Making promises is never an easy thing. Take for example the groom, who during the wedding rehearsal approached the pastor with an unusual request: "Look, I'll give you $100 if you'll change the wedding vows. When you get to the part where I'm to promise to 'love her, comfort her, honor and keep her in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, keep you only unto her' I'd appreciate it if you'd just leave that part out." He passed the minister a $100 bill and walked away satisfied. It is now the day of the wedding, and the bride and groom have moved to that part of the ceremony where the vows are exchanged. When it comes time for the groom's vows, the pastor looks the young man in the eye and says: "Will you promise to prostrate yourself before her, obey her every command and wish, serve her breakfast in bed every morning of your life and swear eternally before God and your lovely wife that you will not ever even look at another woman, as long as you both shall live?" The groom gulped and looked around, and said in a tiny voice, "Yes," then leaned toward the pastor and hissed: "I thought we had a deal." The pastor put a $100 bill into the groom's hand and whispered: "She made me a better offer." Life is filled with promises. Not only the promises made at a wedding, but there are more mundane promises made on credit card applications, written on the calendar, and around this time of year, on our tax forms. While we make promises every day, we may be fearful of the ramifications. Like the groom at his wedding, we may try to negotiate our promises to something a bit more easy. We don’t like to be hemmed in by our own words, by our promises. As children we had an easy way out of it. A simple crossing of the fingers behind the back was enough to nullify any words we spoke. At eight, we are all budding lawyers. But as we grow up we quickly realize that a promise must be kept. The seeming loss of integrity among men in our culture prompted a well intentioned group ten years ago to begin Promise Keepers. You don’t hear much about them today, perhaps because of the stark realization that we often fail to keep the promises we make. We are all much better promise breakers than promise keepers. Fortunately, however, we need not stop with that bit of pessimistic insight. There is a third option open to us. While we are unable to be true promise keepers, and do not want to wallow in the despair of only being promise breakers, we are called by God to be promise receivers. Our passage this morning tells us of a time when God’s people were promise receivers. On the plains of Moab, to the east of Canaan, on the other side of the Jordan, the children of Israel gathered in preparation to enter the Promised Land. The land which had been their birthright for more than five hundred years was about to be possessed. The land was their inheritance, given to them by God, who had promised their ancestor Abraham this land. But before they would enter the land they must first participate in a renewal of a promise.
The promise made to Israel is what the passage calls the Covenant. This term is often thrown about here at Cornerstone, but one which we need to define. This passage helps us to define the Covenant. When we speak of the Covenant we are referring to a promise that is made by God to us, His people. It is a binding agreement between God and His people with implications for every aspect of life. It is easy to think of a Covenant like a promise we may encounter in a business contract or an appliance warranty. But while there may be some points in common, the Covenant goes much deeper than that. Before we delve into what that promise, that Covenant looks like in Deuteronomy 29 we need to define our terms. What does the term "covenant" mean? O. Palmer Robertson in his book The Christ of the Covenants defines it as a bond in blood sovereignly administered. There are three components there we need to understand. It is a bond. Where there is a covenant there is a union between two which were once estranged. A bond is more than just an agreement, it is a melding of two into one. If you’ve ever used Super-glue you know the dangers of getting some on your fingers. Suddenly the small object you sought to fix becomes affixed on your index finger. The properties are joined, not to be separated. It is in blood. In Scripture the Covenant was often in the context of blood. The sacrifice of animals was a common illustrator of how God would finalize the Covenant through the death of His Son, Jesus Christ. Blood pointed not just to the seriousness of the union, but the necessity for there to be an atonement, for a penalty to be paid. Thirdly, it is sovereignly administered. In the Bible the Covenant God makes with us flows but one direction. He is the author and the one who keeps the promise. While humans can and should make promises, when it comes to our relationship with God, our standing before Him, the basis of that position rests not only our ability to perfect keep our end of the bargain, but rests with a God who promises and fulfills. An excellent example of this is found in Genesis 15. God comes to Abram with a promise (verse 1) to be his shield and great reward. Abram responds with incredulity as he has no children. To us this seems odd since we see no immediate correlation between God’s promise and kids. Abram does, for he knows that the eternal God makes promises which stretch beyond his own life here on earth. God’s promises incorporate one’s family. God responds with another promise: You will have children. Abram responds by believing the promise God had just made. God in turn credits him as righteous; Abram is justified, declared right before God. God becomes even clearer in His promise to be Abram's reward in verse 7: there will be land. Abram asks a reasonable question: How will I know this? At this point we see the Covenant promise enacted. Abram is to bring various animals before Yahweh. He cuts them in two and arranges the halves opposite each other at which point Abram’s job is done. While in a trance God speaks (verse 12ff) and promises the land of Canaan and then the Lord passes between the split animals and in so doing (verse 18) makes a Covenant. In that we have illustrated the three components listed above. There is a bond: God will be Abram’s shield, providing him with a legacy and a land. There is blood: the animals are split in half, part of an ancient rite where in people taking an oath would split an animal in two and together walk between the animals. This was an imprecatory oath, that is, an oath calling judgment on the one who does not fulfill their part of the bargain. In verse 18 we see the bloody nature of the Covenant: to make a covenant is to "cut a covenant." There is death involved. It was also an oath sovereignly administered. What was Abram’s part? Nothing but napping. God did it all. He would keep the oath. In these three points God’s covenant is quite unlike our promises. God’s promise to us is certain; it is guaranteed by God, not us. A human contract is broken when one of the parties fails to keep his promise. If a patient fails to keep an appointment with a doctor, the doctor is not obligated to call the house and inquire, "Where were you? Why didn't you show up for your appointment?" He simply goes on to his next patient and has his appointment secretary take note of the patient who failed to keep the appointment. The patient may find it harder the next time to see the doctor. He broke an informal contract. According to the Bible, however, the Lord asks: "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!" (Isaiah 49:15) The Bible indicates the Covenant is more like the ties of a parent to her child than it is a doctor's appointment. If a child fails to show up for dinner, the parent's obligation, unlike the doctor's, isn't canceled. The parent finds out where the child is and makes sure he's cared for. One member's failure does not destroy the relationship. A Covenant puts no conditions on faithfulness. It is the unconditional commitment to love and serve. With that as our background, now let’s turn to Deuteronomy 29 and there we will see ... God’s Comprehensive Promise - verses 10-11God’s promise comprehends all people This promise is all inclusive, comprehensive of every facet of society. Notice the list of all those in God’s presence. It is not just the favored, the exclusive few. The promise being made here is for everyone, binding each and every one regardless of their background or social status. It begins with the senior officials: the leaders, the chief men, elders, officials and moves through to include the women and children, even the aliens, those who have thrown in their lot with the Israelites, but lack the pedigree. It also encompasses those who chop wood and carry water. These were the lowest of the low, those whose lives are filled with the most base of tasks. There is no hint of a caste system where God’s promise is concerned: young as well as old; menials as well as masters, native born as well as naturalized strangers. No one is too great to bow his or her knee in worship and no one is too insignificant to be enveloped by God’s grace. This is a powerful reminder to us. God’s promise to transform a life is not based on a set preconditions. New birth is not doled out to those deemed most worthy, those who possess some innate value before God, be it status or personal morality. This also is a grave warning. We must never create a stratification of God’s people, thinking that certain groups are not welcomed, should be excluded on the basis of their race or ethnic background. The make-up of the Church, of Cornerstone, should be more reflective of God’s world than any other place in society. This gives us great confidence in sharing the Gospel with those around us. Since God’s promise comprehends people from all segments of God’s world, we can speak boldly, since we don’t know those who are His. Those people we can easily pass over are listed here as well: the children. Since God’s saving grace comes to us by way of a Covenant and that Covenant flows from God to us, it should not come as a surprise to us that it would include children. The same God who includes children in His promise to save is the same God today.God’s promise comprehends us personally With the massive group standing before God, it is easy to miss the personal nature of God’s promise. While speaking to everyone in the nation the pronouns used are singular. There is a very personal tone here. This is emphasized even more by the repetition of the word "today" five times in the passage. The recurrent reference to the presence is a reminder that the Covenant is not locked away in some remote past. While our faith is rooted in history and it points to a future, we live it out today. It is easy to think of God’s promises for Israel 3000 years ago or His promise to us when we die, but we forget that the Covenant is about how we live here and now. What we see in this passage is not an initiation of the Covenant. For that you would go back to Adam in Genesis 3. Rather, throughout God’s dealings with His people, He constantly renews that Covenant again and again. It's too late to serve Him yesterday and we don't know about tomorrow; we serve Him today. For every new generation, the challenge of the Covenant would always be "today." It if for this reason that Hebrews 4, quoting Psalm 95:7ff, calls every generation of believers to enter the Sabbath rest, to cease from trying to erect their own righteousness and rest and rely on the work of Christ for us... for you. It is not enough that your parents believe. It is important that you too respond in faith. It is important for those of you who are older children and teens to take this to heart. The Covenant encompasses the family, but as you mature you need to own this Covenant for yourself. God’s Reliable Promise - verses 12-13God’s promise has a reliable foundation As we’ve seen, the promise is initiated by God and fulfilled by God. As a unilateral promise, as God makes and keeps the Covenant, so we can be certain of its completion. God gives His word that we will be His people and He will be our God. The longer version of this promise is found in Deuteronomy 26:16-19. This promise, the oath God swore to the Israelites on Moab that day was repeated again in Jeremiah 31:31-33. Despite their breaking the Covenant, God remains faithful. The promise remains secure. We read earlier in Romans 4 of how that Covenant is applied to us. Paul uses Abraham, likewise citing Genesis 15 which we read. Paul sees no radical change in how God worked in Abraham, David or in us. The Covenant God made with Abraham is the same one with us. It has not changed; it has only be made more full. We can draw an analogy with US Constitution. While we have various Presidents, the document remains the same. We don’t have a new Constitution with each new administration.God’s promise continues In verse 13 we see how this promise connects itself with the promise given to their forefathers. It is the same promise. This passage makes it clear that God does not set up a variety of Covenants, one with Abraham and another with Moses. What took place on Sinai forty years before when the Law was given, what takes place now on the plains of Moab, has the same foundation as what was said to Abraham.God’s promise calls for our response God initiates; we are to respond. The response detailed here is one of acceptance, of agreeing to the terms. Three times we are told that they are "standing in the presence of the Lord." The word "standing" is used of an army, at attention ready to receive its orders. Similar to Genesis 15, you recall Abram’s response to God’s Covenant: he sleeps through it. God in sovereignty and grace initiates and fulfills. Abraham’s duty is to believe this is so. The Covenant already exists (verse 12); they are entering into it; literarly, cross over to it. That is, they respond in faith. That is the point of the Luke passage we heard earlier. The Pharisee had much to brag about, but the one God accepted was the one who looked not to his own record. Being declared righteous by God comes not from our own achievements, but by believing our sins were placed on Christ and His righteousness placed on us. God’s Lasting Promise - verses14-15 God’s Covenant is personal; it is to be received today. God’s Covenant means we must not rely on the faith of our parents, but must respond in faithful obedience as well. Yet the Covenant does not end with us. There are implications for the future. It looks beyond today and sees those who will be part of God’s Covenant people in the future. When you accept God’s promise as true, you bind not only yourself, but your children as well. The promise God makes to be our God and we to be His people is both personal, but also familial. God works in and through families. God’s promise to save, the Covenant of grace, belongs not just to people alive today, but it is the same promise given to those who have gone on before us and who will come in future generations. When Peter preached that first sermon at Pentecost, he called those listening to likewise stand before God in humble faith. He alludes to our passage in Deuteronomy when, in response to the question: "What shall we do?" he says, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off-- for all whom the Lord our God will call."The promise remains today If you do not already know this lasting promise, I challenge you to consider the promise God makes to those who are His, the promise of sins forgiven and a perfect record credited to your life, the promise of adoption into God’s family, knowing not just what will happen when you die, but knowing God’s love and mercy today. God’s Covenant is a promise to families as well. It extends to the children. When Abraham believed and was declared just, God gave him a sign of the promise, the sign of circumcision. That bond in blood sovereignly administered was for all his household, including those boys only 8 days old. Likewise, in the New Testament, the sign of the promise is given to those still in their mothers arms, because baptism is not our sign to God of our faith, but, as a sign of the Covenant, it is God’s sign to us of His acceptance of us because of Christ. There is no reason to withhold God’s promise from our little ones. God certainly does not.
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