“Then the people of Judah came to Joshua… And Caleb… said to him, ‘You know what the Lord said to Moses… I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me… to spy out the land, and I brought him word again as it was in my heart. And Moses swore on that day, saying, “Surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God. So now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke on that day…’ Therefore Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb… to this day, because he wholly followed the Lord, the God of Israel.” (v6-7,9,12,14 abr)
This is the way covenants (bargains or agreements between two parties) are meant to work: one party delivers on their commitment, and the other party delivers on their commitment. Caleb was obedient to God and did as God/Moses asked of him, and now requested that God/Joshua deliver on their end of the agreement. This was a completely reasonable request.
Covenants are very important to God, and to our faith. The entirety of God’s word hinges on promises (one-sided commitments) and covenants (two-sided commitments). Faith also hinges on these things, because we are trusting that God is telling the truth and will keep His commitments.
The unfortunate part is, we are fallible and prone to breaking covenants. For example: “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.” (Jer 31:31-32) Israel broke the “Old Covenant” (the system of intermediary priests and prophets to atone for sin), so God had to make a “New Covenant” with His people.
“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel… 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… 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 31:33-34 abr) God’s New Covenant promised that all would be able to have personal relationships with Him, and all of their sin would be forgiven and forgotten (see Jn 14:15-17).
This New Covenant became available upon Jesus’ death and resurrection as He states at the “last supper” (Passover Feast) with His disciples (see Lk 22:14-20). God then fulfills the covenant by sending His Holy Spirit to dwell within our hearts, “writing His law on our hearts, so we may all know Him” (see Ac 2:1-11).
Now, this New Covenant, is a two-way agreement, and so far we’ve only looked at God’s part of the agreement. What is our part? Thankfully, God made it very simple for us, with the hope that we’d be able to keep this covenant (because we failed to keep the old one): “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” (Rm 10:9-10; see Rm 10:5-13 for full context).
Father God, thank you for Your steadfast love, mercy and grace exhibited through Jesus’ death and resurrection. Father You have been extremely generous and gracious with us in the New Covenant, making it as simple as possible for us to hold up our end of the agreement. Out of response, please help us to remain obedient servants and not only love You, but love our neighbors as well. Father all honor, glory and praise be to You, the Lord God Almighty. Amen.
~ Conqueror in Training