Throughout the Bible, we read about our Lord making covenants. He blessed people and made covenant with them. But when humans did not keep their part of the covenant, the covenant was broken. The Lord had to find another person to bless and make a covenant with. In our reading portion from Genesis 17, verse 2 says “I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly”. Today, I would like to meditate on “God’s Covenant” that He made with people throughout generations. More importantly, I would like to meditate on whether people kept their side of the covenant and what followed when they did and didn’t keep the covenant.
In Genesis 1:28, we read about the Almighty God blessing Adam and Eve and making a covenant with them: “God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth”. But the early sin separated Adam and Eve from the presence of God and they passed the sin to the next generations. Sin continued to separate humans from the presence of the LORD God. This happened during the Age of Innocence.
Although the Almighty God gave authority to Adam and Eve to rule the world, they lost the authority when the early sin separated them from the presence of God. Bible says the Lord was grieved and regretted creating humans and wanted to destroy all humans and beast. In this situation, Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Lord chose Noah and made a covenant with him. He gave Noah the responsibility of building the ark and bringing in a pair of all animals. The Lord promised to save Noah’s family. The first covenant came to end when the whole world was destroyed by water during The Age of Conscience.
When Noah and his family came out of the ark, Noah built an altar and sacrificed burnt offerings unto the LORD God. God renewed His covenant with Noah. He blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. We read the renewed covenant in Genesis 9:1–3. This is the covenant is similar to the one He made with Adam and Eve and was made with Noah during The Age of Human Government.
When Noah’s generation started filling the earth, the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. Humans were proud of their ability and knowledge and wanted to build a city and a tower, whose top would reach unto heaven. They wanted to make themselves a name, so they would not be scattered upon the face of the whole earth. The LORD God was not pleased with their plan and He scattered them. The LORD God confounded their language and they could not understand one another’s speech. Among these scattered humans, the Lord chose Abram from a family of idol worshippers. He made idols for a living. He did not worship the LORD Jehovah. But when Abram was 75 years old, God separated Abram from his family and asked him to go to the land that He showed. God didn’t give him a destination. Abram simply obeyed God and started his journey. Abram did not have any children but the LORD God made a covenant and promised him to increase his descendants like the sand and the stars. We read about these in Genesis chapters 13 and 15. Abram was true to his call and God was also true to His promises. When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. God changed his name to Abraham and made another everlasting covenant with him through circumcision. That became the law for Abraham’s descendants. Abraham became the father of nations according to God’s covenant. Later, God the Father gave Ten Commandments and the Old Testament laws to the Israelites in the wilderness when He brought them out of their bondage land Egypt. The Almighty Father made a covenant with the Israelites through the Old Testament laws and commandments. This was the Age of the Law.
However, we know that the laws and commandments could not make the people righteous. Committing sin and offering sacrifices to fulfil the law became a cyclic process. There were kings who led people to the Lord and away from the Lord. The world was again filled with sin and the covenant was broken. In order to save humans from eternal death, Jesus came to this world as the Passover Lamb. He offered Himself as the one-time sacrifice and made a covenant with us through His blood. Jesus made this new covenant with us during The Age of Grace or the Church Age. We remember this covenant when we come together at the Lord’s Table. We remember we are waiting for Jesus to come to receive the church as His bride.
We are now in another season of lent. This is a time when we remember and reflect on Jesus’ fasting in the wilderness, His passion and His death. Like Jesus, we spend time in fasting and getting into a closer relationship with Him to overcome trials and temptations. Meditating on His passion and death gives us a glimpse of His sacrifice for us on the Cross. It gives us assurance about salvation and encourages us to prepare ourselves to take our cross and follow Jesus. It reminds us of the new covenant and that we receive Salvation only through His blood.
Let us look back at the various covenants our Lord has made in the Bible. We can learn a lot from the lives of those people whom our Lord made covenant with. We can learn the dos and don’ts and our Lord’s expectation. Adam and Eve didn’t keep their side of the covenant and were separated from the Lord’s presence. Are we lacking in obedience like Adam and Eve? Are we grieving our Lord because of our sinful ways? We should not be sent out of the Garden of Eden like Adam and Eve. Noah and Abraham kept their side of the covenant and the Lord blessed them. Can the Lord bear witness that we are perfect and just like Noah? Like Noah, are we leading our family into salvation? The people were proud about themselves and wanted to build a city and a tower and make themselves a name. Do we have pride in our hearts about something in our lives? If the Lord asks us to do something, do we do it without question? Is our faith like Abraham? Abraham was an idol worshipper, but he did as the Lord commanded. Can we obey our Lord without any question or reason? Are we like the kings who led the people to Christ? Or are we like the kings who led the people away from the Lord? The chosen people did not keep the covenant and were separated from the Lord. Are we keeping our part of the covenant? Jesus kept His part of the covenant and laid down His life to redeem us and remove the separation of humans from the Almighty Father. Do we realise the depth of Jesus’s love in hanging on the Cross for us? Or do we take salvation for granted? Is committing sin and reconciliation a cyclic process? We all know who Jesus is and about His sacrifice for us. Do we have a personal relationship with Jesus?
This Lent, let us pause and reflect and spend time on reflecting on what our Lord Jesus has done for us. He has made a covenant with us also. Let us ask ourselves if we are keeping our part of the covenant. Let us re-align our relationship with Him every day. Let us give importance to fast and pray and getting to know His will in our lives. Let us be strengthened and guided by the Holy Spirit to overcome temptations. Let us circumcise our hearts and commit to His will saying “Not my will, but thine”. Let us have the assurance and confidence that we have received salvation and will inherit eternal life when we return to dust. Let this period not be another one in the church calendar. Instead, let it be a time to bring us closer to the Lord who suffered for us. Let it be a time of renewing and strengthening our covenant with our Lord Jesus. Let us lay our treasures in heaven and look forward to the day we inherit those treasures.
I pray that our LORD Jesus cleanse us by His precious blood, prepares and preserves us for our eternity in the kingdom of God with Him. Amen!