Covenant Class, Lesson 1

The Covenant Relationship Lesson One

What is a covenant?   For now, let’s just say that a covenant is a specially designed relationship that:

--joins partners together from the heart

--binds them together in unending faithfulness

--and gives them joy, fulfillment, and security

Why is the covenant relationship important?  First, some very important relationships take the form of covenants:

--the relationship between God and Jewish people (in the Old Testament)

--the relationship between God and Christian people (in the New Testament)

--the relationship between husband and wife (in marriage)

Understanding covenant helps us understand the Bible.  Mont W. Smith writes, “The idea of covenant is inseparably connected to every major idea in the Bible.”  Covenant is often the “hidden connector” that ties Bible concepts together.  Walther Eichrodt wrote a major, two-volume theology of the Old Testament.  He used the concept of “covenant” as the organizing feature that made sense of the OT approach to God.  Much of the uniquely “religious” language that we find in the Bible (such as faithfulness, righteousness, judgment, curses, blessings, and sin) is actually language that is descriptive of covenantal relating. 

Covenant helps solve the “puzzle” of the Bible.  We might suggest three areas of study that can dramatically increase our Biblical understanding:
1. The Bible Story-line.  When we understand the plot that drives the overall story told by the Bible, it gives us the “puzzle frame” into which we can fit the smaller pieces of Bible knowledge.  We can use a rough chronology to understand the sequence to discern God’s logic and strategy.

2. The Covenant Relationship.  The Bible’s main topic is not God; nor is it humanity.  Rather, it is the relationship between God and people.  The inner workings of covenant relationships go a long way to explaining why God reacts and responds differently to different people under different circumstances.  This understanding helps to connect the “inner puzzle pieces.”

3. Church History.  As history unfolds, it drives people to different concerns.  And these concerns serve to illuminate certain truths from God’s Word.  Sometimes we are driven to deeper understanding, and other times we are driven to misunderstanding.  Only by understanding the past can we realize how our own understanding of the Bible has been influenced.  Church history often helps us solve the dilemmas we face when “puzzle pieces just don’t fit.”

Covenant makes both people and God more understandable and predictable.  Relationships are hard to hold together without external restraints (police, legal system, etc.).  A covenant brings internal stability and predictability to relationships.  Partners in covenant treat each other in ways that few others can expect—love, faithfulness, devotion, and undivided loyalty. 

This is also true for those who share a covenant with God.  The most common characteristics of false gods are their unpredictability, capriciousness, and chaotic reactions.  By binding Himself to covenants with people, God made Himself very predictable and reliable.  The most common description of God in the Old Testament is “covenant keeper” (Ex. 34:6; Deut. 7:7-9; Neh. 9:16-21).

A covenant thus brings security unrivaled by any other form of relationship.  Marriage is remarkably stable and enduring.  If it seems to be failing in the modern day, it is because spouses are not honoring God and are failing their covenants.  Covenants also have been very successful in creating “covenant communities”, such as the theocratic nation of Israel and the global church of Christ. 

Covenant helps us make sense of history.  Apart from the idea of “covenant”, history is only a series of meaningless cycles.  Instead of this circular pattern, the idea of covenant draws a line that measures progress or regress relative to the relationship of people with God.  This allows a “linear” understanding of history that flows through many centuries of time.  The idea of “Old Covenant (or Testament)” and “New Covenant” marks out not only blocks of Scripture, but different eras of history.