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Message 13 - By Leroy Surface

The Covenant of

“Life” and “Blessing”

For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

Hebrews 6:13-20

Our message begins with a covenant of blessing God made with Abraham in the twenty-second chapter of Genesis. It all began the day God spoke to Abraham in Genesis 22:2, “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.” What follows this command is a pattern for our redemption, fulfilled when the Son of God died for us at Calvary. We find in Abraham a “father” who was willing to offer his beloved son as a sacrifice to God. This was not the case of a father with little regard for his son; that did not really love or care for him. God had identified Isaac as the required sacrifice as “thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest.” Everything God had ever promised to Abraham was to be fulfilled in Isaac, and now God was requiring Abraham to offer him as a burnt offering. Abraham’s trust in God seemed to know no boundaries. Long before Isaac had been born, it was said of Abraham, “he believed in the LORD; and he (God) counted it to him for righteousness” (Genesis 15:6).  Abraham trusted God. In Hebrews 11:17-19 it is recorded, “By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.” In Romans 4:20-21 it is said of Abraham, “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.” Abraham had believed God to receive Isaac. Abraham’s wife Sarah was ninety years old when Isaac was born, and she had been a “barren woman” all the days of her life. Abraham was a hundred years old at Isaac’s birth, and concerning reproduction his body had been “dead” for some time. These circumstances had not moved him; he believed God then, and he would believe God now. “By faith, he offered up Isaac.”

And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?

Genesis 22:6-7

The day had come for the sacrifice. Abraham and Isaac had traveled for three days to reach the land of Moriah, to the place where God had told Abraham to offer his son. When Abraham saw the mountain of sacrifice in the distance, he took the wood from the donkey’s back and laid it upon Isaac, and the two of them went up the mountain to the place of the sacrifice. Isaac is aware that not everything appears to be in order. He questions his father because he could see the fire and the wood, but “Where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham’s answer is amazing, “My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering” (Genesis 22:8).  Abraham cannot begin to understand the importance of this occasion. His every action; his every word, comes out of the fact that he “believes God.” He trusts God, and knows every promise of God to Him will certainly be fulfilled. The prophetic nature of the sacrifice this day is revealed, however, in Abraham’s answer, “God will provide Himself a lamb for a sacrifice.” Unknowingly, Abraham had prophesied of Jesus the “Lamb of God.”

When they reached the place of sacrifice, perhaps the most amazing aspect of this event is discovered. First, it is amazing that any father would be willing to offer his son as a sacrifice. Most amazing, however, is to find a son who is willing to be that sacrifice. Isaac must have been at least fifteen years old at the time, for he was well able to carry the wood for the sacrifice up the mountain. A younger child could not have done so. Abraham would have been at least a hundred and fifteen years old. Certainly if his son was not a “willing sacrifice,” he could have escaped. Abraham could not outrun him, or overpower him. The two of them built the altar for the sacrifice and laid the wood in order on the altar. Then Abraham bound his son hand and foot, and laid him on the altar. Isaac never opened his mouth in protest, nor struggled to free himself. He trusted his father absolutely. He was willing even to die for the love and trust he had for his father. Abraham took the knife and raised it high, ready to plunge it into the heart of his beloved son, when the angel of the LORD called his name, “Abraham, Abraham.” Abraham immediately answered, “Here am I.” The angel continued, “Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me” (Genesis 22:12).

“Behold the Lamb”

And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

Genesis 22:13

Notice the words I have italicized. “Behold, a ram, and Abraham offered him in the stead of his son.” God had provided a sacrifice. The “ram” was offered instead of Isaac. It was a substitute for Isaac. Now, notice the words of John the Baptist in John 1:29 when he introduced Jesus to Israel, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”

This entire event was about the “Lamb of God.” Never had the heart and mind of God conceived that a man should slay his son to appease Him. It was something much greater and more wonderful which took place that day. In John 8:56 Jesus told the Jews, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.” Oh how Abraham rejoiced in that day. When he “lifted up his eyes,” he saw so much more than a ram caught in the thicket. His eyes were opened, and he saw the “Lamb of God” who would lay down His life to take our sin away. Abraham called the name of the place “Jehovah-Jireh,” which is interpreted variously as “Jehovah sees,” “Jehovah will see to it,” “Jehovah will be seen,” and “Jehovah will provide.” I remember the words Abraham spoke in answer to Isaac’s question concerning the sacrifice, “God will provide Himself a lamb,” and I know he is seeing the “day” of the “Lamb of God,” God’s own Son, and he is rejoicing because “Jehovah will provide Himself a Lamb.” Abraham left the altar standing as a memorial of the day God provided a substitute lamb for Isaac. The name of the memorial altar was “Jehovah-Jireh,” and for generations to come the devout of Israel would come to that place and say, “In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.” It was a prophecy to them of a redeemer to come. It was on that same site Solomon would later build the Temple to God, and it was on that same mountain that our Lord Jesus Christ would offer His body and blood for our sin on a hill called “Golgotha (Calvary).”

And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

Genesis 22:15-18

In our text for this message, the apostle Paul emphasized that God “sware by Himself.” “For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself …” We need to understand what it means that God swore “by Himself.” In modern terms, God made Himself the “collateral” of the promise. If you borrow money from a bank, they may require you to put up collateral equal to or greater than the value of the money you wish to borrow. They may require your car as collateral, or maybe a piece of real estate. When you sign your name to the contract, you are “swearing” by your collateral that you will repay the loan. If you do not pay the debt, then you must surrender the collateral. If God had sworn by all the gold on the planet, then, if necessary, He must deliver the gold to keep the promise. Instead, God “swore by Himself” to bless and multiply Abraham and his “seed.” God would deliver Himself up to keep the promise. He could not fail to bless Abraham, and He could not change His mind. He could not break His promise because God Himself was the “surety,” or the “guarantee” of the promise. The promise was “immutable.” It was “steadfast and sure.”

The Covenant Confirmed

 “In Christ”

And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.

Galatians 3:17-18

Why did God make such an oath to Abraham? Why would God "swear by Himself" to bless a man? God gave the answer in the text: “…for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son.” In the midst of a heathen world, God had found a man who would “believe Him.” Abraham not only “believed God,” he “trusted in God.” God had found in Abraham a “father” who was willing to offer his only beloved son as a sacrifice to God, and in Isaac He found a “son” who was willing to be the sacrifice. How could God do any less? When God “swore by Himself” because of Abraham’s sacrifice, it was a covenant promise that God would deliver up His only Son as a sacrifice for the sin of the world. Hear the words of Paul in Romans 8:32: “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?”

God continued speaking to Abraham, “Blessing, I will bless you… multiplying, I will multiply thy seed… thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.” Now God is looking far beyond Isaac when He speaks of “thy seed.” He is speaking of “Christ.” Paul explains this in Galatians 3:16, “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.” This covenant, which the apostle Paul said was “confirmed of God in Christ,” was four hundred and thirty years before the Law of Moses was given. It was a “covenant of blessing” for Abraham and his seed that could never fail because God had sworn by Himself. All of Abraham’s descendants who would “believe God” as Abraham “believed God” would be blessed and multiplied. Isaac and Jacob were blessed by God, because they “believed God,” as did Joseph after them. The eleventh chapter of Hebrews gives a litany of men and women who “believed God” and were blessed. The fact is, however, that in the almost two thousand year period from Abraham to Christ, there were very few who truly “believed God.”

The Covenant Refused

And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

Exodus 19:3-6

Over four hundred years passed since the covenant with Abraham was confirmed. The children of Israel, descendants of Abraham, were slaves in the land of Egypt. After several generations of slavery they began to cry to God because of the cruelty of their bondage. In Exodus 2:24 God “heard their groaning” and “remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.” In Genesis 26:24, God appeared to Isaac, saying, “I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed…” God brought Isaac into the covenant of blessing with Abraham. In Genesis 28:13-14 God appeared to Isaac’s son Jacob, saying, “I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth… and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” Now, about four hundred years later, God introduced Himself to Moses in Exodus 3:6-8, saying, “I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Moses was afraid as he stood in the presence of God, but God continued speaking, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians…”.

Certainly most of us know the story of how God delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt. We well remember all the plagues He brought on Egypt until they were willing for Israel to leave their land. We know the miracle at the Red Sea, where God parted the waters and led His people through on dry land, yet drowned the armies of Pharaoh when they pursued them. In all these things God was not only delivering Israel out of slavery, but He was “bringing them unto Himself.” God would reveal Himself to the entire nation at one time, and they would hear His voice as He spoke to them. God was ready to bring this entire nation into His covenant of blessing if they would only “believe Him” as Abraham had “believed God.”

God gave a promise to the congregation of Israel before He spoke to them audibly. “Obey my voice, and keep my covenant, and you will be my special treasure. You will be a nation above every other nation. You will be a kingdom of priests. Every one of you will approach unto me and hear my voice. You will be a holy nation unto me.” The covenant God told them to keep was not the “Law of Moses,” for it was not yet given. They were to keep the same covenant Abraham had entered into. It was the covenant of blessing which had been “confirmed of God in Christ” some four hundred and thirty years before (Galatians 3:17). If they believed God as Abraham believed, and obeyed Him as Abraham obeyed, they would be blessed as Abraham was blessed (Galatians 3:9).

The day approached when God would reveal Himself to the entire nation. In the mean time, God commanded Moses to set boundaries around Mount Horeb, “lest they break through unto the LORD to gaze, and many of them perish” (Exodus 19:21).   God told Moses that the people would want to see Him when they heard His voice, and he was to restrain them by setting bounds around the mountain. When the trumpet would give a long sound, the congregation was to move forward to the boundaries around the mountain. Moses prepared everything exactly as God told Him, and the time came when God began to speak His “Ten Commandments” in an audible voice for all of Israel to hear. God had come to His people to write His words on their hearts, but they did not have a heart to receive them (Deuteronomy 5:29). Instead, when the trumpet sounded long, and God began to speak, the people drew back and away from the mountain. God reminded Jeremiah of this day hundreds of years later in Jeremiah 7:23-24 when he said “they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.” They cried to Moses, “Speak thou with us and we will hear, but let not God speak with us lest we die” (Exodus 20:19).With these words, they rejected the covenant of blessing, because they refused God who brought the blessing. It was because of these same words of the people that the “Law of Moses” was “added.” They refused the covenant of life and blessing, and willingly received a covenant of death and cursing.

Wherefore then serveth the law (of Moses)?  It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made.

Galatians 3:19

For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

Galatians 3:10

Two Trees …

And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Genesis 2:9

When God made Adam and Eve, He placed them in the garden He had planted in Eden. In the midst of the garden God planted two trees, the “tree of life,” and the “tree of knowledge of good and evil.” The first tree, the tree of life was such that if they ate of it they would live forever (Genesis 3:22-24). Of the second tree, the tree of knowledge of good and evil, God said, “In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Certainly this should have settled the matter forever, because the first tree was eternal life to them, and the second tree was death. All the trees of the garden were given to Adam and Eve for food. They were all “pleasant to the sight, and good for food” (Genesis 2:9). We know the story of how the serpent (Satan) tempted and deceived Eve into eating of the forbidden tree. What we may not understand is that he could not tempt her with something she was not already drawn to. James 1:14 says, “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.” There were three things about the forbidden tree that attracted Eve. The scripture says she saw the tree “was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise” (Genesis 3:6). The tree of knowledge of good and evil was probably the most beautiful tree in the garden, even more so than the tree of life. Its fruit was good for food. It was probably the juiciest and sweetest fruit in the garden. Finally, there was great “wisdom” to be had in the fruit of this tree, such as would make the eater of the fruit to be very wise. It was as she was looking upon the forbidden tree from a distance that the serpent (Satan) made his move.

Genesis 3:1 tells us the serpent was the most cunning of all the beasts of the field that God had created. He was also exceedingly beautiful, and extremely wise. In Ezekiel 28 we find he was “full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.” God called him the “anointed cherub that covereth.” It is believed he was the greatest of the angels of God before his fall. God spoke of him in Ezekiel 28:17, “Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness.” Such was the one who came to tempt Eve. The apostle Paul said the serpent “beguiled (seduced) Eve through his subtlety” (II Corinthians 11:3). Through his perverted wisdom he succeeded in drawing her away from God and the word of God. Eve was so totally deceived that she believed she was doing a good thing when she ate of the forbidden fruit and gave it to her husband to eat also. It was Satan who promised her she would not die, but would instead “be as gods, knowing both good and evil.” He did not come to her with horns, a tail, and hooves for feet. He came as a most beautiful and wise creature, as an angel of light from God Himself. Eve reasoned that with the knowledge of good and evil, she could shun the evil and do the good. Certainly God would be pleased with her choice, but with her first bite of the forbidden fruit she lost everything that was of God. She had sought a blessing in something that looked so good, but received nothing but a curse. If Eve had known her firstborn son would be a murderer because of her choice, she would have fled from that tree to the tree of life. If she could have seen billions of her descendants perishing in the lake of fire, she would have chosen differently. Instead, she chose something that looked good to the eyes, tasted good to the palate, and felt good to the flesh, but in choosing these things, she chose death.

Just how long Adam and Eve dwelt in the garden before eating of the forbidden fruit we do not know. We do know they had never eaten of the tree of life, for if they had, all of humanity would be everything God had made Adam to be. Life on earth would be a paradise. There would be no curse. There would be no sin, no sickness, no pain, and no sorrow. Every person on the planet would be in the image and likeness of God. They would be clothed with His glory, and there would be no shame. Only righteousness, and peace, and joy would be found throughout the earth. There would be no serpent to tempt or to accuse the brethren, because Adam and Eve would have trodden him under their feet forever.

Two Covenants

It is in the second chapter Genesis where we first find the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. In the last chapter of the Bible we find the “tree of life,” but we do not find the forbidden tree. The truth is, for the ages of time since Adam’s transgression, these two trees have forever been set before man, though not in the form of trees, but in the form of two covenants: a covenant of “life,” and a covenant of “death.” Our New Testament “covenant of grace” is the same covenant that was “confirmed of God in Christ (Galatians 3:17) four hundred and thirty years before the Law of Moses. In the matter of time, it is actually older than the Old Covenant, but it is “new” in that the promise to Abraham’s “seed” was fulfilled when Christ died for us and God raised him from the dead. We who “believe” are now “dead unto sin, but alive unto God (Romans 6:11) through our Lord Jesus Christ. The words God spoke to Israel at Horeb (the Ten Commandments) are written on our new hearts, and we are new creations exactly as God promised in Jeremiah 31:31-33. This “New Covenant” is the covenant of life and blessing. The “Law of Moses” was not added until after Israel had broken the covenant of God. Let me point out a couple of scriptures from Moses in the book of Deuteronomy.

The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. The LORD made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day. The LORD talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire….

Deuteronomy 5:2-4

Again, this is the same covenant God confirmed in Christ with Abraham generations before. It revealed the “blessings of Abraham.” It promised Israel they would be His “peculiar treasure, above all the people of the earth.” They would be a “kingdom of priests,” and a “holy nation” unto God. To enter this covenant of blessing, they must “believe God” as Abraham believed God, and obey His voice as Abraham obeyed. They would be blessed beyond measure, but their hearts were filled with such covetousness that they could not even hear, let alone understand what God was saying. Now notice Galatians 3:19: “Wherefore then serveth the law (of Moses)? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made.” Moses’ “law” was added because of Israel’s transgression of God’s law. It had a beginning, it had a purpose, and it had an end. It began immediately after Israel refused God, saying “Let not God speak with us.” They pled with Moses to bring them commandments, and they promised to “hear it and do it” (Deuteronomy 5:27).  

The purpose of the law is revealed in Galatians 3:23; “But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.” This is the language of a “prison.”  “We were kept…!” The Greek word for “kept” is “phroureo,” which means “to be a watcher in advance, i.e. to mount guard as a sentinel (post spies at gates); figuratively, to hem in, protect.”  The text continues, “We were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.”   The Greek word for “shut up” is “sugkleio,” which means, “to shut together, i.e. include or (figuratively) embrace in a common subjection to.” Israel thought they could reject God and choose to obey Moses and be blessed. They received the Law of Moses and thought it was a great blessing to them. After all, it gave them “knowledge of good and evil.” They had six hundred and thirteen commandments and ordinances through which they could learn to shun the evil and do the good. They did not understand that Moses’ law was given to them as a prison, where they would be set under guard, and “hemmed in” for their own protection. They were “shut up,” or “locked up” in common subjection to laws that controlled every aspect of their every day life. Any movement outside of Moses law would mean certain death at the hands of the keepers.

Paul continues speaking concerning the “purpose” of Moses law in Galatians 3:24; “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” We will examine the word “schoolmaster,” for it describes Moses law. The word “schoolmaster” comes from two separate Greek words, which “Strong’s Concordance” defines as “boy leader, i.e. a servant whose office it was to take the children to school.” Now we will look at the two Greek words translated “schoolmaster.” The first is “pais,” which means, “a boy (as often beaten with impunity), or (by analogy,) a girl, and (genitive case) a child; specifically, a slave or servant.” The second Greek word is “ago,” which means, “to lead; by implication, to bring, drive, (reflexively) go, (specially) pass (time), or (figuratively) induce.”   It is obvious from these definitions that the Law of Moses as a “schoolmaster” was not our teacher, but rather a “truant officer” whose duty was to guard the rebellious child or slave, beat him into subjection, and keep him in line. The apostle tells us in II Corinthians 3:7 that Moses’ law was a “ministration of death.” In the ninth verse he calls it the “ministration of condemnation,” speaking of the “death sentence.” In Galatians 3:10 Paul tells us, “For as many are of the works of the law are under the curse.” Hebrews 10:28 says, “He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses.” Need I take the time and space in this message to bring the dozens of other scriptures in both the old and new testaments that confirm the things I tell you about Moses law? It could give not give life (Galatians 3:21). It could not justify (Romans 3:20). It could not give righteousness (Galatians 2:21). It was designed to make men “guilty before God” (Romans 3:19). If the eyes of the person trusting in the law would be opened to see the truth, they would immediately flee to Jesus. That is exactly what the law was ultimately given to do, to “drive” its prisoners to Jesus.

The duration of Moses’ law was also revealed in Galatians 3:19; “…till the seed should come to whom the promise was made.” Paul makes it very clear in Galatians 3:16 that Jesus Christ is the “seed of Abraham.” This was established in the twenty-second chapter of Genesis, after Abraham had endeavored to offer his beloved son Isaac, that God would offer His only beloved and begotten Son. When Jesus was nailed to the cross, the Law of Moses, along with our sin, was nailed to the same cross with Christ. Galatians 4:4-5 tells us God “sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” Romans 10:4 says, “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.”

Moses began the book of Deuteronomy by reminding Israel of the covenant of blessing God had given them at Horeb. Beginning at the sixth chapter he introduces the complete text of the covenant God had commanded him to make with Israel, called “The Law of Moses.” After Moses completed the reading of his law, which concluded in the twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth chapters with dozens of curses against transgressors, he began the twenty-ninth chapter with these words:

These are the words of the covenant, which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which he (God) made with them in Horeb.

Deuteronomy 29:1

The “Law of God” and the “Law of Moses” are the two different covenants. God’s law is a covenant of life and blessing through Jesus Christ. Moses’ law is a covenant of death and cursing, yet billions of people in the world today have chosen death and not life. Moses understood the nature and purpose of his law and tried to reveal it to the people on numerous occasions. In Deuteronomy 31:26 he told the priests, “Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee.” Moses’ knew that his law was against the people and could only condemn them for their sin. It had no power to save.

Choose Ye Life

15.     See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;

16.     In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.

17.     But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;

18.     I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it. Deuteronomy 30:15-18

19.     I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

20.     That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

Deuteronomy 30:15-20

These are the last six verses of the thirtieth chapter of Deuteronomy. I have separated them because while verses fifteen through eighteen may seem to say the same thing as verses nineteen and twenty, they are actually as different as night and day. In the first set, verses 15-18, Moses sets “life and good, and death and evil” before the congregation, and qualifies it in verse 16, “…In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply.” These verses specifically speak of Moses’ law. The only “life” Moses could offer in his law was the life they already had, as he said, “…that thou mayest live and multiply,” and, “…that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth…” (Deuteronomy 4:40).  Let’s remember Hebrews 10:28 where the apostle says, “He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses.” Keep the commandments of Moses’ law and it will let you live until you die. It offers no life beyond death. Both “life and good, death and evil” are the fruit of that same covenant. It is a “tree of knowledge of good and evil” to all who choose it.

Moses’ law cannot produce righteousness, but rather leads to hypocrisy. This is proven by the impossibility of obeying even the first and great commandment. In verse sixteen, Moses said, “…in that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God…” I present to you that no one can love God because of a command. A man cannot love his wife, or the wife, her husband because of a “command.” Present day teachers of so-called “life principles” tell us love is a “choice.” That is absurd!  Love is an impossible choice. We can choose to act in a loving manner, and so we should, but we cannot choose to love. Love issues from the heart, and not from the head. Pity the poor wife (or husband) whose life companion has only “chosen” to love them. They will always sense that the love is not real.

No one could love God because of a commandment, yet the first and great commandment is “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” (Matthew 22:37).  In the early years of his life, Martin Luther was a young Catholic monk, living in a monastery. In those days he would continually afflict himself, seeking by every means to please God. He fasted at one time for so many days that he collapsed as a dead man and had to be carefully nursed back to health. He would carry a heavy wooden cross on his back until he would collapse beneath the load, yet he would struggle beyond measure to carry it even further. Whether he practiced “self flagellation,” I am not certain. This is the practice of some, even today, beating themselves with whips until their backs are bruised, torn and bloody, all in an effort to identify with Jesus and thus please God. There were the “vows of silence” in which they would live in absolute silence, never speaking a word or making a sound for weeks, months, and some even for several years time. It is said that Luther was in Rome, climbing the marble steps of  “Pilate’s staircase” on his knees to receive an indulgence from the Pope when the truth of “The just shall live by faith” thundered in his heart. Out of that revelation came his salvation and the reformation. When Martin Luther was an old man, he was sharing some of these experiences with several young men when one of them said, “Mr. Luther, you must have loved God so very much to have done all these things.” “Love God?” Luther responded, “I hated God.” It was not until after the truth of justification by faith lit his soul with the light of heaven that Luther could love God.

Deuteronomy 30:19-20 offers a sharp contrast between the two covenants. “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing... .” Paul said the covenant with Abraham was “confirmed of God in Christ” (Galatians 3:17).  This covenant of life and blessing was the same covenant God made with Israel at Horeb in Exodus, chapters 19-20; when He spoke the Ten Commandments. On the day of our text, Moses had set this “covenant of blessing” before the people once more in the fifth chapter of Deuteronomy. The covenant of “life and blessing” was not in a commandment, but in the person and integrity of God Himself. Moses’ law was a covenant of “death” and “cursing” which was also set before them. Moses told them clearly, “choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: That thou mayest love the LORD thy God... .” Many in that day chose Moses’ commandments, but found they could not keep even the first one, to “love the LORD thy God.” They could not love God, they could not obey God, and they could not cleave to God by the commandments. Moses exhorted them to “Choose life… that thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him… .” The “life” offered by this covenant was not the life they already had. It was the very life of God Himself, “eternal life.” Moses continued, “…for He is thy life, and the length of thy days.” Only if they chose “life” could they love God, obey God, and cleave to God.

All Israel was “shut up” under the Law of Moses until the sacrifice of Jesus Christ at Calvary. Every citizen of Israel must honor Moses and keep his law or suffer the consequence of “death without mercy.” As strange as it may seem to some, it was the ones who chose Moses who could not obey Moses. It was those who trusted Moses and his law who struggled to keep the law. They could not love, they could not obey, and they could not cleave. On the other hand, there were those who found in God their “tree of life.” They found that He is their life, and their length of days. These, because they “believed God,” had no problem loving, obeying or cleaving to Him. Not even Moses and his six hundred and thirteen commandments presented any struggle to those who received their life from God.

Two Immutable Things

Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:

Hebrews 6:17-18

When God swore by Himself to Abraham, He established two things that are immutable. Being “immutable,” they are eternal, and they are unchangeable. These were the promises we call the “blessings of Abraham.” They were not based on anything Abraham would do, because the work was already finished. God said, “By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed…” (Genesis 22:16-17). The two immutable things, based on the fact that Abraham did not withhold his son, were “I will bless thee” and “I will multiply thy seed.” These things were eternally settled by the oath of God. Heaven and earth could sooner pass away than God would fail to bless Abraham and multiply his seed. In Hebrews 6:18, those same immutable blessings come upon those who have “fled for refuge (Christ),” and “laid hold on the hope (of life that is) set before us.” In fact, the “blessing” is perfected to us, because God “spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all… (Romans 8:32) how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” These two immutable blessings are based upon the sacrifice of the Son of God.

Fleeing for Refuge

Then Moses severed three cities on this side Jordan toward the sunrising; That the slayer might flee thither, which should kill his neighbour unawares, and hated him not in times past; and that fleeing unto one of these cities he might live:

Deuteronomy 4:41-42

I want to go on to who these blessings are given to. Notice the last part of the eighteenth verse says, “…we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us.” Notice, “We… who have fled for refuge.” In order to understand these words we must understand the law of the “cities of refuge” Moses gave in the thirty-fifth chapter of Numbers. Moses commanded that six of the cities of the Levites would be set-aside as “cities of refuge,” three on each side of the Jordan River. According to the commandment of Moses, if a man killed another man, the near kinsman of the dead man could avenge his death. This was the law of the “avenger of blood.” When innocent blood was shed in Israel, the only blood that could cleanse the land was the blood of the one that did the killing. The “avenger” could slay the man-killer at any place or time without fear of retribution. There was only one hope of salvation for the killer, which was to reach the city of refuge before the avenger could slay him. The avenger could not enter the cities of refuge to kill him there. The one who fled for refuge did so for the “hope” that was set before him, and that “hope” was that he might live if he could reach the refuge. The Levites would bring him before the congregation to be tried. If the man were found guilty of premeditated murder, then he would be given over to the avenger for death. If he hated the dead man, or had malice against him, or was known to have wanted to harm him in any way, he would be delivered up to death. If, on the other hand, he was found to be innocent of murder, and the death was an unavoidable accident, he could continue living in the city of refuge without fear of retribution. If he wandered outside the borders of the city of refuge, the avenger could still slay him, but as long as he abode in the refuge he was safe. Finally, this law of refuge said the manslayer must live in the city of refuge until the death of the high priest, at which time he was free to return to family, home and friends. The “avenger of blood” had no more power over him after the death of the high priest.

In this law of the cities of refuge, I see that Jesus Christ is our “refuge.” The hope set before us is “eternal life” in Christ. As long as we abide in Him, the avenger cannot touch us. Finally, He is our high priest, and He has died for us. We are “freed from sin and the power of death” to abide in Him. Paul said, “We might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us.”

An Anchor for the Soul

Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus….

Hebrews 6:19-20

You may notice in the KJV Bible the world “hope” is italicized in this verse. This means the word “hope” was not in the original text of the nineteenth verse. The thought of the eighteenth verse flows over into the nineteenth verse in this way: “We might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: which… we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.” The importance of this small clarification is this: the one “fleeing for refuge,” …I should say, the one “coming to Jesus” has the “hope” of life in Christ, but the one who has entered the “refuge” and found “rest” in Christ Jesus no longer has only the “hope” of life, but the “possession” of life in Christ. It is the “hope” of life that causes people to run to Jesus, but those who have found Jesus have found life. They have “life” as their possession, and “life” is the anchor of their soul. Be very clear about this: Jesus Christ is our “life” (Colossians 3:3). He is the anchor of our soul, both sure and stedfast, because He is both “within us,” and “within the veil.”

Conclusion

The person “fleeing for refuge” is fleeing “from” something. I look at the world around me and I see that most people are “driven” by something. Alcohol and drugs drive some people. Others are driven by immoral and perverted lusts. I have seen many who are driven by the fear of things coming upon them, or fear of being discovered in their weakness or failure. None of these can see any real hope. Without “hope,” people are driven to drugs, alcohol, immorality, perversions, and even to death and suicide. Some are driven by a false hope and trust in a false security. They put their trust in empty delusions. They trust in philosophy, psychology, step plans, principles of life, commandments, religious ordinances, ceremonial religion, and a thousand such things in which there is no “hope.” We saw in this message that Israel rejected God when He spoke to them audibly with such great hope and blessing, and chose Moses and his hundreds of commandments and ordinances, in which there was no hope. The only hope then and now is Christ. He is our life; outside of Him there is no life.

If you are being driven by something, run to Jesus. David said, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalms 46:1). Solomon said, “The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe” (Proverbs 18:10).  Moses, the one who wrote the ninety-first psalm, says “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust” (Psalms 91:1-2).

If you were a “Hindu,” you could accept Jesus Christ, place his picture on your wall, and worship him daily, and yet not be changed in the least by accepting him. The reason this could be is that “Jesus” would be only one of thousands of gods the Hindus worship. Jesus spoke of Israel in His day, “Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:7). Sadly, in so many churches today we see both of these scenarios played out. The “invitation” is, “If you will receive Jesus, He will make your life complete. He will help you reach your goals in life and achieve your dreams. You will become your “best you.” He will “amplify your potential.” With these things as the “hope” that is set before the people, many simply “add” Jesus to “their” life. To them, He is not “life,” He is simply a “fuller life.” These are those who “receive Jesus” as the Hindu receives him. Others, as the Jews did, choose the “commandments of men.” Israel chose Moses and his commandments instead of God, and was cursed by the very thing they thought to be a blessing. Many in the churches today are looking back to Judaism and the Law of Moses, thinking it will make them “more complete” Christians. Others, not trusting in the six hundred and thirteen commandments of Moses, have turned to the thousands of so called “principles of life” which flourish in many fundamental churches today. Like the “tree of knowledge of good and evil,” it “looks” so good, it “tastes” so good, and it contains so much “wisdom,” that we think it must be the “way of life” if we “do” them. It is not. It is the “commandments of men” which Jesus warned us against. It is the “philosophy” Paul warned would destroy us (Colossians 2:8). It is the “flesh” the Galatians trusted in to perfect them (Galatians 3:3). It is the “works of the flesh” Paul warned the law would lead to (Galatians 5:19-21).

Paul warns us in II Corinthians 11:14, “…Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” If people could see the hideous creature lurking behind the mask, there can be no doubt, they would “flee to Jesus.” If they could see the end result of all the dead religious works they do, they would run to Jesus. I do not know what may be driving you today; it may be drugs, sex, alcohol, greed, desires for popularity, fame, or fortune; but this I do know, whatever drives you will destroy you, and finally kill you unless you “flee for refuge.” There is hope for you, but it is only in Jesus. That “hope” is not just for a “better life,” it is for life. It is not for a better “lifestyle,” it is life. Jesus said, “I am come that they might have life…” (John 10:10).  Without Jesus, you are “dead while you live;” but, if you are “hungry” and “thirsty,” come to Jesus; if you are “fearful” and “afraid,” believe God and run to Jesus. He is the refuge, run to Him. Cast yourself in full surrender before Him. Lay hold upon the hope He has set before you. That hope is eternal life, and Christ is the life. Our text makes one thing abundantly clear; the promises of God are unchangeable, steadfast, and sure to all those who run to Jesus for life. To them, God has said and swore by Himself that in “blessing, I will bless you, and multiplying, I will multiply you.”

Message 13 - By Leroy Surface - The Covenant of Life and Blessing

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