The Covenant: Part 2
Psalm 25:14 [NKJV], The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant.
• In Biblical times a covenant was viewed as a sacred act that involved commitment, faithfulness and loyalty even unto death.
“A covenant is an agreement between God and His people in which He has made binding promises to them based off of His unconditional love.”
Seven components of a covenant…
1. The Representative
2. The Oath
3. The Promise
4. The Sacrifice
5. The Seal
6. The Meal
7. The Memorial
The Seven components thru the lens of shadows and types…
1. The Representative is the life of Jesus
2. The Oath is His word
3. The Promise is His provision
4. The Sacrifice is His blood
5. The Seal is His scars/Spirit
6. The Meal is His communion
7. The Memorial is His cross
Hebrews 8:4-6 [NLT], If he we here on earth, he would not even be a priest, since there already are priests who offer the gifts required by the law. 5 They serve in a system of worship that is only a copy, shadow of the real one in heaven. …6 But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises.
Hebrews 9:11-15 [NLT], So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. 12 With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever. 13 Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. 14 Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. 15 That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.
• A “representative battle” was a one-on-one fight.
1 Samuel 17:8-10 [AMP], Goliath stood and shouted to the battle lines of Israel, saying to them, “Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not the Philistine and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves and have him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will become your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall become our servants and serve us.” 10 Again the Philistine said, “I defy the battle lines of Israel this day; give me a man so that we may fight together.”
1 Samuel 17:24, …when all the men of Israel saw the man, they fled from him and were greatly afraid.
The moment David stepped out from the Israelites battle line he ceased to be a private citizen of Israel. As the “Representative” all of Israel was now IN David, his victory would become their victory…his defeat would become their defeat.
1 Samuel 17:41-54 [NLT], Goliath walked out toward David with his shield bearer ahead of him, 42 sneering in contempt at this ruddy-faced boy. 43 “Am I a dog,” he roared at David, “that you come at me with a stick?” And he cursed David by the names of his gods. 44 “Come over here, and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and wild animals!” Goliath yelled. 45 David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! 47 And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord’s battle, and he will give you to us!” 48 As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him. 49 Reaching into his shepherd’s bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and Goliath stumbled and fell face down on the ground. 50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with only a sling and a stone, for he had no sword. 51 Then David ran over and pulled Goliath’s sword from its sheath. David used it to kill him and cut off his head. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran. 52 Then the men of Israel and Judah gave a great shout of triumph and rushed after the Philistines, chasing them as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron. The bodies of the dead and wounded Philistines were strewn all along the road…as far as Gath and Ekron. 53 Then the Israelite army returned and plundered the deserted Philistine camp. 54 (David took the Philistine’s head to Jerusalem, but he stored the man’s armor in his own tent.)
• As the “Representative,” David’s actions and achievements became Israel’s actions and achievements.
• There was no man on earth who was without sin, thus qualified enough to stand before God as a “Representative” of the human race.
Job 9:32 [NLT], If only there were a mediator [“go between”] between us, someone who could bring us together.
• God knew if a covenant was to take place, then it would need to be unilateral.
1 Timothy 2:5 [NKJV], For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.
“The most basic truth we have to understand is the New Covenant is NOT made with us as individuals. It is a covenant that is made between God the Father and God the Son. The Father guarantees the divine side of the covenant, and the Son guarantees the human side having taken our humanity as us and for us. Therefore, the New Covenant is beyond our ability to break! We can’t alter it, we can only receive it or reject it…or walk away from it, but we cannot break it because we didn’t make it with the Father, Jesus did."