What is a covenant? Biblically speaking, a covenant is a sacred, binding agreement or relational partnership that’s established and initiated by God with humanity. There are detailed obligations, promises, and blessings associated with this agreement that define an everlasting, loving, and loyal relationship between God and His people. Let’s dive deeper into this unbreakable and unchangeable covenant that we have with God.
Noahic Covenant
In Genesis 9:8-17, God promises to Noah and his descendants that a flood will never again destroy all life on earth. He told Noah that He would give him proof that He made this promise to him, his family, and every other living thing on earth by putting a rainbow in the sky as a sign and reminder of the agreement He made. As you know, this covenant continues today because rainbows still appear in the sky, signifying God’s promise to Noah and everything on earth many years ago. When we see a rainbow, it can also remind us as believers that God is a promise-keeper.
Abrahamic Covenant
The Lord spoke to Abram (later his name changed to Abraham) in Genesis 12:1-2, and He told him to leave his family and his country and to go to the country that He would show him. God promised Abram that He would bless him, build a great nation through him and his descendants, make him famous and distinguished, and that Abram would be a blessing to others. After Abram left his people and his land in Genesis 12:4-7, taking only his wife Sarai (later her name changed to Sarah), his nephew Lot, all their possessions, and their slaves from Haran, they went to the land of Canaan. The Lord appeared and said to Abram, “I will give this land to your descendants forever,” so he built an altar there to honor the Lord (Genesis 12:7).
Later in Genesis 17, God prepared an agreement for Himself and Abram, stating that if he obeys Him and always does what’s right, He will keep His promise to him and give him more offspring than he can count. The Lord also promised to make Abram a father of many nations, GREAT nations, and changed his name to Abraham. God told him again that He would give his family the land of Canaan forever. And as a sign that Abraham would keep his promise of obeying and doing what’s right, he had to circumcise every man and boy in his family to seal the agreement between him and God. Although Abraham was already under a covenant with God in Genesis 12, the circumcision was a sign of the covenant in Genesis 17.
People of God, we are the descendants of Abraham (Galatians 3:29), and we are a part of and covered by this Abrahamic covenant. In saying that, remember that the Lord will bless us, build nations through our families, make our names famous among others, and give us the land of Canaan. That’s what His portion of this holy contract promises, right? Our part of this contractual agreement is that we obey God, always do what’s right, and be a blessing to others. And it’s just that simple, but not always easy. However, it’s important to know our role in the agreement, so that we can honor the terms of it as well as be aware of God’s responsibilities, so that we don’t mistakenly try to do what only God can do. In other words, we should know our place and stay in our lane to make things a little easier on ourselves. Wouldn’t you agree? And we can rest in knowing that the obligations of the covenant are not interchangeable. And although we need help being who God called us to be, God doesn’t need our help being who He is and who He has always been since the beginning of all things.
I will not break my covenant or go back on what I promised.
~Psalm 89:34 NET