Covenant People - a name often used for the Hebrew/Israelite people, Abraham's descendants. The Israelites/Hebrews were chosen by God as instruments of His redemption of the world. - Gen. 12:1-3 - Israelite is a descendant of Israel or Jacob. Israelites were considered to be children of the "Covenant" faithful servants of the Lord, and heirs to the promises made to Abraham.

"You are to keep this feast in the seventh month. For seven days you are to live in shelters: all natives of Israel must live in shelters, so that your descendants may know that I made the sons of Israel live in shelters when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God." - Lev. 23:42-43 -

What I (apostle Paul) want to say now is no pretense; I say it in union with Christ Jesus - it is the truth - my conscience in union with the Holy Spirit assures me of it too. What I want to say is this: my sorrow is so great, my mental anguish so endless, I would willingly be condemned and be cut off from Christ if it could help my brothers of Israel, my own flesh and blood.

They were adopted sons, they were given the glory and the covenants; the Law and the ritual were drawn up for them, and the promises were made to them. They are descended from the patriarchs and from  their flesh and blood came from Christ who is above all, God for ever blessed! Amen. - Rom. 9:1-5 -

Let me put a further question then: is it possible that God has rejected His people? Of course not, I, an Israelite, descended from Abraham through the tribe of Benjamin, could never agree that God had rejected His people, the people He chose specially long ago. Do you remember what sacred scripture says of Elijah - how he complained to God about Israel's behaviour? Lord, they have killed your prophets and broken down your altars, I, and I only, remain, and they want to kill me. What God say to that? I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bent the knee to Baal.

Today the same thing has happened: there is a remnant, chosen by grace. By grace, you notice, nothing therefore to do with good deeds, or grace would not be grace at all!

What follows? It was not Israel as a whole that found what it was seeking, but only the chosen few. The rest were not allowed to see the truth; as scripture says: God has given them a sluggish spirit, unseeing eyes and inattentive ears, and they are still like that today. And David says: May their own table prove a trap for them, a snare and a pitfall - let that be their punishment; may their eyes be struck incurably blind, their back bend for ever. Rom. 11:1-10 -

But in the New Testament, those who believe and baptized in the Lord Jesus Christ ( In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit ) are people of a "New Covenant."

The institution of the Holy Eucharist/Holy Communion/Holy Mass by the Lord Jesus Christ. Then Jesus Christ took some bread, and when He had given thanks, broke it and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body which will be given for you; do this as a memorial of Me.' Jesus Christ did the same with the cup after supper, and said, 'This cup is the "New Covenant" in My blood which will be poured out for you. - Luke 22:19-20 -

Before God, we are confident of this through Christ: not that we are qualified in ourselves to claim anything as our own work: all our qualifications come from God. God is the one who has given us the qualifications to be the administrators of this "New Covenant" which is not a "Covenant" of written letters but of the Spirit: the written letters bring death, but the Spirit gives life. - 2 Cor. 3:4-6 -

Throughout history, God's 'covenant people' were meant to be an example of spirituality to the world.

Unfortunately, much of the God's first chosen people, that is, Israelite/Hebrew/Jew (Jacob) history was marked by periodic sinning and disobedience of the "Covenant Law." Israelite history began badly with an idolatrous act. The people made and worshiped a golden calf while Moses was still on Mount Sinai. - Ex. 32:1-35 -

After their punishment, the "Covenant" was renewed and work began on the building of the "Tabernacle." The structure was portable, and it moved with the Israelites whenever they wandered in the wilderness. Subsequent Hebrew/Jew temples were to reflect something of its structure.

In the 'Wilderness Years' and because the Israelites disobeyed God by refusing to enter Canaan. - Num. 14:30-35 - they were compelled to wander for a generation in the wilderness. These aimless wanderings are summarized in Numbers chapter 33. The people apparently moved between various oases in the Sinai wilderness. After Aaron's death - Num. 20:22-29 - the Israelites moved steadily toward Moab in 'Transjordan' and prepared to conquer Canaan.

The tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh, who owned large herds, were allowed to settle in the conquered Transjordan lands and to raise their cattle. The remainder of the Israelites prepared to cross the Jordan River at Jericho and occupy the Promised Land. Moses was not permitted to lead the Israelites to victory because he had not carried out God's will properly. Deut. 32:51 - Instead he was allowed to view Canaan from the summit of Mount Nebo. After this, Moses died and was buried in Moab. - Deut. 34:6 -

Jericho was like a town under siege when Joshua, who had been commissioned as leader shortly before Moses died, advanced to overthrow it. He obeyed God's instructions regarding the attack upon the fortress like city that guarded the entrance to Canaan. The Hebrews marched around it daily for six days and it collapsed dramatically on the seventh day. - Josh. 6:12-20 -

The next assault was on nearby Ai. This offensive, however, met with disaster because an Israelite named Achan had defied God's instructions about not taking plunder from Jericho. When his sin was discovered, he and his family were stoned to death, after which Ai was overthrown. - Josh. 7:25 -

Shortly afterwards, Joshua was tricked into sealing a covenant with the neighboring 'Gibeonites'. This was followed by a defense of the royal city of Gibeon against the attack of five Canaanite kings who resented the pact made with Joshua. The kings were captured and executed. - Josh. 10:16-27 - Then Joshua proceeded to conquer the south land, where Lachish and Hebron were important cities. Jerusalem, however, was not captured at this time, nor was Megiddo in central Palestine.

The final phase of occupation involved northern Palestine, where Joshua was confronted by a military group led by Jabin, king of Hazor. Perhaps, because the Israelites were anxious to keep the cities intact, none were destroyed except Hazor, the chief city of the north. This policy proved costly in later years. Although, the Israelites had occupied the Promised Land, they had not conquered the people completely. Once the Canaanites were able to re-establish themselves, they presented serious problems for the Israelites.

After Joshua died, individual charismatic leaders known as 'Judges' provided leadership for the Hebrew nation.....

                                                                        Page 16
Faith . Hope . Love - Welcome donation. Thank You. God bless. 

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -