The Messiah and the Covenants of Israel (Continued)

The Land Covenant (Continued)

The structure of Welfare

 Dividing the inheritance. Caleb and Joshua had some advantage in securing a sweet portion of the land because they had been there before. However, some of the nation sought their portion the other side of Jordan, outside the Promised Land.  They were the first to receive their allocation, but they were also the first to lose it. And the Levites, the tribe that were in the service of the Lord did not get a portion of the land as such, on the principle that the Lord was their portion, but they were allocated cities of refuge which were placed strategically throughout the territory.

Israel was to be a society ordered by God and every aspect of their possession and husbandry of the land was governed by God’s law. Examples include;

–Land division, landmarks, ownership, mortgage and redemption of mortgages.

       –A Sabbath rest for the land every seven years.

–The method of harvesting and gleaning.

–Their harvest festivals as a constant reminder.

–Their tithes and offerings.

–Control of nature and wild animals.

This aspect of righteous behavior was emphasized by Moses when he addressed the nation before he died.  What he explained was that it was not their righteousness that would obtain the land initially. It would be the grace of God. He said, “Do not think in your heart, after the Lord your God has cast them out before you, saying, ‘Because of my righteousness the Lord has brought me in to possess this land’; but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is driving them out from before you. It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you go in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord your God drives them out from before you, and that He may fulfill the word which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Therefore understand that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people.” (Deut. 9:4-6) But it would be their obedience that would keep them in it. Moreover, obedience would bring them great benefit.[1] The benefit was encompassed in the word ‘blessing’ and would touch all aspects of life. They would be blessed in the city and in the country, that is, the two spheres in which their life would be lived. There would be fruitfulness in offspring, in their own families and in the animals that they owned. The produce of the ground would be blessed, as would their storehouses and domestic instruments, indeed the nation would be blessed in all its undertakings, both when under threat or at peace. The Lord would give them rain in its season, and the blessing of the Lord would make them rich so that they would be lenders and not borrowers. All these benefits when brought together would make Israel a leader among the nations.

The Covenant relationship between Israel and her God was re-enforced after Israel had begun occupation of their new homeland. As Moses addressed the nation before he died, so also Joshua. He called the leaders of the tribes to Shechem, the place that was the site of important patriarchal experiences. It was here that Abraham received the first promise of the land, whereupon Abram (as his name was then) built an altar[2] and thereby sanctified the ground under the oak (or terebinth). It was here that Jacob purified his house on his return to the land. He buried the foreign idols that had been brought with them under the tree.[3] So it would be at this very same site that the Covenant relationship would be strengthened. Joshua, speaking for the Lord, recited the history of their people beginning with the call of Abraham and ending with the giving of the land and, on the basis of this, challenged the people to choose who they would serve. Joshua, great leader as he was, led the way by declaring he had already chosen. He would serve the Lord. When the people also declared their allegiance, “we also will serve the Lord, for He is our God,” (Josh. 24:18) Joshua reminded them of the gravity of their decision and made a covenant for them which was written and preserved with the covenants previously declared.[4]

That Israel is a covenant society cannot be doubted. Beginning with Abraham, renewed with Jacob, re-established through Moses and now again with Joshua, every confidence Israel exhibits in the future must be seen as the result of their covenant relationship with the Lord.

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[1] Deut.28.1-14

[2] Gen. 12.6,7

[3] Gen.35.4

[4] Josh.24.25,26

Next Time: The Land Covenant - Its Purpose and Effect