Day 81, Chronological Bible Study Timeline. Map. Go to today’s Bible reading (use your browser arrow to return): Deuteronomy 27:1–29:1
Contracts and Commitments—Do We Have Any With God?
What is the purpose of a contract?
The purpose of a contract is to lay out specific responsibilities between two or more parties. It usually contains provisions for fulfilling the agreement and may contain penalties for failing to meet the specifications and set timetables. A contract is binding; it makes both parties committed to fulfilling it to reap the benefits and not experience loss. Many agreements are private, but some are big, public, government, or corporate affairs. God is big—do we have any contracts with him? Yes, we do.
A contract is usually a written covenant, but may also be a verbal agreement. The covenant in Deuteronomy was an oral and written agreement between the LORD and his people, Israel, patterned after the Suzerain Treaties of the day (more…).Provisions of the contract (covenant)
In today's Bible reading, we observe the general blessings and curses of the covenant. After the Israelites enter the Promised Land, the Levites will proclaim them, and God's people will make a verbal commitment to keep the covenant, agreeing to its terms (Deuteronomy 27:9-26). As a visual witness, the words would be written on plastered stones. This was a common practice in their day.Soon following Israel's entrance into the Promised Land, God wants her to sacrifice fellowship offerings on an altar built with fieldstones. Afterward, the people and priests may share the meal. This will be a time of rejoicing as they begin a new covenant with the LORD. This covenant, with its blessings and curses, is an addition to the covenant he made with them at Mt. Horeb in the Sinai desert. It's not a separate covenant.
The place of the covenant with Israel is significant; the city of Shechem is at the base of Mt. Ebal.
Signing (making a commitment)
When the Israelites enter Canaan, just north of Jerusalem, they must take the plastered stone tablets and set them up on Mt. Ebal for all to read. Six tribes would stand at the base of Mt. Gerizim while the Levites proclaim the blessings of keeping the covenant. The other six tribes would then stand at the bottom of Mt. Ebal as the Levites proclaim the curses for not following the covenant.
The curses far outweigh the blessings in number and severity, for the LORD, who is among them, is a jealous God (Deuteronomy 6:1-15). He wants their love and devotion, much like a parent or a spouse desires this of his child. God is also jealous to keep our love if we belong to him (more...).
In the covenant, there are blessings of children, livestock, good harvests, peace, victory over enemies, and divine favor for obedience to God's laws. Israel will experience curses, however, if they make false gods, dishonor their parents, cheat, become immoral, or otherwise disobey his laws. They will experience curses on their family and livestock, poor harvests, blight, defeat, destruction, and exile to the lands of their enemies. God's hand will be against them for their stubborn refusal to obey him (Deuteronomy 27:15-26 and 28:1-8).
What does God require of Christians today? Is there a covenant we are to obey?
The Apostle Paul said in a second epistle to the church in Corinth, “You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts,” (2Corinthians 3:3, NIV).
In a letter to the Galatian church, Paul says,
Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law. You are all [Jews and Gentiles] sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus... If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise (Galatians 3:25-26, 29, NIV).
Do we belong to Christ? Have we accepted his sacrifice on our behalf? Then we have faith in God and a new covenant relationship with him. Now that we are sons and heirs of God, we need to be loyal and committed—if we obey God's Word and submit to his Spirit, he will gladly help us be more like him. We can experience his favor, not his discipline.
What if we are just trying to do all the right things but don't belong to Christ? Isn't that good enough? The writer of the book of Hebrews says,
Anyone who rejected the Law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? (Hebrews 10:28-29, NIV)
There are many religions, cults, and philosophies, but there's only one way to God (John 14:6). The New Testament covenant of Christ's blood is available for all. We need to trust in his sacrifice to cleanse us from our sins and make us righteous (more).. After that, we must read and obey his Word to please God and experience his blessings. Let's make the commitment today to continue reading and following his Word.
1. If Egyptian customs were followed, the whole book of Deuteronomy might have been written on these plaster stones. (see Deuteronomy 27:3 and The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, edited by Walvoord and Zuck, ©1985, p. 309
2. (Deuteronomy 29:1; Mt Horeb in Sinai is where Moses received the moral, societal, and ceremonial laws).
Focus Verse
Proverbs 3:33 “The LORD's curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the righteous.” (NIV)
Discussion
Just before Israel entered the land, God added a new covenant to the old. Do we have a new covenant today? With whom? What responsibilities do we have to fulfill because of it?
How should we act according to our New Covenant?
Write a prayer response to today’s Bible study:
Please send your comments to me, Rod, the author
Looking Ahead: It helps to make verbal commitments to the LORD and have them in writing, but then like the Suzerain Treaties of the day, there are witnesses to the covenant. What Witnesses do we have to our Covenant With God?
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