Tuesday 03 November 2020

Psalm  15

Background

This is the second covenant in the Bible. The first was shared with Noah and made with all humanity, and animals. It has no expectations of human beings and is confirmed by God four times (Genesis 9). The covenant God makes with Abraham is not universal but still covers a wide spread of humanity, all his physical descendants - ie both Jews and Arabs (or Muslims). It is arguable whether it includes Christians who, generally, have not observed the sign of the covenant – circumcision. However, following the New Testament discussion of this, we also call ourselves children of Abraham.

It is arguable that Muslims are closer to Abraham than Christians are! Realising this we can see how we might live up to the expectations of Genesis 12:3 as sharers in the divine covenant, not many covenants but one, because the 'New Covenant' is a renewing, rather than a second covenant.

To Ponder:

• How does it feel to be sharers in the covenant with Jews and Muslims?
• Why is God so challengingly inclusive?

First published in 2017.