In the beginning, there was covenant Pt. 2

When we enter into a marriage covenant, it would be incumbent upon us to understand what it means to be party to a marriage in order to have a successful union.  If we closely examine the scriptures we see that our Heavenly Father laid out His role and expectation of those who would enter into covenant with Him. 

In Exodus chapter 19: 3-6 God proposes marriage to Israel through Moshe (Moses), in that He promises Israel shall be a “peculiar treasure unto me above all people”, “a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation” if they accept the conditions of the marriage which are “obey[ing] [his] voice” and “keep[ing] [his] covenant.”  Once Moshe relayed this proposal to Israel (vs. 7) and the people accepted (vs. 8), God immediately prepared to come to earth to meet with Israel to make His vows and seal the covenant (vs. 9-25). 

Through the next four chapters of Exodus (20-23), God lays out to Moshe the terms and conditions required for entering into covenant with Him. In chapter 24, Moshe relays God’s instructions and statutes to Israel, who agree in verse 3 to abide by all they heard.  It’s important to note that once Israel vocalized their acceptance of the terms of the marriage contract, God has oxen sacrificed.  What is significant about this act is that in the ancient Hebrew picture language, the first letter of the Aleph-bet represents God and is depicted by an ox head.   Therefore, we see that God demonstrates His entering into covenant with Israel through the symbolic slaying of Himself, the shedding of His own blood.  This sacrifice displayed that the promise He made to be a husband unto Israel was sealed by His own blood.  This is seen in verse 6 when Moshe took “half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.”  Following which he took “the book of the covenant” [that is the writings of all the words God spoke to Moshe in the preceding chapters 20-23) and read all the words to Israel. When Israel agreed to abide by all these words (vs. 7), “Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words” (vs. 8). In that moment, God and Israel entered into covenant, with God as their Husband, their Father, their Lord.

To give a little background on the significance of blood covenant, the cutting of an animal and walking through its separated parts represented the integrity of one’s word.  It was understood that by walking through the pieces of an animal, the individual was submitting themselves to be slaughtered (as displayed) if they didn’t keep their word.  For example, in Genesis 15:8-21, when Abram asks God how will he know that His promises are sure, God has Abram divide several animals through which God later walks in the midst of,  thus signifying that His promise to Abram is unbreakable.

And from this covenant that God made with Abraham, God made another covenant with Israel at Mount Sinai.  With Abraham we saw the cutting of several animals to seal the promise that a nation (Israel) would come who would inhabit a land where God would establish his kingdom; this promise was symbolized by circumcision. Then when Israel is delivered from bondage, God enters into a marriage covenant with them to make Israel His people.  This vow is sealed by God shedding His own blood (the sacrifice of the oxen) at the mount. 

Following these events, God calls Moshe up into the mount to give instructions on how to build a tabernacle for God to dwell with His bride on earth.  We understand that it took 40 days for all the instructions regarding the construction, sanctification, and priestly service of the earthly tabernacle to be relayed, then God concluded by explaining that His Sabbath would stand as an eternal symbol of their marriage covenant (Gen 31:12-17). In other words, the observance of God’s Sabbath would be akin to wearing a wedding band as an outward sign of your commitment to your spouse.

Torah continues to expand on the terms of the marriage contract between God and His people by outlining what was required to make the union fruitful and prosperous while Israel learned about the character of their God.  Torah can also be seen as an instruction manual that a father gives to a child to help them grow and develop, or it can be viewed as our constitution for governance, for morality, equality, and justice. 

In essence, when we choose to enter into covenant relationship with God, we subject ourselves to learn the truth of His ways as found in His teachings, which is Torah.  As covenant partners we look to please Him in our lifestyle and worship of Him, but we cannot know how to do these things without instruction from God himself.  Indeed, this is what Torah is all about; it represents the very foundation of our relationship with God.  Without Torah we cannot properly serve Him or please Him for we would not know what He requires of us.

So when we say yes to the Lord to take up our cross and follow Him, it’s not just about the benefits we can reap from our relationship with God, but rather, our focus ought to be how we can serve Him.  We are already saved by grace, but once we become a part of the family of God, we begin the process of learning how to please our Heavenly Father and Husband.

In the final segment of this series we’ll look at the first commandment from a covenant perspective and uncover why it’s integral to understanding who God is to us.

Shalom.