Spiritual: Exegesis Regarding the Doctrine of Covenants- Part 2

My First Exegesis Regarding the Doctrine of Covenants: To Include the Covenant of Friendship- Part 2 of 3
By: Candice C. Farney

What covenants are we most familiar with? What is revealed about these covenants?

First Covenant: God and man
When you Google "covenant" this is probably what is going to come up first. I say that because this was what came up first for me. There are many Christian and Jewish scholars that discuss the different covenants that God creates with men. Many theologians smarter than I have covered the topic and I would highly suggest you study some of those texts if you are interested. However, just because other's cover it, doesn't mean I won't. And honestly, there are a couple of points that I disagree with. Typically, commentators identify these are the major covenants between God and man: Edenic (Hosea 6:7), Adamic (Genesis 2-3), Noahic (Genesis 9), Abrahamic (Genesis 15), Aaronic (aka Priestly covenant from Numbers 25), Mosaic (Exodus 24), Davidic (2 Samuel 7) and the new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-39 and Ephesians 1:11-14). This is not an exhaustive list.  But these are the most commonly identified covenants (though not all of them are called covenants specifically in the bible).  The only one I will cover in depth here is the covenant that each of us may enter into: the new covenant.

The new covenant- The new covenant first appears in the Old Testament when God reveals it as a promise to the Prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:31-39).  God tells Jeremiah that even though Israel turned from her husband, the Lord and breaks her portion of the covenant. As an aside, this metaphor is an interesting one and later is revealed in Ephesians 5 that Christ is the head of the church as a husband is the head of his wife. Keep this in mind as I will come back to it. However, God has remained faithful and continues to fulfill his end. Under the new covenant, the law will dwell within God's people and it will be written on their hearts. This seems to allude to the promised indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Even if it doesn't, remember that Christ said that the law is based on love. So when God says the law will dwell within us, He is literally saying that we will be indwelt with love for God and love for others. It is under this new covenant that Christians live. God describes a covenant that reaches to the ends of the earth and expands for the rest of time. But in the New Testament, we learn that there is one ‘way out’ of this covenant. There is one thing that cannot be forgiven and will break any covenant that one has with God. It is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:22-32 and Mark 12:22-30). These instances are specifically mentioned twice in the bible and both times are said from the mouth of Christ. I will not get into specifics on the subject because blasphemy against the Holy Spirit really deserves volumes with all the theories and implications in these verses. The important thing to know is that, because the result is losing salvation, it must break the covenant that should result in salvation.  For the purposes of the doctrines of covenant, it is just important to know that God does provide a way that this covenant can be broken. But we still see the purpose of entering the new covenant is to the praise of His glory in Ephesians 1:11-14.

Second Covenant: Husband and Wife
The second most talked about or referenced biblical covenant is the one of husband and wife. This covenant starts in the Garden of Eden itself. Genesis 2 provides our first definition of marriage, a man and woman that leave their families in order to create their own. We know that God intends this to be a covenant because He calls it that in Malachi 2:14. The covenant of marriage literally is the joining of two people into one person. Jesus says in Matthew 19:6 "So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together let not man separate.” We see many conditions of the covenant of marriage given in the bible. Entering this covenant requires one man, one woman and God. It requires leaving the original family unit and making a new one together. It is not called to separate.

But, just like the new covenant, there is a ‘way out’ provided. Technically, there is one provided in the Old Testament and one provided in the New Testament. The first way to break the covenant of marriage is covered in Deuteronomy 24:1-4, Matthew 5:32 and Mark 10:4  saying that if one spouse commits adultery on the other it gives the non-adulterous spouse the right to offer a certificate of divorce and break the covenant. Now, to put it bluntly, God doesn't want to see divorce in any circumstance ("let not man separate!"). But God being a loving God understood that adultery is so painful to the faithful spouse that there heart would be hardened (Mark 10:5).  So God allows them a way out without the guilt being on their head. For my husband and I, we decided when we got married to supersede this covenant. We acknowledged that God doesn't want us to divorce in the worst of circumstances. That He can be brought glory even through adultery. So we decided that we will not divorce in the case of adultery. When we made our covenant, we said that the only case in which we would divorce is if one of us had a repeated sexual relationship with another person that we are not willing to give up. It doesn't matter if it is caught nor confessed. So long as the adulterous spouse is willing to give up the relationship and stay in the marriage, then we both will. We will live in love and forgiveness and we will stick around and figure it out to bring God glory. Because God is a God of healing and reconciliation, we trust that He would heal our marriage. Not that either of us has any worry about the other cheating. Because we know that our line for divorce is so far back, I can honestly say that we have more freedom in our marriage than pretty much any other we know. My husband and I can confess our every sin to the other and know that the other won't leave. Even more so, each of us is willing to have the other confess their sins to us and love each other and help each other through it. I have almost as much freedom in my covenant with my husband as I do in my covenant with Christ, which is fitting because the covenant of marriage is supposed to reflect the covenant Christ made with the church (Ephesians 5). It is the kind of love that casts out all fears and doubts (1 John 4:18).

Now, on the topic of divorce (or breaking the covenant of marriage), the Apostle Paul gives one other acceptable circumstance for divorce.  Paul says that if a believer is married to an unbeliever and the unbeliever leaves, then the believer is released from the covenant (1 Corinthians 7:12-16). Paul comes to this conclusion saying that an unbelieving spouse is made holy by their oneness with the believing spouse. Now, this is not saying that the unbelieving spouse is saved and Paul makes that clear in verse sixteen. The non-believing spouse is just entering a marriage and cannot be bound by the covenant because they cannot make one before a God in whom they do not believe. This is why Paul starts by saying the believer cannot leave. Is it going to be frustrating covenanting yourself to a person that has not covenanted themselves to you? Yes. Is it going to cause friction? Most likely. Does that give you license to leave? No. Why? Because you make them holy (1 Corinthians 7:14). This does not mean you tell your unbelieving spouse to leave you so that you can be free of your covenant. It just means that if they want to break their vow, then it will release you from the covenant.

On this note, there is one excuse that believers like to make to justify their divorce from a non-believing spouse. That God didn't want them to enter that marriage in the first place. This is the first of two times I will say this, covenant beats command. The reason Paul tells you that you cannot leave is because you entered a covenant that God didn't want you to enter in the first place. But let me back up. Multiple places in the bible give the same command; believers are called to marry other believers, not unbelievers. The bible talks about this in many terms; including being equally yoked (2 Corinthians 6:14-18, Deuteronomy 7:3; Joshua 23:12; Ezra 9:2; Nehemiah 13:25; 1 Corinthians 7:39). The idea comes from farm work where you would yoke two oxen (or other large animals that would pull your plow) together and put them to the plow. You would want two of equal size and strength so that they both pull equally and at the same speed. If one was significantly weaker, it would pretty much be dragged by the stronger and could damage both animals in the end. In life, you want your partner to plow at the same speed as yourself. You don't want to be the strong one dragging the weaker one along until they quit and you don't want to be the weak one holding someone back; especially in their faith. It's about going in the same direction, at the same speed, neither pulling the other.  Instead walking along side each other, and sharing the weight of the load. So how does covenant beat this command? We have already been told that failing to obey God's command and marrying a non-believer does not give the believer the right to leave. The covenant you enter, even against God's command, you must honor because that still gives God more glory. This does not mean that God is required to bless you in your disobedience. It just means He gets more glory by your fulfilling your promise to Him and others in spite of your disobedience to His command.

Third Covenant: Covenant with the Oneself
The third covenant from the bible most commonly talked about comes from Job. The book of Job talks about Job’s faithfulness to God in a very hard to endure circumstance.  He was a man who had lost everything, but was still worshipping God. When a friend asked him what sin he had committed that would make God punish him, he answered that he hadn’t sinned at all.  And in explaining part of his righteousness in Job 31:1, Job tells us he made a covenant with his eyes to not look at any woman lustfully. This is a covenant of purity. This reveals knowledge that isn't again revealed until Jesus brings it up in Matthew 5:28, when He says that even looking at a woman lustfully means you have committed adultery. Job is merely trying to indicate that he knows he is blameless before the Lord but his covenant to himself for purity is an inspiration to many.  His example reveals that you can covenant with yourself before the Lord to not sin. This would be another way to love God and bring Him glory, by following His commands.  The problem is that most people don't have the intestinal fortitude to make this kind of intense commitment even if it is to free themselves from a sin they cannot escape. If you are taking your sin seriously and are truly ready to give it up, make a covenant with yourself before God to never do it again. Choose loving God and others over loving yourself and your sin.  This type of covenant may not be necessary for all types of sin, but it may be for you if there is a specific sin that you have been tempted by for years.  However, do not enter this covenant rashly.  You need to be very honest with yourself and if you are really ready to give up your sin and never turn back to it.  Because, again, if you make a covenant and you break it, it will not go well with you.

Fourth Covenant: Covenant between peoples/ tribes
The fourth covenant covers covenants between people groups or tribes. These types of covenants can be found in the Old Testament but there is one that stands out to me the most. It is found in Joshua 9. Joshua was leading Israel to the lands God promises after Moses died and Joshua was tricked into entering a covenant with the Gibeonites, a people God commanded them to destroy. After realizing this, Joshua made them forced laborers for Israel, but honored his covenant. Again, covenant overrides command. If it did not, we would have seen God rebuke the Israelites for allowing the Gibeonites to live, as He did whenever the Israelites did not fully fulfill His commands to destroy other tribes.  As a matter of fact, 2 Samuel 21 we see that years after Joshua died we learn that King Saul killed some of the Gibeonites. Though we do not know why, we do know that God punished Israel with a famine that lasted at least three years and passed the point of Saul's death. The reason I chose to focus on this covenant is that not only does it show covenant beating commandment, it shows how covenant transcends time. The original maker of the covenant was long since dead and the violator of the covenant had also died, but God still held the nation of Israel accountable through famine. And we already know that famine is one of the ways God says He will punish those that break a covenant. Even though God never wanted them to enter this covenant, He still expected them to honor it.

But how do we enter this type of covenant when we no longer have tribes and we are not diplomats that can tie our country's fate to another?  My thoughts on the best fulfilling of this type of covenant would be to create covenants between churches. As long as that church believes in the fundamental principles of the Gospel, then the small differences don't matter for the sake of covenant. By covenanting churches together, we not only learn to love each other better, but we can expand our reach to God's glory! Consider this: a church in the heart of a big city and a big church in the heart of a suburb. The church in the suburb probably has a lot more money (and is likely wasting some of it on the finer things it does not need) and the church in the city has a big mission. By partnering these churches, you can extend the reach of both.  You partner in saying neither church will let the other die but both churches will receive what they need to preach the Gospel. The big church might seem like it is helping the small church more, but really, both would be a blessing to each other. In seeing the Gospel spread and the word alive, the suburban church will grow and be blessed. They actually receive more by being a part of a Gospel that grows. Churches should be looking for new methods to expand their Gospel reach and I think partnering with other churches would be a perfect way to do that. Aside from giving monetary support, each of the churches should find ways to serve the other instead of their own and partner together in love.


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Spiritual: Exegesis Regarding the Doctrine of Covenants- Part 1

My First Exegesis Regarding the Doctrine of Covenants: To Include the Covenant of Friendship- Part 1 of 3
By: Candice C. Farney

The Back Story:

So recently in my readings of the Old Testament, I came across a passage I am sure I had read before but that struck me in a new way. The other day, I was reading 1 Samuel and the story of David and Saul when I picked up on something that before, I must have just read over. It was regarding the relationship between Jonathan and David. Specifically, I was reading 1 Samuel 18:1-4, 1 Samuel 19:1, and 1 Samuel 20:42. These passages talk about Jonathan loving David as himself and the two making a covenant between each other. Now, I have read of many covenants in the bible, two greater known (between God and man and between a husband and wife) and two lesser known or focused on (covenants between tribes/ people and covenants with ourselves) but I had never seen this kind of covenant between two people outside of marriage.

Please note: these are just my thoughts and extrapolations.  I include as many scripture references as I can think of to explain my thoughts.  Anything that comes from scripture is authoritative; my recommendations are not.  I encourage you to consider all of these things and weigh them against what you know.  If something makes sense to you, then use it.  If it doesn’t or you disagree, don’t heed it.  Again, these are just my interpretations and should be considered as such.

What is covenant and why does it matter?
First, we must understand the definition of covenant. Covenant derives originally from the word "to cut." We know that people use to cut a calf in two and walk between the parts (see Genesis 15:7-17 and Jeremiah 34:17-19) Covenant is created and recorded by God. To put it mildly, it is a promise to God that you are bound to keep for all of time. It is defined by God because it is created and held by God. The gist is that it is a promise to love another more than ourselves; to be willing to lay down your life emotionally, physically, spiritually, mentally, financially, etc. for another person or group of people. It is a willingness to completely put another's life ahead of yours. We are called to this regardless. It is commanded by Jesus to "And he said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.'" (Matthew 22:34-40) Jesus did this by dying on the cross for the sins of all mankind regardless of the world loving Him. We are called to love with this same kind of sacrificial love. Some may disagree that covenant is about this kind of sacrificial love.  However, all I can say is that if Jesus says all of the laws of the Old Testament are dependent upon these two commandments then the laws regarding covenant must depend on this love as well.

So you may ask what makes a covenant different than just loving others. Covenant is an eternally bound oath before the Lord, and that is quite a commitment. There isn't a way out of it unless predetermined by God in the bible.  You cannot go back on a covenant but you can supersede it by taking the bounds a step further.

Aside from covenants, there are also oaths and vows. Covenants, once entered into, have no contingencies. There is never a point you are released from it. They are binding and they transcend time because God transcends time. Unless there is a prescribed way, given by God, that releases you from that covenant, it will continue. Vows and oaths are, for all intents and purposes, the same thing. If there is a difference, it seems miniscule at best. Vows and oaths are promises made to the Lord but are contingent upon the fulfillment of something; usually either an event or time. In the bible, we see people vowing to the Lord that if He would give them something then they will return it to Him in the form of an offering. We see vows of curses for those that break a fast. We see a man vow up to half his kingdom to a dancing girl that leads to the death of John the Baptist. And we see Jewish leaders vowing not to eat until they kill Paul, which, unless they broke their vow, means they died of starvation (Judges 11:30-3, 1 Samuel 14:24 Mark 6:23, Acts 23:12). There is also a biblical example of a vow that is for a period of time. It is the Nazirite vow where you cannot shave your head, be near a dead body (even if it is a close member of your family), nor drink any fermented drink nor eat grapes. This was usually done for a specific and measurable period of time (Numbers 6:1-21).

Up until this point it may seem like covenants, vows and oaths are all the same thing.  The reason that I argue that these things are different is in the way God describes the consequences for breaking any one of these. This shows a different level of importance between these that makes for a very wide chasm. When it comes to vows and oaths, God wants us to fulfill the vow in haste or the consequence is that you are guilty of sin (Deuteronomy 23:21, Ecclesiastes 5:4, Numbers 30:1-3). Now under Jewish laws, being guilty of sin would likely result in a period of uncleanliness, being unable to participate in certain religious ceremonies and definitely a sin offering. There is no impression given that this reaches a level of severity that it will separate you from God beyond the usual realm of every other sin.

When observing the examples of covenant breaking in the bible, one will find a vengeful God. He does not take it lightly. For instance, there will be panic, diseases that destroy the body and pain the heart and eyes, famine (which probably means there will be death in the land), God will set His face against you (literally being on God's bad side), your enemies will overtake you and overpower you, you will experience God's discipline and you will toil in pain with no fruit born (Leviticus 26:14-36). Elsewhere, we see the additions of God's anger being kindled again the covenant breaker, being forsaken by God; you will be devoured by many evils and troubles that will definitely come (Deuteronomy 31:16-18). To put it lightly, there are many grave consequences. This seems extreme compared to those considered guilty of sin. We know that the penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23).  Everyone lives in that penalty since Genesis 3 and everyone’s earthly body will eventually perish and become dust.  The difference that we are talking about is the quality of life.  The punishments for breaking covenant are more severe for this life.  Instead of separation from God in eternity, you will experience separation from God here on earth.  Life is not going to go well for you, because the Lord will not be with you.   

On top of that, even when you break the covenant, you are still bound to it unless there is a circumstance where God releases you from it. Just like when Israel turns her back on the Lord time and time again in the Old Testament, the covenant is never dissolved. Basically, there are times when they are living under the terms of the covenant and there are times when they are not. When they aren't, God deals with them accordingly. When they are, God blesses them abundantly. It is not once broken, always broken. And at the same time you cannot break it, even for a time, without punishment.

How does covenant reveal God's glory? Why would I consider entering a covenant?
After understanding how God views covenant, it is hard to understand why one would enter one if they could avoid it. Now obviously, we want to accept God's covenant with us and we also are willing to enter marriage as we are called (go forth, be fruitful and multiply right?!) but after that, most people seem to ignore other covenants. We abide in these two covenants, reap their blessings and say that's enough. But if we want to love God as we are called, we must keep His commandments. 1 John 5:3 says "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome." And we know that God's love is glorious (Psalm 115:1). When we dwell in this love, we experience a piece of God's glory (1 Peter 1:8-9). Thus, it follows that the more we obey these two commandments by loving both God and man, the more we experience and share God's glory.

Now, God loves us through covenant.   And then He calls us to love each other as He has loved us (Ephesians 5:2).  Thus, it follows that one way for us to show our love is through covenant.  Experiencing God's love is experiencing His glory. Sharing God's love with others is sharing God's glory. And the more we share less of ourselves and more of God, the more He is glorified. We know the promise of John 3:16. That God so loved the world that He gave His only son, so that we will have eternal life (yes, I paraphrased). So we rest in this assurance. But the assurance of our salvation stems from God's love, expressed through the new covenant through Christ, to God’s glory. As Christians, we know what we have been saved from, and we know why. It is very simple. God loved us. God loves us so much that He wants us to share in His glory for the rest of eternity!

Covenant is a step of faith. It is answering God's commandment to love in such a way that we are willing to be called into greater accountability. Accountability is the difference. Entering into a covenant with others tells God that we are taking His commandments very seriously. We step out in faith to grow in our knowledge and understanding of love. We put ourselves in the same situation God has put Himself in with us. We are promising to God that regardless of how the other person responds or acts, we are going to love them. It expands our ability to love as we better understand how God has loved us and thus, we experience even more of His glory. As we commit to loving others more than ourselves, we find ourselves shedding the selfishness of the world and taking on a more holy calling. Covenant is not the only way to love people as God commanded but it is a way to love them with a higher calling and greater accountability to the glory of God.   Christ didn’t need the new covenant to die on a cross for us; it is out of His love for us that He offers us this covenant for our benefit.  The covenant, like all covenants, is merely a means to love deeper and closer.  It is love with a commitment. 


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