2. God's Covenants With Us - Jan. 7-13

Sabbath Afternoon - January 7, 2023

Reading for the Week

Matt. 10:22, John 6:29, Deut. 28:1–14, Prov. 3:1–10, Mal. 3:7–11, Matt. 6:25–33.

Prayer Thought

Jer. 31:31-34 -- Here is a promise of a new contract, a new covenant. It is not the kind God made with our predecessors in the day they came up out of Egypt, the day He wrote the commandments on tables of stone and thus to keep them. Instead He makes a new covenant, a covenant to write them on our very hearts. Then every one of us will consequently know Him without having to be taught. Take notice, though, He is not to make a new law, but a new covenant, a new contract for keeping the law. The difference is that rather than His writing the law on tables of stone, He will write it on the fleshly tables of the heart, the seat which the law of sin now occupies. {2TG23: 9.1-2}

This covenant, you see, is to be made with both the house of Israel and the house of Judah, -- with all God's people.

Memory Text

And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe [and] to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: {Deut. 28:1, 2}

This week's SS Lesson will explore different covenants made by God for the fallen humanity, its origin, benefits, and blessings. It also includes human responses, attitudes, and ultimate destiny (reward or punishment).

Study Outline

Sunday - January 8, 2023

The Salvation Covenant (What's the Covenant of Salvation?)

Mat. 7:13, 14; 1 John 5:13; Matt. 10:32; John 6:29; 2 Pet. 1:10, 11; 2 Tim 4:6-8

Monday - January 9, 2023

To Hearken Diligently (What's the covenant of blessing?)

Deut. 28:1-14, 15-68; 30:11-14

Tuesday - January 10, 2023

Honor the Lord (What's the covenant of the First fruits?)

Prov. 3:3-10; John 1:1-4; Heb. 1:3; Rev. 5:9

Wednesday - January 11, 2023

The Tithe Contract (What's the covenant of tithe?)

Mal. 3:7-11; 2 Chron. 31:5

Thursday - January 12, 2023

Seek Ye First (What are the other covenants?)

Mk. 12:37; Matt. 6:25-33; Isa. 26:3; 1 John 1:9; 2 Chron. 7:14; Deut. 30:19

Friday - January 13, 2023

Further Study and Meditation

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Sunday - January 8, 2023

The Salvation Covenant (What's the Covenant of Salvation?)

Mat. 7:13, 14; 1 John 5:13; Matt. 10:32; John 6:29; 2 Pet. 1:10, 11; 2 Tim 4:6-8

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Acts 16:31)

The Secret of Success is Cooperation with/in Christ

The work to which as Christians we are called is to co-operate with Christ for the salvation of souls. This work we have entered into covenant with Him to do. To neglect the work is to prove disloyal to Christ. But in order to accomplish this work we must follow His example of faithful, conscientious attention to the little things. This is the secret of success in every line of Christian effort and influence. {COL 358.1}

Never was there such an evangelist as Christ. He was the Majesty of heaven, but He humbled Himself to take our nature that He might meet men where they were. To all people, rich and poor, free and bond, Christ, the Messenger of the Covenant, brought the tidings of salvation. How the people flocked to Him! From far and near they came for healing, and He healed them all... Thus He went from city to city, from town to town, preaching the gospel and healing the sick--the King of glory in the lowly garb of humanity. "Though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye, through His poverty might be rich." 2 Corinthians 8:9. {CH 318.2}

Every Provision has been Made

The Lord desires His people to reach the highest round of the ladder that they may glorify Him by possessing the ability He is willing to bestow. Through the grace of God every provision has been made for us to reveal that we act upon better plans than those upon which the world acts. We are to show a superiority in intellect, in understanding, in skill and knowledge, because we believe in God and in His power to work upon human hearts. {COL 358.2}

But those who have not a large endowment of gifts need not become discouraged. Let them use what they have, faithfully guarding every weak point in their characters, seeking by divine grace to make it strong. Into every action of life we are to weave faithfulness and loyalty, cultivating the attributes that will enable us to accomplish the work. {COL 358.3}

Follow the Captain of Our Salvation

When we accepted Christ as our Redeemer, we accepted the condition of becoming laborers together with God. We made a covenant with Him to be wholly for the Lord; as faithful stewards of the grace of Christ, to labor for the upbuilding of His kingdom in the world. Every follower of Christ stands pledged to dedicate all his powers, of mind and soul and body, to Him who has paid the ransom money for our souls. We engaged to be soldiers, to enter into active service, to endure trials, shame, reproach, to fight the fight of faith, following the Captain of our salvation. {Ev 618.2}

In your connection with worldly societies, are you keeping your covenant with God?

Do these associations tend to direct your own mind or that of others to God, or are they diverting the interest and attention from Him?

Do they strengthen your connection with the divine agencies, or turn your mind to the human in place of the divine? {Ev 618.3}

Consider the Following

Salvation is not a unilateral covenant from God’s side. Therefore, not everyone will be saved no matter what they do or believe. It’s a bilateral covenant between God and humankind: Believe [our part] … and you will be saved [God’s part]” (Acts 16:31).

It’s a simple covenant. There are no complex or hard clauses. Its main goal is to give us eternal life (1 John 5:13). However, this is not a covenant that’s signed once and then forgotten (Matthew 24:13).

When Paul was about to die, he was sure that he had “kept the faith,” and that he would receive “the crown of righteousness” with “all who have loved His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:6-8).

Monday - January 9, 2023

To Hearken Diligently (What's the covenant of blessing?)

Deut. 28:1-14, 15-68; 30:11-14

And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God. (Deut. 28:2)

The Foundation of Temporal and Spiritual Prosperity

Temporal and spiritual prosperity are made conditional upon obedience to the law of God. But we do not read God's Word, and thus become familiar with the terms of the blessing that is to be given to all who hearken diligently to God's law and teach it diligently in their families. Obedience to God's Word is our life, our happiness. We look upon the world and see it groaning under the wickedness and violence of men who have degraded the law of God. He has withdrawn His blessing from orchard and vineyard. Were it not for His commandment-keeping people who live upon the earth, He would not stay His judgments. He extends His mercy because of the righteous, who love and fear Him. {CG 80.2}

The Last Invitation is Sounded - Our Work

The feast is now spread. The last invitation to be given is to go forth to all nations to the end of the world. This is our work. The messengers are now in a more special sense to call, “Hearken diligently.” The message is to go forth from the lips of human intelligences. He who came to our world to proclaim the message was the Lord Himself. Then tell the people that Christ came in human form, that His humanity might touch humanity, and that His divinity might lay hold upon divinity. His servants are to be linked together. “Ye are labourers together with God,” He says. “Ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.” If His workers will be worked by the Holy Spirit, a great work can be done. “Compel them to come in” are the words addressed to the messengers, “that my house may be filled.” The Lord means that we shall be in earnest. If we are wholly consecrated to God, the Holy Spirit will work with us. {CTr 66.3}

For a deeper study, please follow the link below.

1. Meat In Due Season - 1. The Eleventh-Hour Call (google.com)

2. https://3angelscry.org/pdf/pdf-the-11th-hour-servant-of-god/

3. Present Truth Lessons 2020 - Lesson 5 Last Workers in the Vineyard (google.com)

Consider the Following

The covenant God made with Israel (and with us) includes many blessings (Deuteronomy 28:1-13):

Blessed be the city where you live (3);

Blessed be your children (4);

Blessed be your income (4);

Blessed be your work tools (5);

Blessed be your household and the places you visit (6);

You will be blessed among your enemies (7);

Blessed be your work (8).

There are some conditions to receive these blessings: Listen to God and obey His commandments (1);

Live according to God’s will (9);

Make God the only Lord of your life (14).

Tuesday - January 10, 2023

Honor the Lord (What's the covenant of the First fruits?)

Prov. 3:3-10; John 1:1-4; Heb. 1:3; Rev. 5:9

“Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase.” (Proverbs 3:9)

With All the Heart

This day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments: thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thine heart, and with all thy soul. Deuteronomy 26:16. {AG 149.1}

In God's covenant with His people in ancient times, directions were given for the faithful recognition of the gracious and marvelous works which He had done for them. God delivered His people Israel from bondage in Egypt. He brought them into their own land, and gave them goodly heritage and sure dwelling places. And He asked of them a recognition of His marvelous works. The first fruits of the earth were to be consecrated to God, and given back to Him as an offering of gratitude, an acknowledgment of His goodness to them. . . . {AG 149.2}

These directions, which the Lord has given to His people, express the principles of the law of the kingdom of God, and they are made specific, so that the minds of the people may not be left in ignorance and uncertainty. These scriptures present the never-ceasing obligation of all whom God has blessed with life and health and advantages in temporal and spiritual things. The message has not grown weak because of age. God's claims are just as binding now, just as fresh in their importance, as God's gifts are fresh and continual. {AG 149.3}

Lest any should forget these important directions, Christ has repeated them with His own voice. He calls His followers to a life of consecration and self-denial. He says: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me" (Matthew 16:24). This means what it says. Only by self-denial and self-sacrifice can we show that we are true disciples of Christ. {AG 149.4}

Christ counted it essential to remind His people that obedience to the commandments of God is for their present and future good. Obedience brings a blessing, disobedience a curse. Besides, when the Lord in a special manner favors His people, He exhorts them publicly to acknowledge His goodness. In this way His name will be glorified; for such an acknowledgment is a testimony that His words are faithful and true. "Thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee" (Deuteronomy 26:11). {AG 149.5}

Consider the Following

The covenant of the firstfruits works as follows:

— Our part: Giving God the first and the best.

— God’s part: Blessing the rest.

This covenant includes the fruit of our work, our affection, our time…

It may sound illogical, because if we give the first and the best, then we will have less and worse remaining… However, this is different with God. Why?

Besides the blessing that comes from God, the Bible is also full of advice to effectively manage our money, our affection, our time…

Wednesday - January 11, 2023

The Tithe Contract (What's the covenant of tithe?)

Mal. 3:7-11; 2 Chron. 31:5

“‘Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.’” (Malachi 3:10)

Finest Apostolic Precedent - a Special Message to the Church

Also you may present the matter from still other angles. Jesus and the apostles were Jews and members of the organized church at that time, yet they had a treasurer of their own. Moreover the apostles received everything that was brought and laid at their feet -- tithe, offering, and principal. Acts 4:34, 35. This gives us the finest apostolic precedent one might wish, for the apostles were also bearing a special message to the church, just as we are today, and not to the world. {1SC5: 8.6}

Then you may present the matter yet from this angle if necessary: We are sent "to the lost sheep of the house of Israel," and it "is not meet to take the children's bread and cast it to the dogs." (Matt. 15:24, 26.) God has not sent us "into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans," but to the church, and He has commanded: "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in Mine house." The storehouse is where present truth is, and as we bear present truth -- meat In due season -- then the Rod must be the storehouse, and the Lord says "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse." {1SC5: 8.7}

Consider the Following

Malachi wrote the words in Malachi 3:10 in a moment when the people of Israel had forgotten their part on God’s covenant. Therefore, he said: “Return to Me, and I will return to you” (Malachi 3:7).

Then he proposed a covenant, a material covenant with spiritual consequences. This covenant is also valid for us today: Bring me the tithe and I will bless you (Malachi 3:10).

The people of Israel proved that this covenant is valid. In times of king Hezekiah, “they brought in abundantly the tithe of everything” (2 Chronicles 31:5). Then they could say that “the Lord has blessed His people.” (2 Chronicles 31:10)

Please take pain to study the difference between a house and storehouse through the link below.
1. Meat In Due Season - Plate Passing on the Sabbath (google.com)

Thursday - January 12, 2023

Seek Ye First (What are the other covenants?)

Mk. 12:37; Matt. 6:25-33; Isa. 26:3; 1 John 1:9; 2 Chron. 7:14; Deut. 30:19

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)

Whatsoever You Do, Do It in a Business-like Way

Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." Matt. 6:34. "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." Matt. 7:12.

But do not forget that in coming to God as a father you acknowledge your relation to Him as a child. You not only trust His goodness, but in all things yield to His will, knowing that His love is changeless. You give yourself to do His work. It was to those whom He had bidden to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness that Jesus gave the promise, "Ask, and ye shall receive" (John 16:24). {LHU 107.5}

Covenant of Corn, Wine, and Oil

By the Prophet, Hosea, God reveals the closeness of earth to heaven by the fact that the earth hears "the corn, and the wine, and the oil." Therefore, as this is the condition upon which our close relationship with Christ exists, and Heaven with us, ought we not now as never before make it our great duty to "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness" while probationary time yet lingers? But it may be argued that the kingdom of God refers to the new earth state, and that we shall be changed from our sinful to the 'sinless state in the twinkling of an eye. True, but what saith God by His servant? {4SC4-9: 4.2.3}

Blessing of Life, Time, and Energy Serving the Interests of Others

Necessarily, to make a real success in life, one must acquire a predominance of skills, superiority in a few, and distinct superiority in one; also a longing desire to please and bless others first, and only secondarily to satisfy himself. God so loved the world that He gave His only son. Men therefore ought also to be liberal to the extent that they, too, freely use their time and energy in serving the interests of others. "Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others." Phil. 2:4. In such a happy course they will be benefiting themselves even more than others. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness," commands the Lord, "and all these things shall be added unto you." The one who fully comprehends the operation of this Divine law, and unhesitatingly obeys it, is the only one who makes a real success of life. And the fact that those who make their employer's interest the chief business of their lives are the only ones who receive promotions and who achieve high and responsible positions, shows that this Divine law operates even among non-Christians. {ABN5: 9.1}

Consider the Following

Jesus extended the covenant of the firstfruits: If we put God in first place, He will give us food and clothes, and He will satisfy our needs (Matthew 6:25-34).

There are other covenants in the Bible:

1. COVENANT

1.1 Covenant of peace (Is. 26:3)

1,2 Covenant of forgiveness (1Jn. 1:9)

1,3 Covenant of healing (2 Chr. 7:14)

2. OUR PART

2.1 Trust God and think about Him

2.2 Confess our sins

2.3 Humble oneself, pray, seek God, repent

3. GOD’S PART

3.1 Give us complete peace

3.2 Forgive our sins and clean us from evil

3.3 Heal our land

For more information about this subject, please click the link below.

1. Sabbath School - Meat In Due Season Advanced Commentary - 7. The Covenant with Abraham (google.com)

2. Sabbath School - Meat In Due Season Advanced Commentary - 8. Jesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant (google.com)

Friday - January 13, 2023

Further Study and Meditation

“The Lord bestows His gifts abundantly upon us. He ‘so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ Every blessing we have comes through Jesus Christ. Then shall we not arouse, and do our duty toward God, upon whom we are dependent for life and health, for His blessing […]? We are assured if we give to the Lord's treasury, we shall receive of Him again.” E. G. W. (Testimonies for Ministers and Gospel Workers, cp. 44, p. 307)

Questions to Ponder

1. What kind of covenant relationship does God establish with His people? How is it related to us?

2. How do God's people receive the gift of salvation? Do they need to work for it? Please explain!

3. What comes before receiving the gift He offered for humanity? Do they need to hear these promises? Please explain your answer!

Note: Human has come short of God's glory, so, they are helpless.

4. What is the purpose of giving the tenth of all the increase, when in fact God is the only source and owner of everything that exists? How could we comprehend this matter?

5. How does giving tithes a blessing to God's cause and a personal blessing (character-the principle of giving is exercise) to the giver?

6. How does the church become robbers of God's tithes and offerings? Is there a need to look for the right storehouse? What's the difference between a HOUSE and a STOREHOUSE?

Note:

The command was to give the tithes into the STOREHOUSE, not the HOUSE (church), that there may be meat in my HOUSE.

7. Based on the passage above (TM 307), what promise does God give to those who have to offer their gift to Him, and how do we exercise dependent upon His provisions in our lives.

From the Pen of Inspiration

"Moreover," saith the Lord, "I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be My people. And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore." Ezek. 37:26-28.

Since God says that He will "multiply them" when they again become a kingdom, and that "the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel," and since He can neither "multiply" nor "sanctify" after the close of probation, the two ancient kingdoms must necessarily, then, be restored and consolidated during the probationary time -- "The Times of Restitution." {TN8: 17.2}

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