Written On Stone
Written on Stone
I am confirming my covenant with you. Never again will floodwaters kill all living creatures; never again will a flood destroy the earth.
Genesis 9:11
Abram fell face down on the ground. Then God said to him, “This is my covenant with you: I will make you the father of a multitude of nations!”
Genesis 17:3-4
The LORD said, “I have made a covenant with David, my chosen servant. I have sworn this oath to him: ‘I will establish your descendants as kings forever; they will sit on your throne from now until eternity.’”
Psalm 89:3-4
A covenant is an agreement or mutual promise made between two parties. It’s through covenants that God chose to commit himself to his people with solemn promises. God made five promises for his side of the covenant with Abram, which he later reaffirmed to Moses:
- Israel would be God’s special possession.
- Israel would be a kingdom of priests to God.
- Israel would be a holy nation.
- God would fight for Israel and overcome all its enemies.
- God would treat Israel with grace and mercy and forgive the people’s sins.
All these divine promises depended on certain conditions being fulfilled by the people, as Exodus 19:5 says: “If you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will” experience all these divine blessings. God wrote his conditions in stone on Mount Sinai in the Ten Commandments. In Exodus 24:3 we read that the people accepted the covenant: “We will do everything the LORD has commanded.”
God doesn’t have to obligate or commit himself to anyone. But he does. He obligates himself to his people in relationship, purpose, privilege, victory, and forgiveness. No other god does that. Other gods only make demands. God makes promises. And he makes good on them.
DISCUSSION STARTERS
What did God promise to Noah, Abram, and David in the verses above?
Why do you think God made this covenant expecting obedience when he knew that people couldn’t keep the Commandments?
Has God fulfilled the promises he made in the verses above? How do you know?
From the book
