Covenant Relationship

1 Samuel 15

: 2019 Years Recap:

This week’s passage – 1 Samuel 15

What we have in Saul’s decision to ‘work around’ what was commanded was at its very core a breach of covenant with God.

?

Despite its diverse contents, it is much more than a simple anthology. It is tied together by a successive string of five major covenants that God made with His people.

A covenant is a binding agreement between two or more parties. When we speak of Biblical covenants, we are referring to instances where God has entered into an agreement with mankind that involves both promises and responsibilities for each party.

While there are many covenants and promises found in the Old Testament, a study of the following will provide you with a framework to better understand redemptive history. (Note that this is not meant to be a discussion on 

, but instead a look at the Old Testament through the lens of these particular covenants.)

Five of the primary covenants in the Old Testament are the 

, 

, 

, 

, and the 

. Each of these covenants is reflective of two of the main categories of covenants known in the Ancient Near East:

 This term harkens back to a time when a king would make a promise to his subjects, or a treaty between kings would be that depended on obedience to specific terms. You can think of this covenant as a conditional promise.

 Unlike the Suzerian-Vassal agreements, a Royal Grant requires no action on the part of the beneficiary. It is an unconditional promise given from one party to another.

This is an example of a Royal Grant covenant; there is nothing that Noah or his descendants must do to ensure that this promise is fulfilled. Instead it finds its validity purely in God’s faithfulness.

Years after the Flood, pride leads the people to rebel against God by constructing the tower of Babel. After having dispersed them by confusing their languages, God would eventually choose one man and one nation as the instrument of His blessing to the entire world. In this covenant God promised Abraham three specific things:

* The Abrahamic Covenant is in part a Suzerain-Vassal covenant, as God required first that Abraham get up, leave his home and his family, and follow God to the land He would show him (

).

* However, some aspects of the Abrahamic covenant are also in line with an unconditional Royal Grant. For example, God’s promise to make Abraham’s descendants into a great nation and bless all of the nations through his lineage is an unconditional promise from God (

).

Exodus 19-

Exodus 19:5-6

.

After the people disobeyed the commands made in the previous covenant, God made the Davidic covenant

. The key passage for this unconditional promise is 

:

2 Samuel 7:12-17,

Here God makes a Royal Grant covenant to David and his descendants that his house will rule over Israel forever.

The promise of an eternal kingdom is ultimately fulfilled in Christ, who is of David’s kingly lineage. In the New Testament, 

 tells us:

Luke 1:30-33,

Although this is an unconditional covenant, there is a part of it which has a contingency: if the ruler of Israel is obedient, he will be blessed. If not, he will be cursed.

As the books of 1 & 2 Kings and 1 & 2 Chronicles show us, Israel had many examples of both disobedient and obedient kings, which eventually lead to the nation’s exile.

Despite the failure of God’s people to live up to the covenants that were made, God graciously made a new one with his people:

Jeremiah 31:31-34

In this passage God makes several distinct promises:

This promise finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ (

; 

; 

), as it is through Him we receive forgiveness of our sins and are indwelled by the Holy Spirit who enables us to seek after the things of God.

: We have moved on from Covenants as it were in the OT to a Dispensation of Grace…. yes. But does what God promise and what is expected any less legitimate and necessary? No!

What is it about covenants that we should remember?

: Next week I will continue with this text. There are still 3 more areas I’d like to cover regarding this text and this principle we’ve heard so many times, ‘To obey is better than sacrifice’.

I will look at the significance of the sacred vs the secular; I want to discuss the role of rationalization and justification; and then tackle the verse itself by considering obedience or rebellion.

: When we enter into a relationship with Christ, we in great measure enter into a covenant of sorts with Jesus. We are saved by grace 100% but we develop a relationship with/to Him by biblical standards and direction given to us by Jesus himself and by God’s Word.