blinders and covenant

Blinders and Covenant

In considering why many Christians opt out of dealing with corrupt government, the parallel of blinders may be worth a discussion.  Blinders were created to keep horses from being “spooked” as they had to then look a certain direction and did not have full vision.

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It just seems that there are blinders on some Christians or denominations. Yes, they will pray but when it comes to voting it seems that some feel it is an option to sit voting out.   Yes, none of the candidates are perfect, but there are some that are better than others.

In various circles the Biblical concept of covenant is taught. When a covenant was made, each party in the covenant would back up the other party. The enemy of one was the enemy of another.

Israel got into trouble when it entered the promised land because it made a covenant with a group it was not supposed to make a covenant with … and then it was bound to protect them.

Joshua 9:1 And it came to pass, when all the kings which were on this side Jordan, in the hills, and in the valleys, and in all the coasts of the great sea over against Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard thereof;

2 That they gathered themselves together, to fight with Joshua and with Israel, with one accord.

3 And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai,

4 They did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles, old, and rent, and bound up;

5 And old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy.

6 And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel, We be come from a far country: now therefore make ye a league with us.

7 And the men of Israel said unto the Hivites, Peradventure ye dwell among us; and how shall we make a league with you?

8 And they said unto Joshua, We are thy servants. And Joshua said unto them, Who are ye? and from whence come ye?

9 And they said unto him, From a very far country thy servants are come because of the name of the Lord thy God: for we have heard the fame of him, and all that he did in Egypt,

10 And all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, which was at Ashtaroth.

11 Wherefore our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spake to us, saying, Take victuals with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say unto them, We are your servants: therefore now make ye a league with us.

12 This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go unto you; but now, behold, it is dry, and it is mouldy:

13 And these bottles of wine, which we filled, were new; and, behold, they be rent: and these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey.

14 And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord.

15 And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them.

16 And it came to pass at the end of three days after they had made a league with them, that they heard that they were their neighbours, and that they dwelt among them.

17 And the children of Israel journeyed, and came unto their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjathjearim.

18 And the children of Israel smote them not, because the princes of the congregation had sworn unto them by the Lord God of Israel. And all the congregation murmured against the princes.

19 But all the princes said unto all the congregation, We have sworn unto them by the Lord God of Israel: now therefore we may not touch them.

20 This we will do to them; we will even let them live, lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath which we sware unto them.

 

Because the leaders of Israel made a covenant with the leaders of Gibeon, they then had to go to war to protect Gibeon. It was a battle they never needed to fight if they had not made a wrong covenant.

Joshua 10:1 Now it came to pass, when Adonizedec king of Jerusalem had heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it; as he had done to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and her king; and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them;

2 That they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, as one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all the men thereof were mighty.

3 Wherefore Adonizedec king of Jerusalem, sent unto Hoham king of Hebron, and unto Piram king of Jarmuth, and unto Japhia king of Lachish, and unto Debir king of Eglon, saying,

4 Come up unto me, and help me, that we may smite Gibeon: for it hath made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel.

5 Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon, gathered themselves together, and went up, they and all their hosts, and encamped before Gibeon, and made war against it.

6 And the men of Gibeon sent unto Joshua to the camp to Gilgal, saying, Slack not thy hand from thy servants; come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us: for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the mountains are gathered together against us.

7 So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he, and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valour.

 

While the story continues,  for purposes of this blog post, it is to establish the idea of covenant, that once a covenant is made, the enemies of one become the enemies of another.

The church is pretty good overall recognizing that prayer needs to be made against satan and for the promises of God to become manifest in the earth. “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” It is pretty amazing that secularists and atheists fight that as God is the God of life, of health, of prosperity. The streets of the city of God are streets of gold. Who doesn’t want health, life, and prosperity but there are those who say,

Luke 19:14 But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.

 

A primary reason that the Lord God is dissed is due to bad PR by satan and his cohorts … the atheists, the secularists, the modernists, the communists, the satanists. Just look at the lies spewed in politics and know that spiritual propaganda is just as great. You won’t know the truth unless you read the Bible.

But in any case, it’s time to get back to covenant. So a lot is made of what Jesus did at the cross and the bringing in of the New Covenant which is superior to the Old Covenant of the Old Testament.

Hebrews 8:1 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest [Jesus], who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;

2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.

3 For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.

4 For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:

5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.

6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.

7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.

8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:

9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.

10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

13 In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.

 

Hebrews 7:22 (KJV) By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.

Hebrews 7:22 (WEB) By so much, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.

New Testament = New Covenant

How was the new covenant established? Covenants are sealed in blood. Jesus spoke this at the last supper, prior to his crucifixion and the shedding of his blood.

Luke 22:20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.

 

So we have a new covenant of which believers are the recipients of all that Jesus the Christ accomplished on the cross and through his life, death, burial and resurrection.

The thing is, a covenant makes God’s enemies, our enemies.

In other words, all that is anti-Christ the church should resist, not just in prayer, but also at the ballot box. It is to live with blinders to think we can pray only, but not vote against ungodly candidates at the ballot box.

If there is to be a full-orbed Christian response to the ungodliness of the age, it must be not only in prayer, but also by voting against anti-God agendas.

Learn more about the different candidates.

https://ivoterguide.com/

 

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