Jeremiah 11

Covenant Speak

I. Covenant

A. What is the Covenant?

I don’t think I have ever preached on Covenants before in the Church which is something of an embarrassment for me as I think on it. Because understanding the Covenant relationship that you are in, or, not in, before the Lord is vital for understanding your place in this world- who you are, who you should be, and how it is that you are in right relationship with God.

So let me talk a bit first about Covenant itself and what it is.

It is formal term, it is not just a promise. A covenant is a contract, a legally binding contract, usually between two parties although it can include more. And usually this contract requires promises of certain behaviors or certain actions from both parties, with consequences if the actions are not done or the promises not fulfilled. (NATO)

The Hebrew word for Covenant, B’rit, comes from a root word that means to cut. The reason for this is because when 2 parties made a Covenant with one another they would cut an animal in half, and then they would pass through, walk through, the divided animal, to symbolize the seriousness of the pact that they were making. Some scholars think that the symbolism was of the nature that if you do not fulfill the terms of the covenant, that you would be split in two just as the animal had been. Passing between the animal indicated that a curse would fall upon you if you failed to live up to the Covenant.

You may recall one famous example of a Covenant from Genesis 15 when Abraham sees or has a vision of a torch and smoking pot passing between animals that Abraham had cut in half as per God’s instructions. SLIDE

But Abraham is never called to pass between the bloody animal corpses, only the Lord does that. Because the Lord had no requirements for Abraham, he was simply the passive recipient of a blessing and promise from the Lord.

How many covenants there are depicted in the Bible that God commits to with His people is somewhat debatable, but for myself I am in agreement with those who find there to be 4 covenants delineated in the Old Testament. SLIDE

These are the Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, and Davidic covenants.

Of these covenants, only the Mosaic covenant was reciprocal in the sense that it required actions, promises, from God’s chosen people.

Noah, Abraham, and David had nothing required of them- they were simply the recipient of the promises of God. But the Lord is clear when it comes to the nation of Israel and the Mosaic Covenant. The Israelites have a responsibility, first and foremost to worship the Lord alone, but following from that they have a duty to be holy and righteous people, and they have to agree to these terms even before they took the land, they agreed to the Mosaic Covenant and to the curse that would befall them should they fail to be God’s people in the land that He was giving them.

Deuteronomy 27:11–18 “That day Moses charged the people, saying, “When you have crossed over the Jordan, these shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. And these shall stand on Mount Ebal for the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. And the Levites shall declare to all the men of Israel in a loud voice: “ ‘Cursed be the man who makes a carved or cast metal image, an abomination to the Lord, a thing made by the hands of a craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’ And all the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen.’ “ ‘Cursed be anyone who dishonors their father or mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ “ ‘Cursed be anyone who moves their neighbor’s landmark.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ “ ‘Cursed be anyone who misleads a blind man on the road.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’”

Jeremiah of course knows the book of Deuteronomy, because this is the book that King Josiah found, remember that Josiah is a contemporary of Jeremiah, and the book was rediscovered and repreached throughout Jerusalem and Judah. So Jeremiah would have known these words, and so he gives the expected response when the Lord says ‘Cursed be… and you will be my people and I will be your God” then Jeremiah knows to say, Amen, Lord, just as in Deuteronomy.

But wait, you say, I thought with a Covenant there was a ritual of walking between sacrificed animals...well, more or less Moses did that with the people of Israel as well. But because it is not practical to have thousands of people do that, he did it in this way:

Exodus 24:3–8 “Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the rules. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do.” And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. And he sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.””

These are symbolic acts of course. Moses didn’t throw blood on every single Hebrew, but he certainly got the front row and they got the point. They were bound in Covenant to the Lord, and blessings would be theirs if they were obedient, and curses would be their inheritance if they strayed from the Covenant.

B. How has the Covenant Been Broken?

C. What will the consequences Be?

D. What Can They Do About it?