3. God of Covenants.

All through the Bible we see many covenants and we ourselves had considered three out of the seven covenants in the Bible, in my earlier posts. Every ‘Covenant’ ( Hebrew : berit means an association with two parties with various responsibilities, benefits and penalties ; ‘to cut a covenant’ means ‘to make a covenant’, a figure of the act of ceremonially cutting an animal into two parts, with an implication of serious consequences for not fulfilling the covenant ) was founded on one or many promises made by one or both parties and their violations demanded punishment. We people in the modern world are more familiar with the term ‘Contract’ and the phrases ‘Terms and conditions’ and ‘Breach of Contract’, where if one party breaches the contract, the other party is absolved from all obligations and has the right to seek compensation from the other, for losses incurred. But unlike a contract, if one of the parties violates the sanctity of a covenant, the other party is still obligated to fulfill his or her part of the promise, whether or not the first party is taken to task. ( Doesn’t that sound like a marriage covenant ? ) Now it makes sense when Scripture says, ‘If we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.’ ( 2 Timothy 2 : 13 ) God desired an everlasting relationship with man and he was the one who initiated these covenants with those that he chose, just as he did with Abraham and his descendants, with David and his descendants and now with the Church, the bride of Christ. God had modelled marriage to be a covenant relationship ( But we have made it look like a contract ! ) and that is why he hates divorce. “I hate divorce,” says the LORD God of Israel, … So guard yourself in your spirit and do not break faith. ( Malachi 2 : 16 )

As we considered in my earlier post, he is a God of promises by which he woos those he choose, as he did Abraham and cut an everlasting blood covenant with him. Abraham therefore, could depart in peace because he believed that the ‘zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish’ the task of testifying to his descendants, as he himself would not be alive to oversee their adherence to the covenant. It was God’s responsibility to bring Abraham’s descendants to the faith of their forefathers. Now we understand why the Lord appeared to Jacob at Bethel, while he was fleeing from his brother Esau and said, “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Issac … I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” ( Genesis 28 : 10 – 15 ) God made all these wonderful promises to Jacob when he didn’t deserve any but because of his covenant with Abraham.

If we have a covenant with God, we can rest assured that God will take care of our children, even after we depart because he is faithful to keep his covenant with our children’s children.

‘From everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him and his righteousness with their children’s children – with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.’ ( Psalm 103 : 17 – 18 ) Amen.