God is a covenant keeping God.
Mike Leake says,
“Covenantās are a big deal to God. Breaking covenants is a big deal to God. To see how big of a deal covenants are consider Genesis 15. The Lord walks through a host of animals that are ripped asunder and essentially says, āIf I break my covenant let what is done to these animals be done to meā. Covenants are a big deal.”
Covenants are legal contracts. But to our covenant-keeping God, they are so much more.
Covenants are relational
Dr. O. Palmer Robertson – “A bond in blood sovereignly administered”
Prof. John Murray – “Sworn fidelity”
Pastor G. Nichols – “God’s holy covenant is his pledge, His sworn commitment or oath” cp. Luke 1:71
CARM (Christian Apologetics Research Ministry) explains covenants this way:
A Covenant is an agreement between two parties. The agreement, according to Ancient Near East custom, consisted of five parts: 1) Identification of parties, 2) Historical prologue where the deeds establishing the worthiness of the dominant party is established, 3) Conditions of the agreement, 4) Rewards and punishments in regard to keeping the conditions, and 5) Disposition of the documents where each party receives a copy of the agreement (e.g. the two tablets of stone of the 10 Commandments).
Ultimately, the covenants God has made with man result in our benefit. We receive eternal blessings from the covenant of grace. (For further study see Genesis 2:16-17; Genesis 9:1-17; Genesis 15:18; Genesis 26:3-5; Galatians 3:16-18; Luke 1:68-79; Hebrews 13:20).
Bite Sized Theology is a series which provides definitions and discussion of theological terms and concepts. Itās designed to help you think biblically.