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The Covenant Relationship
Lesson
Three
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“Relational dynamics” of the covenant relationship.
In physics, “dynamics” are the branch of mechanics that deals with motion and the way in which forces produce motion. Another definition is “the forces that tend to produce activity and change in any situation or sphere of existence.” We are now
considering the forces that make for success or failure in a covenant
relationship.
Just how serious is a
covenant?
When the ancients made a covenant, they sometimes killed an
animal (or split it in two, see Gen. 15:8-11, 17-18; Jer. 34:18-19). The implied meaning was: “if I should fail to honor you by meeting my
obligations (laws, vows, etc.), then may something happen to ME that was AT
LEAST AS BAD as what happened to this animal” (see, for example, Ruth 1:17; 1
Sam. 20:13; 2 Sam. 3:9)! One ancient
treaty reads this way: “This head is not
the head of the ram, but the head of Mati’-ilu of Agusi, his sons, his nobles,
and the people of his land. If Mati’-ilu
violates this oath, as the head of this ram is struck off…so will the head of
Mati’-ilu be struck off.” In fact, from
this custom, the language the Hebrews used for making a covenant was “to cut
a covenant”! It is not clear if the
dire consequence was left entirely up to God to enforce, or if the offended
party had the right himself. Over time,
the actual slaughter was not included in making some covenants, but the serious
nature of the relationship was retained.
From the rites, linking the death of an animal with the
formation of a covenant, came the association of the covenant with blood (Ex.
24:8; Matt. 26:28). The “blood of the covenant” becomes the
link between partners. Covenants are
deadly serious!
Two ways with covenant
obligations…
The following flow-chart shows that covenants are inherently
conditional, depending on whether partners honor or fail to honor their
obligations:
Covenant Obligations (laws, vows, etc.)
Faithfulness ("chesed") Unfaithfulness ("sin")
Reward: Blessings Punishment: Curses
Peace (Hebrew, “shalom”) is “the ideal state of fellowship in
every relationship” and so the goal of covenant relating. Peace is the enjoyable state of relationship
when partners honor the covenant and love one another. It feels so good! It is the place where the good fruit of a
healthy relationship may be enjoyed by all.
God sets His partner in a “shalom” status. In covenant, we are at peace with God and are
duty-bound to keep peace with other members of the “covenant community”
(church, see Eph. 4:3).
The way partners achieve “shalom” is through love and faithfulness. Love is the foundation of every covenant. Partners expect love of one another, beyond
the stated legal obligations of the covenant.
Therefore partners continually scrutinize one another’s behavior for
signs showing whether this love is real, or a fraud. In this, covenant partners have eyes like
hawks! The crucial indicator is
diligence in keeping the terms of the covenant.
This is faithfulness (or its absence), and it is the surest sign of love
(or its absence). Later we will look at
the Hebrew word “chesed”, which expresses covenant loyalty
God is the perfect covenant partner, since His love and
faithfulness are demonstrably flawless.
But every human partner fails the obligations of covenants, and the word
for this failure is “sin.” Sin is more than just the breaking of a
religious taboo; it is even more than breaking God’s law or commandment. Sin is the relational failure resulting from
an unmet obligation. Thus, the
reason disobeying God is a “sin” is because it violates one’s relationship with
God. And, sin also takes place in relationships
with people. We can sin against God, or
against other people.
God’s love is unconditional, but human success or failure in
a covenant with God is very conditional!
God loves partners who succeed; and He loves those who fail. Yet, His love will not guarantee your success
or mine, nor will it prevent our failure.
Paul put this forward as a “trustworthy saying” (2 Tim. 2:11-13):
“If we died with him, we
will also live with him;
if we endure, we will
also reign with him.
If we disown him, he will also disown us;
if we are faithless, he
will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.”
The outcome of a covenant, depending on faithfulness or
unfaithfulness, is either blessings or
curses. God first witnesses the
vows, then He guarantees the fitting consequence will overtake each covenant
partner. After meeting God at Mt. Sinai
and entering the covenant, Israel had these consequences visibly associated
with two different mountains—Gerizim and Ebal (Deut. 11:26-29; chs. 27-28). Blessings may include health, prosperity,
victory in war, or peace. Curses may
include natural calamity, defeat in war, sickness and plague, exile, death,
sterility, misery, poverty, or famine.
Ultimately, of course, we should think here of Heaven and Hell.
Can you see that much of what we call “religious language” is
really the language of covenant? Peace,
love, faithfulness, sin, etc…. While we
are on this, we should include righteousness. Righteousness does not exist apart from a relationship. A righteous person is measured not against a
code of moral standards, but against his responsible handling of relational
obligations. It is a useful translation
of the Hebrew word, “chesed” (lovingkindness or covenant-loyalty). James D.G. Dunn writes: “…the righteousness of God can be defined
quite accurately as ‘God’s covenant-faithfulness.”
In the next lesson we will consider how any human can succeed
in covenant.
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