He Gave Us Prophets: Dynamics Of The CovenantsSample

Components of Special Covenants: Exodus 20:1-21

You’ll recall that the first covenant with Israel was through the patriarch, Abraham. God’s grace appears in this covenant because God chose this one family to be blessed above all the families on the earth. God showed great mercy toward Abraham when He said these words to him in Genesis 12:2-3: 

I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all people on the earth will be blessed through you. 

Once again, divine grace is the central element in the covenant ideal. Nevertheless, human responsibility was also an essential part of the ideal of Abraham’s covenant. The patriarch’s responsibility comes to the foreground on many occasions. For instance, in Genesis 17:1-2, God says these words: 

I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.

The Abrahamic covenant included human responsibility.

When it comes to God’s covenant with Moses, many Christians today have a false impression. They believe that this covenant was centered around works, but it wasn’t. And we can see this plainly in the fact that the Ten Commandments begin with a historical prologue much like the prologues of Ancient Near Eastern suzerain treaties. Before any commandments were given, in Exodus 20:2 we read these words: 

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery (ESV). 

God expected His people to obey him, but on the basis of His act of mercy in bringing them out of the land of Egypt. Of course, the other side of human responsibility also appears in the covenant with Moses. Exodus 19:5 says these words to Israel: 

Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. 

Divine grace was coupled with human responsibility in the ideal stage of the covenant with Moses.

Now, the royal covenant with David also focused on divine benevolence. God spoke to David in this way in 2 Samuel 7:8: 

I took you from the pasture and from following the flock to be ruler over my people Israel. 

God chose David’s family as the permanent dynasty over His people out of love, not because of some merit that He saw in David. David’s dynasty was established because God was merciful to him. At the same time, God joined this display of grace to David with the requirement of human loyalty. Consider the way the requirements of loyalty are set forth in Psalm 89:30-32: 

If [David's] sons forsake my law and do not follow my statutes, if they violate my decrees and fail to keep my commands, I will punish their sin with the rod, their iniquity with flogging.

God expected the sons of David to be faithful to Him in recognition of the grace He had shown to them.