I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people
Isaiah 42:1-9 (NKJV)
1 "Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.
2 He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.
3 A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth.
4 He will not fail nor be discouraged, Till He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands shall wait for His law."
5 Thus says God the LORD, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, Who gives breath to the people on it, And spirit to those who walk on it:
6 "I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, And will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the Gentiles,
7 To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the prison, Those who sit in darkness from the prison house.
8 I am the LORD, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images.
9 Behold, the former things have come to pass, And new things I declare; Before they spring forth I tell you of them."
The Lord's Chosen Servant, speaking of the prophecied Messiah. In particular verse 6 caught my attention:
6 "I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, And will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the Gentiles,
A similar passage, a few chapters later in Isaiah:
Isaiah 49:5-8 (NKJV)
5 "And now the LORD says, Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, So that Israel is gathered to Him (For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, And My God shall be My strength),
6 Indeed He says, 'It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.' "
7 Thus says the LORD, The Redeemer of Israel, their Holy One, To Him whom man despises, To Him whom the nation abhors, To the Servant of rulers: "Kings shall see and arise, Princes also shall worship, Because of the LORD who is faithful, The Holy One of Israel; And He has chosen You."
8 Thus says the LORD: "In an acceptable time I have heard You, And in the day of salvation I have helped You; I will preserve You and give You As a covenant to the people, To restore the earth, To cause them to inherit the desolate heritages;
I will. . ."give You as a covenant to the people."
The Bible records "tokens of the covenant":
Genesis 9:12 And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:
Genesis 9:13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
Genesis 9:17 And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.
Genesis 17:11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.
But I believe significantly, the coming Messiah prophecied in Isaiah, is not said to be a 'token' of the covenant, but as the covenant itself.
I'm still studying this, and meditating on it. . .asking God for deeper understanding, but Jesus isn't a sign or symbol of the new covenant, but is Himself the covenant. . .
His every moment of life, His very flesh, all the actions leading to His crucifixion are the form and structure of the contract between God and Mankind, but there is a difference in this covenant:
John 1:12-14 (NKJV)
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
The covenant of Noah, was between God and ALL of earth, that never again would God destroy the earth with a flood. It is an unconditional covenant.
The covenant between God and Abraham, circumcision, is an involuntary covenant. The male baby has no choice as whether or not to be circumcised.
Both of these contrast with the covenant we were given by the Son of God. His covenant is neither universal, nor involuntary, for it says:
1. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God,
2. to those who believe in His name
3. who were born not of blood
4. nor of the will of the flesh
5. nor of the will of man
6. (but were born) of God
These are the conditions of the New contract between God and man. You must receive Him, You must believe in His name, You must not be born merely of blood, or the will of the flesh, or the will of man, but must be born of God.
Jesus further elaborates on this in the gospel of John:
John 3:3-6 (NKJV)
3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
4 Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"
5 Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
In this passage, the original Greek which the NKJV translates as 'most assuredly', the Greek word Strong's G281 "amen" is repeated twice. The KJV translates it as, "verily verily", in English we would say, "amen amen". . . truth. . . truth. . . Jesus is emphasizing that these are foundational truths. . . rock solid truths.
Jesus is the new covenant.
Receive Him
Believe in His name
Be born again of the water and the Spirit
I love You my God. . .
I thank You for Your Word. . .
<3
Dave
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