Tidings for Tuesday
For if the first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. Hebrews 8:7
On a sunny afternoon in June 15, 1215, England’s King John gathered with a large group of English nobility under a canopy of trees at Runnymede, on the south banks of the River Thames. The meeting was an attempt to appease the leaders of a rebellious group of English barons. Before the meeting ended, King John agreed to sign and affix his seal to a document that has become known as the Magna Carta. Although it took a few hundred years to come into its own, the Magna Carta is recognized as the cornerstone of democracy as we know it. Before the Magna Carta, kings ruled according to the principle of vis et voluntas (force and will), doing pretty much as they pleased. The Magna Carta changed all that. It promised such fundamentals as protection of church rights, protection from illegal imprisonment, and access to swift justice. Although its initial benefits were supposed to be for the barons and other nobility, its provisions were eventually extended and expanded to grant freedom and the rule of law to everybody, including the king. These principles formed the basis of law for all nations of the British Empire, and have significantly impacted most other democratic nations of the world. I seriously doubt if we could convince anyone in England, even the King, to return to the days of vis et voluntas. That principle was deeply flawed and has been replaced by something much superior. So has the covenant given to the Jews in the Old Testament been replaced by a superior covenant.
The nobles gathered at Runnymede knew there were flaws in the old vis et voluntas system. Those flaws are even more apparent today. So are the flaws that we see in the Old Testament covenant. The greatest flaw in that covenant was the lack of ability to maintain God’s requirement for perfection. The law provided no power for its keeping, no way to attain righteousness. In response, the new covenant provides the perfection of the Lord Jesus, and His power to keep the law, as the basis of our righteousness. Another flaw of the old covenant was the weakness of its priesthood. Because of their own sin, Aaronic priests had to continually make sacrifices for themselves, and repeat the sacrifices for the people. In response, the new covenant provides an eternal Priest, One Whose sacrifice has forever satisfied God’s requirements. Another of the old covenant flaws was the inability of its ordinances to produce true worship in the hearts of the people. Even an Israelite who obeyed every letter of the ordinances could do so with no true worship or appreciation of God. In response, the new covenant provides only two ordinances, both of which arise from hearts filled with worship and thanksgiving. I refer to baptism, which is the response of obedience from a thankful believer, and the Lord’s Supper, which is the response of worship from a redeemed and thankful company.
The selfish Prince John might have longed to go back to the days preceding Magna Carta. Our selfish flesh might long to go back to the days before Calvary. But why should we abandon the faultless for the faulty? -Jim MacIntosh