And Jonathan made a covenant
with David because he loved him as himself. Jonathan took off the robe he was
wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow
and his belt. (1 Samuel 18:3-4)
The making of a covenant was serious business. It was the
strongest bond known to men, and had both business and personal applications
that extended even to the descendants of the two parties involved. A covenant
was typically solemnized by great ceremony and ritual, some of which is
mentioned in the passage above. All in all it went like this.
First, several animals were cut in half and arranged along a
path. Their purpose was to symbolize the penalty for breaking the covenant. The
two men entering into a covenant relationship walked between and around the
animal parts in a figure eight. (An eight on its side is the symbol for
infinity.) This was to show that they understood and accepted the penalty and
that the agreement committed them forever. (When God entered into His covenant
with Abraham, promising him an heir and giving him the Promised Land, He was
the only one who walked between the animals. This meant that only He was bound
to the terms. There was nothing Abraham had to do. In fact, God put him to
sleep so he couldn’t participate. The land was given to Abraham and his
descendants unconditionally and in perpetuity (Gen.15:9-21).
Seven
Symbolic Steps
Then they performed up to seven ceremonial acts; each also
designed to underscore the seriousness and permanence of the relationship they
were entering. In the passage above, we see David and Jonathan formalizing
their covenant with the first two of these.
1. Each man handed his outer garment to the other, symbolizing
that everything belonging to one also belonged to the other.
2. Exchanging sword, bow, and other weapons indicated that each
was pledging himself to the other’s defense; placing his power, as it were, at
the other’s disposal.
3. They each cut themselves in the wrist to make their blood flow
and then joined their right hands and forearms together in a gesture from which
we get the modern handshake. The idea here was that the blood from one was now
mixed with the blood from the other. The two had become one. In some cultures a
bride and groom still cut themselves this way and mingle their blood during
their wedding ceremony, and the American Indian notion of becoming “blood
brothers” is also derived from this. (The Hebrew word translated covenant comes
from a root that means to cut. It could apply to the animals, the men, or
both.)
We ofter hear the phrase, “blood is thicker than water.” It
usually refers to the strength of family relationships, but its original intent
was different. It meant that the blood of the covenant surpassed the birth
waters. As Jonathan’s actions toward David demonstrate, covenant relationships
exceeded family ties in strength and durability (1 Samuel 19:1-3).
4. They let the cut heal in such a way as to leave a visible scar
on their wrist. This was to alert people that they were stronger than they
appeared to be, since others stood behind them pledged to their defense.
5. They shared a ceremonial meal, usually of bread and wine. It
was another way of uniting them since to this day middle-Easterners believe
that sharing from the same loaf of bread or the same flask of wine binds the
participants together. In the first Biblical mention of this, Melchizedek and
Abraham shared such a meal (Genesis
14:18).
6. Still another way was for each to take a portion of the other’s
name, similar to the way the bride takes the name of the groom in Western
culture. (When God entered into a covenant with Abram He changed his name to
Abraham, requiring us to exhale when we speak his name. The exhaled breath
symbolizes the Ruach Elohim or Spirit
of God.)
7. And finally they built a monument or memorial to the ceremony.
This could be something as simple as a pile of stones or as complex as a forest
or a flock of animals, such as when Jacob and Laban formed their covenant (Genesis 30:25-36).
They went through such ceremony because their lives depended on
their covenant partners. There could be no doubt in their minds as to each
other’s reliability.
A
Hypothetical Example
A shepherd had to get his wool into the hands of the merchants.
But they lived in the cities and his sheep had to stay in the mountains. He
couldn’t just leave them and go off to sell his wool, the sheep would be gone
when he returned. Still, he needed the things he could only buy with the money
he got from selling the wool. So he entered into a covenant with a wool broker.
The broker took his wool into the city and sold it to the merchants. With the
money he got, he purchased the things the shepherd needed and brought them back
to him.
The shepherd had to trust that the broker would guard the wool
with his life, and get the best price possible for it at the market. He also
had to believe that the broker would pay as little as necessary for the goods
he brought back, protecting them all the way as if they were his own. The
broker had to trust that the shepherd would care for his flock and maximize his
wool production so that when he came back there would be another crop to sell.
It was an inter-dependent relationship built on trust.
And One
From Real Life … 2 Samuel 9
Some time after David and Jonathan formed their covenant,
Jonathan was killed in the Battle of Beth Shean (1 Sam. 31:2), while David went on to become King of Israel (2 Sam. 5:1-5). But as I said, covenant
agreements extended even to the descendants of covenant heads. One day King
David asked his advisors if there was anyone left of Jonathan’s family to whom
he could show kindness for Jonathan’s sake.
They brought in one of Saul’s former servants who told him of a
crippled boy named Mephibosheth. He was Jonathan’s son, living in a place
called Lo Debar. When David had become King of Israel, all of Saul’s family
(Jonathan was Saul’s son) had fled for their lives for fear that David would
take revenge on them for the way Saul had mistreated him. In their haste to
escape, his nurse had picked up the 5 year old Mephibosheth to carry him, but
they had fallen on the stone floor, breaking his legs and crippling him for
life. (2 Sam. 4:4) As he grew up his
family had convinced Mephibosheth that David was responsible for his condition
and still wanted to kill him.
Upon learning Mephibosheth’s whereabouts, David sent his
soldiers to fetch him. When they brought him into the presence of the King,
Mephibosheth, fearing for his life, bowed before David and asked him. “What is
your servant that you should notice a dead dog like me?” (2 Sam. 9:8). David reassured him and told him of the covenant
he had with Jonathan. Then David restored to him all of his grandfather Saul’s
property and gave him servants to work the land so his needs would always be
met. Finally David asked him to come live in Jerusalem, and eat at the King’s
table just like one of the King’s own sons.
It’s a beautiful story of kindness and forgiveness that
illustrates the depth of a covenant relationship like no other, and it has a
parallel in our lives. To see what I mean, let David represent God our Father,
with Jonathan as the Lord Jesus, and Mephibosheth as you and I.
The
Everlasting Covenant
Long before we were born the Father and the Son entered into a
covenant on our behalf. Our Father said to Jesus, “Son, if you’ll die for them
I’ll forgive them”
Jesus replied, “Father, if you’ll forgive them I’ll die for
them.” And so the Everlasting Covenant was formed.
Each time God entered into covenant with man, man proved
untrustworthy and soon broke it. Adam ate the forbidden fruit, Noah’s
descendants refused to scatter and re-settle the Earth, the Children of Israel
broke the commandments, and so on. The salvation of God’s children was so
important to Him that no mere man could be trusted to be faithful. God
Himself had to become a man so mankind could be saved. “You are my son,” He
told Jesus, “Today I have become your Father.” (Psalm 2:7)
So Jesus became a man to save mankind, and stood before our
Father as our covenant head.
Later, while God pursued us, we ran for our lives. We’d heard
the stories of His wrath and had been told that He was responsible for our
infirmities. Finally one day He caught us and as we trembled at His feet in
fear for our lives, He reassured us and told us of the covenant He had made
with His Son. Then He restored our inheritance (Gal. 4:4-7), invited us to dwell with Him, to eat at the King’s
table as part of His family, and to consider ourselves as His children (John 1:12-13).
What Did He
Ever Do For Me?
Then He told us what His Son did for us. He said that Jesus,
1. Gave us His robes of righteousness and clothed Himself in our
garment of sin.
2. Pledged His sword (the Word of His mouth) to our defense.
3. In being nailed to the cross, His wrists were cut and allowed
to heal so as to leave scars as evidence of the covenant.
4. Allowed His blood to flow into and over us, cleansing us of
all our impurities.
5. Shared a covenant meal of bread and wine with us and asked that
we do this with each other as a memorial to Him.
6. Gave us His name, for we are called Christians.
7. Built a monument, His covenant flock, and said the gates of
Hell would not prevail against it.
And as in Abraham’s case, all we have to do is receive it. It’s
unconditional and perpetual.
Justice Or
Mercy?
I used to think that John had misspoken in 1 John 1:9. Instead of saying of God, “If we confess our sins, he
is faithful and just and will
forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness,” I thought John
should have written, “He is faithful and merciful
…” thinking that it’s out of God’s mercy that we’re forgiven, not His justice.
Then I learned about the Everlasting Covenant and realized that He’s obligated
to forgive us. He made a covenant with His Son promising to do it. And He can’t
break His promise because He’s faithful and just.
The Son has died for us, and now the Father must forgive us, and
when He does, all our sins and the shame and guilt that go with them are wiped
away. Like Mephibosheth, our inheritance is restored, we’re set for the rest of
our lives, and we sit at the King’s table as one of His children. By the way,
Mephibosheth’s name comes from root words that mean “dash to pieces” and
“shame”. When He died for us the Lord dashed to pieces all the shame
associated with our former self and replaced it with the righteousness of
God. Selah 07-21-12.
No comments:
Post a Comment