An example of a bilateral covenant would be the Mosaic Covenant. After Moses leads the Israelites out of Egypt God tells Moses and the people that if they obey his commands he will bless them (Exodus 19:5-6). God bound himself to that promise. In short, the commands that the people bound themselves to in Exodus 24:7 extend through every command that Moses wrote on behalf of God (much of the Pentateuch). So the commands that God gives Israel in Exodus 20:3-23:19—they are bound as individuals and as a people. All of the commands they are bound to are known as the Mosaic Law. Whenever you see the word “Law” in the New Testament it is always referring to the Mosaic Law. After God tells them that he will bless them if they do good, he also tells them that he will curse them if they disobey (Exodus 20:20-23). God lays out the specifics of the blessings and cursing in Deuteronomy 28.
It is important to understand the intent of the Mosaic Law. “The law was God’s means of shaping Israel into a “counter-community.” Yahweh had consecrated Israel as a witness to the nations by showing them in the law how to mirror his perfections. Through God’s law, however, the godly came to know how to reflect God’s love, compassion, fidelity, and other perfections.” (Willem A. VanGemeren, Five Views on Law and Gospel, 28) Simply put, God set forth the law to (1) reveal God’s righteous standard and (2) to provide the means to remain in covenant relationship with him. As we know, Israel failed at keeping their commitment and was taken into captivity as Moses predicted. The Jewish nation was being held captive in their own land when Jesus was born. This was a result of their covenant unfaithfulness before God.
So why is this relevant to our discussion? The Mosaic covenant has within it the moral code by which the Israelites must adhere to. Their justification for killing and conquest is found within this written law. Are Christians still under the Mosaic Law? After all, Christians do not have church on Saturday (the Jewish Sabbath) and we don’t adhere to the food laws. Also, we see Paul discounting many commands in the Law in his early writings to the churches (Col 2:16-23) and Peter was receiving visions telling him that all food is clean to eat (Acts 10:9-16). Paul also teaches “The law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.” (Galatians 3:24-25) Jesus himself says, “I have not come to abolish the Law or the prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matt 5:17) So we see Jesus claiming to fulfill both the Mosaic Law and what the prophets of old had spoken. Right after Jesus says he came to fulfill the law He begins to quote from the Law. The “You have heard it been said…but I say to you…” formula is found many times in Matt 5:22-48. This section is the first part of Jesus most famous teaching known as The Sermon on the Mount. His hearers were probably amazing, perplexed, and offended at what he was doing. Jesus was taking the ethical commands that God has laid out for His people and in His name, changed them. This is what Jesus meant in Matt 5:17 when he says, I have come to fulfill the Law.
So we see a new law being established during and after Christ’s life. This new law is not only being spoken by Jesus but now can be declared from within, from a person’s hearts. This is what Jeremiah means when he says, “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (Jer 31:31-34) This is referring to the Spirit of God that would serve as a powerful guide that would eventually indwell all believers at Pentecost. (Jn 14:15-24; Acts 2)
Do you see the parallels yet? The prophet Moses establishes (by God) a Covenant that has within it the ethical stipulations for obedience—also know as, the Law. In Deuteronomy 18:15 Moses writes to the people of Israel, “The Lord said to me…I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers.” The one that was eventually raised up in Israel was Jesus himself. Then, the prophet Jesus establishes the New Covenant that has within it the ethical stipulations for obedience. These commands are recorded in the New Testament, and are an outworking of the Spirit working inside believers. That is why they are called the fruits of the Spirit. An early follower of Christ named Stephen rightly declares that Jesus is the very prophet that Moses talks about hundreds of years back. (Acts 7:37) Right before Jesus goes to the cross he institutes communion and talks about the “Covenant of his blood” (Luke 22:14-20). Right then and there the New Covenant was being put into effect and with it--its teachings. Therefore, we are no longer under the Mosaic Law but rather under the Law that Christ has given. Christ’s teaching and the rest of the New Testament should be normative for how the Christian lives today. Here are quotes from some men that have helped me in understanding the tension and distinction between the old and new covenants.
“There are both continuities and discontinuities between the OT and Jesus’ teaching, but Christ’s fulfillment of the Law, analogous to his fulfillment of OT prophecies, suggest that he is the one whom all of the Scriptures pointed and for whom they prepared. God’s will can now but understood only by following and adhering to his teaching (Craig Blomberg, Jesus and the Gospels, Pg 131).”
“With the new age comes a new covenant (Jer 31:31, Matt. 26:28) and hence a new law. Citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven are no longer under the old covenant but are under the new and greater covenant. As the inaugurator of the new covenant, Jesus claimed to prerogative to interpret, expand, and even overrule the Law of Moses (Mark Strauss, Four Portraits One Jesus, Pg 247).”
“In light of the antitheses (vs 21-48), the passage before us insists that just as Jesus fulfilled OT prophecies by his person and actions, so he fulfilled OT law by his teaching. In no case does this ‘abolish’ the OT as canon. Instead, the OT’s real and abiding authority must be understood through the person and teaching of him to whom it points and who so richly fulfills it…Here Jesus presents himself as the eschatological goal [future goal] of the OT, and thereby its sole authoritative interpreter, the one through whom alone the OT finds its valid continuity and significance (D.A. Carson, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Pg 144).”
The God man Jesus is greater than Moses (Jn 8:48-58) and David (Luke 40:41-44). Israel was called to follow those great men of old and listen to what they had to say. We are not called to live like David or Moses. We can take principles from the Old Law but we are not called to follow it. Jesus summed up the entire Mosaic Law by commanding his followers to love God and every person around you. (Matt 22:36-40) Moses tells us to listen to Jesus and David calls Jesus his Lord. What Jesus teaches us to do is supremely important. If you would like to read more about the covenants there are a few good Journal Articles that you can read that give a more detailed overview on the Biblical covenants of the Old Testament. From here we go to the specific New Covenant teachings that are relevant to issues of war and violence.
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