David declares through the inspiration of God in Psalm 8:3, 4: "When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man that thou visitest him?" When we consider the practical insignificance of man in the affairs of this universe, we can truly wonder at the great sacrifice that God made in order to procure our salvation. This especially comes to our notice when we enter into the handiworks of our Creator. David mentioned this in connection with the universe; but, this is also very true when we observe nature even in our present world. Even while I am writing, I can see this great love of God illustrated before me. With the fragrance of spring filling the air around me, I sit at the foot of White Oak Falls in Shenandoah National Park. Observing what is around me, I cannot help but wonder what this planet would look like if Satan had his way, if this little insignificant speck in the universe was not purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ. Even these beautiful scenes of nature which still declare the glory of God would not be here if it was not for the great sacrifice of the only source of life on earth. This is truly a marvel.

But the question justly comes to our mind: "How can a sinful man as I be made a full partaker of this love of God?" Another way of saying this is: "What must I do to be saved?" This is the same age old question that was asked by the holy men of old; and yes, with the same age old answer that the gospel ever gives. So let us take a little bit of time to answer the question: "How then can man be justified with God?" Job 25:4.

First off, we need to understand that we serve a reasonable God. In Isaiah 1:18 He says, "Come now, Let us reason together," If you’ve ever been at odds with someone, you very well know how much the trouble is escalated if one or both of the parties is unreasonable. I am very happy and thankful that our God is very reasonable. Further, in this verse, He tells us that "though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." So the answer to how can a man be justified with God lies in our coming to reason together with Him.

At the conclusion of reasoning together, people would reach an agreement. This agreement is also called a covenant. The Lord again says in Psalm 50:5: "Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a coven ant with me by sacrifice." It is very important to make this covenant with God as it is a matter that determines whether we will be counted among the saints of the Lord or not.

The Bible speaks of two types of covenants we can make with God—the one is called the "old" or "first" and the other, the "new" or "better." See Hebrews 8:6-13. Now the question arises: "When were these covenants first made? With whom?" Let us try to understand these things as it is our key to eternal life.

When a person works on a job, every so often he receives "wages" for what he does. His wages are dependent upon the type of work he has. The Bible tells us that we also receive wages for our works, for "the wages of sin is death." Romans 6:23. If we sin, we will receive the wage of death. Now, whether we sin much or little is very insignificant as the wage is the same.

But what is sin? "I had not know sin, but by the law." Romans 7:7. The law of God tells us what sin is so "sin is the transgression of the law." 1 John 3:4. Whenever there is a breaking of the law, it means that that is sin. Since there is sin, there must also be death for the "wage of sin" or the wage for breaking the law of God "is death." This is why God told our first parents that if they ate of the forbidden fruit (committing sin or breaking the law), in that day, "Thou shalt surely die." Genesis 2:17.

So when Adam and Eve sinned, immediately they were to die. They broke the law and as a result, their wages were death. The reason for this is because God is the source of life. "I am the way the truth and the life," said Jesus. John 14:6. If we separate from Him, we separate from the source of life; and naturally that means death. How is it that we separate our selves from God? "But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear." Isaiah 59:2. Thus when we sin, we deserve to die for we have separated ourselves from the only source of life.

But even though we deserve to die, our God is a God of love and before we ever loved Him, "He first loved us." 1 John 4:19. In order to save us from this death that we all deserve(d), "the Lamb" was "slain from the foundation of the world." Revelation 13:8. As the law could not be changed, death had to come so Jesus, the Lamb (John 1:29), had to pay that penalty by death. He would die our death. He received what we deserve so that we may receive what He deserves. He took our sins in which He had no share so that we may partake of His life in which we had no share. All this, he pledged before the foundation of the world was laid. But in order for this to happen in our behalf, we need to come to Him, to reason together and make a covenant with our God.

In order to save man, God revealed this covenant as soon as sin entered this beautiful world He had created. "And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed, it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." Genesis 3:14, 15.

Now, who is the serpent in this text for it is quite evident that a serpent does not naturally speak? "And the great dragon was cast out" of heaven, that "old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world." Revelation 12:9.

It is very plain who the woman was in the text as Eve was the mother of all nations. But, we find another part which says that the serpent, Satan, would bruise the heel of the seed. It is very interesting to see that to Abraham the promise was also made concerning this seed saying, "in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." Genesis 22:18. But what is this referring to? We now quote with some light on the subject from the Apostle Paul: "Now to Abraham and to his seed were the promises made. he said not, and to seeds as of many, but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ." Galatians 3:16. With these preceding texts, it is evident that a great conflict is going on between Christ and Satan, a conflict that leads to injury to both parties involved; and yes, the final death of the Devil. This we see from Hebrews 2:14 where Christ took part in flesh and blood so that "through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil." Thus we see that Old Testament Abraham was not as ignorant of the gospel as many times we may think he was for in this promise, God "preached. . . the gospel unto Abraham saying, In thee shall all the nations be blessed." Galatians 3:8. From these verses, we can see that the Devil was to bruise Christ’s heel by placing Him on the cross; but, this very act, was the death knell for Satan. Now, let us see how this was a covenant to lead us to salvation.

This man, Abraham, trusted in none other than Christ for the forgiveness of sin. It was this faith that was accounted unto him for righteousness. (See Galatians 3:6, 7). This was the agreement that he had with God. The result of this kind of agreement was "that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws." Genesis 26:5. It not only forgave his sins but also was the power by which he was enabled to keep the commandments of the Lord. If we try any other covenant than this, as we’ll see later on, it would result in utter failure.

Although this covenant was made with Adam and renewed to Abraham, it could not be ratified until the death of Christ for where "a testament" or covenant is, "there must also of necessity be the death of the testator." Hebrews 9:16. God initiated this covenant so God must die. Just think of what sacrifice He was willing to make just to save this rebellious world. Together with the apostle, we may well exclaim, "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation." Hebrews 2:3.

If it was not ratified till the death of Jesus, how did it apply to those children of the heavenly King before the cross? "For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could sware by no greater, he sware by himself. . . For men verily sware by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. . . That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us." Hebrews 6:13-18. Thus they had to exercise faith upon the word of God so that when God makes an oath or a promise that he will do something, it is as if already done for "It" is "impossible for God to lie" based on these two things (oath and promise). So until ratified by the blood of Jesus Christ, they trusted in Him that He would do so.

"The Law of God," as we have already seen, "was the basis of this covenant, which was simply an arrangement for bringing men again into harmony with the divine will, placing them where they could obey God’s law." Patriarchs and prophets, p. 371:0.

This covenant that was made with Adam and then renewed to Abraham, had the power to bring salvation to the believing soul. It had power to change a rebellious life, had the power to make a sinner stop breaking the law of God and to delight to do His will and obey Him with a heart full of love and gratitude. Since this was the case, why did the Lord Jehovah make another covenant at Mount Sinai with the children of Israel? Why was another covenant necessary at that time? Let us take a look.

"In their bondage the people had to a great extent lost the knowledge of God and of the principles of the Abrahamic covenant. In delivering them from Egypt, God sought to reveal to them His power and his mercy, that they might be led to love and trust Him. He brought them down to the Red Sea—where, pursued by the Egyptians, escape seemed impossible—that thy might realize their utter helplessness, their need of divine aid; and then he wrought deliverance for them. Thus they were filled with love and gratitude to God and with confidence in His power to help them. He had bound them to Himself as their deliverer from temporal bondage.

"But there was a still greater truth to be impressed upon their minds. Living in the midst of idolatry and corruption, they had no true conception of the holiness of God, of the exceeding sinfulness of their own hearts, their utter inability, in themselves, to render obedience to God’s law, and their need of a Saviour. All this they must be taught." Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 371:2, 3.

These things were especially evident in their wilderness sojourn. They always seemed to depend upon their own strength and continually looked upon all their experiences from a human point of view. So then, "God brought them to Sinai; He manifested His glory; He gave them his law, with the promise of great blessings on condition of obedience." Ibid.: 4. This we can see by reading Exodus 19:5, 6: "Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation."

But, as in later years, they refused to realize the sinfulness of their own heart. As soon as Moses finished reading them these conditions that were laid out by God, instead of recognizing their helplessness and need, they replied: "All that the Lord hath spoken, we will do." Verse 8. As in later years, they just could not see that the "heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it." Jeremiah 17:9.

How similar it is to the feeble words of today. The deceiving cry is heard that all we need to do is develop the good that is already in us. How feeble are these words compared to that of Jeremiah that the heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.

Many of us today, as the Jews of old do not know that "the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment." Isaiah 1:5, 6. What good do we have in ourselves? What do we have to offer to such a perfect God? How many times are we ready to say as they did: "All that the Lord hath said, will we do and be obedient," when the law is spoken to our own heart? Exodus 24:7.

With this, they reached an agreement with God. This agreement is also called a covenant as "covenant" is more of a legal word than "agreement." Immediately after this agreement, "Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words." Thus by blood, it was ratified.

But what does the prophet Isaiah say about these "righteous" actions of theirs? "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags." Isaiah 64:6.

A few days after this covenant was agreed upon and ratified, "the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us Gods which shall go before us." Exodus 32:1. All that the Lord has said we will do just did not work. In their own strength, they just could not keep the law of God. This is exemplified by the fact that from all that multitude of people that left Egypt for the promised land, only two men entered in. When Moses, who also did not enter in, numbered the people in the plains of Moab by Jordan, "there was not a man of them whom Moses and Aaron the priest numbered when they numbered the children of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. . . . save Caleb. . . . and Joshua." Numbers 26:63-65. They could not keep holy the law of God so they perished in the wilderness.

You will notice that the law of God was the basis of both covenants and so there was nothing wrong with the ten commandments but was found that the "fault" was "with them." Hebrews 8:8. It was the people who said "We will do!" They did not realize their own inability in themselves to do the will of God wherein is their only hope. Thus, under this covenant, no one could be saved from sin and its consequences. It was only in the one made to Adam and then reaffirmed to Abraham that had the power of God in it.

In order to understand this, we need to know what makes a covenant valid. If we can apply it first in our daily experiences, then we can understand it in the spiritual aspect as the Bible so closely relates to our common walks of life.

Another word for covenant in the Scriptures is testament; the one who makes the covenant or testament, a testator. These words are still used legally today although in common terms, we call a testament a will. These documents may be agreed upon, but they are not valid or in force till there is the death of the testator. Before his death, the testator has the right to change the testament whenever he pleases, but that testament which is left at the time of his death, being the last one, is the one worth anything. This is why when a will is written, it uses the words "last will and testament." So in order for it to be in force, there is necessary the death of the testator. Now let us apply this to the preceding Scripture texts.

The question then comes, when was the testament that the people made with God on Mount Sinai ratified by death and with blood? "For Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you. Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry." Moses read the requirements of the law, the people said, "All that the Lord said we will do," and immediately thereafter, there was death and the blood of the animal was sprinkled upon the people. Thus that testament was in effect and agreed upon. so the covenant made then was ratified immediately at that time.

But when was the agreement made with Adam and Abraham ratified? "And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, that which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after man is dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth." Hebrews 9:15-17. Form these texts and those already dealt with earlier, we have seen that that agreement or testament made with Adam and Abraham was not ratified until the death of Jesus the testator. Notice the chart on the next page.

So the terminology should not confuse us. As you can remember, we saw that the only covenant that can save us is the one made to Adam and to Abraham. This one is called the new covenant because it was ratified by the death of Christ After the one on Mount Sinai was ratified. So between the two, reckoning from the time of ratification rather than from the time of initiation, we come up with the term "new" for the Abrahamic covenant. Abraham could receive the benefit from it because it was promised by God and as he made an oath for it. This is why they were also saved through faith just as we are.

Through the apostle Paul, the Lord says, "I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee: behold, now is the accepted time, behold, now is the day of salvation." 2 Corinthians 6:2.

The Lord is pleading with you right this moment for you to come to him just as you are. "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though our sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." Isaiah 1:18. Come now and make this covenant with our God. Realize you own sinfulness and total wretchedness without Him and make this new covenant with Him. Allow your Creator to write His laws upon your heart that you may do them and walk His pathway.

Let us meditate on this our closing text: "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life and may enter in through the gate into the city." Revelation 22:14. By God’s grace through this "new covenant," let us meet where the "still waters flow."