by Kandice Barley
cov·e·nant
/ˈkəvənənt/
noun: covenant; plural noun: covenants
an agreement.
An agreement which brings about a relationship of commitment between God and his people. The Jewish faith is based on the biblical covenants made with Abraham, Moses, and David.
Last time, Angie focused on the word ANOINTED and its use biblically. This week I want to continue that word study focus and look at another word often used in the church world that some of us may not fully understand the weight of. We hear the word covenant in sermons, at weddings, in sunday school, but do we really understand the faithfulness, the loyalty, the deliverance, the promise of hope behind the word itself?
We think of the word covenant and we think of a contract...binding agreement between two parties which would require a third party to enforce. There must be a third party because there is the reality that both sides can fail to maintain the agreement. For example, a marriage is a covenant between two people, a binding agreement to love, honor, and cherish. If that covenant is broken, often a third party intercedes in order to police the agreement--maybe a marriage counselor to help the couple work through the problem, or at worst a judge to help civilly end the agreement.
But here is where the covenants of God are different. God, as one participant, is both the one who agrees to the covenant (they are always initiated by God) and is the authority to enforce the situation. You see the authority of His covenant is the relationship itself. In His covenants, God makes promises in order to renew relationships with not only the Israelites, but with all of humanity and because He is who He is--loyal, true, immutable,etc., He fulfills the promise. Through covenant God allows us to PARTNER with Him, and through it all reveals his faithfulness. Through covenant, God uses the covenant relationship with Israel to make way for a relationship with Him in which all man will be invited.
God uses covenant to do the following:
Establish us as his own people--Exodus 19:5 “Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for the earth is mine.”
Redeem us so that we will forever praise Him--Isaiah 43:21 “the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.”
Show us He is faithful in times of our own moral failure--2 Timothy 2:13 “when we are faithless, He remains faithful--- for He cannot deny Himself.”
In both 1 & 2 Samuel we see the effects of the covenants that came before. In the covenant with Noah, God promises to never again destroy all flesh on the earth. Even though God knew man would continue to be corrupt and to sin, He promised to be faithful. We see this throughout the story of David’s life. As Israel turns its back on God over and again, God remains faithful. We see the effects of the fall through the rebellion of the Israelites and even through their first demanded king, Saul. We see the effect of the covenant God made with Abraham to “make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you.” (Gen. 17:6) God says He will bless the world through this one family, and here we are with David a descendant of Abraham. We see the effect of the Mosaic covenant, where God gives the law asking Israel to keep His commandments and if they do so He will bless them and make them a people who represent him to the rest of humanity. Although the people are unable to keep the law, we still see God blessing them, delivering them, and setting them apart as his people all the while pointing to the need for the King--the Messiah. And then finally we see God make a covenant with David--establishing a throne forever. This covenant doesn’t end with David though, it points in every way to the New Covenant, to the grace of Jesus in whom all things are restored and made new.
So, lets dig into the happenings of 2 Samuel 5-7 to really set the stage for the Davidic Covenant.
First when David is anointed as king of all of Israel in Chapter 5, he submits himself to service. “Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, ‘Behold we are your bone and flesh. In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led out and brought in Israel. And the Lord said to you, ‘You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over Israel.’ So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel.” (2 Samuel 5:1-3 Essentially, David recognizes before the people that he would be a king under authority. The word PRINCE shows that David recognized God’s call for him to lead. Just like any prince knows, David would be a king, but he was not the king. This is where David’s heart differs from Saul’s. Saul wanted glory and honor for himself. David knows he is to shepherd the people, to lead them, to serve them, all under the authority of God--the one true King.
Second in Chapter 6 we see David not only praise God, but do so without thought of who is watching or what they may think. 2 Samuel 6:14-15 “And David danced before the Lord with all his might. And David was wearing a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the horn. As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, and she despised him in her heart.” David praised in a way that inspired those around him to also praise with all that they had. Even in the face of criticism (his wife Michal), David makes no apology for his wild, unabandoned heart of praise. In fact he basically tells her that God has been faithful and done what He promised, so David didn’t care what she thought of him. (2 Samuel 6:21-22) It was for God, not others
Third we see David desire to build God a permanent dwelling place. But God has another way, and thus the Davidic Covenant. Through this covenant God establishes a throne that will last forever (2 Samuel 7:16) God promises to establish a kingdom that will never end. And while God says David will not build a house for his name, he says his son will. We know that Solomon goes on to build a grand and glorious temple for the Lord, but this isn’t even the temple in which God desired His Spirit to dwell. From this promise to David comes a promise of an eternal king, King Jesus, through whom ALL people may come into covenant with God themselves and become the temple of the Lord. “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own.” (1 Corinthians 6:19)
You see the covenants of God are relevant in your life and mine. Although we read the Old Testament and see God make promises to the people of Israel, we may become discouraged because we are Gentiles. But the fact is those covenants all work together, building upon one another, to tell one story, the beautiful story of scripture. The covenants of the Old Testament all display God’s faithfulness, and what’s more point us to the need for the ETERNAL KING, the need for a new covenant. They point us back to God. This story is your story.