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Psalm 89:33-34 “33 Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail. 34 My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.”
Now that we have an understanding of Covenant between mortal men, let us now look upon the great mystery of God Almighty reaching out to form covenants with men and nations. From Noah, to Abraham to Moses and onward, God in His sovereign grace extended His hand down to us to form covenant relationships with us. Not because of what we could do, but because of who He is. I will overlook the first covenants made with Noah in Genesis Chapter 8 and 9 and Adam in Genesis chapter 3 at this moment and rather look briefly at the story of Abram.
In the entire 15th chapter of Genesis we have Abram after his encounter with Melchizedek now standing before God as He promises Abram an heir, descendants as numerous as the stars of the sky, 400 years of bondage in a foreign land, and a home to call their own. All this because he trusted in God who called him from his home to a strange land. He trusted in Almighty fully and completely (see Hebrews 11:8-10). And He was simply obedient to something and someone he didn’t understand, and here at this place God Himself called out to Abram to join Him in blood covenant. God offered a promise, and Abram offered a vessel for the Seed (see genesis 3:15). Like covenants between men Abram paid a price in blood as we see in
Genesis 15:9-10 So He said to him, "Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon." 10 Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two.”
After chasing away the vultures God stepped down to walk within the blood and ratified the covenant between Abram and all his descendants within him (see Hebrews 7:4-6) as its written in,
Genesis 15:17-18 “And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. 18 In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram….”
This covenant is the backbone of the entire Old Testament, the origins of Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, the Judges, David, the prophets and the Messiah. Their lives are living monuments of the day God came down to Abram now renamed Abraham. Yet this is only a stepping stone in the story of covenants with men and God. As promised Abrahams descendants suffered in Egypt until they were lead out by Moses and the miracles God preformed there. Eventually they arrived at Mt. Sinai and Almighty once again stepped down and consumed the mountain creating an everlasting monument and called the entire nation to join him in a covenant. On that mountain God delivered the terms of the covenant, the blessings on those who love and follow Him and the curses on those who sinned and rebelled against him (see Deuteronomy 28 and Leviticus 26). Here we see God calling out to a nation to be consecrated to Him, because they were Abraham’s children
Deuteronomy 7:7-11 “7 The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: 8 But because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; 10 And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face. 11 Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them.”
God entered that day into a covenant with the nation. He himself is perfect and cannot fail his covenant, yet he is joined to a nation who could fail, sin and rebel against Him and His covenant. Hence the blessings, curses, commandments and Laws of the covenant were given by God. And the entire sacrificial system that was ordained for a time was brought into effect. Rebellion against God and His covenant demanded blood, either by the substitution from a clean animal, or the lives of the nation as we saw with the invasions of Philistia, Moab, Amon, Assyria, Babylon and Rome (see Isaiah 24:5-6) . This is why a new and better covenant was established, on to that more later.
Now when God made this covenant with the people of Israel, he also extended it to those foreigners who would willfully commit themselves to God, they where grafted into the covenant. Yet they were usually not accepted by the “circumcision at birth” followers. As we saw in the days of Jesus where the court of the Gentiles was turned into an “Iron Age Walmart” (see Isaiah 56:6-7). No I bring this up because there is a story in the book of Joshua worth studying. God commanded the Israelites never to make any covenant with the inhabitants of Canaan, this is because if a Canaanite tribe entered into covenant with Israel they actually entered into covenant with God also.
Now the Gibeonites were a rather devious and clever tribe. When Joshua began to conquer Canaan the princes of Gibeon dressed in worn and torn clothing and convinced Israel that they were from a far far away country and they wanted to make peace with them. Joshua not knowing that they actually came from just a few miles away agreed, and after 3 days they cut covenant. They were brought in under the protection of Joshua and more importantly God. And of course they were spared from the fate of the rest of Canaan. Of couse when Joshua found out they were punished by being made slaves to work wood cutters and water drawers, but they were alive. For the entire story please read all of Joshua chapter 9. So we see that since they are in covenant, Israel cannot destroy them with the rest of Canaan.
Josh 9:19-20 “19 But all the princes said unto all the congregation, We have sworn unto them by the Lord God of Israel: now therefore we may not touch them. 20 This we will do to them; we will even let them live, lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath which we sware unto them.”
Not long after this something amazing happens, Adonizedek king of Jerusalem (an Amorite king) hears about what the Gibeonite have done and assembles his army and four other kings and goes out to try and destroy the city of Gibeon. Now bound by their oath Joshua must defend their covenant partners. But this is not the extraordinary thing, God himself intervenes and defends them. One of the greatest miracles in the old testament, the stopping of the sun, was done because God was bound in covenant to a people who were originally excluded from the covenant and were marked for death. By the bonds of covenant God stopped the earth’s rotation, overriding gravity and all natural laws as we see here in,
Joshua 10:10-14 “10 And the Lord discomfited them before Israel, and slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them along the way that goeth up to Beth-horon, and smote them to Azekah, and unto Makkedah. 11 And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Beth-horon, that the Lord cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died: they were more which died with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword. 12 Then spake Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. 13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. 14 And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel.”
All of this under and imperfect covenant, made with carnal men. We can see here and throughout the Old Testament the blessings of the covenant and the rewards of obedience. Yet for most of Israel’s history they rebelled against the covenant of Moses, and most importantly God. They worshipped Idols and foreign gods made by their own hands. Or they rejected God in order to follow the Law. Knowingly challenging an unchanging God. The LORD knew this would come to pass and warned them. Moses commanded that when the nation crossed the Jordan they would stand upon opposing mountains Ebal and Gerizim to pronounce the blessings and curses. This is a monument because to this day Gerizim the mountain of blessin,g is lush and covered with life and Mt. Ebal the mountain of curses, is dry and dead. (see Deuteronomy 11:26-29 and Joshua 8:30-35) By these natural monuments and the monument of the Law they had no claims to ignorance. And by the words of Joshua spoken when the 12 tribes had rest from conquering Canaan partly, we read
Joshua 23:14-16 “14 And, behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth: and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof. 15 Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all good things are come upon you, which the Lord your God promised you; so shall the Lord bring upon you all evil things, until he have destroyed you from off this good land which the Lord your God hath given you. 16 When ye have transgressed the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed yourselves to them; then shall the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and ye shall perish quickly from off the good land which he hath given unto you.”
A warning left unheard, should we be surprised, this covenant laid in the hands of sinful and unregenerated men. It was a shadow and a picture of what was to come. Yet God himself could never change nor invoke violate the covenant as the people could. Hence the season of Levitical sacrifice, a constant 24/7 refreshing and whitewashing of the covenant individually and nationally. Yet this could not truly wash away sin or renew the heart, as we see the cyclical state of the people right before the fall to Babylon in
Jeremiah 34:18 “And the men who have transgressed My covenant, who have not kept the terms of the covenant or solemn pledge which they had made before Me, I will make them [like] the [sacrificial] calf which they cut in two and then passed between its separated parts [solemnizing their pledge to Me] — I will make those men the calf! AMP
A tragedy, a sadly legal tragedy. Yet God promised that one day a new and greater covenant would emerge. One not dependant on the acts of men but on something everlasting and eternal. The prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel all spoke of this
Isa 59:20-21 “20 And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord. 21 As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever.”
Jer 31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant…
Ezekiel 37:26-27 “Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore.”
Yet there is a warning, before the old and imperfect could be done away with and replaced with something greater. God would have to dissolve the old, after generations of the tribes continually breaking their sole responsibility of loving Him with all their hearts, minds, strength and spirit, and their neighbor as their self. And repeatedly choosing either lives of idolatry or dead religion. It was foretold of an end, of the last days of the old covenant.
Zechariah 11:10-14 10 And I took my staff, Beauty, and cut it in two, that I might break the covenant which I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was broken on that day. Thus the poor of the flock, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the Lord. 12 Then I said to them, "If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain." So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver. 13 And the Lord said to me, "Throw it to the potter" — that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord for the potter. 14 Then I cut in two my other staff, Bonds, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
John 19:15 “But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priest answered, We have no king but Caesar.”
Now we look ahead to the New Covenant the Covenant between God and Christ, or also known as the covenant between Christ and the redeemed.
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