"God's promises are like the stars; the darker the night the brighter they shine.” David Nicholas
Promises are made .... promises are broken. How can you rely on the promise of a person? Will he/she really keep it? Should we sign a contract making sure that they keep it legally?
God gave us a rainbow as a sign of a promise He made to man and to the earth - that He would not flood it with water again.
The Bible calls this promise a “covenant.” But this covenant was not about a promise of a relationship. God “cut a covenant” with Abraham, a covenant with the promise of relationship. God promised Abraham that He would be their (Abraham’s descendents) God, they would be His people, and He would dwell among them.
Requirements came with “cutting a covenant.” The people of that time understood the term. The requirements included cutting open an animal, blood was shed. The two parties that made the covenant would pass between the parts of the animal that were cut in half and laid open on the ground. The idea was that if you broke your promise, the same thing would happen to you - being cut in half!
In God’s covenant with Abraham, the man had to cut the animals and lay them on the ground, but then God put him in a deep sleep. God alone walked through the animals. God alone was liable to fulfill the covenant, not Abraham. God promised to be faithful to Abraham’s descendents, regardless of their unfaithfulness. Later, God made another covenant based on His remembrance of the Abrahamic covenant, a covenant with Moses, the Old Covenant.
For us today, however, we have a new covenant - Jesus Christ. For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that He has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. (Hebrews 9:15)
This covenant also had a blood sacrifice; this sacrifice was made totally by Christ. God said “it is enough.” He keeps His promises of the inheritance to us - our part is to receive.
God will not, cannot break His promise to us. No matter how dark our situation, how deep our sin, the light of the promise will always shine.
What does that mean to me?
God didn't promise
days without pain,
laughter without sorrow,
sun without rain,
but He did promise
strength for the day,
comfort for the tears, and
Light for the way.
Anonymous
God’s covenant means that:
- My God keeps His Word. He has made an unbreakable commitment to me. I can trust Him.
- My God is faithful, even if I am unfaithful.
- My God loves me unconditionally, no matter what my sin.
- When I entered into the covenant, I became new, I have a new identity in Christ.
- I have His strength and power in me, His grace is sufficient.
- He is my defender and my vindicator.
- He gives me His Spirit to live out His life in me.
- He frees me from the bondage of sin, giving me the ability to face temptation and win.
- He is my provider and protector, no need for fear.
- He will give me the promised inheritance of a life with Him and His riches for all of eternity and it starts now!
