Covenants

There is something important that David does in 2 Samuel 5 that establishes that he is king, he makes a covenant.  He makes a covenant with the elders and thereby all of Israel before the Lord.  David knows it’s good to be the King but it is only because of his covenant with God that he is able to do so, therefore he knows that in order to establish his kingdom he must make a covenant before God and before the people.  Now covenants are an interesting thing.  We talk about covenants a lot in the church but I don’t think that we really understand them. We use the word quite often in religious circles, and in legal terms as well.  But most often we understand covenants more as contracts. Contracts we understand.  They are usually written agreements for things, goods and services, property deeds, and the like.  But the thing about contracts is that they can be broken.  Some more easily than others but they can be broken. Athletes have contracts with teams, but how many times do we hear of an athlete holding out to force a new contract.  They say circumstances have changed since we did this, I know I agreed to be paid this amount for five years but that was 3 years ago, I was the best player out their at my position last year, so and so with the other team is making more money than me, I want more too. Sometimes that angers us as spectators when we see how much we are making and what we are doing to get by vs. what they are making.  Maybe rightfully so.  But in the same token the team can say you know you had a lousy year, we’ve got this other guy who we think is better than you so we are releasing you.  We aren’t going to play you anymore and you need to find another team if you can, good luck. We see the same thing in business, we se the same thing with banking, we see the same thing with life. Covenant, Contract: same thing.

But the true meaning of a covenant, in the Judeo-Christian understanding is not as fluid as that. Covenants in the Bible especially are made before God and each other, and the example of covenant does not come from individuals or kings no matter how good a king they are.  Covenants come from, and are modeled after God.  God made a covenant with Abraham not only that he and Sarah would bear a child in their advanced years but that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars, and they would be God’s people and they would have Yahweh as their God.  And despite all that happened God made them God’s people.  God made a covenant with Noah that God would never again destroy the earth, no conditions. In fact I’m going to make a sign to remind myself of this covenant. God made a covenant with Moses that he would lead God’s people out of slavery, and that God through Moses would lead them to the promised land and establish them as he promised all the way back to Abraham.  When the people demanded a king it was God who made a covenant to provide them with one, first with Saul, then with David here, and despite all that Saul did, God did not do away with the covenant, God honored it and fulfilled it with David and his descendants. Covenant’s are not to be broken, and God does not break those covenants. God takes these covenants so seriously, that God has proven that God will do anything to fulfill that covenant. God chose David to be the King to fulfill that covenant.  And it was good to be the king.

We in the church can look at ourselves and say it’s good to be a Christian.  Yes it is.  But being a Christian, being a follower of Jesus Christ is more than just a state of being.  It’s more than a set of beliefs.  It is understanding that God has expanded the covenant to all people, and that while it is good to be a Christian, one cannot stop at words or belief alone to be a Christian.  We are in a covenant, and we are in a community together. We are accountable as a part of that covenant before God and one another.