C is for Cookie, I mean, Covenant

Do you know what boggles my mind? The versatility of Harrison Ford. Well, more the fact that he featured prominently in two very distinct and different, yet both wildly successful theatrical series.

The one that comes to my mind at this point in time is Indiana Jones with which I hope you are all well enough acquainted that I can just delve into my point here. The point is in their search for the Ark of the Covenant. It’s made insanely interesting in that the Ark is essentially this mystical object that provides magical powers for those who possess it.

What is at the centre of the Ark though? The title says it all; the Ark of the Covenant. Whilst the movie focuses on the physical aspects of the Ark itself, for believers in God, the importance for us is in that second part, in the idea of a covenant with God.

If you look at the Old Testament it’s a series of covenants made with God and his chosen people. From the very beginning you see in God’s creation that he makes a covenant with Adam promising him that he will be taken care of, and expecting in return that Adam would serve as a steward over the land. The covenant in this is that God provides, and man cares for His creation, and of course stays away from one of the trees.

Being the good bible toting students that you are, you know how this promise goes, i.e. not well! Man fails to listen to what God has said. And as my confirmation class wisely pointed out, “Adam and Eve didn’t listen to God and that’s why we have to wear clothes!”

I’m sure that you’ve heard these phrases, “Once bitten, twice shy,” or, “Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” Besides just hearing them I would imagine that you live fairly closely to their stated mandate where you give someone a chance and if they botch that up, well, tough luck for them next time!

Given the dismal failure of Adam and Eve in keeping this covenant with God, you would assume that God would take on a similar attitude. I would be pretty darn unwilling to take on any more promises knowing that I would be left holding the bag in the end!

Let’s look at another example found in Genesis 15:1-18 where God makes a covenant with Abram. The promise extends beyond just Abram and goes into the generations following. Abram is at a disadvantage because he wasn’t created perfect. Instead he was born into a sinful world and for the majority of his life did not believe in the God of Israel. But this was the man with whom God chose to make his covenant. In the past 12 chapters or so, however, God learned a lesson. He learned that mankind is not able to keep their side of the agreement. They tried really hard, but were unable. In this covenant we see God’s wisdom and grace as he ensures that this covenant will be kept in full by both sides by taking on the responsibility of both parties. Using the standard covenant contract of walking through the blood of sacrificed animals, God passes through, representing both parties and ensuring that this covenant would be upheld.

In the Mosaic covenant it becomes even more blindingly apparent how inept we are at keeping a covenant with God. In this covenant we are given rules that directly benefit us, and even so we are unable to keep them.

It takes a little longer this time but once again we see God taking on the same role as in the covenant with Abram in his promise of the new covenant. Jeremiah 31:33-34, Hebrews 8:8-13, Matthew 26:26-28 all talk about the promise of the new covenant. God has promised us that we will be given eternal life, that our sins will be forgiven and that He will make sure that it’s all taken care of. The sacrifice of Christ’s own blood is the covenant contract that enables us to live in this promise. In various circumstances God’s people showed how unable they were to keep these promises on their own. In the same way we know that we would also fail in living up to these promises.

But even while we were still sinners, Jesus died for us. Even though there was no way we could ever repay Him, God sent His son so that the promises we made to God might be kept. We know that we could never be righteous enough to enter into a covenant with God and keep it in its entirety. This is why we rely on Christ. His sacrifice, His blood, His love is the reason why God’s covenant remains.