G'ampa C's Blog

Thursday, May 25, 2006

Lord's Supper Volume 2: The Covenant I

It seems proper somehow that a study of the Lord's Supper is incomplete without a discussion of the Passover meal from which it grew.
The Old Testament is often highlighted by events where God (sometimes through men) made simple covenants. They usually sounded like an agreement:
"If you will do this, I will do that." For example:
Noah was told to build a boat, and he and his family would be saved from the flood. (Gen. 6:11-22)
Abram was told to leave his country and his people and God would make of him a great nation, and bless all the people of the earth through him. (Gen. 12:1-3)
The Israelites were told to paint the blood of the lamb over their doorposts, and the Destroyer would pass over them. (Exodus 12 & 13)
The Israelites were told to keep the terms of the Law, and God would bring them to the promised land. (Exodus ch. 20-24); etc.

In the case of the Passover, the blood was a part of the covenant that the Israelites were to pass down to their children and grandchildren, forever. They ate the flesh of the Passover lamb, and drank cups of wine to signify their participation in the deliverance from egypt and from the Destroyer. The telling the covenant to their children was even part of the agreement, and the ownership of their firstborn children was to rest in God until the father "redeemed" his firstborn with a lamb of sacrifice. Over and over, reminders were placed in front of the Israelites to help them recall their deliverance. When God gave them the Commandments and the Law, they agreed to his terms and he sealed the covenant with blood. The blood was evidence that an agreement had been reached. (If you will do this, I will do that.) The Passover meal described in the Law was more than a sticky-note to remind the Israelites of past events, though; it was designed to bring them under the agreement, the promise; to make them personal participants in the covenant. Keeping the Passover meal let each new generation agree anew to the terms of God's Law, and therein to accept the promises of the covenant.
In the past, I missed the point that the Passover was absolutely vital to life in Jewish society, particularly to those who were not eyewitnesses to the Exodus. If the covenant was made to your ancestor and not to you, the promises of that covenant are more troublesome to apply. The Jews had a truly difficult task when they tried to apply the promises of God to themselves even 100 years after the Law was given. It was essential that the Jews became participants in the Law and Passover, so they could have faith to see themselves participating in the promises. The Passover was a life-giving link to the promises of God; a rich and powerful emblem of God's covenant.
This is the beginning behind the covenant meal in the New Testament.

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