Everywhere you turn there seems to be a contract waiting for your signature. It may be a new phone, a new house, a new vehicle, or something else. It just seems that it is a part of our lives today. In these contracts, conditions of a relationship between two parties are spelled out. This relationship is often not very personal. Usually, it is focused on funds of some kind.

When we hear the term “covenant”, we may think about a contract. The truth is that a covenant is much deeper than just a contract. A covenant is a promise between people which is binding on a relational level and not just legal.

Covenant is an overriding theme throughout the Bible. When you look at the Bible, you will notice that the Bible consists of the Old and New Testaments. Testament is another word for covenant. The Old Testament/Covenant is associated with the covenant between God and Israel. The New Testament/Covenant is associated with the covenant between God and all humanity through Jesus Christ.

In this new series that we are beginning this week, we will look at some of the major covenants found in the Bible. There is the one concerning Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and Jesus. Each of these covenants plays an important role in God’s over-arching plan. They also show how God was looking to relate to people.

While a covenant may be similar to a contract, there is a key difference. Any covenant God makes with man has no fine print where things are hidden. Too often, the fine print of a contract has hidden things that you are not supposed to see. God lays everything on the table when He calls a person to come to Him.

Today, we are going to look at what a covenant is. We will turn to Deuteronomy 7 and allow God’s word to show us what the basis of the covenant is.​

For you are a holy people belonging to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be his own possession out of all the peoples on the face of the earth. “The Lord had his heart set on you and chose you, not because you were more numerous than all peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors, he brought you out with a strong hand and redeemed you from the place of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps his gracious covenant loyalty for a thousand generations with those who love him and keep his commands. But he directly pays back and destroys those who hate him. He will not hesitate to pay back directly the one who hates him. So keep the command—the statutes and ordinances—that I am giving you to follow today.

Deuteronomy 7:6–11 CSB

Key Components of the Covenant

The Choice of the Covenant

As we begin to look at this concept of the covenant, we come to what I believe may be the most beautiful and humbling aspect of it all. For any relationship to form, there has to be one that initiates it. Relationships do not just appear out of thin air. They come about when one person pursues another.
We see in verse 6 that, when it comes to the relationship between God and man, God is the One who initiates the covenant with man. Moses writes that it is the LORD your God who has chosen you. No person has ever chosen God first. The Bible tells us that, because of our sin, we naturally run in the opposite direction from God.​

as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.

Romans 3:10–11 CSB

In Deuteronomy 7:6-8, we see that God chooses to initiate a relationship with us because we would not have done it ourselves. In verse 7, we see that God initiated a covenant relationship with Israel not because they were numerous or extremely strong. It would make sense to want to have a relationship with those who have great numbers and strength.

In the early 2000s, a slang term was introduced to the world: FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). It is the term to identify the anxiety that one feels that they are being left out of the loop. Some studies have shown that 56% of social media users suffer from this type of anxiety. Many do not want to be on the short end of things. They want to be part of the bigger group.

This passage shows us that neither Israel’s size nor strength was the reason God initiated a covenant with them. What was the reason then? Verse 8 shows us that it was because of His gracious love. God’s gracious love is always the basis for His covenant. This love that God shows to mankind through covenants calls for our love and devotion to be pointed towards Him in return.

The Purpose of the Covenant

Deuteronomy 7:8-10 shows us that the purpose behind the covenant is that we might know God.​

This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and the one you have sent—Jesus Christ.

John 17:3 CSB

God wants us to know who He is because He is the One who has created us for a purpose. In these verses, we see three important characteristics of God that He wants Israel (and us) to know about Him.

God wants us to know that He is mighty to save (v 8).

Moses reminds the Israelites how God showed His power by delivering them from the hand of the Egyptians. This was not done by the cunningness of the Israelites, but God Himself sent the plagues, parted the Sea, and eliminated the Egyptian army to grant the Israelites freedom.

God wants us to be reminded daily of His power. He is more than able to not only handle anything that we may go through, but He can conquer it. You may be going through something at this time that you feel is too difficult for you to bear. That could very well be true. Another truth is that there is a God that loves you and can work it out for your good and His glory at any moment He chooses.

God wants us to know that He is faithful (v 9).

Moses reminds the Israelites that God is faithful in all that He does. There is not one word of His that has fallen to the ground without doing exactly what it was intended to do. God has never broken a promise, and He has no intentions of starting now. It’s not in His ability to do so.

We may see unfaithfulness all around us. Vehicles won’t start on a cold day. Computers will crash on us. Sports teams will not win the big game. People may break their word to you. While we live in a world that has so much unfaithfulness, it is good to know that there is a God that pursues us that can never be unfaithful.

​if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.

2 Timothy 2:13 CSB

How has God shown His faithfulness to you? How is He wanting you to understand and see it even more clearly?

God wants us to know that He judges righteously (v 10).

Moses reminds the Israelites that God is the One who always judges righteously and right on time. We may look around at times and wonder why God allows certain evils to go seemingly unpunished. Make no mistake, there is not one injustice or sin that escapes His eye. He will pronounce judgment righteously. He also wants to give room for His work of redemption and repentance to take place.

The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.

2 Peter 3:9 CSB

God has provided a way to escape the punishment of our sin. It is by trusting in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. God has made that available to everyone, but it is applied only to those who accept it and trust in it. If a person refuses to honor God’s way of salvation, they will endure the wrath of God for their sin. Every sin and injustice will be accounted for – either by the finished work of Christ or at the hands of the person who did it.

The Call of the Covenant

In Deuteronomy 7:11, we see the call of the covenant. This call is an invitation. This call or invitation has always been the same. It remains the single invitation that God extends to people today: follow me.
This is a call to come and experience the fullness for which were created.

God will not force His covenant upon anyone. Since His covenant is always based on His love for us, it calls for a response of love from those to whom it is extended. Love is a choice that we consciously make. Love is not a feeling or emotion.

Through the covenants of God, we see Him inviting sinful people to come and see how good He is and experience the fullness of life. We may have a hard time thinking that we are worthy of such an invitation – and we would be right. We are not worthy, but that doesn’t mean that the invitation isn’t there.

“Come, everyone who is thirsty, come to the water; and you without silver, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without silver and without cost!

Isaiah 55:1 CSB

Jesus has already paid the price for this opportunity to have a relationship with God. There is nothing that we can add to that. He invites us to come and see… come and experience who He is.

Conclusion

Covenant is an important theme that runs throughout the Bible. I hope that you can see more clearly now what it is about. In the coming weeks, we will look at some of the covenants found in the Bible. One of those is the new covenant in Jesus Christ.

You do not have to wait until we cover that to respond to that covenant. You may be hearing Jesus calling you to come and enter into this covenant now. I would encourage you who have never put your faith in Jesus to do that today. For those of us who have trusted in Jesus, how are we responding daily to the awesomeness that God opened this covenant to us?