The Covenant: Part 4
The Bible is divided into two parts, the Old Covenant and the New Covenant.
Seven components of a covenant…
Covenant Representative
Covenant Oath
Covenant Promise
Covenant Sacrifice
Covenant Seal
Covenant Meal
Covenant Memorial
“What is covenant? An agreement between God and His people in which He has made binding promises based off of His unconditional love.”
“Covenant Promise”
Jeremiah 31:3 [AMP], The Lord appeared to me (Israel) from ages past, saying, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you and continued My faithfulness to you.”
The word “lovingkindness” comes from the Hebrew word “hesed.” The word “hesed” is typically translated as; “compassion, goodness, loyalty, mercy, steadfast love, bonded love, sticky love, unfailing love, and covenant love.”
What happened after two covenant partners parted ways?
Hesed was used to describe the expression of love and commitment between two covenant partners.
“It is in hesed we find the heart of a Father that is full of love, warm-hearted generosity, goodness and loyalty towards His children.”
Exodus 34:5-8 [AMP], Then the Lord descended in the cloud and stood there with Moses as he proclaimed the Name of the Lord. 6 Then the Lord passed by in front of him, and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness [hesed] and truth (faithfulness); 7 keeping mercy and lovingkindness [hesed] for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin…8 Moses bowed to the earth immediately and worshiped [the Lord].
Do you need an upgrade when it comes to your perception of God?
Joshua 9:3-26 [NLT], …when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, 4 they resorted to deception to save themselves. They sent ambassadors to Joshua, loading their donkeys with weathered saddlebags and old, patched wineskins. 5 They put on worn-out, patched sandals and ragged clothes. And the bread they took with them was dry and moldy. 6 When they arrived at the camp of Israel…they told Joshua and the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant land to ask you to make a peace treaty [covenant] with us.” 7 The Israelites replied…“How do we know you don’t live nearby? For if you do, we cannot make a treaty [covenant] with you.” 8 They replied, “We are your servants.” “But who are you?” Joshua demanded. “Where do you come from?” 9 They answered, “Your servants have come from a very distant country. We have heard of the might of the Lord your God and of all he did in Egypt. 10 We have also heard what he did to the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River… 11 So our elders and all our people instructed us, ‘Take supplies for a long journey. Go meet with the people of Israel and tell them, “We are your servants; please make a treaty [covenant] with us.”’ 12 “This bread was hot from the ovens when we left our homes. But now, as you can see, it is dry and moldy 13 These wineskins were new when we filled them, but now they are old and split open. And our clothing and sandals are worn out from our very long journey.” 14 So the Israelites examined their food, but they did not consult the Lord. 15 Then Joshua made a peace treaty [covenant] with them and guaranteed their safety [let them live], and the leaders of the community ratified their agreement with a binding oath. 16 Three days after making the treaty [covenant], they learned that these people actually lived nearby! 17 The Israelites set out at once to investigate and reached their towns in three days. 18 But the Israelites did not attack the towns, for the Israelite leaders had made a vow to them in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. The people of Israel grumbled against their leaders because of the treaty [covenant]. 19 But the leaders replied, “Since we have sworn an oath in the presence of the Lord, the God of Israel, we cannot touch them. 20 This is what we must do. We must let them live, for divine anger would come upon us if we broke our oath. 21 Let them live.” So they made them woodcutters and water carriers for the entire community, as the Israelite leaders directed. 22 Joshua called together the Gibeonites and said, “Why did you lie to us? Why did you say that you live in a distant land when you live right here among us? 24 They replied, “We did it because we—your servants—were clearly told that the Lord your God commanded his servant Moses to give you this entire land and to destroy all the people living in it. So we feared greatly for our lives because of you. That is why we have done this. 25 Now we are at your mercy—do to us whatever you think is right.” 26 So Joshua did not allow the people of Israel to kill them.
Joshua 10:5-10 [NLT], So these five kings combined their armies for a united attack. They moved all their troops into place and attacked Gibeon. 6 The men of Gibeon quickly sent messengers to Joshua at his camp in Gilgal. “Don’t abandon your servants now!” they pleaded. “Come at once! Save us! Help us! For all the kings who live in the hill country have joined forces to attack us.” 7 So Joshua and his entire army, including his best warriors…set out for Gibeon. 8 “Do not be afraid of them,” the Lord said to Joshua, “for I have given you victory over them. Not a single one of them will be able to stand up to you.” 9 Joshua traveled all night and took the armies by surprise. 10 The Lord threw them into a panic, and the Israelites slaughtered great numbers of them at Gibeon.
What did David do after his sin was exposed?
He immediately repented of his sins and made an appeal [hesed] beyond the law to the covenant heart of God.
Psalm 51:1 [AMP], Have mercy [hesed] on me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness [hesed]; According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.
“Because God loves us with an everlasting love He is committed to keep every word of His Covenant Promises. This is clearly seen in His commitment to be there for us, His
covenant people, every day and every hour to save, keep, protect, and care for us. His hesed [lovingkindness] tells us that God passionately loves us, longs to be with us, and
will pursue us even when we walk away from Him. He will not give up on us…even when we have given up on Him.”
Hebrews 13:5 [AMP], For He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake you nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!].
Under the New Covenant God has promised to bless us with…
• The blessing of salvation [Acts 13:23] [which includes…]
Forgiveness/cleansing of sin [Acts 10:43]
Declared righteous [Romans 5:1]
Born again [new start] [John 3:1-5]
Assurance/witness [1 John 3:19]
Set apart for holy service [1 Thesselonias 5:23-24]
Adoption into God’s family [Romans 8:15]
He would bring us into the] fullness of the glory [John 17:22-24]
• The blessing of the kingdom [Matthew 4:23-25]
• The blessing of His Spirit being poured out [Joel 2:28-32]
• The blessing of healing [Psalm 103:1-4]
• The blessing of miracles [1 Corinthians 12:1-13]
• The blessing of deliverance [Acts 10:38]
• The blessing of eternal life [John 3:16]
Once again the word “hesed” expresses God’s “compassion, goodness, loyalty, mercy, steadfast love, bonded love, sticky love, unfailing love, covenant love and lovingkindness” towards us.