BLESSED COVENANTS

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“As for me, this is My covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you, and My words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the Lord.

Isaiah 59:21

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Have you ever been involved in a covenant?

It’s not a word we use very often in every day discussions but when it comes to looking at the scriptures, it becomes a word fundamental to our understanding of our relationship with God.

First, we need to remember that the very Bible we cherish and study from is broken down into two covenants, an old one and a new one. That’s right, if you want to get to the root of the word “testament”, you will find covenant as a suitable substitute.

It makes sense, right?

In the Old Testament, God’s covenant of salvation was with His chosen people, the Israelites. If you weren’t a Jew, people referred to as Gentiles in the scriptures, then you had no hope for salvation. In order to live forever, one would have to covert to Judaism and adopt their religious disciplines.

Then Jesus was sent to earth by God to conduct His ministry work and usher in the new covenant (found in the New Testament writings). In this covenant, the gates of heaven and everlasting life were opened up to anyone who placed their belief, faith, and trust in Jesus as their personal Savior, whether Jew or Gentile. In other words, everyone had equal opportunity to gain salvation.

Two covenants. Very different in meaning and application but covenants nonetheless.

Another way we look at covenants in the scriptures involves seeing them as agreements involving promises God makes with people. Sometimes those promises can be with individuals. At other times, they are with the people of Israel or humanity as an entirety. 

For example, go back to Abraham. God came to him and made the following covenant:

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:1-3

If Abraham was obedient to God’s call, then God promised to make him into a great nation and bless all people on earth. Abraham kept his side of the deal and, in turn, so did God for He always keeps His promises.

From Abraham, you can go to the story of Noah and find a covenant that God made with all the people of the world. Look at these words:

Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: “I now establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. I establish My covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between Me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set My rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember My covenant between Me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”

So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between Me and all life on the earth.”  Genesis 9:8-17

God had sent a mighty flood that wiped out everything that wasn’t on the ark with Noah, his family, and the animals. That would be the last flood of its kind from God because He promised it and today we continue to see His covenant sign displayed in the sky every time a rainbow appears. It’s the most frequent visual reminder we have of this matter of covenant between God and others.

As far as the people of Israel go, we find a covenant being made with them in the final verse of Isaiah 59, a blessed covenant that had to bring comfort and assurance in the midst of their restoration from seventy years of captivity in Babylon. Look again at these words from God:

“As for me, this is My covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you, and My words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the Lord.  Isaiah 59:21

Think about what God is promising here.

First, His Spirit, the connectional point between Him and His people, would always be with them and never depart. Indeed, He kept that promise with the Israelites and that promise has carried to us this very day. The Holy Spirit is always on us and with us. All we need to do is tune into its guidance and direction, a guidance and direction coming from God Himself to lead us toward living in righteousness.

Secondly, God promised to keep His words in the mouths of not only His people but their children and future descendants. Today, we still have His word to read from, to learn from, and to share with others with our lips. And it’s His word that is central to every devotion I have had the privilege to write under The Christian Walk ministry (numbering more than 1,800 now).

So what’s the point God is trying to make today?

He wants us to remember that He is in the covenant business and has been so since the dawn of man. He wants us to remember that He always keeps His promises.

And He wants us to remember that through His blessed covenants, we are in turn a blessed people, valued and cared for by our Almighty God.

We need to keep this in mind as we go through every day that He grants us through His love, mercy, and grace.  

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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