Stephen
Terry, Director
Covenant Primer
Commentary
for the April 10, 2021 Sabbath School Lesson
"'I remember the
devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the
wilderness, through a land not sown. Israel was holy to the Lord, the first
fruits of his harvest; all who devoured her were held guilty, and disaster
overtook them,' declares the Lord." Jeremiah 2:2-3, NIV
This week's lesson in
the Sabbath School Quarterly makes a valiant attempt to teach us all about
covenants by delving into the Hebrew word translated as such. This is problematic
for two reasons. First, it strongly implies that one cannot understand God and
our relationship to him unless we speak and read Hebrew. This seems strange for
God, who claims to be God for all mankind,[i] the same mankind he caused to
speak many different languages at the Tower of Babel.[ii] It also seems to fly in the
face of the Pentecostal experience where, to ease the spread of the gospel, the
message was proclaimed in several different languages simultaneously.[iii]
Second, focusing on
the Hebrew etymology behind the word "covenant" is like trying to discern what
a dog is by focusing on the fleas on the creature's back. Granted, one might
gain some insight about the dog, especially through sequencing the DNA contained
in the dog's blood found in the belly of the flea, but it would do little to
explain the relationship between men and their dogs. To understand that, one
would need to experience owning a dog, or as some might argue, being owned by a
dog. One experiences that relationship best by peering into the eyes of the
animal and seeing the depth of the adoration the dog has for the owner who
cares for all its needs. The closeness between pet and owner even goes beyond
that, surviving the times when the feedings may not be so regular and attention
to the relationship loses focus due to outside concerns. The fleas can tell us
nothing of these things.
But the covenant relationship goes well beyond anything that may exist between pets and their owners. As human beings, we form relationships with one another capable of transcending an entire lifetime, even passing into eternity. This relationship we have with each other comes far closer to explaining the covenant concept. After all, we were created in the image of God, so it only stands to reason that one aspect of that image should be seen in the interactions we have with those who know us even as we know them. Perhaps the oldest and the deepest manifestation of that is marriage. Some would say that God presenting Eve to Adam was the prototype of every father who presents his daughter to her husband. The union of husband and wife is a recognition that we were not created to live in isolation
. Instead, we were
created to draw strength from one another and be more than we could be alone.
Life is filled with
challenges. Suffering has many causes. But as we stand together to face those
challenges, we are meant to draw closer together in those moments. When only
one of us is weak, we can find strength from our relationship. When both are weak,
then we can find greater strength from an even greater relationship. The love a
husband and wife have for each other is only a reflection of the light from the
relationship both have with God. The value of keeping that relationship alive
can be seen in our own lives. When a husband looks into his wife's eyes and she
gazes back into his, there is a depth of love that reveals why eyes are often called
windows to the soul. God seeks that deep love as well between himself and
mankind. Maybe that is why he created us capable of such relationships.
When I look at my
wife, I see more than just another person. I see a piece of my own heart
looking back at me. God may feel the same when we have the life he intended as
his image reflects back to him as he watches over us. How heart rending then
must it be when that relationship is broken in some way. I can hear the tears
in God's voice when he visited Eden for his customary walk through the garden with
Adam and Eve and found them hiding from him, shunning their time together. His anguished
cry of "Where are you?" brought them from their hiding places. Immediately, he
could tell that their relationship had become broken. Sadly, many of us understand
the feeling. Betrayal and divorce have become so common that nearly all have felt
the heartbreak that comes with the dismantling of the marriage vows. The radiant
bride loses her luster, and the gallant groom goes forth in tarnished armor.
Too often, this happens at a time when both are weak, and they have neglected
to cultivate that outside relationship with God that can sustain them during
those times. One or the other turns from the private prayer and devotional time
and finds themselves adrift and trying to tread water in a chaotic sea of
struggles.
Sometimes we want to
blame God for our problems and cast off the mooring lines that keep us anchored
to the rock that will keep us from drifting into dangerous shoals. But when we
do, we do not find the peace we may have hoped to discover. Instead, the sirens
of temptation call to us from distant shores, singing their songs of enticement
that in the end only add to our mental distress. God continues to call us back
to relationship with him. Like a faithful husband with a wayward spouse, he
calls to his bride with the song of love they sang together at one time, hoping
to hear her answering strains. But those sirens continue to sing their song,
singing that it is too late and the shame too great to return. Better to be drowned
as our craft crashes on some rocky shore than to endure the shame. But a few do
turn back, and they discover that the sirens' song was false. Love still makes
a way to return. Of course, things will never be the same, for heartbreak
always leaves scars, scars that look remarkably like those in the hands and
feet of Jesus. Whenever we look at those scars, we are reminded of the shame of
our betrayal and what it cost, but then when we look at the face of the one who
continues to love us despite all of that, our own heart is broken and humbled
to know the price we have cost, not only our faithful spouse, but God himself,
who lovingly sought us, even on those far rocky shores.
The entire Bible,
covenants and all, is only the story of that relationship that once existed,
was sadly broken, and God looks to repair. When we return to him, the mending
begins. He knows how to do it well, for he has been doing it for millennia.
Like a blushing bride, we may be astonished that anyone could love us so
strongly. But that love drives him to look for us continually. No matter how
far we may go astray, he seeks longer and further than any human spouse is
capable of. Geography is no barrier. Language is no barrier. When he sees us finally
coming down the road toward him, he runs to meet us. The soiled and tattered
garments of what we have become, he replaces with the bright, white wedding
dress that reminds us that we were once in his arms and are now there again. He
embraces us and the warmth of his love melts the coldness that has hardened our
hearts for too long. It feels like something we have missed for a very long
time. It feels like home.
We feel shame at our
betrayal of our wedding vows. But he reminds us that those vows have not been
rescinded, and he stands prepared to fulfill every promise, and invites us to
repeat those vows once again with him, rededicating ourselves to the relationship.
We hesitate, not because we do not want the relationship, but from fear of
falling again. He reminds us of how much it hurt then we fell from our bicycle
when we were first learning to ride, but that did not stop us from getting back
on and trying until we could ride safely. He created us with that child-like
perseverance. As it did then, it will sustain us now, and in any event, he will
always be there, should we fall, to pick us up, dust us off, tend to our
wounds, and aid us to become everything he intended for us to be.
Just like a bride, who
may be feeling jittery before that march down the aisle to a new future, we may
feel uncertainty about a relationship with God. But later, as we grow in that
relationship, we will discover the depth of that love will surpass anything we
have ever known. When a jigsaw puzzle is missing a piece, we do not have the
whole picture. But when we find the piece, even before we place it in the
puzzle, we can see it will fit exactly into the missing spot. Like that missing
piece, God would like to help us discover where we truly belong to complete the
picture of our lives. It is never too late for love.