls Galatians foolish because for believing false teaching after receiving the Spirit. He tells them, essentially, to use their testimony and we can do the same thing when faced with false teachings (3:1-5)

-Paul brings up the Abrahamic Covenant and reminds them that Abraham was saved by faith (alone!) in Genesis 15:6. (Remember that faith is defined by a firm conviction that brings about surrender). (3:6-9)

-He reminds them that the Old Covenant brought conditions that NO ONE could keep. Christ freed us from the Old Covenant by becoming the curse and redeemed us (bought us back) by His blood.

-Then Paul uses an example in every day life. You don't just change covenantal agreements! (3:15-18)

-Paul then explains why the law was given in verses 19-25. The law was given to give us a knowledge of sin and tell us that we are under its bondage. (Note there is a difference between knowing there is sin and realizing you are a slave to it.) The law also gave protection (the Jews received the law before entering into the Promised Land and God wanted them set apart as a people). Finally, the law teaches and guides.

-Finally, we see that the New covenant is written on our hearts, that we have the Holy Spirit, that our sin is forgiven and forgotten, that we can be in God's presence, that we are united as a body, and that we are heirs to the eternal inheritance.

The last thing we did was look at Galatians 4 and the follow chart:

And that's all folks! Hope you and your family have a Happy Thanksgiving and a Merry Christmas! We'll see you in January!

Lesson 10: The Mediator

This week in our discussion, we compared the Old Covenant (or The Law) with the New Covenant (Salvation).

• The Old Covenant had regulations and an earthly sanctuary (Heb. 9:1), but the New Covenant has a heavenly sanctuary (Heb. 9:11)
• The Old Covenant required "continual" work on the part of the priests (Heb. 9:6), but the New Covenant was finished "once for all." (Heb. 10:12)
• In the Old Covenant, the priest entered the presence of God with fear and trembling and only did so once a year for atonement of sins of ignorance (Heb. 9:7). Under the New Covenant, we are constantly in the presence of God, can be so with confidence, and are forgiven of our sins because Christ is our Mediator and High Priest. (Heb. 9:11)
• The Old Covenant cannot cover our conscience- it only worked on the outside (Heb. 9:9), but the New Covenant changed our heart and our insides (see last week's review!)
• The Old Covenant required the blood of animals (Heb. 9:12), but the New Covenant required Christ's blood (Heb. 9:12)

In our small groups, we went over the following handout:

Lesson 9 :: The New Covenant

To begin our lesson this morning, we listened to the song Without You performed by Shane and Shane.



We reviewed last week's lesson over what the Tabernacle was and what each thing stood for. See last week's post for a review (again, thanks to Kathy Drake for taking awesome notes in my absence.)

Next, we went back through the timeline.

• Abrahamic Covenant (Gen. 12, 15, 17, 21)
• Abraham is promised descendants, land and to be a blessing (through Christ)
• This covenant is everlasting
• Also note Abram's name change to Abraham and that they're in Canaan
• The covenant was confirmed to Isaac in Gen. 26 
• The covenant was confirmed to Jacob in Gen. 28 and his name changed to Israel in Gen. 32
• 430 years goes by and the Israelites are multiplying (around 2 million), the famine sets in and Joseph goes to Egypt and is forgotten by the new Pharaoh.
• We move into Exodus- enter Moses and Mt. Sinai and The Old Covenant
• The law was set out to give boundaries to stay in covenant
• This covenant had an if/then clause
• Obedience bring blessing (life)
• Disobedience brings curse (death)
• The people agree to obey
• They are disobedient and there is 40 years of wandering so a generation dies
• The Second Law (Given because there was a new generation coming up)
• Deuteronomy 28: 58-68
• Disobedience brought scattering, enslavement, despair and no land.
• Deuteronomy 29
• Blessings from obedience are that God will lead them, that they'll have life.
• Deuteronomy 30: 6
• Do we wear a sign that we are saved? Foreshadowing of New Covenant sign that is the circumcision of the heart. (More on that later!)
• The people agree to obey. Note that this covenant was not everlasting. Christ was promised in the Abrahamic covenant (remember it's everlasting) and the Old Covenant shows us why we need Christ (but it is not everlasting).
• A cycle sets in of obedience, disobedience, crying out to God, obedience, etc. etc. etc. Then, when Solomon takes kingship, the nation is opened up to idol worship through his many wives. 
• The kingdom splits into Kingdom of Israel (10 tribes) and Kingdom of Judah (2 tribes) in 722 BC. Israel goes into captivity and we are going to be focusing on Ezekiel and Jeremiah's prophecy in Judah around 586 BC.

Now we move into the Promises of the New Covenant in Jeremiah 31:31-40, 32:37-44

• There is going to be a New Covenant for Israel/Judah
• The law will be written on their hearts and in their minds
• "I will be their God and they will be my people" (repeated twice)
• Forgiveness and forgetting of sin (Something the Old Covenant did, but only for a time until the next sacrifice)
• We can know God (and not rely on teaching of priests)
• The covenant is everlasting
• They'll return to the land and have safety
• They'll be united in heart and way
• Fear of God given for their own good and the good of their children (the "good" fear)

Next, we move onto Ezekiel 11:13-21 during the fruition of the consequences they were promised to the suffer.

• Ezekiel asks "Will Israel come to a complete end?"
• God says they'll get a new heart of flesh to replace their heart of stone and give them a new spirit so they'll be obedient to His statutes so they can be His people.
• This heart of flesh gives us the opportunity to obey God out of love for God, not just because we're fulfilling a law to Him. 
• A demonstration: Anne dropped a rock in a jar of water. Nothing changes about the rock and nothing penetrates it. Next, the heart of flesh (a sponge) was dropped it. The water (Word) changes the heart- it softens it, it absorbs the water and is changed inside and out because of it.

Finally, we move into the New Testament. The Gospel came first for the Jews, who did not accept it. The Great Commission sends the Gospel to the ends of the earth (to include Gentiles). 

And now the question: can you walk a sinless life? Am I motivated to not grieve the heart of God?

So, can we lead a sinless life? A few things to ponder on this issue:

• "Be holy, as I am holy." We have the Holy Spirit that enables us to be convicted of sin. We have the power that raised Christ from the dead. 
• David was a "man after God's heart," yet he was an adulterer and murderer. However, for a small slice of time, his heart was completely God's.
• The term "christian" means little Christ.
• God has given us the power to do it, but we don't tap into the power all the time, and based on the promise of the new heart and the Spirit, we can do it.
• Go back to the robe exchanging- we have Christ's identity on us.
• How is the power of God's Word changing your life?

Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section!!

Lesson 8: The Abrahamic and Old Covenants

These 2 covenants plus the New Covenant all link salvation and demonstrate Scripture as a progressive revelation.

The Abrahamic Covenant

• Genesis 12: Promise to Abraham
• Abraham was 75 and was promised the Land of Canaan and Descendants (seed) which is Christ (Galatians 3:16)
• Genesis 15: Covenant is Cut
• Abraham surrenders (Genesis 15:6) by "believing"
• Covenant is cut AFTER he believed
• We enter into covenant with God through Christ when we surrender/believe.
• Genesis 17: Promise Reaffirmed
• Abraham is 99 years old
• Isaac will be the son of promise, not Ishmael
• Circumcision was the sign of remembrance
• Name change from Abram to Abraham

The Old Covenant (Law)

• Exodus 6: God's Covenant Name
• Revealed "Lord" "Yahweh"
• Exodus 19: Mount Sinai
• Arrive at Mt. Sinai after 3 months
• Moses is the mediator
• if/then obedience
• the people agree

Timeline

• Genesis 17: Name change from Abram to Abraham
• Genesis 26: Covenant Confirmed with Isaac
• Genesis 28: "Jacob's Ladder"
• Genesis 32: Name change from Jacob (deceiver) to Israel (one who strives with God)
• Famine
• Genesis 46:27: 70 people went into Egypt and 2 million came out 400 years later
• Exodus 6:1-8: Moses hears the Covenant name of God "Lord/Yahweh"
• Exodus 20-23: Law Given
• Exodus 24: Covenant confirmed by blood
• Exodus 25: Tabernacle built

Please reference the Tabernacle Handout in your Appendix for the next part or see one here. (Scroll down about halfway)

How the Tabernacle Represents Christ

1. John 14:6, Matthew 7:13-14 Jesus is the gate (anyone can come)
2. John 1:29 Jesus is the Lamb of God (Jesus is the sacrifice on the altar)
3. Ephesians 5:25-27, Hebrews 10:22 Jesus is the cleansing (laver)
4. John 10:1-5,7 Jesus is the door to God
5. John 1:9, John 8:12 Jesus is the lamp (true light, light of the world)
6. John 6:35, 49-50, Revelation 3:20 Jesus is the bread of life (the bread of presence)
7. Psalm 141:2, Isaiah 56:7, Revelation 8:3-4, Romans 8:34 Jesus is the Sweet Aroma/Incense (prayers are sweet aroma)
8. - 10. Hebrews 10:19-22 Jesus' flesh is the curtain (our priest)

Special thanks to THE Kathy Drake for taking notes in my absence!

Lesson 7: Extended to Descendants

Y'all! We only have 4 more meetings left. It's gone by so quickly and has been such a blessing to me- I hope it's been for you, too!

Yesterday (or two days ago!) we looked at how the covenant was extended to descendants. First, lets took at Abraham:

1. In Genesis 12, we see that God initiates a covenant with Abraham when he is 75 years old. In Genesis 17, we see the extension to the descendants. 
2. We know that the covenant cut was cut close to where the seed/paternity was so that the covenant can include women and descendants. Now, Abraham tried to take things into his own hands ("use Ishmael as my descendent!") later on in chapter 17. We know that the son through which God is going to use is Isaac.
3. In Genesis 22, God tests Abraham by calling him to sacrifice his only son, whom he loved. God is asking Abraham, "Who do you love more?" Abraham is obedient (immediately, even) and shows God that he is devoted to Him and His Plan. What a great contrast to earlier when Abraham was trying to take things into his own hands- now, he is completely resting in God's hand. In covenant, you don't withhold anything, not even what you love most.

Next, we looked at Jonathan:

1.  In 1 Samuel 18, we studied the covenant ceremony between David and Jonathan. 
2. Jonathan is almost immediately tested between choosing his father over his covenant partner (19:2) "Who do you choose?" is what God is asking Jonathan. 
3. We also see that Saul, in 1 Samuel 24, realizes that David is anointed as the next king! What a huge surrender that must have been for him. God was asking, "What do you choose? Your ambitions?"
4. In 1 Samuel 20, we see the covenant extended to descendants. 

Finally, we looked at David:

1. In 1 Samuel 26, David is tested: "Who will you listen to? God or others?"

The next thing we looked at was the term "lovingkindness." We now know that this is a covenant term.  The Hebrew word for this term is "chesed/hesed." It means strength, steadfastness and love demonstrated by actions and not just words. Rebecca gave us this example: obligation calls for you to send your kids to bed on time; lovingkindness makes sure the covers are tucked in just right, that a bedtime story is read, prayers are said and "goodnight" hugs and kisses are given. It's all about going the extra mile. We will see that David does that.

The last thing we looked at was 2 Samuel 9 and the story of Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth is the son of Jonathan, who is lame in both feet. David seeks him out for the sake of the covenant he had made with Jonathan and restored to Mephibosheth the possessions of his grandfather, Saul, and given a seat at David's table as a son.

The application for us?

We are sought after for the sake of Christ, motivated by that lovingkindness, that hesed. All Mephibosheth had to do was accept it, and that's all we have to do, too: accept it in humility, and then we become sons, and as sons, become heirs to the throne.

We were given a handout in our discussion groups that summarizes well everything this pearl of a passage has to offer. Here is the link to that handout. Just scroll all the way to the bottom. (But reading all of it wouldn't hurt, either!) 

Looking forward to this week of homework and next weeks meeting!

Lesson 6: The Oneness of Covenant

This week, we got to see an example of a covenant ceremony. I videoed the Tuesday Morning "performance" with my iPhone (so please excuse the poor quality) but at least you can see and hear what Anne is saying as you watch the example of what entering into covenant looked like.



If you are having trouble viewing the video, click here.

We started off our time together with a review (as always!) of what we've learned so far. First, there was the exchanging of robes (which stood for the exchanging of identities). Secondly, there was the exchanging of weapons and belts (which stood for protection and strength). Thirdly, there was the walk into death (or the walk through the pieces) which symbolized dying to self and independence. The lesson picked up here, with the covenant cut.

In Leviticus 17:14a, we see that blood equals life. This is also true in our culture today. Just look at any Blood Drive campaign, and you'll see that they advertise that by giving blood, you are giving life to someone else. In the covenant cut, there was a commingling of blood, either through a cut that was then touched with the other man's cut or by drinking from a common cup. The reason the commingling of the blood is so important is because once something is in your blood, it literally infiltrates every part of your body. This testifies to both the seriousness and importance of covenant. We see this in the New Covenant in Jesus. Jesus was pierced and still has the covenant cuts on His resurrected body.

In Isaiah 49:14-16, we read:
      14But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me,

And the Lord has forgotten me."

15"Can a woman forget her nursing child

And have no compassion on the son of her womb?

Even these may forget, but I will not forget you.

16"Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;

     Your walls are continually before Me.
Isn't that amazing? Anyone who has ever been pregnant knows that you can't forget your pregnant; it is constantly on the forefront of your mind. The same is true with nursing a baby. That intimacy, that relationship is used here to demonstrate how Christ remembers us.

In John 6:47-55, we see that we commingle blood with Christ through salvation and our mark is our obedience. We are now in covenant with Jesus Christ, and are therefore co-heirs, and unified, almost tucked up inside the Trinity because of it (see John 17:21-23).

The next thing that happened in a covenant ceremony was the sharing of names. On page 64 in the PUP study, we see this example played out in God's covenant with Abraham. "Some scholars believe that the change in Abram's and Sarai's names to Abraham and Sarah occurred because God took the "he" (pronounced hay) out of His sacred name, YHWH or Yahweh, and put it into their names. Notice the change Abraham and Sarah!" After that, we see that God took on Abraham's name as well; he was now referred at times as "the God of Abraham." How do we take on Christ's name in the New Covenant? Through being called a "christian" which literally means "little Christ." (See also Rev. 2:17) Did you know that "friend" is a covenant term? John 15:14 says we are called friends of Jesus if we do what He commands us to do. This requires abiding that we see talked about in John 15. Knowing that we are considered friends of God is not a relationship that is to be abused, but that should cause us to worship. Anne gave a great example: if she were to say "I'm friends with Beth Moore" we would think of her as friends with someone famous and even prideful in boasting about it. But, if Beth Moore from stage says "Anne is one of my dear, dear friends," that carries much more clout. It's the same way with God, no? It's not that we're so awesome that we are considered worthy of being His friend, it's that He comes down and entered into covenant with us, the lesser party, and calls us Friend.

We also know that possessions were listed out to each of the covenant partners because everything was now co-owned, essentially. We receive heavenly and spiritual blessings from Christ and are to hold our hands open with those blessings as they all belong to Him anyways, no "buts."

Next, we see that the share a meal, which meant that they were literally eating each other's flesh. Sounds gross, but it's what it meant (again, this is serious stuff!). The Lord's Supper is the New Covenant meal.

The last thing is that a memorial was set up. We partake of communion to remember the New Covenant. We received a handout in class of that I've attached here that show other ways covenants were remembered. Read Deuteronomy 6:4-9. You can click on the picture to make it bigger!

Lesson 5 :: Covenant: A Walk into Death

Ya'll! We're almost halfway done...continue on in the homework each week and in coming to our time together! When both of these things are combined, amazing things happen!

We went back to Genesis 15 to start the lesson. Before we dig in, we need to get some context:

• In Genesis 12, Abram was promised descendants at 75 years of age. 
• Isaac doesn't come until Abraham is 99 years old
• Ishmael has not been born yet, either.

Abram comes to God and says "You've given me no heir, so I guess Eliezer is my heir." (15:1-3) God responds with "No!" and reiterates His promise to Abram. (15:1-5) And then we read verse 6: "Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness." Then God cut covenant with Abram.

This word BELIEVE: it means an unqualified (without condition!) committal of oneself to another. It is not a statement of just knowing in your mind; it goes back to our root words we studied last week. Belief and faith were a firm conviction that resulted in complete surrender. God goes all in for us and we go all in for Him- it's a complete surrender of our wills. The concept of believing is the same here in the OT as it is in the NT. Turn to Galatians 3:6-9.

For some more context, the Galatians were saying that you had to be Jew first to be saved (essentially, they were adding to the requirements of being saved) and Paul was refuting that. He says "Abraham was righteous because HE BELIEVED and we are called to do the same. (3:6-7) It goes on to say that the Gospel was preached to Abraham. Wait, the GOSPEL was preached in the OLD TESTAMENT? YES! Abraham was looking forward to the promise of a Messiah. We look back at the finished work- but we all do the same thing: we all believe! And not just the kind of believe that means we know or agree with. No, it has to be the "complete surrendering" type of belief.

Going back to Genesis 15, we see in verse 13 that God passes through the pieces and binds him to himself to keep the covenant. And because of that, we can KNOW FOR CERTAIN that God will keep His covenant promises to us. What a peaceful place to be...

So, how do we walk through the pieces?

We looked at John 1:29 where Jesus is called the Lamb of God. We also looked at 1 Corinthians 5:7 where Jesus is called the Passover Lamb. When Christ was crucified, His body was broken, His flesh was torn. Because of this, we can walk through Christ (see John 14:6) into a state of righteousness. And, when Christ was crucified, the veil was torn; this thick veil that guarded the Holy of Holies, that only the High Priest was allowed to enter into after he had gotten things right before God, that if the High Priest hadn't atoned for all of his sins would die walking into the Holy of Holies and be pulled out by the rope tied around him and that now is revealed for us- the presence of God made accessible to us.  See also Hebrews 10:19-20.

Anne left us with a section from the PUP study: "When do we symbolically walk through the pieces into covenant? When we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, committing ourselves totally to Him. There He hangs; Jesus, the Passover Lamb, in the veil of His flesh- God's covenant sacrifice! The way to God! Do you see Him? Do you believe? Are you ready to enter into covenant? O Beloved, do you realize it is a solemn, binding agreement; one that is to be honored? Are you willing to die to your independent way of life? Are you willing to put on Jesus' robe, to become like Him? Will you give Him your strength-live for Him? Will you stand against His enemies? Are you willing to lose your life for His sake and the gospel? That is what covenant is all about. That and more as we shall see."