Day 5 on Covenant

Jeremiah 31.31-33:

“The day is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. 32 This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the Lord. 33 “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people."

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Today's passage was much shorter than the previous days, but it still is a powerful one! I think the most reassuring part of this passage in regards to the new covenant within which Christians find themselves, is the fact that God's instructions are written deep within our hearts, rather than on tablets and in thousands of pages of books. What I mean by this is the fact that multiple times in the New Testament we're told that the greatest two commands, within which the entirety of the Law of God is contained within, is simply Love God and love your neighbor as yourself. I like to simplify even more by saying, "Love God and love people!" Anyway, I love this part about this new covenant, because we now and appreciate and truly focus on the relational aspect that we were created to have. We were created for community both with God and with one another and the only way(s) in which we will be able to achieve this and return to the original plan that God had for us, is to love God and love others.


"Father in Heaven please help us to grow in our love for You and in our love for other people. There are times here when it seems absolutely impossible for us to show love to other people, so it's in times like that I pray You would help us out majorly! I pray that the love of Jesus would be seen in our lives and heard from out mouths in every conversation and interaction that we have with other people. May You forgive us when we fail in this regard and help us to do better the next time. We love You so much and it's in Jesus' name that I pray, amen!"

Day 4 on Covenant

2 Samuel 7.8-16:

8 “Now go and say to my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has declared: I took you from tending sheep in the pasture and selected you to be the leader of my people Israel. 9 I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have destroyed all your enemies before your eyes. Now I will make your name as famous as anyone who has ever lived on the earth! 10 And I will provide a homeland for my people Israel, planting them in a secure place where they will never be disturbed. Evil nations won’t oppress them as they've done in the past, 11 starting from the time I appointed judges to rule my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. “‘Furthermore, the Lord declares that he will make a house for you—a dynasty of kings! 12 For when you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will raise up one of your descendants, your own offspring, and I will make his kingdom strong. 13 He is the one who will build a house—a temple—for my name. And I will secure his royal throne forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. If he sins, I will correct and discipline him with the rod, like any father would do. 15 But my favor will not be taken from him as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from your sight. 16 Your house and your kingdom will continue before me for all time, and your throne will be secure forever.’”

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Now this is a very interesting passage to read. The obvious cool thing about this passage is how God declares that He will take care of His people. However what becomes interesting, is the end part of this passage, specifically in verses 13-16. Verse 14 is quoted in the book of Hebrews, so many have come to see this passage as a 'prophetic' passage. The only problem with this is what follows in the rest of verse 14. In my opinion and from what I've read and studied about this passage, I believe that God is specifically talking about David's son Solomon. The purpose of quoting this passage in Hebrews, is to symbolize what God had told David that's recorded in 2 Samuel, in regard to Jesus and also to show that Jesus himself was a descendant of David, humanly speaking. (The passage in Hebrews can be found in Hebrews 1.5. This part of the passage is talking about how the Son (and son(s)) of God are superior to angels. [The ) I really think this passage is interested when looking at other cross-references and stuff, but I don't want to take the time to write all about that. Maybe you can in your free time. =)

"Father thank You for loving us. Thank You for Jesus! I pray that we strengthen our relationship with Jesus and by doing so encounter You in such a deeper, more powerful way. Use us where we are. Give us boldness and courage to live our lives for You and to follow the direction You want us to go! It's in Jesus' name that I pray, amen!"

Day 3 on Covenant

Exodus 19.1-25

"Exactly two months after the Israelites left Egypt, they arrived in the wilderness of Sinai. 2 After breaking camp at Rephidim, they came to the wilderness of Sinai and set up camp there at the base of Mount Sinai. 3 Then Moses climbed the mountain to appear before God. The Lord called to him from the mountain and said, “Give these instructions to the family of Jacob; announce it to the descendants of Israel: 4 ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians. You know how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. 6 And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.’ This is the message you must give to the people of Israel.” 7 So Moses returned from the mountain and called together the elders of the people and told them everything the Lord had commanded him. 8 And all the people responded together, “We will do everything the Lord has commanded.” So Moses brought the people’s answer back to the Lord. 9 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will come to you in a thick cloud, Moses, so the people themselves can hear me when I speak with you. Then they will always trust you.” Moses told the Lord what the people had said. 10 Then the Lord told Moses, “Go down and prepare the people for my arrival. Consecrate them today and tomorrow, and have them wash their clothing. 11 Be sure they are ready on the third day, for on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai as all the people watch. 12 Mark off a boundary all around the mountain. Warn the people, ‘Be careful! Do not go up on the mountain or even touch its boundaries. Anyone who touches the mountain will certainly be put to death. 13 No hand may touch the person or animal that crosses the boundary; instead, stone them or shoot them with arrows. They must be put to death.’ However, when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, then the people may go up on the mountain.” 14 So Moses went down to the people. He consecrated them for worship, and they washed their clothes. 15 He told them, “Get ready for the third day, and until then abstain from having sexual intercourse.” 16 On the morning of the third day, thunder roared and lightning flashed, and a dense cloud came down on the mountain. There was a long, loud blast from a ram’s horn, and all the people trembled. 17 Moses led them out from the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 All of Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the Lord had descended on it in the form of fire. The smoke billowed into the sky like smoke from a brick kiln, and the whole mountain shook violently. 19 As the blast of the ram’s horn grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God thundered his reply. 20 The Lord came down on the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses climbed the mountain. 21 Then the Lord told Moses, “Go back down and warn the people not to break through the boundaries to see the Lord, or they will die. 22 Even the priests who regularly come near to the Lord must purify themselves so that the Lord does not break out and destroy them.” 23 “But Lord,” Moses protested, “the people cannot come up to Mount Sinai. You already warned us. You told me, ‘Mark off a boundary all around the mountain to set it apart as holy.’” 24 But the Lord said, “Go down and bring Aaron back up with you. In the meantime, do not let the priests or the people break through to approach the Lord, or he will break out and destroy them.” 25 So Moses went down to the people and told them what the Lord had said."

What I notice first that's interesting is the 'invitation' of God to the people of Israel. In verse 5, God clearly indicates that the choice is on the part of the people. They can either obey God and keep the covenant or not. If they accepted God's invitation, He explains that they will His 'special treasure', more specifically a kingdom of priests. I find this interesting because some people have the idea that God's 'invitations' are actually not invitations at all, rather they are God 'telling' someone what they will do or who they are. There are times when God 'commands' but there are times when God invites. The second thing that I notice, is that God's invitation is for this people to be a kingdom of priests. Here I see a resurfacing of what we read about the covenant made with Abraham, about how his descendants would be through whom the whole world would be blessed. The idea of a priest, is one who goes before others on behalf of God. The priest(s) would live lives as an example to what God desires, and also be the conduit through which blessings from God flow. This opportunity wasn't just shoved onto the Hebrew people. They were chosen AND invited to be a part of God's bigger plan/story. As we see when reading the rest of the Old Testament, some people accepted God's invitation just in thought while others (significantly fewer mind you) accepted this invitation with their whole heart as well.

Another important piece of information that we get from this passage is just how powerful the presence of God is! God had to have the people to take extra precautions, just to ensure that they wouldn't (even by accident) die from their encounter with Him. I read a book not too long ago that gave a really good analogy to why God gave commands concerning how man was to approach God. Think about a nuclear reactor. There are tons of regulations and procedures that one has to make sure he/she follows when operating machinery and dealing materials within the nuclear plant. If they don't, they run the risk of seriously injuring or even killing themselves or others. And to think, God's presence is SO MUCH MORE powerful than that of a nuclear power plant!!


Exodus 24.1-11

"Then the Lord instructed Moses: “Come up here to me, and bring along Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders. All of you must worship from a distance. 2 Only Moses is allowed to come near to the Lord. The others must not come near, and none of the other people are allowed to climb up the mountain with him.” 3 Then Moses went down to the people and repeated all the instructions and regulations the Lord had given him. All the people answered with one voice, “We will do everything the Lord has commanded.” 4 Then Moses carefully wrote down all the Lord’s instructions. Early the next morning Moses got up and built an altar at the foot of the mountain. He also set up twelve pillars, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 Then he sent some of the young Israelite men to present burnt offerings and to sacrifice bulls as peace offerings to the Lord. 6 Moses drained half the blood from these animals into basins. The other half he splattered against the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it aloud to the people. Again they all responded, “We will do everything the Lord has commanded. We will obey.” 8 Then Moses took the blood from the basins and splattered it over the people, declaring, “Look, this blood confirms the covenant the Lord has made with you in giving you these instructions.” 9 Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel climbed up the mountain. 10 There they saw the God of Israel. Under his feet there seemed to be a surface of brilliant blue lapis lazuli, as clear as the sky itself. 11 And though these nobles of Israel gazed upon God, he did not destroy them. In fact, they ate a covenant meal, eating and drinking in his presence!"

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"Father in Heaven, thank You for loving us! I pray that we would learn more about the covenants that you make and what roles both You and we play within them. I hope that we will eagerly accept the covenant that You have made with us through the blood of Your Son, Jesus, with all of our heart! Please forgive us when we fall and fail and help us understand how powerful You are and how blessed we are to be able to come before You and be in Your presence! We love You! It's in Jesus' name that I pray, amen!"

sorry for the delay

Hey guys, I'm really sorry for the delay in posting these. Benjamin ended up in the hospital again and I've been driving back and forth between Danville and Lock Haven for work and hospital and stuff. I'll have the next one up as soon as I can! =)

Day 2 on Covenant

Genesis 15.1-21 (NLT):


"Some time later, the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great.”
2 But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since you’ve given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth. 3 You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir.”
4 Then the Lord said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.” 5 Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!”
6 And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.
7 Then the Lord told him, “I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as your possession.”
8 But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, how can I be sure that I will actually possess it?”
9 The Lord told him, “Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 So Abram presented all these to him and killed them. Then he cut each animal down the middle and laid the halves side by side; he did not, however, cut the birds in half. 11 Some vultures swooped down to eat the carcasses, but Abram chased them away.
12 As the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a terrifying darkness came down over him. 13 Then theLord said to Abram, “You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years. 14 But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth. 15 (As for you, you will die in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.) 16 After four generations your descendants will return here to this land, for the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction.”
17 After the sun went down and darkness fell, Abram saw a smoking firepot and a flaming torch pass between the halves of the carcasses. 18 So the Lord made a covenant with Abram that day and said, “I have given this land to your descendants, all the way from the border of Egypt to the great Euphrates River— 19 the land now occupied by the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”

Genesis 17.1-21 (NLT):

"When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life. 2 I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.”
3 At this, Abram fell face down on the ground. Then God said to him, 4 “This is my covenant with you: I will make you the father of a multitude of nations! 5 What’s more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead, you will be called Abraham, for you will be the father of many nations. 6 I will make you extremely fruitful. Your descendants will become many nations, and kings will be among them!

7 “I will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8 And I will give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner, to you and your descendants. It will be their possession forever, and I will be their God.”

9 Then God said to Abraham, “Your responsibility is to obey the terms of the covenant. You and all your descendants have this continual responsibility. 10 This is the covenant that you and your descendants must keep: Each male among you must be circumcised. 11 You must cut off the flesh of your foreskin as a sign of the covenant between me and you.12 From generation to generation, every male child must be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth. This applies not only to members of your family but also to the servants born in your household and the foreign-born servants whom you have purchased. 13 All must be circumcised. Your bodies will bear the mark of my everlasting covenant. 14 Any male who fails to be circumcised will be cut off from the covenant family for breaking the covenant.”

15 Then God said to Abraham, “Regarding Sarai, your wife—her name will no longer be Sarai. From now on her name will be Sarah. 16 And I will bless her and give you a son from her! Yes, I will bless her richly, and she will become the mother of many nations. Kings of nations will be among her descendants.”

17 Then Abraham bowed down to the ground, but he laughed to himself in disbelief. “How could I become a father at the age of 100?” he thought. “And how can Sarah have a baby when she is ninety years old?” 18 So Abraham said to God, “May Ishmael live under your special blessing!”

19 But God replied, “No—Sarah, your wife, will give birth to a son for you. You will name him Isaac, and I will confirm my covenant with him and his descendants as an everlasting covenant. 20 As for Ishmael, I will bless him also, just as you have asked. I will make him extremely fruitful and multiply his descendants. He will become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. 21 But my covenant will be confirmed with Isaac, who will be born to you and Sarah about this time next year.”

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In the first passage, no matter how many times I read it, I seem to pick up something that I didn't notice before, or that I just glanced over and forgot was there. The first noteworthy thing that I think is worth mentioning here is that Abram believed, and it's because of Abram's belief (faith) that he was counted as righteous. I find it so hard to understand sometimes why some Christians completely separate the fact that there are two parties to the righteous equation. There's us and there's God. It wasn't just counted to Abram because God said so (although I'm sure God could have done it that way if He wanted to, but from the text and other passages, it's clear He doesn't quite operate that way). It was the belief on the part of Abram that 'allowed' (if you will) God to count it as righteousness. But for the sake of this blog and of a more lengthy conversation, I'll move on to something else. =) The second piece of this text that really grabbed me was God's comments regarding the Amorites in verse 16. I've read this passage in other translations before, but I feel like this translation really helps grab a different picture. Reading it in a translation such as NIV, ESV, NASB, etc., tends to give me the picture that God is sitting up there with a little button ready to push the moment the Amorites have filled up the 'sin-o-meter' (just play along). But this translation kind of gives me a different possible view. God's words here, to me, almost express a hope (though God knows the future) that the Amorites will change. There sin hasn't gotten to the extreme point of warranting destruction as of yet (so there's a slight bit of hope). However God knows that in the end, if they continue on the path that they are on, they will eventually reach that point, and when they do, Abram's descendants will the be the ones God uses to execute judgement and take over their land. These are just two things that stuck out to me in the first text.

The biggest thing that sticks out to me in the second text that we have above, is found in verse 14. One of the biggest arguments that I've heard for a 'once-saved, always-saved' position, is that a covenant cannot be broken, or a least you can't get out of a covenant. Yet in verse 14, I find a very interesting reality. God has already said this was going to be an everlasting covenant (can't get much more permanent than that), yet He says in verse 14 that the one who doesn't obey the command He just gave will be CUT OFF from the covenant family. I don't know about you, but that sticks out to me as someone who has just been 'put out' of a covenant. Now I want you to notice something here though. God wasn't the one who 1) broke the covenant, nor 2) made the person get out. It was the one who failed to obey. What I see this text sharing with us about covenant, is that God will always be there and always be faithful to the covenant, yet it is the other party, us, that in the end will have the responsibility of determining whether or not we remain in it by our actions and obedience to God. I'm curious as to what some of you guys think! Feel free to post a comment or two! =)

"Father thank You for being faithful! Thank You for always loving us even when we don't deserve it! I pray that we would obey You in every area of our lives and that we would never forget the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. May we become stronger and bolder disciples each and every day, so that when the school year comes back, we could all join together with other brothers and sisters and really change the face of LHU's campus, bringing your Kingdom here just as it is in Heaven. We love You! It's in Jesus' name that I pray, amen!"

New Daily Dive Studies! Day 1 on Covenant

Today's the day we begin our daily dive studies for the summer. As I mentioned last year when we did this, if you have a preference or a request on something to study that you think would be cool to get a group's input on, feel free to leave a comment and suggest it! I figured we'd start with a 7-day glimpse at the term 'covenant' and what it means/stands for within Scripture.

Genesis 8.20-9.17 (NLT):

20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and there he sacrificed as burnt offerings the animals and birds that had been approved for that purpose. 21 And the Lord was pleased with the aroma of the sacrifice and said to himself, “I will never again curse the ground because of the human race, even though everything they think or imagine is bent toward evil from childhood. I will never again destroy all living things. 22 As long as the earth remains, there will be planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night.”

9 Then God blessed Noah and his sons and told them, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth. 2 All the animals of the earth, all the birds of the sky, all the small animals that scurry along the ground, and all the fish in the sea will look on you with fear and terror. I have placed them in your power. 3 I have given them to you for food, just as I have given you grain and vegetables. 4 But you must never eat any meat that still has the lifeblood in it.

5 “And I will require the blood of anyone who takes another person’s life. If a wild animal kills a person, it must die. And anyone who murders a fellow human must die. 6 If anyone takes a human life, that person’s life will also be taken by human hands. For God made human beings in his own image. 7 Now be fruitful and multiply, and repopulate the earth.”

8 Then God told Noah and his sons, 9 “I hereby confirm my covenant with you and your descendants, 10 and with all the animals that were on the boat with you—the birds, the livestock, and all the wild animals—every living creature on earth. 11 Yes, I am confirming my covenant with you. Never again will floodwaters kill all living creatures; never again will a flood destroy the earth.”

12 Then God said, “I am giving you a sign of my covenant with you and with all living creatures, for all generations to come. 13 I have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my covenant with you and with all the earth. 14 When I send clouds over the earth, the rainbow will appear in the clouds, 15 and I will remember my covenant with you and with all living creatures. Never again will the floodwaters destroy all life. 16 When I see the rainbow in the clouds, I will remember the eternal covenant between God and every living creature on earth.” 17 Then God said to Noah, “Yes, this rainbow is the sign of the covenant I am confirming with all the creatures on earth.”



I find this passage intriguing on many fronts, but mainly because of how God reiterates many times over that this covenant that He is making here, He is also making with the other creatures on earth, not just mankind. I think this text also does a good job of highlighting the effect of our sin on other creatures and the world. Often times we forget that when we sin, our actions affect other people and things. We fall into the deceptive trap of believing that it only affects ourselves and forget how impactful it is on everyone and everything else around us. As we take a look at various passages dealing with 'covenant(s)' I hope that there will be some things that stick out to you that you might not have noticed before.


"Father in Heaven, please forgive us when we sin. I pray that you would help us to mend the brokenness that we cause in people's lives around us. Forgive us just as we forgive those who sin against us and affect us with their sin. Please grant us the strength to resist the temptation to sin, and grant us the awareness of your Spirit's presence in our lives. We love You! It's in Jesus' name that I ask all of this. Amen."