Introduction:
What do the following have in common?
• A man & woman lighting one candle
• A man & woman exchanging rings
• "Dearly beloved we gathered here in the presence of these witnesses...."
They're all part of a wedding ceremony. Middle eastern people in the Bible, from Abraham to Paul, were as acquainted with covenants as we are with weddings. The Greeks and Romans did not have covenants. In fact, when the OT was translated into Greek the first time, they had to use the Greek word for “will” or “testament” to translate the Hebrew word for covenant. Since our society was shaped by Greek and Roman cultures, we don’t know much about covenants either.
A covenant is a comprehensive agreement between two participants with clearly outlined parameters and promises; a mutual understanding between two people that voluntarily bind themselves together. Covenants could be between equal partners or between a powerful king and a weaker person.
Thesis:
God chose to bind himself to humanity in a covenant to express his love for us. We need to understand God’s grace in binding himself to us in a covenant so we can experience the full power of his covenant.
Key Question:
What is involved in a covenant ritual? And what makes God’s covenant with us so important?
I. THIRTEEN PARTS OF THE COVENANT RITUAL (OPTIONS, USUALLY NOT ALL USED AT THE SAME TIME)
A. The Exchange of Robes (sharing of identities)
B. The Exchange of Weapons (sharing of enemies)
C. The Exchange of Belts (sharing of assets and strengths)
DAVID & JONATHAN (1 Samuel 18:3-4 NIV p. 281)
And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.
D. The Animal Sacrifice (visual aid for the vows)
E. "The Walk of Death" (more intense visual aid for vows)
GOD & ABRAHAM (Genesis 15:1-18 NIV p. 13)
After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision:
"Do not be afraid, Abram.
I am your shield,
your very great reward."
But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir."
Then the word of the LORD came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir." He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars — if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."
Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
He also said to him, "I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it."
But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?"
9 So the LORD said to him, "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon."
10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. Then the LORD said to him, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure."
When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates….”
F. The Mark on the Body / Striking of Hands (permanence of relationship)
G. The Exchange of Names (names mixed to merge identities)
GOD & ABRAHAM (Genesis 17:1-16 NIV p. 14)
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers."
Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, "As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. 5 No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God."
Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. 10 This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner — those who are not your offspring. 13 Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant."
15 God also said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her."
H. The Pronouncement of Blessings and Curses
I. Stone pillars or mountains used as permanent reminders of a covenant
GOD & ISRAEL (Deuteronomy 11:26-29 NIV p. 183; Deuteronomy 27:1-14 NIV p. 196; Joshua 8:30-35 NIV p. 215)
26 See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse — 27 the blessing if you obey the commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you today; 28 the curse if you disobey the commands of the LORD your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known. 29 When the LORD your God has brought you into the land you are entering to possess, you are to proclaim on Mount Gerizim the blessings, and on Mount Ebal the curses.
Deuteronomy 27:1-14 p. 196
1 Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people: "Keep all these commands that I give you today. 2 When you have crossed the Jordan into the land the LORD your God is giving you, set up some large stones and coat them with plaster. 3 Write on them all the words of this law when you have crossed over to enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you. 4 And when you have crossed the Jordan, set up these stones on Mount Ebal, as I command you today, and coat them with plaster. 5 Build there an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones. Do not use any iron tool upon them. 6 Build the altar of the LORD your God with fieldstones and offer burnt offerings on it to the LORD your God. 7 Sacrifice fellowship offerings there, eating them and rejoicing in the presence of the LORD your God. 8 And you shall write very clearly all the words of this law on these stones you have set up."
9 Then Moses and the priests, who are Levites, said to all Israel, "Be silent, O Israel, and listen! You have now become the people of the LORD your God. 10 Obey the LORD your God and follow his commands and decrees that I give you today."
11 On the same day Moses commanded the people:
12 When you have crossed the Jordan, these tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin. 13 And these tribes shall stand on Mount Ebal to pronounce curses: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali.
14 The Levites shall recite to all the people of Israel in a loud voice: [Cursed will you be if you break this covenant. Blessed will you be if you keep this covenant.]
Joshua 8:30-35 p. 215
30 Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the LORD, the God of Israel, 31 as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses-an altar of uncut stones, on which no iron tool had been used. On it they offered to the LORD burnt offerings and sacrificed fellowship offerings. 32 There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua copied on stones the law of Moses, which he had written. 33 All Israel, aliens and citizens alike, with their elders, officials and judges, were standing on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the LORD, facing those who carried it-the priests, who were Levites. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the LORD had formerly commanded when he gave instructions to bless the people of Israel.
34 Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law-the blessings and the curses-just as it is written in the Book of the Law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the aliens who lived among them.
J. The Meal (exchange of needs)
GOD & ISRAEL'S ELDERS (Exodus 24:1-11 NIV p. 78)
1 Then he said to Moses, "Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. You are to worship at a distance, 2 but Moses alone is to approach the LORD; the others must not come near. And the people may not come up with him."
3 When Moses went and told the people all the LORD's words and laws, they responded with one voice, "Everything the LORD has said we will do." 4 Moses then wrote down everything the LORD had said.
He got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the LORD. 6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he sprinkled on the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, "We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey."
8 Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, "This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words."
9 Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up 10 and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself. 11 But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank.
K. Sealing / Proving / Testing the Covenant (exchanging first born sons)
GOD & ABRAHAM (Genesis 22:1-2 p. 19 & John 3:16 NIV p. 1052)
1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!"
"Here I am," he replied.
2 Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."
16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
L. Planting a tree as a reminder of a covenant
ABRAHAM PLANTED A TREE (Genesis 21:22-34 NIV p. 19)
22 At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his forces said to Abraham, "God is with you in everything you do. 23 Now swear to me here before God that you will not deal falsely with me or my children or my descendants. Show to me and the country where you are living as an alien the same kindness I have shown to you."
24 Abraham said, "I swear it."
25 Then Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well of water that Abimelech's servants had seized. 26 But Abimelech said, "I don't know who has done this. You did not tell me, and I heard about it only today."
27 So Abraham brought sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a treaty. 28 Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs from the flock, 29 and Abimelech asked Abraham, "What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs you have set apart by themselves?"
30 He replied, "Accept these seven lambs from my hand as a witness that I dug this well."
31 So that place was called Beersheba, because the two men swore an oath there.
32 After the treaty had been made at Beersheba, Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his forces returned to the land of the Philistines. 33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the LORD, the Eternal God. 34 And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for a long time.
M. Giving of a ring (sharing authority)
PHARAOH & JOSEPH (Genesis 41:41-44 NIV p. 19)
41 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt." 42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph's finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. 43 He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, and men shouted before him, "Make way!" Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.
44 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I am Pharaoh, but without your word no one will lift hand or foot in all Egypt."
II. TEN AMAZING CHARACTERISTICS OF GOD’S COVENANT LOVE
God voluntarily bound himself to us in a series of covenants. Here are TEN AMAZING CHARACTERISTICS OF GOD’S COVENANT LOVE.
A. Irrevocable – God will not change his mind
B. Interpersonal – the key to understanding the Bible narrative from Genesis through Revelation
C. Solemn – Serious commitment for both parties
D. Historical – actual event in time and space
E. Sovereign – God’s voluntary selection and choice
F. Grace filled – God’s voluntary act of generosity
G. Advantageous – filled with blessings for us
H. Collective – multigenerational; ties all covenant parties together
I. Ethical – shapes the behavior and relationships of both God and humans
J. Unconditioned but conditional – we don’t earn it, can’t buy it, and can’t repay God for the covenant but we must keep it; covenants call for single-hearted worship of the Lord
REPENTANCE POINT: How should we change?
Telling someone "God loves you" almost seems trite and meaningless. Too many people act as though that's his job – as though he has to love us.
I have more respect the agnostics who say it's presumptuous to believe a Supreme Being would care about us. They get it. The idea that God would voluntarily bind himself to us in a binding covenant is truly awesome.
It’s unexplainable. It’s amazing. It is pure grace – a gift of love given freely with no expectation of return and motivated only by the generosity of the Giver. We dare not take it for granted.
NEXT STEPS: What are the first steps in this REPENTANCE POINT {paradigm shift or change in our thinking}?
I want you to think about this statement with me.
We can’t earn a covenant relationship with God;
we can’t buy it,
and we can’t repay Jesus for it
but we must keep it
with single-hearted worship.
(Repeat twice then have them repeat it after you once)
RESPONSE GOAL INVITATION: Will you ... now?
God voluntarily chose to bind himself to humanity in a covenant of love. His grace is amazing. Let’s stand and sing it.
Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound!
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.
When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we first begun.
Amazing Grace (John Newton) PUBLIC DOMAIN
