Author: David McKay

Joshua 24 is a moving chapter.  After a lifetime of faithfully leading Israel, including the entry into the Promised Land, Joshua knows that the end of his life is near.  The initial stages of the conquest are over and Israel enjoys a measure of peace.  Now a great test is looming as the leader the people have known for so long is about to depart.  To strengthen their resolve to follow the Lord, Joshua leads them in a renewal of their covenant with the Lord.  In The Bible’s Covenant Story, we consider 7. Joshua 24:1-27 Covenant renewal at Shechem.

1. Divine mercy

Joshua speaks the word of the Lord to the gathered Israelites (v2ff).  Much of what he says surveys key events of the history of God’s people.  All are recounted in terms of God’s actions: ‘I took…I sent…I brought’ (v3,5,8).  The focus is on the sovereign working of the Lord.  The events chosen by Joshua are all tokens of the mercy of God to an undeserving people.  The blessings Israel received were not due to their own goodness, but to the Lord’s keeping covenant with Abraham’s descendants.  As in Exodus 2:24 ‘he remembered his covenant’.  God’s covenant is always the fruit of his love and grace.  Our position is no different.  The gift of a Saviour flows from the love of God (John 3:16).  Note also 1 John 3:1, where our being ‘children of God’ is rooted in the Father’s great love.  We enter the Covenant of Grace through Christ’s shedding his ‘blood of the covenant’ (Mark 14:24).

2. Sincere commitment

In the light of what God has done, what is the response of his people to be?  In v14 Joshua applies the lesson of history.  The gratitude of Israel should compel this response: ‘Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness’.  It is a summons to a sincere covenant commitment to the Lord.  They are to give themselves to the Lord’s service, as in Genesis 17:1 ‘walk before me and be blameless.’  Their response is to be free, not forced – ‘if choosing the Lord seems undesirable, then choose…whom you will serve’ (v15).  Joshua leads by example – ‘as for me and my household’ (v15).  Commitment cannot be given in our own strength – ‘You are not able to serve the Lord’ (v19).  It is a vivid way of stressing our need of the grace of God: ‘it is God who works in you to will and to act’ (Philippians 2:13).  Love demands our whole heart (Deuteronomy 6:5).  Israel’s response – ‘We will serve the Lord’ (v21) – should be the resolve of every believer.

3. Thorough reformation

Covenant commitment is not something to be taken lightly.  Our whole life is to be lived in total dedication to the Lord.  The call of Romans 12:1 is ‘present your bodies a living sacrifice’.  Covenant renewal simply reminds us of how we should live.  In particular there must be a definite turning away from everything that is contrary to our commitment to the Lord or that would draw us away from him.  In practice that means throwing away anything that has become an idol, that takes the place due to God alone.  Even good and worthy things can become idols.  God alone is to be the centre of life.  We should pray, ‘Search me, O God’ (Psalm 139:23) so that all idols can be rooted out and God acknowledged as supreme.

Promises are easily forgotten, even when sincerely made.  With the passage of time vows taken wholeheartedly can be neglected or broken.  An initial covenant commitment to the Lord may have been made with enthusiasm, recognising our own sinfulness and the free offer of salvation in Christ, but as time passes that commitment may weaken into spiritual coldness and sin.

There is therefore great value in renewing, with God’s help, our commitment to him.  In turning to Deuteronomy 29 we must remember the unity of God’s Covenant of Grace, such that the principles of covenant renewal apply to both the Old and the New Covenant.  We consider Deuteronomy 29:1-29 Renewing our covenant.

1. The foundation of covenant renewal

Before covenant renewal Moses reminds Israel of God’s mighty acts – ‘you have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes’ (v2).  He begins with the deliverance from Egypt (v2-3), whilst v5-8 trace their history up to the present moment.  They are not told to look back on their own achievements but on the work of the Lord.  The stress is on what God has done to bring them to this point, although they have lacked the spiritual insight to grasp this (v4).  As we prepare to renew covenant, we begin by looking back in order to give God the glory for what he has done.  We think of election (Ephesians 1:4), which removes any ground for pride.  This is worked out in redemption (1 Peter 2:24), applied by grace (Ephesians 2:8-9).  We have so much evidence of his love and grace, so we renew covenant in humble thankfulness.

2. The form of covenant renewal

The actual ceremony is not described, but the necessary elements for covenant renewal are present.  Note the reference to the covenant at Horeb (Sinai, v1) – this is a renewal of an existing relationship.  Covenant renewal is for those who are the Lord’s redeemed people.  Renewal does not add extra requirements, but reinforces obligations already accepted.  It is an updating of commitment – note ‘standing today’ (v10).  Commitment to the Lord is always to be fresh and vital.  It affects ‘today’, it is a present reality.  The Lord is central to covenant renewal.  The initiative is always his – ‘which the Lord your God is making with you’ (v12).  He decrees the terms on which we belong to his people and his grace enables us to respond in love.  Our covenanting is an acceptance of God’s promises (v3).  We are his ‘friends’ (John 15:15), ‘children of God’ (1 John 3:1).  Covenant children (v11) and succeeding generations (v15) are also in view, the future members of the church of God.

3. The fruit of covenant renewal

We see what the ongoing result of renewal should be in v9 ‘keep the words of this covenant and do them’.  Obedience to God’s covenant law is the evidence of the reality of our covenant commitment (see John 14:15).  Note ‘that you may prosper’ – there will be growth in grace and useful service.  We must guard against hypocrisy and self-deception (v19ff), but the ending is positive – v29 – grace-enabled obedience is possible for God’s covenant people.

The Israelites during the Exodus were the most ungrateful people imaginable.  No matter what God did for them, they always found another problem.  Yet these were God’s chosen people, chosen by him.  He had made a promise to Abraham centuries before that he would continue his covenant with Abraham’s seed (Genesis 17:7).  When Israel reaches Sinai, God renews his covenant, adapted to the circumstances of his people at that time.  In The Bible’s Covenant Story, we consider 6. Exodus 19:3-6 The Covenant at Sinai.

1. Covenant grace

All covenanting must begin with the grace of God.  In ourselves we have no hope (Romans 3:23).  It was made clear to Israel that God’s choice did not depend on anything in them (Deuteronomy 7:7).  The choice of these people to be his covenant partners was based solely on grace.  He could have chosen whomever he wished – ‘all the earth is mine’ (v5).  At the Exodus God acted when Israel was helpless.  He laid waste a powerful nation, Egypt, for the sake of these miserable slaves.  He brought them into a personal, loving relationship – ‘I brought you to myself’.  Although there is a national aspect to this covenant, it is the same Covenant of Grace to which every believer is a party.  The Lord provided salvation ‘when we were still sinners’ (Romans 5:8).  Apart from an experience of grace, (v4 ‘you yourselves have seen…’) our covenanting is meaningless.

2. Covenant responsibilities

Note v5 ‘if you obey me fully and keep my covenant’.  An obligation rests on God’s people to give willing, joyful obedience to all that he commands.  God’s law shows in practical details what it means to be his covenant people.  Does this not make salvation depend on our obedience, in contrast to Paul’s emphasis on grace alone (Ephesians 2:8)?  Can we lose salvation and our place in the Covenant of Grace?  Our obedience is in fact a proof of the genuineness of our profession to belong to the covenant.  Note James 2:19 ‘I will show you my faith by what I do’.  As the Lord sates, ‘If you love me, you will obey what I command’ (John 14:15).  A genuine believer will often fail, but graciously the Lord will bring him back in repentance – we will not be content to remain in sin.

3. Covenant privileges

The privileges of faithful covenant people are great – v5-6.  These are not confined to the Old Testament, as 1 Peter 2:9 shows.  There is one Covenant of Grace.

            (i).  ‘my treasured possession’ – we belong to the Lord in a special way.  The Lord sets great value upon us, so great that the Son came to die for us.

            (ii).  ‘a kingdom of priests’ – united to Christ, our great High Priest (Hebrews 8), we are all priests, offering spiritual sacrifices (1 Peter 2:5), dedicating all of life (Romans 12:1).

            (iii).  ‘a holy nation’ – we are not just a collection of individuals, but a covenant community, living a corporate life, supporting one another.  The most basic characteristic of God’s people is holiness, reflecting his likeness (1 Peter 1:16).  Holiness indicates separation from everything sinful, separation to God, depending entirely on his grace and strength.

The ways of the Lord often surprise and even puzzle us.  His great covenant plan, established in eternity, has been to redeem a people to live in loving fellowship with him.  To begin with, his covenant community embraced a multitude of people, but at a certain point the line of the covenant narrowed to a single individual and his family, drawn from Ur far to the east of the land of Canaan.  In The Bible’s Covenant Story, we consider 5. Genesis 17:1-8 The Covenant with Abraham.

1. The God of the covenant

God reveals something of his nature through the names that he uses:

            The Lord (v1): especially associated with the covenant.  It speaks of God in relation to his people, and particularly of his unchanging nature (see Malachi 3:6).  He is constant in his love and grace and faithful to his promises.

            God Almighty (v1): used especially in the sphere of salvation.  Only the saving power of God can overcome sin and Satan, as is supremely evident at the cross, in the person of the Son of God incarnate.  God establishes his covenant in a work of sovereign grace.

            God (v3): thinking especially of God as Creator, who brings life out of nothing and who is able to give Abraham an heir at his very advanced age.  He gives spiritual life to those ‘dead in transgressions and sins (Ephesians 2:1).

2. The terms of the covenant

In v7 the Lord states ‘I will establish…’, stressing his sovereignty.  He provides the covenant on his terms, with sovereign authority.  It is ‘an everlasting covenant…to be your God’ – taking sinners into a saving relationship with himself.  To be saved is to be in covenant with him.  The covenant relationship (Leviticus 26:12) will last eternally (Revelation 21:3).  It all flows from the grace of God, not our deserving.  Promises are made to Abraham.  ‘I will make nations of you’ (v6), a spiritual seed, with a glorious fulfilment in the multitude saved through the work of Christ (Galatians 3:29).  There is also the promise of the land (v8), pointing to the glorious inheritance of the believer (1 Pater 1:4).

3. The beneficiaries of the covenant

It is vital to see that those brought into the covenant are sinners like Abraham.  This is evident in 16:1ff with his mistreatment of Hagar and her son.  Like Abraham, we are all ‘children of wrath’ (Ephesians 2:3).  It is with people like us, in our sin and failure, that God deals in his covenant, not the self-righteous or those trying to earn his favour.  Note however that Abraham responds in faith – 15:6, as we too must trust entirely in the covenant Lord.

4. The responsibilities of the covenant

Entrance into the covenant has life-changing implications – ‘walk before me and be blameless (AV ‘perfect’)’.  We are called to live in obedience to our covenant King, being holy as he is holy (1 Peter 1:16).  We are to be a ‘living sacrific’ (Romans 12:1), holding nothing back.

Many, even with little Bible knowledge, have heard of Noah and the ark, but they probably relegate it to the realms of myth, a story fit only for children.  This record, however, is presented in the Bible as historical fact (see Hebrews 11:7).  How does this episode fit into the unfolding of God’s saving purpose?  It seems to relate more to the material creation.  In The Bible’s Covenant Story, we consider 4. Genesis 9:1-17 The Covenant with Noah.

1. The Lord shows grace

The context of the flood is clear – the pervasive sinfulness of the human race (6:5).  In response the Lord wipes out most of the human race in cataclysmic judgment.  The crucial verse is 6:8 ‘But Noah found favour (or ‘grace’) in the eyes of the Lord’.  It is not suggesting that Noah earned God’s favour.  In 6:9 we have the description of a godly life that is the result of grace.  Noah was the recipient of the undeserved favour/grace of the Lord.  It is the fruit of God’s gracious election and as a consequence, ‘By faith Noah…in holy fear built an ark’ (Hebrews 11:7).  Noah stood in the line of believers in the covenant promise (Genesis 3:15).

2. The Lord preserves life

By means of the ark the Lord preserves the covenant line that will lead ultimately to the Messiah.  Sin and judgment do not frustrate God’s plan to save a covenant people for himself.  The Lord preserves the covenant seed through the flood, indeed by means of the flood that bears the ark aloft.  Peter speaks of this in 1 Peter 3:20-21 – it is God’s grace, not the water, that saves.  The Lord also preserves creation through the catastrophe to provide a suitable dwelling for Noah and his descendants.  The Lord is faithful, as 8:22 shows us.

3. The Lord confers dominion

In 9:1 the Lord repeats the mandate given to Adam and Eve (1:28).  The call to exercise dominion to God’s glory has not been silenced.  In the Covenant of Works Adam was to demonstrate covenant love for the Lord by obediently carrying out that mandate.  Now in the Covenant of Grace Noah and his descendants are again called to such obedience.  Sin and judgment have not destroyed the covenant and the dominion.  This is post-fall, however, and so there is ‘fear and dread’ on the part of the animals, and they are given now as food (v9).  The penalty for murder is also spelled out (v6).  The Lord continues to work out his covenant purpose through imperfect people like Noah, and all the glory is his.

4. The Lord makes covenant

Note v9 ‘I now establish my covenant…’.  The Lord is repeating his covenant in the particular circumstances of Noah’s day.  That is the pattern in the biblical covenants – the details may differ, but the fundamental provisions are the same.  In the covenant with Noah, all of life is mentioned (v10).  Provision is made for the preservation of creation, an aspect of God’s common grace.  The focus, however, is the covenant line through Noah, with the rainbow now designated as ‘the sign of the covenant’ (v12), indicating his gracious work.

Once Martin Luther was asked what are the best psalms.  He replied ‘the psalms of Paul’, meaning psalms which set out most clearly the themes emphasised in Paul’s writings, the heart of the gospel.  Among them Luther included Psalm 130, one of the ‘Songs of Ascents’.  It is not a surprise to find the psalmists speaking of such things since there has only ever been one way of salvation.  Consider Psalm 130 The riches of God’s grace.

1. The psalmist’s cry (v1-3)

The psalm begins with a heart-rending cry (v1), the vivid language of a man about to be overwhelmed in a sea of distress.  Like Psalm 69:2 it conveys his sense of helplessness.  Self-help will be no answer to these depths.  Since the ‘depths’ are not specified, the reader can make this cry his own whenever he passes through deep waters.  The only way to respond is to look away from self to the Lord – ‘O Lord, hear my voice’.  Whatever the distress, it brings home to the psalmist in a powerful way his own sinfulness (v3).  None can stand before a holy God.  We all must confess the truth of Romans 3:23 ‘all have sinned’.  We ought to be distressed when we realise our natural spiritual condition.

2. The psalmist’s hope (v4)

Recognition of sin does not drive the psalmist to despair.  He has no hope in himself, but he has a sure hope in God – ‘with you there is forgiveness’.  He is a gracious God.  There is only one way of salvation, the one God has provided.  All Scripture testifies that salvation is through ‘the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world’ (John 1:29).  He has taken the burden of his people’s sin and has paid the price.  It is essential to ‘believe in the Lord Jesus’ (Acts 16:31).  He is the unique way of salvation.  The ultimate goal is ‘that you may be feared’ – reverent living in fellowship with the Lord.

3. The psalmist’s confidence (v5-6)

The depth of the psalmist’s faith is evident in v5.  It is God himself that he seeks.  We are to wait for God patiently (Psalm 40:1), even if the answer does not come as quickly as desired.  The reason for his confidence – ‘in his word I put my hope’, the word of God’s promise.  We know he will never leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).  The ‘watchman’ (v6) eagerly scans the horizon.  In such a spirit the psalmist waits for God.  However long the night, the dawn will come.  God’s answer is similarly certain.

4. The psalmist’s exhortation (v7-8)

The psalmist does not want to keep this wonderful news to himself – his earnest desire is that others would likewise look to the Lord.  He gives two powerful reasons:

            (i). ‘with the Lord is unfailing love’, the special covenant love that can never fail.  He is worthy of our entire trust.  This love is rooted in eternity.

            (ii). ‘with him is full redemption’ – a rich, full, complete salvation that deals with all our sins.  His grace is always sufficient (Romans 5:20).  It is joyful news.