LESSON 8 (February 19)

The God Whose Heart is Grieved by Forsaken Covenants

"The LORD God had made a covenant with and incredible promises to Abraham, the nation of Israel, and King Daivd. But if you're familiar with the ""big picture"" of the Old Testament, you know that Abraham's descendants were far from faithful to their covenant with God."

"How did their unfaithfulness make the LORD feel? While we could point to dozens of passages­ especially from the old Testament prophets-that provide an answer, we find profound responses to that question in Ezekiel and Hosea. Let's start with one chapter in Ezekiel's prophecy."

"Again the word of the LORD came to me: ""Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth are of the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. And as for your birth, on the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. No eye pitied you, to do any of these things to you out of compassion for you, but you were cast out on the open field, for you were abhorred, on the day that you were born. (Ezek 16:1 -5)"

"•!• ""Abominations"" is a strong word. What does it mean?"

"•!• What or w-h6 does the 1.0RD have in mind as he refers rn...J erusalem""?-"

"•!• What is the LORD talking about as he describes the ""origin"" and ""birth"" of ""Jerusalem""?"

"""And when I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you in your blood, 'Live!' I said to you in your blood, 'Live!' I made you flourish like a plant of the field. And you grew up and became tall and arrived at full adornment. Your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown; yet you were naked and bare."

"When I passed by you again and saw you, behold, you were at the age for love, and I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness; I made my vow to you and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord GOD, and you became mine. (Ezek 16:6-8)"

"•!• The LORD is clearly using powerfully vivid language in this section of Ezekiel's prophecy."

"What is he communicating? What was this covenant, and why describe it in this way?"

"• LESSON 4 January 22) •"

"The God Who Has Set His Bow in the Cloud"

"Our last lesson concluded with the LORD God pronouncing judgment on Adam, Eve, and the deceitful serpent in Genesis 3. By the time we reach Genesis 6, the situation is truly dire."

"The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. (Gen 6:5-6)"

"•!• What can you find between the end of Genesis 3 and the beginning of Genesis 6 that serves as an example of ""the wickedness of man""? Notice also Genesis 6:11-12."

"So the LORD said, ""I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man"

"and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them."" But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. (Gen 6:7-8)"

"Throughout the rest of Genesis 6, God gives instructions to Noah-""a righteous man, blameless in his"

"generation"" (Gen 6:9)-for the building of""an ark of gopher wood."""

"""For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. But I will establish my covenant will} you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you."" (Gen 6:17-18)

"•!• We've established already in this study that a covenant is a relationship based upon promises"

"and expectations. How then would you describe this covenant God is establishing with Noah in your own words?"

"On the other end of this catastrophic flood,"

"Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And when the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, the LORD said in his heart, ""I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. While the earth remains, seed time and harvest, cold and heat,"

"summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease."" (Gen 8:20-22)"

LESSON 9 (February 26)

The God Who Promised a New and Better Covenant

Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin (Jer 1:1) led a difficult life. "The word of the LORD came" to him (Jer 1:2) during one of the darkest stretches of history for the descendants of Abraham. Despite volatile political unrest, vicious foreign kingdoms, corruption in Jerusalem, unbelief on the part of the vast majority of his hearers, and intense personal hardship, Jeremiah served as a spokesman of God for more than 40 years. He is often referred to as "the weeping prophet," and there is no wonder as to the reason. He is also the author of the work which follows the much larger book that bears his name-Lamentations.

And yet, in the midst of one of the most heart-wrenchingly tragic books of the Bible,Jeremiah 31 contains "covenant" language that greatly impacts our study of the God of promises and covenants.

* Take the time to read Jeremiah 31:1-6. What is the LORD promising, in your own words?"

* In even clearer and more straightforward language, what is the LORD promising in Jeremiah 31:10-11?

* Very interestingly, immediately after promising to "turn their mourning into joy" and "give them gladness for sorrow," we run across very dark and foreboding words in Jeremiah 31:15. What is the LORD foretelling? How do we know?

"Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, "Know the LORD," for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."(Jer 31:31-34)

* When an original hearer of Jeremiah's message thought about the covenant that the LORD had made with the house of Israel and Judah, what would have immediately come to mind?

* With that in mind, what would this hearer have thought upon hearing God's prophet say, "Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah" (Jer 31:31)?

* What comes to your mind as you meditate on the LORD's words in Jeremiah 31:32?

O "Not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt"-

O "My covenant that they broke"-

O "Though I was their husband"-

* "I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts" (Jer 31:33). How would this have resonated in the mind of a Jew in ancient times?

* "And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest" (Jer 31:34). What does this mean, and how was it profoundly different than what Israel had been used to in the

past?

* "For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more" (Jer 31:34). How does what we are reading in Jeremiah 31 prepare us for the profoundly important words spoken by Jesus in Luke 22:20?

• LESSON 10 (March 5) •

The God of Peace Who Establishes an Eternal Covenant

The Letter to the Hebrews in the New Testament is where our study of the God of promises and covenants now leads, primarily because Jeremiah 31 (the passage we studied in our last lesson) is extensively cited. Before we get to those quotations, however, we need to begin in Hebrews 7.

This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant (Heb 7:22)

•:• Carefully survey Hebrews 7. What has led the author to this conclusion, and what does he provide as supporting evidence?

•:• What is a "guarantor"?

Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. Now if he were on earth, he would

not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law. They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, "See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain." But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.

For he finds fault with them when he says ... (Heb 8:1-8)

•:• What the author of Hebrews does next is quote Jeremiah 31:31-34. Why? What point is he making?

•:• Carefully read the author's statement in Hebrews 8:13. What conclusion has he led us to?

In Hebrews 9, the author reminds us that "even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness" (9:1). He describes the details of those regulations and the Tabernacle

that supported them in Hebrews 9:1-10.

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then throughthe greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer,sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may

receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive. Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood. (Heb 9:11-18)

This leads the writer of Hebrews to eventually declare:

For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. (Heb 9:24)

•:• What do Christians need to understand about what has been accomplished by Jesus Christ?

•:• What has changed because of the sacrifice of Christ? What is now available to everyone?

Limited by space for end of lesson final words, sorry

• LESSON 11 (March 12) •

The God Who Raises Us to Walk in Newness of Life

We spent significant time in our last lesson in The Letter to the Hebrews learning about the God of peace who has established an eternal covenant (Heb 13:20-21) Remember especially what we

learned in Hebrews 9:11-14:

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal

Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

The points being made are profound and of eternal significance:

1. An eternal covenant has been made available to mankind by the God of peace.

2. The blood of God own Son was shed in order to make reconciliation with God possible.

3. By means of this blood, an eternal redemption has been secured for those

who are sanctified.

4. Just as the blood of animals sanctified for the purification of the flesh under the old covenant, the blood of Christ sanctifies under this new and better covenant, purifying our consciences from dead works in order that we might serve the God of peace.

The next logical question in our efforts to understand what this God of promises and covenants has accomplished and what he desires of us is" How?' How do we come in contact with the blood of Jesus Christ? Romans 6:1-11 is extremely helpful in answer that question.

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer been enslaved to

sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin,

once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider your selves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

* To whom is Paul writing and what have they come to enjoy in relation to God - the same God whose glory they had fallen short of (Rom 3:23) in the past?

• LESSON 13 (March 26) •

The God Who Has Promised to Return for His Bride

Our last lesson in this study of the God of promises and covenants is a good time to look back, reflect

on where we've been, and do our best to tie everything together in order to understand as much of

the "big picture" of what God has accomplished on our behalf as possible. How would you

summarize the main point of each one of our lessons in this study?

• 1 - The Nature of the God of Promises -

• 2 - The God of Covenants -

• 3 -The God Who Promises and Works to Defeat Death -

• 4 - The God Who Has Set His Bow in the Cloud -

• 5 - The God Who Made a Covenant with Abraham -

• 6 - The God Who Made a Covenant with Israel -

• 7 - The God Who Made a Promise to David -

• 8 - The God Whose Heart is Grieved by Forsaken Covenants -

• 9 - The God Who Promised a New & Better Covenant -

• 10 - The God of Peace Who Establishes an Eternal Covenant -

• 11-The God Who Raises Us to Walk in Newness of Life -

• 12 - The God Who Instituted the Covenant of Marriage

As a conclusion to our study, reflect on what Paul reveals concerning the ultimate purpose behind

the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the cleansing of his church.

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. (Eph 5:25-27)

Think through what Paul is communicating. What do these important God-breathed phrases mean?

•:• "that he might sanctify her" -

•:• "having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word"

•:• "so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle" -

All of which leads to this most pressing question: WHEN? When is Christ going to "present the church to himself in splendor"? Consider carefully the input of these passages.

For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a

pure virgin to Christ. (2 Cor 11:2)

And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all

creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. (Col 1:21-23)

Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,

"Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure" -

for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. (Rev 19:6-8)

He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

(Rev 22:20)

•:• The God of promises and covenants has had an "eternal purpose" that has been "realized in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Eph 3:11). How is his great plan ultimately going to reach its consummation and realization? And what do we need to be doing in the meantime?

LESSON 7 (February 12)

THE GOD WHO MADE a COVENANT WITH DAVID

"More than 400 years (1 Kings 6:1) after the descendants of Abraham were delivered from Egyptian bondage and entered into a covenant with God at Mt. Sinai, a man after God's own heart (1 Sam 13:14) named David was reigning as king over the now well-established nation of Israel."

"Now when the king lived in his house and the LORD had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies, the king said to Nathan the prophet, ""See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent."" And Nathan said to the king, ""Go, do all that is in your heart, for the LORD is with you."""

"But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, ""Go and tell my servant David, 'Thus says the LORD: Would you build me a house to dwell in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling. In all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, ""Why have you not built me a house of cedar?'"" (2 Sam 7:1-7)"

"•:• What was the ""tent"" that the ark of God was dwelling in at this point in history?"

"•:• What was ""the ark of God"" and most importantly, what was its significance? Exodus 25:10-22"

"may be a helpful passage to reference."

"•:• In what way could Nathan have provided a better response to David than the one he offered"

"in 2 Samuel 7':3?"

"•:• What valuable insight do we gain about God in 2 Samuel 7:7?"

"""Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel. And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover,"

"the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and"

LESSON 8 (February 19)

The God Whose Heart is Grieved by Forsaken Covenants

"The LORD God had made a covenant with and incredible promises to Abraham, the nation of Israel, and King Daivd. But if you're familiar with the ""big picture"" of the Old Testament, you know that Abraham's descendants were far from faithful to their covenant with God."

"How did their unfaithfulness make the LORD feel? While we could point to dozens of passages­ especially from the old Testament prophets-that provide an answer, we find profound responses to that question in Ezekiel and Hosea. Let's start with one chapter in Ezekiel's prophecy."

"Again the word of the LORD came to me: ""Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth are of the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. And as for your birth, on the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. No eye pitied you, to do any of these things to you out of compassion for you, but you were cast out on the open field, for you were abhorred, on the day that you were born. (Ezek 16:1 -5)"

"•!• ""Abominations"" is a strong word. What does it mean?"

"•!• What or w-h6 does the 1.0RD have in mind as he refers rn...J erusalem""?-"

"•!• What is the LORD talking about as he describes the ""origin"" and ""birth"" of ""Jerusalem""?"

"""And when I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you in your blood, 'Live!' I said to you in your blood, 'Live!' I made you flourish like a plant of the field. And you grew up and became tall and arrived at full adornment. Your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown; yet you were naked and bare."

"When I passed by you again and saw you, behold, you were at the age for love, and I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness; I made my vow to you and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord GOD, and you became mine. (Ezek 16:6-8)"

"•!• The LORD is clearly using powerfully vivid language in this section of Ezekiel's prophecy."

"What is he communicating? What was this covenant, and why describe it in this way?"

"• LESSON 4 January 22) •"

"The God Who Has Set His Bow in the Cloud"

"Our last lesson concluded with the LORD God pronouncing judgment on Adam, Eve, and the deceitful serpent in Genesis 3. By the time we reach Genesis 6, the situation is truly dire."

"The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. (Gen 6:5-6)"

"•!• What can you find between the end of Genesis 3 and the beginning of Genesis 6 that serves as an example of ""the wickedness of man""? Notice also Genesis 6:11-12."

"So the LORD said, ""I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man"

"and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them."" But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. (Gen 6:7-8)"

"Throughout the rest of Genesis 6, God gives instructions to Noah-""a righteous man, blameless in his"

"generation"" (Gen 6:9)-for the building of""an ark of gopher wood."""

"""For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. But I will establish my covenant will} you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you."" (Gen 6:17-18)

"•!• We've established already in this study that a covenant is a relationship based upon promises"

"and expectations. How then would you describe this covenant God is establishing with Noah in your own words?"

"On the other end of this catastrophic flood,"

"Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And when the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, the LORD said in his heart, ""I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. While the earth remains, seed time and harvest, cold and heat,"

"summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease."" (Gen 8:20-22)"

LESSON 9 (February 26)

The God Who Promised a New and Better Covenant

Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin (Jer 1:1) led a difficult life. "The word of the LORD came" to him (Jer 1:2) during one of the darkest stretches of history for the descendants of Abraham. Despite volatile political unrest, vicious foreign kingdoms, corruption in Jerusalem, unbelief on the part of the vast majority of his hearers, and intense personal hardship, Jeremiah served as a spokesman of God for more than 40 years. He is often referred to as "the weeping prophet," and there is no wonder as to the reason. He is also the author of the work which follows the much larger book that bears his name-Lamentations.

And yet, in the midst of one of the most heart-wrenchingly tragic books of the Bible,Jeremiah 31 contains "covenant" language that greatly impacts our study of the God of promises and covenants.

* Take the time to read Jeremiah 31:1-6. What is the LORD promising, in your own words?"

* In even clearer and more straightforward language, what is the LORD promising in Jeremiah 31:10-11?

* Very interestingly, immediately after promising to "turn their mourning into joy" and "give them gladness for sorrow," we run across very dark and foreboding words in Jeremiah 31:15. What is the LORD foretelling? How do we know?

"Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, "Know the LORD," for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."(Jer 31:31-34)

* When an original hearer of Jeremiah's message thought about the covenant that the LORD had made with the house of Israel and Judah, what would have immediately come to mind?

* With that in mind, what would this hearer have thought upon hearing God's prophet say, "Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah" (Jer 31:31)?

* What comes to your mind as you meditate on the LORD's words in Jeremiah 31:32?

O "Not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt"-

O "My covenant that they broke"-

O "Though I was their husband"-

* "I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts" (Jer 31:33). How would this have resonated in the mind of a Jew in ancient times?

* "And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest" (Jer 31:34). What does this mean, and how was it profoundly different than what Israel had been used to in the

past?

* "For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more" (Jer 31:34). How does what we are reading in Jeremiah 31 prepare us for the profoundly important words spoken by Jesus in Luke 22:20?