When Moses renewed the covenant with Israel in Deuteronomy 29, he summoned the people together to recall all the miracles the Lord had performed for them when they left Egypt. He cautions them to understand that they are about to enter into a covenant with their God. God is going to re-establish His covenant with an oath, to confirm them as His people. He is re-committing to be their God as He promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He begins to delineate a relationship of blessings and curses, not only for the people of Israel, but also for the land.
God issues a warning that if the people take for granted His covenant and walk away from the provision of blessing, the natural consequence will be that the land will suffer and become desolate. This is designed to be a sign to the nations that God’s anger was burning against His people, as he uprooted them from the land and caused it to wither.
God then goes on to explain what will happen when the people return to their God, take to heart His words, entering into a response of loving obedience. He promises prosperity in every area of life, including the prosperity of the crops of the land, encouraging them that His admonitions are not too hard for them. In fact, He has put them very near; in their hearts and in their mouths.
Then, God calls heaven and earth to witness. Since He is making a legal contract with the people and nation of Israel, He calls creation to witness the transaction. They are not mere witnesses to testify of the conditions of the contract, they are parties-in-interest. Heaven and earth, and all of creation, will stand to benefit when the Israelites fulfill their covenantal obligations.
To assure that future generations will be instructed and remember the transaction, Moses commanded the Levites to read the conditions every seven years, at the time of the cancellation of debts, during the Feast of Tabernacles. Then, each generation would know and understand the blessings and curses associated with the contract. Moses considered the document so important and holy, that he instructed the Levites, who also functioned as the lawyers, to place the document in the Ark of the Covenant. He went on to sing to the heavens and the earth, entreating them to hear the words of his song as he praises and worships his God.
Moses communicated God’s heart through the spoken word, connecting with the mind; the written word, clarifying it for the will; and through song, engaging the emotions to affect a heart response of love and obedience. He sings to the heavens and the earth and asks that his words will fall like rain and his words like the dew that waters the earth. He is refreshing creation with his song, encouraging and reminding the witnesses of the promises of God.
There are other passages in scripture, such as Isaiah 1:2 which call upon the witnesses of heaven and earth to testify of God’s truth when a case is being made against Israel for being unfaithful. Also, in Psalm 50, God calls upon heaven and earth as third party witnesses to testify that His word is in agreement with the covenant. God has made a covenant with, not only the people, but He has the whole of creation as the context of that covenant.
When the Jewish people were disbursed throughout the nations, God’s word was demonstrated to be true as the land laid desolate and withered for years, as He had declared. As the people have returned to the land, it has responded with fruitfulness. However, the full redemption and restoration of the land will come as the people receive revelation of the loving contract between God and man and begin to actively walk out that relationship with hearts of appreciation and devotion.
As at says in Romans 8, creation is groaning and waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God to be revealed. Creation longs to be liberated from its bondage to decay, and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. The fullness intended for creation, is totally dependent upon the actions of God’s people. Heaven and earth are the parties-in-interest waiting to benefit from the liberty of ones who know their old nature is dead, and are living to align with the reality of the life of the resurrection.
The words of the covenant are still valid for believers today. The word is very near us. It is in our hearts and in our mouths. As intercessors, we can remind God of His words and we can remind creation that God’s intention is still to bestow the benefit of liberty upon the heavens and the earth. We are agents of reconciliation, not only for the people of the land, but also for the witnesses—the heavens around the earth, the angelic realm, the very tangible earth realm and the unseen realm.
When we hear that admonition that “we can make a difference,” we can declare, “OH, what a difference we can make!” If we, as modeled by Moses, will allow our whole soul to be engaged in the process of worship, the overflow will be an active relationship with God who promised to go beyond our own small interests and even transform and liberate creation.
As believers in the land of Israel increase in number and revelation, the land will take on the same liberty and freedom from bondage. When we remember that this is not just an abstract concept, but written as a legal document, it makes the possibilities all the more tangible.
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