When I sat in my chair and settled in to hear the study that was being presented by our pastor, Pastor Jon, I was expecting it to be that kind of day. We are studying God's Covenant Love and my mind was already thinking of a dozen different directions this was going to go, a dozen places I have already been, and a dozen places I didn't want to go hash over one more time. I didn't want to be bored and wonder, "why did I come again?"
Don't get me wrong, hearing about God's love is wonderful. I am very grateful for it, more grateful than I can ever express. But I want to hear something more, something deeper. I want to learn! Not just chew the same words over and over again, never really growing or increasing in my knowledge of who God really is and what does He really want, expect and require of me in my relationship with Him.
So, with a sense of dread I opened my ears to listen to what was taught, and with great joy I was surprised to learn some amazing things. This covenant thing God has for us is pretty amazing and much deeper than most of us in the Western world can even fathom. In our country a covenant is important, but not much more (if any) than a contract. We make a covenant in marriage but how many people in this country break that? That number is staggering, even amongst Christians where it shouldn't be.
But to God and the people of the bible, a covenant was something extremely serious, it was most of the time lifelong (sometimes generational), it was binding and unbreakable. The basic covenant ceremony was very detailed and even gruesome in some ways (animal sacrifice, sharing of your own blood) because it was meant to drive home the point between two parties that the covenant being made, was serious, final and unbreakable.
A covenant brought together two parties and those two parties were now one, they shared strengths and weaknesses and because of that they were truly bound in a way nothing else could bind them.
Our Lord made covenants with us in the Old Testament, and we constantly failed our part. But God never failed His. Time and time again He would deliver us from our mistakes, our failings, our sins and give us great rewards and favor, even though we certainly did not deserve it. But He made a covenant, and even though we did not hold our end up, HE held his up without reservation because HE promised and HE never fails a promise. He never promises us something and doesn't deliver, ever! Can we say the same? Even with good intentions, we fail. But He doesn't, EVER!
The New Testament is all about His new covenant with us. And as with the Old Testament covenant, the Lord has held true to His part of the new covenant, and what a wonderful thing that is.
The Lord sent His only Son, the Son He loved, to come down here on earth to live amongst us and be tempted just as we are, only He lived a pure and holy life, one without sin. He then sentenced His only Son to die a horrible and terrible death. Why? To cover your sin, to cover my sin, to make a new covenant with us so that we do not have to suffer a life without our Lord. Jesus, the Son of God gave us the ultimate sacrifice that will free us of our bondage to sin. Just like in the Old Testament in Genesis 22:8 when Abraham takes his son Isaac up on the mountain to sacrifice him to the Lord, Isaac asked his dad where the lamb is they were going to sacrifice and Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering my son." And that is what He did.
Remember Abraham didn't have to sacrifice his son because the Lord provided a ram for him to use instead because of Abraham's obedience. The same is true for today, the Lord provided the sacrifice for us and that was His Son's life (Jesus) on the cross. Now all we have to do is accept His gift, ask for forgiveness, show true Godly sorrow and repentance by turning from our sin and following HIM!
What an amazing gift we have. And how much more amazing when we realize how serious God takes His part in the covenant. How serious will you be with Him, how serious will you take this covenant?
