We proceed now to Jehovah God’s covenant. In Genesis 12 God made a promise to Abraham. In Genesis 15 that promise became a covenant, and in Genesis 17 circumcision was enacted as a token of that covenant. Thus, what God gave Abraham eventually was not only a promise, but also a covenant with a token.
God’s promise is His word (Rom. 9:9). Whenever God says that He will do a particular thing for us, that word is a promise. But when an oath is added to the promise, the promise becomes a covenant which assures God’s word. Such a covenant is like a contract.
In 6:8 the Lord said to Moses, “I will bring you into the land, concerning the which I did lift up my hand to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for a heritage: I am Jehovah” (Heb.). The promise the Lord gave to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was a covenant made by the lifting up of His hand. To lift up the hand in such a way was to make an oath, to swear. In Genesis 14 Abraham told the king of Sodom that he had lifted up his hand unto the most high God not to take anything from him (vv. 22-23). This means that Abraham had made an oath concerning that particular matter. In the Old Testament the hand was lifted up when a covenant was made. But in the New Testament the whole Person of the Lord Jesus was lifted up. In John 8:28 the Lord Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am.” By the lifting up of the Lord Jesus, God made a great oath that caused His promises to become the new covenant. In the four Gospels the Lord made many promises. When He was lifted up on the cross, these promises became the new covenant. Now the whole New Testament is a covenant, a contract signed and endorsed by the uplifted Christ.
The Lord was uplifted not only to the cross but, ultimately, to the throne of God in the third heaven. The Lord is now sitting on the throne as the symbol of the greatest oath in the universe. This oath was made by two steps: by the Lord being uplifted first to the cross and then to the throne. Hallelujah, this One whose whole being has been uplifted is now on the throne! Therefore, what we have in our hand today is not a promise, but a covenant.
In speaking to Moses about the covenant, God seems to have said, “Moses, don’t you realize that I have made a covenant with your forefathers? I have lifted up My hand to bring My people into the good land. Do you think that Pharaoh can stop Me from bringing My people into the promised land? Moses, don’t be discouraged. I am, but Pharaoh is not. I am Jehovah to fulfill My covenant. I shall bring My people into the good land and give it to them for a heritage. Moses, be encouraged with My covenant and with My present-day name.”
Today we also have the Lord’s name and His covenant. What we are doing in the Lord’s recovery is not according to our imagination. It is according to God’s covenant. In the past we have told the Lord that what we are practicing is according to His word. From now on we need to tell Him that what we are doing is according to His covenant, the very covenant which He has sworn to fulfill. In fighting the battle for the Lord’s interests, not only do we stand with God’s pure Word, but we also stand with His covenant. This covenant was endorsed when the Lord Jesus was uplifted to the cross and to the throne.
Some say that it is impossible to practice the church life today. They also claim that it is impossible for the Lord to have His recovery. They do not seem to realize that the Lord’s recovery is promised in His covenant. I wish to emphasize the fact that the recovery is not according to our thought, foresight, or imagination. It is not even according to our vision. The Lord’s recovery is wholly according to His covenant. In this covenant the Lord Jesus has said, “I will build My church” (Matt. 16:18). Throughout the years, the enemy has tried to destroy the recovery. But because the recovery is according to God’s covenant, it cannot be destroyed.
We admit that the way of the Lord’s recovery is not easy. It was the same with the children of Israel in the book of Exodus. Before they were released from bondage, there were many conflicts between God and Pharaoh. Pharaoh was not easily dealt with. In the same principle, today’s Pharaoh— Satan and the Satan-possessed and usurped self—is not easily dealt with either. Sometimes we may be discouraged, just as Moses and the children of Israel were. At such times we need to remember Jehovah and His covenant.
How strange it was that God did not annihilate Pharaoh with one blow! Instead, He purposely engaged in conflict with him. He even deliberately caused Pharaoh’s heart to be hardened. If I had been Moses, I would have said, “Lord, since You are hardening Pharaoh’s heart, why do You send me to him?” By dealing with Pharaoh in this way, the Lord was training Moses and the children of Israel to know Him by the name Jehovah and to know His covenant. No matter how intense the conflict was to become, eventually Jehovah would fulfill His covenant.
Do not be troubled by any opposition to the Lord’s recovery, and do not be discouraged when religion rises up against us. Today’s Pharaoh may struggle, resist, and cause delay, but ultimately he cannot prevail against the Lord and His recovery, for we have the Lord’s name and His covenant.
We are not engaged in an ordinary Christian work. The goal of the Lord’s recovery is to build up the church according to God’s name and His covenant. Remember, the Lord has been uplifted to the cross and to the throne. He is now on the throne as the sure sign that His covenant has been endorsed. As Jehovah the Savior, the great I Am, He will fulfill His covenant and bring us into the good land.