‘On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying: “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates’. Genesis 15 v 18
Do you tend to find there are some words in the bible that you skim over without stopping to appreciate their true significance? I must admit the idea of covenant is one of those. It’s something I have a limited understanding of and yet it is such an integral part of how the Lord relates to his people and it shows us a further dimension of his love and grace towards us.
So what is a Covenant?
Well, a covenant is a chosen relationship or partnership in which two parties make binding promises to each other and work together to reach a common goal. They’re often accompanied by oaths, signs, and ceremonies. Covenants contain defined obligations and commitments, but differ from a contract in that they are relational and personal. Think of a marriage. In love, a husband and wife choose to enter into a formal relationship binding themselves to one another in lifelong faithfulness and devotion. They then work as partners to reach a common goal, like building a career or raising children together. That’s a covenant.This type of relationship is very common in the Bible. There were personal covenants between two individuals (think David and Jonathan in 1 Samuel 23) and political covenants between two kings or nations (again, think King Solomon and King Hiram in 1 Kings 5 ,
Covenanting was part and parcel of what it meant to live in the ancient eastern world. It makes sense then that God would reach out to us humans to reveal himself and bring about reconciliation through a structure they already understood. So what did He do? The first step God takes in repairing this partnership is to select a small group of people and make a new partnership with them called a "covenant." In this covenant, God makes promises to these people and asks them to fulfil certain commitments.In total, there are four Old Testament covenants—one with Noah, (I will no longer destroy the earth) one with Abraham, (you will be blessed and your descendants will fill the earth and through them I will build my family) one with the Israelites, (the law, you do and I will do for you) and one with King David (the messiah would come through your line) All these covenants serve the purpose of creating a new partnership into which God can eventually invite you and me to be a part of. Unfortunately, Israel eventually breaks these covenants with God.
Nevertheless, throughout the Old Testament, prophets talked about a day when God would once again create a new covenant, one that would completely restore all the broken covenants that came before it. This fifth and new covenant was fulfilled through Jesus. And moreover we see how all the other covenants were fulfilled in him. Jesus is a descendant of Abraham, allowing him to fulfil the covenant God had with Abraham and his family. We're also told that Jesus is the faithful Israelite who is able to truly obey the law, and he is the king from the line of David. Therefore restoring all the covenants in the Bible that God had made with his people!
What I see in all of this is no amount of human weakness or error can thwart the plan of God for his people. Despite our unfaithfulness he remains true to his word. Despite our dysfunction and inability to choose the right way He has worked through the generations, bringing his covenant people to a place where they are finally freed from all their mistakes and able to enter into a life of blessing. Now we get to live in the richness of the new covenant. Not one where we have to keep our part of the bargain to be able to receive his goodness but one in which Jesus kept it for us!
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Unshakeable Hope Series – Exchange Church Belfast 2021