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Covenant – A One-sided Agreement
Genesis 9:8-17
8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: 9 "I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you 10 and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. 11 I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth."
12 And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: 13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. 16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth."
17 So God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth."
We often think of ‘covenant’ as a solemn agreement made between ‘contracting parties’, in particular between God and human beings with whom He interacted and dealt with, such as the covenant that God made with Abraham (Gen 17: 1-14) and with the nation of Israel (Ex 19: 1-5). As Christians we always think of the New Covenant (Luke22: 14-20 and related gospel passages as well as in Hebrews) as the ultimate covenant.
One characteristic of God’s covenants is the requirement that we keep out part of the bargain, notably the call to live in obedience to God as His covenantal people. Jesus summed up our covenantal relationship with Him with these words, ‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments’ (Jn 14:15).
God’s covenant with Noah was exceptional in this regard – there was absolutely nothing that Noah and his children (or even the animals! v10) were required to do. It was a totally one-sided agreement, with nothing for God to gain, so to speak.
We can actually argue that the same one-sidedness is found in all the other covenants of God as well, including the partakers. Yes, in the New Covenant, we are bound by faith in action to love, obey and serve God. But like God’s covenant with Noah, the New Covenant is also one-sided because God gains nothing from our obedience and service.
Actually, all of God’s dealing with us are one-sided: He gains nothing, we gain everything! Such an understanding of our Heavenly Father’s boundless grace should lead us to true and acceptable worship, the presentation of our lives to serve His purpose (Rom 12:1 and Heb 12:28-29) to His eternal glory and praise.
Dean & Vicar, St. Andrew Cathedral
God, Abba-Father, I surrender my will to you. I seek only to do your will.
Prayer:
Dear God and Father, thank you for your gracious dealings with humanity. As I recall the love, mercy and kindness with which you dealt wit hNoah, I thank you for your unconditional love for us. As I recall the night that the New Covenant was instituted when your Son spoke of ‘the new covenant in My blood’, help me to be forever grateful for such a precious sacrifice. In response, I now offer my life as a sacrifice, that I may do your will and serve your purpose, to your eternal praise and glory. Amen.
All Lent Devotion materials are taken from 'Take Up Your Cross' - Daily Devotion for Lent 2009 by Bible Society of Singapore.
Labels: Lent
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