Genesis Vol 3.pdf - College Press

THE PROMISE AND COVENANT 1 j : 17-21
pagan cults] , . . in the Israelite tradition it was no agree-
ment between equals. The terms of the covenant were not
the result of negotiation: they were imposed by the Lord
(cf, Exod. 34:lO-11; 24:7) ; and the covenant was inagu-
rated at the foot of the flaming mountain (cf. Exod.
19: 18) .’’ The commentator here is assuming the premise
that the Old Covenant of the Bible was a borrowing from
the eccult of Baal-berith at Shechem.” The theory is ab-
surd for two reasons: (1) the ethical purity of the Cove-
nant with Israel as compared with that of the pagan cults;
(2) the name of Deity (I AM) of the Covenant with
Israel expresses pure personalify in striking contrast to the
names of pagan gods and goddesses which are simply per-
sonifications of natural forces. The difference between
pure personality and mere personification is the difference
between heaven and earth, the divine and the human. The
NAME of the Old Covenant God is a revealed name; the
names of pagan gods and goddesses were all of human
origin, (There is no word for goddess in the Hebrew
language.) It is inconceivable that any human being could
ever have conjured up out of his own imagination the great
and incommunicable NAME by which God revealed Him-
self to His ancient people (Exo. 3 : 14-1 5 ) , and especially
any member of a nation surrounded on all sides by nothing
but pagan idolatrous cults with their gross immoralities as
was ancient Israel. We now quote the remainder of the
comment in which the writer (IBG, 603) emphasizes the
ethical superiority of the Covenant with Israel. Israel
made the covenant idea, he goes on to say, “the vehicle of
their faith in the dependability of God. He was no ca-
pricious despot but a God of righteousness and order who
respected human personality. He would not change: his
favor was sure. But Israel would benefit by that favor
only in so far as they were obedient to the divine will.”
With these statements we agree wholeheartedly. The com-
mentator continues as follows concerning v. 18: “In this
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