Our covenant journey culminates here with the New Covenant. How is it different to what came before and what does the Old and NewTestaments teach about it?
Grand Themes 4 – Covenant III – David
David sets up the prototype of a king, but more than a king – a prophet-priest-king. God promises an enduring kingdom and a forever throne to David. But how is Melchizedek involved in these promises?
Ps 32:8-9 Choose counsel.
Psalm 32:8–9 (HCSB): I will instruct you and show you the way to go;
with My eye on you, I will give counsel.
9 Do not be like a horse or mule,
without understanding,
that must be controlled with bit and bridle
or else it will not come near you.
Here God is inviting us to choose the path of intentionally seeking his counsel and instruction in how to live. This is so far away from the earth-trapped thinking of the one who sees God’s instruction as a limiting or invasive burden. A kill-joy legal framework that prevents the full and free agency to do whatever it is one wants to do. Such a person forgets however, that despite the intensity of their desire to throw off all shackles they are never-the-less doomed to remain controlled and fettered by their own shortcomings. Change and growth does not come easily to such a one.
We are invited to observe that the alternative to willingly listen to his instruction is to plod along guided simply by the limitations of one’s own instincts. This is how the horse and mule operate. They are not willing listeners and require the discomfort of a bit to turn their head or change direction. They do not possess independent understanding at all in actuality.
Many have learned the benefit of seeking counsel from those who possess expertise and experience in a specific walks of life, be it in mounting a court defence, building a house, or baking a cake. God is now saying, that with his loving eye on you, his eons of experience, and intimate knowledge of best practice for image bearers, he can liberally and freely offer his life-saving counsel.
The choice is ours to make. Seek out and listen to his voice, or be left to experience the chafing of the bridles of our own making.
with My eye on you, I will give counsel.
9 Do not be like a horse or mule,
without understanding,
that must be controlled with bit and bridle
or else it will not come near you.
Here God is inviting us to choose the path of intentionally seeking his counsel and instruction in how to live. This is so far away from the earth-trapped thinking of the one who sees God’s instruction as a limiting or invasive burden. A kill-joy legal framework that prevents the full and free agency to do whatever it is one wants to do. Such a person forgets however, that despite the intensity of their desire to throw off all shackles they are never-the-less doomed to remain controlled and fettered by their own shortcomings. Change and growth does not come easily to such a one.
We are invited to observe that the alternative to willingly listen to his instruction is to plod along guided simply by the limitations of one’s own instincts. This is how the horse and mule operate. They are not willing listeners and require the discomfort of a bit to turn their head or change direction. They do not possess independent understanding at all in actuality.
Many have learned the benefit of seeking counsel from those who possess expertise and experience in a specific walks of life, be it in mounting a court defence, building a house, or baking a cake. God is now saying, that with his loving eye on you, his eons of experience, and intimate knowledge of best practice for image bearers, he can liberally and freely offer his life-saving counsel.
The choice is ours to make. Seek out and listen to his voice, or be left to experience the chafing of the bridles of our own making.
Grand Themes 3 – Covenant II – Israel
“Listen to what I say. What I asked you to do, if you just do it, you will become a really unique people among the nations that represents the character of God.”