A Nation by Covenant (DT 29:1)

"These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the sons of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant which He had made with them at Horeb." (Deuteronomy 29:1)

The nation of Israel came into existence as the result of a covenant made between God and the Israelites. The very foundations of Israel's existence were built upon covenant. This was not just a covenant between that generation and God, but between every successive generation and God. The covenant they made with God that day was passed down from generation to generation. Each generation not needing to renew or decide again on the founding covenant of their nation, rather they received the nation and their participation in the covenant as an inheritance from this original generation. The covenant once made was in force for all generations after.

What is important to understand is that a nation, once conceived by covenant, is gifted from one generation to another as an inheritance. For my country, that covenant is expressed primarily in our Declaration of Independence and in our constitution. Having received our nation and covenants by inheritance, it is up to us to preserve them and to pass them on to the next generation.

Whether we like it or not, we have been made participants in the covenants made by our forefathers. While from time to time certain adjustments or changes may be necessary to the structure of a nation, we must always seek to make them in light of the founding covenants and principals set down by those who founded our nation. We do not have, nor should we suppose to have, the luxury of re-negotiating the founding covenants with each successive generation; our role is to preserve what we receive not to try and remake it into our own image.

One of the things that concerns me greatly about the times we live in in my country is that there seems to be a concerted effort to make wholesale changes in our government, our economy, and our culture. Laws and policies are being put advanced that are, in many cases, in direct opposition to our constitution. There appears to be little regard to the constitution and founding principles by those who are pursuing this course of change. It makes me wonder what we will have left to pass on to the next generation.

Change may be inevitable, but we must never change in a way, or to a degree, to violate or abandon the covenants that created us as a nation. To do so is revolution.

David Robison

foundation, covenant, constitution, Book of Deuteronomy, The Robe, David Robison

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