Bro Kenneth Yoder
Deu 1:1 These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel on this side Jordan in the wilderness, in the plain over against the Red sea, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Dizahab. 2 (There are eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of mount Seir unto Kadeshbarnea.) :3 And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spake unto the children of Israel, according unto all that the LORD had given him in commandment unto them;
My subject is Renewing Our Covenant.
The basis of this lesson is found in the book of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy literally means second law. Deuteronomy was not actually a second and distinct covenant but a renewal of the original covenant. Much of Deuteronomy is a repeat of the material found in the first four books of Moses, particularly, things in Exodus and Leviticus. Deuteronomy is also a further explanation of the original covenant.
Deuteronomy 1:1 These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel on this side Jordan in the wilderness. This opening statement reveals the site of the book of Deuteronomy. Israel was on the wilderness side of the Jordan River. They were getting ready to cross over into the land of Canaan. The conquest had already begun on the wilderness side of Jordan. The people had now arrived at the borders of the Promised Land. This occurred forty years after the original covenant had been given. Deuteronomy 1:3 And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spake unto the children of Israel, according unto all that the Lord had given him in commandment unto them.
Moses called all the people together for the purpose of renewing their covenant with God. This introduction of the book of Deuteronomy states both the occasion and the contents of the book. The Book of Deuteronomy is the farewell speeches of Moses that he delivered unto ail the people of Israel gathered especially to renew the covenant. The forty years of wandering in the wilderness was ending. This occasion immediately preceded the entrance of the people of Israel into the Promised Land.
Moses' message was more than simply repeating what he had already, said. A new generation had arisen. The original generation that had come out of slavery in Egypt had perished in the wilderness. Every member of the original generation, twenty years or older, had died except for Moses, Joshua and Caleb. These three were the only ones remaining. Moses died a little later before Israel actually entered the Promised Land.
I repeat, Moses' message was more than simply repeating what had already been said, it was a challenge to the new generation to renew their commitment to love and obey God. Israel had originally entered a covenant relationship with God forty years before. This was a fresh call for the Israelites to renew their consecration to God.
The messages of Moses contained both negative and positive elements. The negative factor consisted in warnings of the consequences of disobedience or the curses of God while the positive element was the promises of blessings for obedience.
Moses' words were designed to move Israel in a positive spiritual manner. He intended to arouse them to a renewing of their commitment. Again, this was not done simply to refresh their memory. It was to convincingly move them to a definite commitment to love and obey God. This occasion was an actual ceremony, but the furthest thought from Moses' mind was a mere lifeless ceremony. Moses intended to move their heart to consecrate themselves afresh unto the Lord.
This was necessary at that time. The reason was the conquest of the land of Canaan lay immediately before them. Israel was promised victory only if she remained obedient to the covenant of God. The fulfillment of God's promise to give them the promise land was contingent upon their faithfulness to God's covenant. If they did not love and obey God, the fulfillment of his promises would not be experienced. Israel's mission was an impossible task without God's help. There was no possibility of them being successful against the people of Canaan unless God gave them victory.
Israel could not have been victorious without God's help. This is exemplified several times during the history of the conquest of Canaan. The first victory at Jericho was not because of Israel's military might but because of God's power. God worked a miracle when Jericho's wails fell. Contrast that with Israel's defeat at Ai. Their defeat was in consequence of their disobedience unto God. Therefore, the conquest of the land would not be achieved through their military might. Only God's power could make victory possible.
We are in a similar situation whether we realize it or not. Often, the church has a tendency to count her members and depend upon the strength of human talent and financial resources. God's people forget that this principle has remained the same throughout history. Victory can only be wrought by the power of God. Not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord, Zechariah 4:6. Dear friend, this eternal truth must be kept in mind. The promise of the power of God is contingent upon our commitment to love and obey God. Obedience to God plays an important role in spiritual or moral conquest.
Now then, there is a need of periodic renewal because of the very nature of a covenant. The primary feature of both the Old Testament and New Testament covenants was the bond it created between God and his people. It bonds God with his people. The New Testament covenant has a different sacrifice from the Old Testament covenant, but the essential nature of both covenants remains the same. The relationship of God to his people remains the same in both.
The reason God found fault with Israel under the first covenant was that the people were always proving to be unfaithful. Hebrews 8:8-13 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the /and of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts; and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: And they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying. Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins, and their iniquities will I remember no more.
This passage is a quotation from the 31st chapter of Jeremiah. Many things could be said about this passage but I cannot elaborate on them now. Let me point out a few highlights of the passage. A new covenant was going to be made with the house of Israel. The church is simply an extension of Israel. True Christian believers are now the Israel of God in the sense that the New Testament church is now the people of God. The church of God includes all those who are true Christian believers and they are now God's people.
God said that he would put his laws in their mind and write them in their hearts. That means, through the new covenant, God would give his people a new heart, a heart filled with an attitude to love and obey him. The conditions of the New Covenant remained the same as the Old Covenant in the sense that the covenant blessings are contingent upon one's love and obedience to God. Jesus Christ, of course, is a much better sacrifice, but the covenant's primary feature of a bond between God and his people remained the same. A covenant is an agreement or a binding contract, but it is more. It is a bond between God and his people. This feature is inherent to the essence of a covenant.
The basic feature of a covenant is its relationship of love between God and his people. It always has been. God did not accept Old Testament Israel when they did not love and obey him. The covenant relationship has always been based upon the intimacy of mutual love. Love is not a new element of the New Testament covenant. The commandments to love God with all thy heart, soul, mind and strength and to have no other God beside the Lord is elementary to a covenant relationship. To love God is both the first and greatest commandment. To understand the covenant relationship, let me begin by saying that the covenant was initiated by an act of love on God's part for man. It was God's love for man that initiated the covenant. It was an expression of God's kindness and mercy. Think about it, God is the one that initiates the covenant. God is the one that calls and invites us into this relationship. God through his Holy Spirit woos or draws us into this relationship. Jesus said that no one could come unto him except the Father draws him. This drawing power is an act of God's love for man. God loved us while we were yet sinners. He loved us while we were yet unworthy of his love. God is the one who through his great love brought the covenant into being. God took the first step toward us. We love him because he first loved us. I repeat, the covenant is an act of God's love.
Now, God's offer requires a response of love on our part. John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish ,but have everlasting life. God's act of love in giving his son for us calls for a reciprocating response of love on our part. God's love begets our love. We love him because he first loved us. A covenant relationship is and always has been based upon a relationship of mutual love. It is only through love that a relationship with God can be maintained.
No one can maintain a covenant relationship with God if they do not love God. The reason the covenant relationship cannot be maintained is because such a relationship requires obedience to God's commandment and if you do not love God, you will not obey God. If there is not a commitment of love on your part, then my friend, there is no way to maintain a covenant relationship because the covenant relationship demands obedience from you.
The basic principle of a covenant is this relationship of love. Notice Deuteronomy 6:4,5 Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. That is all inclusive. It simply means that you must love God with the totality of your being, your total personality or everything that you are. Jesus quoted this passage in the gospels and commented that it was the greatest commandment. This requirement is basic to any covenant relationship that God has with his people.
Let us study this love a little further. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. That means with everything: with our total personality, with all our mental faculties and with all of our spiritual resources. This love is not the warm fuzzies. The expression, "warm fuzzies", is a description of feelings in an abstract sense. Loving God is defined in the Bible in objective terms of obedience to God's commandments. A person can discover whether or not he loves God by looking at his own obedience. Others can determine whether or not you love God by observing your obedience, because obedience is an expression of love. Love for God is not an abstract emotional feeling but something that influences your lifestyle. I repeat, love expresses itself in obedience to God's commandments.
The revealed commandments of God, in the Word of God, show us how to express our love to God and they also teach us how to love our fellow man.
The Old Testament commandment to love is repeated in the New Testament by Jesus. Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Jesus endorsed these commandments from the Old Testament law.
Jesus further commented, On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets, (verse 40). Loving God supremely and our neighbor as our self is the foundation on which all the other commandments rest.
Concerning this subject, Paul wrote in Romans 13:9,10 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Paul meant that all the commandments dealing with our responsibility to our fellow man are expressed in one principle: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. If you love your neighbor, you would not commit adultery against him, nor steal from him, nor lie on him, etc. This principle of love under girds all the commandments.
The commandments show us how true love should express itself. Disobeying the commandments of God violates and cannot but violate the primary principle of love. You could not truly love someone and do them any wrong. You simply could not do it. Every act done against another is a violation of the principle of love. I mean, disobedience is impossible because of the nature of love. Since love works no ill to his neighbor, if you love, you will therefore obey God's commandments.
John 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me. Who loves God? Can we tell? Some say that since you cannot see a person's heart therefore you cannot tell whether they love or not. That is not true. Love expresses itself in obedience to the commandments of God. He that understands the commandments of God and keeps them, he it is that loves God.
Again John 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he It is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. This verse describes in essence the ingredients of a covenant relationship. You understand God's commandments and keep them. By obeying the commandments you are proving your love for God and you will be loved by God. This love is a mutual love going both ways. God manifests himself to the obedient lover.
John 14:22-24 Judas saith unto him, Iscarlot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Fathers which sent me.
This is very clear. It is a very important theological point. It is through obedience to the commandments of God that one expresses his love to God. Someone may object by saying, a person could keep the outward standards of obedience and not love God. That is true. I realize there is such a thing as a hypocrite or a white-washed professing Christian but that is not the issue. Jesus is dealing with the opposite issue. Can a person disobey the commandments of God and still love him? The answer, of course, is no, because if you love God you will keep his commandments. The one who keep God's commandments is the very one who loves him. If a man does not keep his commandments he does not love God.
The commandment to love God is central to any renewal of our spiritual life. The central issue of spiritual renewal concerns the depth of one's love for God. No one ever experienced spiritual renewal or a genuine revival unless this commandment to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength was a central issue with them. All other activities without this are not true renewal. Unless there is a renewal of one's commitment to love and obey God, it is a meaningless exercise. We can go through the motions by holding a week of "revival services" or engage in other "religious activities" but unless this issue of loving God with all our heart is central there will be no renewal.
I repeat, the commandment to love God supremely is central to any renewal. This is the reason the book of Deuteronomy, which deals with Israel's renewal of her covenant, stresses loving and obeying God. Obedience and love go hand in hand and the presence of one guarantees the presence of the other. Love and obedience are one thing not two distinct or separate things. The church needs to recognize this, if we are to experience revival and spiritual renewal the demand of obedience to God's commandments must not be forgotten nor that true obedience is only possible to one who loves God.
That brings me to another important principle. The covenant relationship that God had with Old Testament Israel and now has with New Testament Israel is not a legalistic arrangement but a loving relationship. Do you understand what I mean by this statement? It is not a legalistic arrangement. It is something deeper. It is something more than a mere ceremony. As conversion involves something more than going to a public altar, or making a public confession, so renewing our covenant is more than a legalistic arrangement. It involves renewing our loving commitment to obey God.
Grave mistakes have been made on this issue. Some have emphasized the legal aspect of the Old Testament covenant to discredit it. The Old Testament covenant was not a legalistic arrangement between God and his people. It was a relationship based on mutual love. God never accepted legalist service. Never! Worship that did not come from a heart of love was denounced by the Old Testament prophets as harshly as by the New Testament writers. Those who went through the outward ceremonies of worship while their hearts were far from God were condemned. (For example see Isaiah 1:10-12, Jeremiah 7:8-16, Amos 5:21-24, Micah 6:6-8 and Psalms 24:3,4). The thing that people fail to recognize is that the primary stipulation of any covenant with God is a loving commitment to him.
Let me say something further about the ceremonial aspect of the covenant. We ought to consider this similar to the role of the legal ceremony of marriage. Everyone knows that the wedding ceremony does not make the marriage. Yet, you strongly believe in the necessity of the wedding ceremony. You would not accept people who enter a marriage relationship without the ceremony.
The wedding ceremony is a legal contract between two individuals. The legal wedding ceremony gives those two individuals certain legal rights that without the ceremony, they do not have. But if you focus entirely on the legal or ceremonial aspect, you will miss the significance of the wedding ceremony.
As a pastor, I have a unique point of observation during the wedding. I have watched people as they were being married in weddings I solemnized. I have noticed the eyes of a woman as she declared her love to a man or vice versa, a man to a woman. I have seen and heard some beautiful expressions of deep love. The wedding ceremony is a legal contract but it is more, it is a relationship of love between two individuals.
We ought to consider the legal and ceremonial aspect of the covenant in a similar light. A true marriage is more than a legal contract yet the legal terms of the marriage vows are important. The legal terms of the marriage vows represent the love that is necessary for two people to be faithful to each other. The marriage vows are required because they represent true love. Any man who is not willing to pledge himself to the stipulations of the marriage vows in a legal wedding ceremony does not love as he should. In a similar way, since the legal demands of God's commandments are representative of a person's love for God, a man unwilling to commit himself to complete obedience does not love God.
Let us return to our text. God through Moses called his people to a renewal of his covenant. This was meant to be more than simply a legal arrangement. It was more than a mere ceremony. Israel did have a formal ceremony almost immediately after they crossed over into the Promised Land. Moses is instructing them what to do in the near future. The people of Israel did renew the covenant in a formal ceremony but it was more than a mere ceremony. It had to be or God would not have accepted it.
In our churches, we have a kneeling bench at the front of the building that we call an altar. We invite people to come forward to pray for forgiveness. They respond to the invitation to be saved by walking forward and kneeling in prayer. Here, at the altar of prayer, they ask God to forgive them of their sins. That of course, is a ceremony. It is a meaningless ceremony without true repentance and faith. Repentance means basically that you are sorry for the way that you have lived and that you have made a decision to turn from that way of living and now live as God would have you to. Unless you meet this condition of repentance, forgiveness is not possible. God also requires us to exercise faith in Jesus as our Savior.
Now, you could meet both of those conditions sitting in your seat. You do not have to pray to repent because repentance is an attitude deep within the heart. Neither do you have to pray to exercise faith because faith is an act of trust. You could do all that is required to be saved sitting in your seat while listening to a gospel message because these conditions are attitudes of the heart.
Everyone agrees that the attitudes of repentance and faith are more important matters than the ritual of coming to an altar of prayer. Why then do we continue to invite people to come forward and pray? We want them to acknowledge publicly their need of repentance and that they have exercised faith in Christ as Savior. Again, why? We believe that those who would refuse to make a public expression of their repentance and faith are not committed enough to be saved.
By the way, did you know that a public pledge to be faithful to God has an energy within itself that helps you keep your pledge? Did you know that when you enter a definite personal covenant with God it has a similar affect of helping keep you faithful?
I repeat, I believe that the legal wedding ceremony of marriage is important. I believe that it plays an important role in a marriage. In like manner, I believe that definite times of entering a personal covenant with God are important in a Christian's life.
Some object to definite times of renewing our covenant because they consider it unnecessary. They believe in a one-time experience of entering a covenant relationship with God. They believe it is a once-and-for-all experience. The covenant relationship cannot be a once-and-for-all event because of the nature of love. Remember, it is a continuing relationship of mutual love between God and you. Since love is something that is living, it requires constant nurture and care or it will die. Some have backslidden and drifted away from God, who did nothing more than neglect to cultivate their love for God. That is all, simply neglects
Since this is the nature of a relationship of love, it requires renewal now and then. This is not an every day or every month experience. There is such a thing as a daily death but that is not what I am talking about. I am thinking of a definite time when we recommit our self to God afresh. We renew our covenant relationship. A renewal of our covenant does not mean that we have totally lost our relationship with God. This renewing consists of a fresh pledge of our love to God. Saying anew from our heart to God, I love you, I will obey you and I am entirely committed unto you.
Let me continue to draw on the comparison with marriage. Marriage is a good comparison because God equates his relationship to his people with the marriage covenant. The day Sister Yoder and I were married is not the only time that I have expressed my love and commitment to her in a definite way. I have told her, I love you, many times. In times of difficulty, I have reassured her that she could count on me as her provider and protector. I have reassured her that I will take care of her. On our Twenty-Fifth Wedding Anniversary, we actually went through a reenactment of our wedding ceremony and recommitting ourselves to one another. We repeated our marriage vows but instead of saying, "I will", we said, "I will continue". Conversion is like the initial wedding ceremony while a renewal of our covenant is something later that refreshes it and brings it back into focus in our life.
The people of God need a refreshing! A renewing of our covenant would refresh our hopes and zeal for God's cause. Those who experience a renewal of their covenant with God discover that it has a way of brightening the prospects of the future. Israel needed something to encourage them at that particular time. The renewing of their covenant at the beginning of the conquest of Canaan was necessary to bring into focus the promises of God as much as their responsibility to God.
An experience of renewal would brighten your prospects of the future. One who has refreshed their covenant with God will find it strengthens them by dispelling their fears. I repeat, it brings into focus not only our responsibility to God but God's promises to us. It revives your confidence in the future through a renewed faith in the promises of God.
May I also remind you of man's tendency to forget God and drift away? How easy it is for man to forget God especially when all his needs are satisfied. Man forgets how he obtained those blessings and fails to give God the honor, glory and gratitude that belong to him. Man then becomes lifted up in pride and feels that it was through his own strength that he has gained these things. That warning is found in Deuteronomy 8:11-20. In the light of man's tendency to forget God, we can see why we should renew our covenant on a regular basis. Renewing our commitment to God makes us more keenly aware of our pledge to love and obey him. This in turn causes us to be more careful how we live.
Renewing of our covenant is not required often but it is necessary at times. There are at least three different times when I believe it is necessary. First, renewal of the covenant is necessary when we are faced with a new challenge from the forces of evil that demands special strength to remain faithful to God. The challenge we face today is remaining faithful in the midst of widespread and unbridled wickedness. A renewal of our covenant with God is necessary if we are serious about accepting the challenge to remain faithful unto God. It is the renewing of our commitment by stating, Lord, I will be true and faithful to you, no matter what the wicked world does or says.
Second, a time of renewal is necessary whenever new understanding exposes that present conduct is displeasing to God. If new understanding shows that certain behavior violates a moral principle, before unknown to us, it is always well to enter a covenant with God to obey its mandate. This is a matter of keeping our consecration up to the measure of our light or understanding.
How is this experienced? First, you will feel badly when you discover that something that you have been doing is displeasing to God. You did not know the activity was wrong but you cannot help being really sorry. In Old Testament terminology, it would be called sinning unwittingly. Some would argue, Why should you be sorry? If you did not know it was wrong then it is not sin. Technically speaking, it is not an accountable sin but what is involved in this matter? As child of God, who loves the Lord with all his heart, you do not want to displease him in anything. Even when you are entirely innocent because of your ignorance of God's will, when you discover that certain conduct is displeasing unto God, you will feel very bad about it.
A renewing of your covenant with God is in order because you want God to know how much you love him. Thank God, you can come before his throne and say, Lord, I did not know this was wrong. I am so sorry and I want you to know I intend to obey you completely. Let me be honest with you. I could not help feeling terrible. At those times I have thought, how could I have been so ignorant, but I was. This situation calls for a renewal of our commitment to God to encompass our new understanding of God's will.
Third, a time of renewal is necessary when we discover that for whatever reason, our love for God has grown cold. That also is a painful discovery. To be wakened and realize that you do not love God like you once did, is not pleasant. A cooling of your love can be brought on by many things. Certain experiences can drain you emotionally such as burdens, worry, sickness, fighting sin and struggling against apostasy within the Church.
Ephesus is a good example of the latter, (see Revelation 2:1-7). Jesus commended the church at Ephesus for many good characteristics. They were patient, had labored faithfully, borne reproach and stood for righteousness. They had tried those who claimed to be apostles and found them liars. They had stood firm for truth and righteousness. They hated evil, but something had happened during their battle against apostasy and compromise. They had lost something very important. Jesus said, "thou hast left thy first love. "That does not mean that they had completely forsaken God. What it means is that they did not love God nor each other as they once did.
Did you know that fighting for truth and right has this danger? We cannot give up the battle for truth and right. This is a battle we must fight. If we do give it up, all will be lost. But there are inherent dangers in this battle. The greatest danger is that we will become callous in our attitudes and less loving.
If we discover that our love has gradually become cool for whatever reason, it is time for a renewal of our covenant. Sometimes, it can be worldliness. By worldliness, I do not mean only standards of dress or recreation. I mean a worldly attitude that focuses on the things of this world. Worldliness means that the focus of your life is on your career, gaining success or getting material possessions.
Jesus described it this way. He told a parable of a sower. Some seed fell among thorns. As the seed began to grow, the weeds grew up around it and choked it and it became unfruitful.
Christians often grow cold by becoming too busy with the things of this world. I am not talking about running to the bars and dance halls. I am talking about legitimate concerns. These legitimate concerns can become the focus of our life, so that our love grows cold. A time of renewing our covenant is necessary to refresh our love until it waxes hot toward God; so that we are on fire for God, burning with love, zeal and commitment for God.
As I meditated on the lesson found in the book of Deuteronomy, I thought, the church very much needs to renew her covenant with God. It was necessary in Moses' day and time for Israel to renew their covenant with God. Forty years had passed since their parents had originally entered into the covenant at Mount Sinai. During the forty years which had passed, the generation that had taken part in the original commitment was now gone. Moses is challenging a new generation; a generation that was going into conquest for the land of promise. Moses challenged them to renew their covenant. Deuteronomy is not a "second law" in the sense of a second distinctively new law but a renewal of the original. We do not need something new. What we need is a renewal of what the church once had and what the church once was. Such a renewal would bring a tremendous change. If God's people would simply return to what they once were, it would be a glorious awakening. If God's people would simply regain what they have abandoned, they would be much better off.
As I read the book of Deuteronomy and saw how Moses pleads with the people, I realized he was not trying to get them to merely go through the ceremony. He was trying to get them to become convincingly moved to the point of refreshing their love to God. My dear brethren, I believe that among our other needs, (there certainly are many more) this is surely one, a renewing of our covenant. Oh, what a change it would bring because it would focus us on the things that we ought to focus on.
I remember years ago, a young man in a revival meeting. I had preached along these lines, challenging people to renew their love to God. This young man responded to the challenge. He did not only come to a public altar but he continually sought God in his private prayers. (By the way what is needed is not simply a trip to the altar, but earnestly seeking God.) He remarked to me that it was like getting saved again. It was not of course, but it seemed like being saved again. A true renewal requires getting down to business with God. This young man said, when I really surrendered and renewed my covenant, God came. He told God how much he loved him. God blessed and reassured him with a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Let me issue you a personal challenge. Seek a place as soon as possible and renew your covenant with God.