Covenant Renewal

Biblical Occurrences

"Covenant renewal" is not a term that appears as such in the Bible. Scholars and preachers use it to group together various scenes in which the covenant is reaffirmed. The principal scenes are as follows.

• Renewal of the covenant at Sinai: After the covenant was broken through the golden calf incident, God has Moses hew new tablets of stone and establishes the covenant anew (Exodus 34:1-28).
• The covenant on the plains of Moab: Deuteronomy 29:1 describes this covenant as one made in the land of Moab, "beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb." Deuteronomy 27 commands that, after entering Canaan, the people set up stones on Mount Ebal inscribed with the law. It also directs six tribes to stand on Mount Gerizim and six on Mount Ebal to pronounce the blessings and the curses. The carrying out of this command is recorded in Joshua 8:30-35.
• The assembly at Shechem: Before his death, Joshua gathers the people at Shechem. He recounts what God has done, calls on the people to choose whom they will serve, and makes a covenant with them. A great stone is set up as a witness (Joshua 24:14-25).
• The monarchy: The priest Jehoiada (2 Kings 11:17), Asa (2 Chronicles 15:12-15), and Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 29:10) renewed the covenant. Josiah read the book of the law found in the temple aloud before the people and made a covenant (2 Kings 23:1-3).
• After the return from exile: In the time of Ezra, the people made a covenant (Ezra 10:3). In Nehemiah 8–10, following the reading of the law and the confession of sin, the leaders write down "a sure covenant" and seal it (Nehemiah 9:38).

Background

The Hebrew word for "covenant" is berit. The expression "to make a covenant" literally means "to cut a covenant," and a widely known explanation connects it with a ceremony in which animals were cut in pieces. Certain elements frequently recur in the renewal scenes:

• Recalling what God has done
• Reading of the law
• The people's response and oath
• A witness or written record
• Pronouncement of blessings and curses

Some scholars compare this structure with ancient Near Eastern suzerainty treaties (treaties between a great king and a vassal state). Deuteronomy 31:10-13 commands that the law be read every seven years at the Feast of Tabernacles.

Significance Across Scripture

Accounts of covenant renewal usually follow the people's unfaithfulness, a change of leadership, or a national crisis. They therefore display both God's faithfulness and the people's repeated failures. Jeremiah foretold a new covenant to be written not on tablets of stone but on the heart (Jeremiah 31:31-34). The New Testament regards this prophecy as fulfilled through the death of Jesus. At the Last Supper, Jesus said of the cup that it was "the new testament in my blood" (Luke 22:19-20), and the Epistle to the Hebrews quotes Jeremiah's text directly (Hebrews 8:6-13).

Interpretations and Debates

• Is the new covenant a renewal or something new? The Reformed tradition, following covenant theology, views the Old and New Testaments as differing administrations of a single covenant of grace and emphasizes continuity. Dispensationalism distinguishes Israel from the church and addresses the scope of the new covenant's application as a separate question.
• Worship and covenant renewal: Some Reformed theologies of worship describe Lord's Day worship and the Lord's Supper as occasions of covenant renewal. The Methodist tradition observes the Covenant Service, begun by John Wesley.
• Theories beyond the text: The claim that ancient Israel held an annual covenant renewal festival is a hypothesis proposed by some scholars; the Old Testament text does not state it directly. Among the Dead Sea Scrolls, the rule book of the Qumran community records an annual ceremony of entering the covenant.

In the Korean Church

Joshua 24:15, "but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD," is frequently quoted in sermons on the New Year or on the family. Some sermons also connect covenant renewal with the portion of services such as the New Year's Eve watch-night service in which worshipers make resolutions for the new year.