Supposing, an elderly family friend told they want to give you $1000 (or its equivalent in your currency) right this moment. For free… I bet you will be like wait! What?
I know right.
It’s going to be quite the shocker. Once the shock wears off, all the possible reactions to something like this will fall under; accepting the offer with a lot of scepticism, declining the offer or accepting the offer with joy only to be followed by doubt later…now you might feel like you owe them.
But if that same person had told you, ‘I need such and such work done for me in two weeks. If you do it, I will compensate you.’ Well in that case you will gladly take up the challenge, do the job and when the money is in hand we can proceed to the shocked part. lol
Such is the way of humans and God knows this. That is one of the reasons why he binds his word to ours in covenants. Our awesome God knows that if He sends grace and blessings our way in reckless abandon-as is his nature, we will soon loose appreciation for these things or for the significance of his acts of love. We will begin to seek Him not because we have a relationship with Him but because of all He gives us worried that if we stop, He will stop giving us all those things as well. So, we would start to feel trapped by our Christianity, it becomes monotonous and boring.
God’s love is not a prison. If at any point you feel trapped, you need to take a step back and re-evaluate your relationship with him. See: Gal 5:1
Let’s take a minute here to exalt God for taking us on this journey of understanding and revelation through this topic.
In the previous articles for this month, we explored:
-The meaning of ‘Covenant’ and how we relate to that.
-What entering into a covenant with God means.
-How to keep a covenant and the steps to take when trying to honour your word with God and your peers.
Today we will be looking at why God makes Covenants and their significance to us.
God is all powerful. Why then does he enter into covenant?
Here’s why.
In the story of Noah Gen 6-9, Noah was said to be the only good man of his time. God could have just saved Noah, destroyed the rest of the world and let Noah live in happiness and peace with his descendants… but God DECIDED to make a covenant with Noah. You will notice, when you read about the other covenants in the bible; the Covenant with Abraham, with the people of Israel through Moses, with David, that God did not have to enter into covenants at any these periods in time. But He decided to. Why is that?
- TO TEACH.
I know you could be making a funny face now and wondering, teach?… yes, Teach. By entering into a covenant with Man who is flawed, unpredictable and limited, God binds and humbles himself to be subject to this agreement. This teaches us of the very nature of our God who is willing in all his might to adhere to mere commands.
The covenants also teach us obedience and appreciation. With every Covenant God makes, he gives instructions to be obeyed.
In the new testament Jesus tells us about the two most important Commandments of all time which are the instructions for God’s new Covenant with us:
Matt 22:37-40 says; Jesus answered “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself. “
By following these instructions, we will learn to appreciate all that God provides for us in obedience and love.
- For Freedom
In every single one of his covenants God designs them so we have a choice to accept all he is offering or not. Abraham was a man of faith. He already had faith in God before God made his covenant with God and God have blessed him regardless but he offered a clause and instructions which Abraham obeyed. Abraham chose to obey God. In exodus Moses had to tell the Israelites what God had said and relay their choice back to God. He gave them choice. I think this is quite critical for us as Christians in this era. We must understand Freedom and choice will always be open to you. God wants you to come to him of your own free will.
- For Hope
God is quite unchanging, isn’t he? All his covenants follow the same core patterns and with each, he usually gives a sign of the covenant.
-Noah’s covenant has the rainbow
-Abraham’s has circumcision
-Moses’ had the covenant box and the 10 commandments on a tablet.
-Our new covenant which was made better to erase all the old had the body and blood of Christ as the sign of the covenant
God gives us these signs, so that even when we despair, when we pray and it seems GOD DOES NOT ANSWER, WHEN WE FEEL LIKE GIVING UP, the signs remind us that God has not forgotten us. His word is true and what he says he will do, he will do!
- To Build a Relationship (and to show off)
Yup. God likes to show us he is a MIGHTY God. That’s why he can make Covenants that span generations without being broken. He is God, unchanging and true.
Lastly God brings himself to us in such a close intimate way because he desires a relationship with us. All the lengths he goes to, are just so he can build a close relationship with you. He knows what you are capable of and the wonders you can work and he wants you to come to him so he can show you.
The new Covenant build upon the sacrifice of our lord Jesus Christ is the height of God’s desire for a relationship with us. He sends his word to fill us with guidance and hope…worded paths to salvation. Then he seals it all with a Covenant. This relationship gives us power. With this power, we can pray by faith, in the name of Jesus the lamb, we can call God to this Covenant and believe me, we will work wonders!
I hope dear reader, that even as you read these words you might begin to see the areas in your life where God has been highlighting and waiting on you to accept his covenant with you. Do not leave him waiting. I pray you remain blessed now and always.
Do share any thoughts you have in the comment section below. We will love to hear from you.
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