Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Similarities between covenants

Hello all!

Sorry for the slim pickings at the blog this past while. Lots of things going on around here keeping me busy and somewhat distracted. Hopefully I'll be back on track now.

I continue to find Kingdom Through Covenant intriguing and enriching. It is full of helpful commentary on sundry topics concerning the covenants in the Bible. The following excerpt touches upon the connection between the various covenants and how they should be approached.

ISAIAH 54:9–10
[9] “To me this is like the days of Noah,
when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.
So now I have sworn not to be angry with you,
never to rebuke you again.
[10] Though the mountains be shaken
and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
nor my covenant of peace be removed,”
says the LORD, who has compassion on you. (NIV)
This passage is extremely important for letting the biblical text define in its own terms the relationships between the various covenants; it will be considered at length later. Nonetheless, Isaiah compares here the new covenant with the covenant with Noah. What is precisely similar between both covenants is the undeterred, unswerving commitment of Yahweh to carry out the promises enshrined in them. Just as he promised never again to cover the entire earth with floodwaters as a judgement, so he will never be angry with his people and so withdraw his loyal love in the covenant of peace.

I love the suggestion above that the similarity between an older covenant, like the Noahic, and the new covenant is "the undeterred, unswerving commitment of Yahweh to carry out the promises enshrined in them." We serve an awesome God!

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