Gentry / Wellum God's Kingdom through God's Covenants

A Concise Biblical Theology
1. Auflage 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4335-4194-0
Verlag: Crossway
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, 304 Seiten

The Bible records a number of covenants that God made with his people. However, rather than merely abstract ideas for theologians and scholars to study, the covenants in Scripture hold the key to understanding the Bible's overarching story and message. In God's Kingdom through God's Covenants, two world-class scholars offer readers an engaging snapshot of how God has chosen to lovingly relate to his people in history, tracing the significance of the concept of 'covenant' through both the Old and New Testaments. Explaining the differences between covenant theology and dispensationalism while offering a thoughtful alternative to both, this book ultimately highlights the covenantal framework through which God has promised to remain faithful to his people.

Peter J. Gentry (PhD, University of Toronto) is professor of Old Testament interpretation at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and director of the Hexapla Institute.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Gentry, Peter J.

Wellum, Stephen J.

Leseproben

Chapter 2

COVENANTS IN THE BIBLE AND THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST

COVENANTS IN THE BIBLE

The meaning of “covenant” as found in the Bible and biblical world, and likely even the term, is foreign to our culture, society, and thought-world today. A brief overview of covenants in the Old Testament and in the ancient Near East along with definitions will begin to adjust our perspective to that of the Bible.

Covenants in the Old Testament

In the Old Testament the Hebrew word for covenant is berît. The same word is used in Scripture for a wide diversity of oath-bound commitments in various relationships. It is used to refer to international treaties (Josh. 9:6; 1 Kings 15:19), clan alliances (Gen. 14:13), personal agreements (Gen. 31:44), national agreements (Jer. 34:8–10), and loyalty agreements (1 Sam. 20:14–17), including marriage (Mal. 2:14).

INTERNATIONAL TREATIES

In Joshua 9, when Joshua led Israel into the land of Canaan and attacked the Canaanites who were living in the land at that time, they were deceived and tricked by the Gibeonites into making a treaty with them. This was a peace treaty between two nations.

In 1 Kings 5:12, Hiram, king of Tyre, a city in ancient Phoenicia, and Solomon, king of Israel, made an international treaty. There were peaceful relations between the two countries and agreements for commerce and trade.

CLAN/TRIBAL ALLIANCES

In Genesis 14:13, powerful nomads of the desert formed an alliance to help each other in case of attack by enemies. This is essentially an alliance between clans or tribes.

PERSONAL AGREEMENTS

After years of attempting to best and outwit each other, Laban and his nephew Jacob finally made an agreement not to harm each other (Gen. 31:44). This was a private agreement between two individuals.

LOYALTY AGREEMENTS

Jonathan, the son of King Saul, developed a deep friendship with David during the years when Saul sought to get rid of David and kill him. This friendship was formally solemnized twice by agreements of loyalty (1 Sam. 18:3; 23:18).

MARRIAGE

The marriage relationship is a loyalty agreement formally solemnized by a vow before God. This is clearly indicated by Proverbs 2:17 and Malachi 2:14.

NATIONAL LEGAL AGREEMENTS

In Jeremiah 34:8–10, King Zedekiah made a covenant with the people to proclaim freedom for all the slaves. Although this may seem somewhat similar to a legal agreement or contract, it was different in character from contracts and legal documents of today. Since the covenant was made between king and people, it operated at a national level.

DEFINITION AND ILLUSTRATION

Defining the term “covenant” (berît) can be difficult since it is used for such a wide variety of agreements. Bruce Waltke’s definition is minimal: “covenant . . . means a solemn commitment of oneself to undertake an obligation.”1 The definition of Gordon Hugenberger is also brief and clear:

A covenant, in its normal sense, is an elected, as opposed to natural, relationship of obligation under oath.2

The following description, adapted from Daniel C. Lane, is similar but fuller:

A covenant is an enduring agreement which defines a relationship between two parties involving a solemn, binding obligation(s) specified on the part of at least one of the parties toward the other, made by oath under threat of divine curse, and ratified by a visual ritual.3

Scholars debate whether berît can denote a relationship between parties, or simply the obligation one party takes upon himself. This seems to be based on a false dichotomy. Fulfilling any obligation between human parties involves a relationship formalizing some understanding between them, and no relationship between human parties is without obligations unless it functions only at a merely animal level.

Studies of the origin of the word berît have not been helpful as to its meaning. Analysis of usage provides better help in understanding the term. In the branch of the Semitic family to which Hebrew belongs, berît is attested as a loanword in Egyptian texts as early as 1300 B.C. This indicates that the use of the word was already established well before that time.

Behind each example of covenant is the use of family categories for those who are not bound by ties of natural kinship. Thus, by a ceremony or legal process, people who are not kin are now bound as tightly as any family relationship. Marriage is the best example of this. A man and a woman, who are not previously related, are now bound closer than any other bond of blood or kinship.

COVENANTS IN THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST

We must not think that the kind of agreements or covenants described in the Bible were entirely unique to the nation of Israel. Covenants or treaties either identical or similar to those mentioned in the Old Testament were common all across the ancient Near East, in lands and regions known today as Egypt, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. Two types of treaties in the ancient Near East are especially noteworthy: (1) the suzerain-vassal treaty and (2) the royal charter or land grant. The first type is a diplomatic treaty between a great king or suzerain and client kings or vassals. The focus of these treaties was to reinforce the interests of the suzerain by arguments from history and oath-bound affirmations of loyalty on the part of the vassal states, backed up by divine sanctions. The second type of treaty involves a grant of property or even a privileged position of a priestly or royal office given as a favor by a god or king. The focus of these treaties is on honor and the interpersonal relationship.

Scholars have found it helpful to compare and contrast biblical covenants in form and structure to treaties in the ancient Near East. For example, the book of Deuteronomy is identical in form (but not in content) to the international treaties in the ancient Near East, especially the suzerain-vassal treaties of the Hittites from the late fourteenth century B.C. Discussion of the biblical covenants in this work will benefit from noting both differences and similarities between the major covenants in the Old Testament and those in the nations surrounding Israel. Two important points have frequently eluded scholars as they have attempted to use models or patterns of treaties in the ancient Near East to analyze and characterize those in the Old Testament. First, it may be that the biblical treaty in question is an adaptation of a genre or literary model in the ancient Near East and not necessarily a consciously close imitation of the literary structure in all aspects, so that one need not “discover” every feature of the genre or model in the biblical example. Second, although one may distinguish these two types of treaties, they represent different emphases on a continuum rather than polar opposites. Thus, rather than categorizing a treaty as either suzerain-vassal or royal grant, it may be that a covenant in the Old Testament has features of both types, and it would diminish the communication of Scripture to represent the covenant solely in terms of one model.

MAJOR COVENANTS IN THE BIBLE

While there are a great number and variety of covenants or treaties described in the Old Testament, certain covenants between God and other parties—be they groups or individuals—stand out in the plot structure of the narrative as determined by the canon of the Old Testament. Table 2.1 concisely lists the major covenants:

Table 2.1: The Major Covenants

Covenant

Main Scripture Texts

1. The Covenant with Creation

Genesis 1–3

2. The Covenant with Noah

Genesis 6–9

3. The Covenant with Abraham

Genesis 12/15/17/22

4. The Covenant at Sinai

Exodus 19–24

5. The Covenant with David

2 Samuel 7/Psalm 89

6. The New Covenant

Jeremiah 31–34/Isaiah 54/Ezekiel 33–39

Some debate exists as to what should or should not be included in a list such as this. Not all are persuaded that the features portrayed in Genesis 1–2 can be labeled a covenant. Some would add to this list covenants such as the covenant with Levi (Num. 25:6–13; cf. Mal. 2:1–9). At least the six covenants in this list, however, need to be discussed and studied.

THE MAJOR COVENANTS AS THE FRAMEWORK OF THE BIBLICAL METANARRATIVE

We may well ask, what, in literary terms, is the plot structure of the Old Testament or even of the entire Bible as a single text? The basic idea of this book is that the covenants constitute the framework of the larger story. They are the backbone of the biblical narrative.

The biblical story begins with the fact that there is only one God. He has created everything and especially has made humankind to rule under him. In this context, God is the center of the universe and we humans find our purpose in having a right relationship to God and to one another. The first man and woman, however, rejected this way. Now, what happens when God is no longer the center of our universe? Who steps in to take his place? Why, we do! I want to be at the center of the universe. Will this work? No, because you want to be there too. So chaos and evil...