Covenant Renewal

“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” ~ Joshua 24:14-15.

It will not surprise people who know me to see this passage referenced again because I quote it, at least in part, often. It takes place after the Exodus, 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, and possession of the Promised Land. The Israelites were on the cusp of becoming God’s holy people in God’s holy land. The LORD whittled them down to a very dedicated, lean, and battle-hardened remnant of the multitude of freed slaves from five decades earlier. Their numbers are still substantial and more than sufficient to generate fear in God’s enemies but, even after repeatedly witnessing the LORD’s glory, some violated the covenant of Moses and their forefathers. So, Joshua reminded them of the sacred covenant that bound them to the Lord God. He required them to renew the covenant before beginning something unprecedented.

We also stand on the brink. A new and unprecedented year will begin with the promises of our LORD, unforeseeable encounters as we press on. Our weary eyes have seen people we know return to slavery, falter in the wilderness, and even die over the last two years. Our wilderness testing made us more resilient than we knew we were, and our faith in God grew. But we largely built our faith on experience and cannot confidently promise to be as strong in the face of the unforeseen, unless we fully rely on our Christ-changed nature and the Holy Spirit.

The people of God whom Joshua led into the Promised Land were ready for anything they'd already encountered, but they were ignorant too. Their ancestors were familiar with the gods of Egypt, but they were all dead. Now, a new generation met the gods of their enemies in the Promised Land. Their mysterious powers awed and frightened them, and some of the LORD's people even became infatuated with the gods of the uncircumcised and worshiped them. It's no wonder Joshua made the people renew their covenant and then erected stones of remembrance to bear witness against them in a breach. 

In the same way, I urge you to begin the new year with some form of covenant renewal. I regularly use the “Covenant Prayer in the Wesleyan Tradition” as a part of the first Sunday worship in the year wherever I serve as pastor. (UMH 607) It is a recommitment and affirmation before the altar that is a kind of Ebenezer stone of remembrance. Please make it the one New Year's resolution that you will not break, because you can count on being tested by new threats and temptations. In fact, the Enemy is far more likely to tempt you than to assail you. There will be hardships, but they have as much potential to strengthen your covenant as to weaken it. Lies and false gods, however, can corrupt your interpretation of the covenant and deceive your perception of the unholy. Therefore, we must be answerable to the covenant we made before the congregation, just as Joshua called out the whole people of Israel to bear witness. They heard each other say the words and could testify to it.

Besides a public, shared covenant proclamation, I urge you to join or start a small group for accountability and spiritual enrichment. It is vital to revisit the covenant with others weekly. Plan to make Sunday worship and small group participation an unbreakable habit in the coming year because it is not about you but the Lord. Moreso, it is not about you but the body of Christ occupying and fulfilling the kingdom of Christ. We cannot complete it without covenant devotion, a new birth in Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Let this be the year, no matter what comes. Let this be the year. Amen?