Rebellion – not revival – is a key sign of the times.

God's character is unchangeable and absolutely dependable; this we learn through his covenants with his people. It is the task of the prophet to be an agent of God's covenant promises - but what does that mean?

The God whom the prophets of Israel proclaim is a God of order and settled purpose. There is nothing haphazard or uncertain about him. He is unchangeable and in consequence absolutely dependable. This attribute of his character is demonstrated by the way in which he relates himself to people, either as groups or as individuals (but always for the benefit of the whole), by means of covenants.

This is underlined by the division of the Christian scriptures into two sections that we call the Old and New Testaments (or, alternatively, covenants). An important aspect of the ministry of the prophet in the Bible as a whole and in the church of today is that of being agents of the covenant.

The Lord is the God of order and settled purpose. There is nothing haphazard or uncertain about him.

All Biblical Covenants Spring from the Divine Initiative

God's Covenant with Noah

When God decided that the whole of mankind had corrupted itself beyond redemption and must be destroyed by a flood, he said to Noah, "But I will establish my covenant with you, and you (and your family) will enter the ark" (Gen 6:18). After the flood had come and gone God spoke again to Noah and said, "I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you...never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life" (Gen 9:9, 15).

This covenant was conceived by God himself. It was universal in its scope, unconditional in its nature, and formulated entirely at God's initiative. Man had no part in it, except to enter the ark. In his second letter Peter draws his readers' attention to the flood of Noah, saying "the world of that time was deluged and destroyed...the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment" (2 Pet 3:16-17).

An important aspect of the ministry of the prophet in the Bible and today is that of being agents of God's covenant.

Part of the solemn responsibility of today's prophets is to declare the coming destruction of the heavens and earth, when the very elements will melt in its heat. The tragedy of Chernobyl illustrates this ancient prediction. But the ultimate outcome of God's covenant is to be "a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness" (2 Pet 3:13).

God's Covenant with Abraham

The Hebrew word berith, which is translated 'covenant' in the Old Testament, means 'to cut' and gives rise to the expression 'cutting a covenant'. In order to confirm his covenant with Abram God told him to bring sacrificial animals and birds, to cut the animals in half and to arrange the birds opposite one another, leaving a path between the sacrifices. After dark that evening "a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram" (Gen 15:17-18).

In the more usual and secular use of this covenant-cutting ceremony, the two parties would have walked together between the divided animals. In effect they would be saying, "I would rather die like these offerings than break my word" (Jer 34:18). But this further illustration shows that in the matter of covenants the initiative is always with God. Abram did not walk between the pieces - he was sound asleep - but was assured of the divine promises to him through seeing God (symbolised by fire) pass through the sacrificial offerings.

God promised Abram possession of the land of Canaan, the multiplic¬ation of his descendants, and the blessing of all families of the earth through his seed (Gen 12:2-3, 15:18, 17:8). The sign of this covenant was circumcision, and those who refused it would lose their share of the blessings God had covenanted to Abram's descendants. But his promise would be fulfilled in perpetuity. God's purpose concerning the people and the land still holds good today, even though centuries have elapsed since the promise was made.

God promised Abram and his descendants possession of the land of Canaan, and this promise still holds good today.

God's Covenant with Moses and Israel

It was when the Children of Israel were in captivity in Egypt that God renewed his covenant with them through Moses. "I have heard the groanings of the Israelites...and I have remembered my covenant...I will take you as my own people...and I will bring you to the land I swore to give to Abraham" (Ex 6:5-8). It was not because the Children of Israel pleased their God that he gave them such wonderful promises, but because he loved them and had determined to save them (Deut 7:7-9).

As Moses commented, "He is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands" (Deut 7:9). At Sinai Moses ascended the mountain to hear God say, "I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now, if you will obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession" (Ex 19:4-5). But certain demands were made of those God had chosen as his special people. They were to be holy, just as he is holy, and they were to be obedient to all his requirements as laid down in the book of the Covenant (Lev 19:2; Ex 24:7-8).

When God renewed his covenant with the Children of Israel through Moses, he gave them wonderful promises and also laid out his demands for them as his chosen people.

Part of Israel's obligation to God in response to his sovereign activity on their behalf was to observe the sabbath: "The Israelites are to observe the sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant" (Ex 31:16).

God's Covenant with David

On one occasion, when at war with King Jeroboam of Israel, King Abijah of Judah expressed his understanding of the divine purpose to his adversary by saying, "Don't you know that the Lord, the God of Israel, has given the kingship of Israel to David and his descendants for ever by a covenant of salt?" (2 Chron 13:5). Salt, specified for use with all the Levitical sacrifices, stands for permanence and incorruption. hence its use here to stress the unending reign of David and his descendants.

In its ultimate reference, the covenant with David is Messianic. For the Messiah is to be the embodiment of the covenant, as is expressed by Isaiah when he said, "I will make you to be a covenant for the people" (Is 42:6; 49:8). Jesus is the one in whom all the promises of God are "Yes!" (1 Cor 1:20).

God's Covenant with Levi

Scripture contains no record of any covenant with Levi, but Jeremiah and Malachi do contain references to such an accord. "If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night...then my covenant with David my servant - and my covenant with the Levites who are priests ministering before me - can be broken" (Jer 33:20-21).

According to Malachi, "'I have sent you this admonition so that my covenant with Levi may continue,' says the Lord Almighty. 'My covenant was with him, a covenant of life and peace, and I gave them to him'" (Mal 2:4-5). "But you have turned from the way and...violated the covenant with Levi" (Mal 2:8).

God's covenant with David emphasised permanence and incorruption, and heralded the coming Messiah who would embody all God's promises.

As is the case with all the foregoing examples of biblical covenants when God's people or his chosen individuals violate his covenant, judgment falls on the covenant-breakers, but his covenant promises stand firm.

God's Covenant with His Prophets Today

We live at a time when many of the promises of Scripture have already been fulfilled. One such fulfilment was the arrival of the forerunner, 'my messenger' (Mal 3:1), in the person of John the Baptist. It was immediately followed by the appearance of the King himself, the One for whom all had been looking. Before he was crucified, Jesus explained what was going to happen to him when he spoke of the blood of the covenant at the institution of the Lord's Supper.

We have seen examples of a covenant being established by the shedding of blood, and rejoice that the death of Jesus releases God's promises to all mankind. But there are millions of people in all parts of the world who still do not know that God has fulfilled all his intentions and that eternal salvation is available for all who believe.

This is what makes God's covenant gift - the Holy Spirit and the word of God to his church - so important. "'As for me, this is my covenant with them' says the Lord. 'My Spirit, who is on you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of their descendants from this time on and forever,' says the Lord" (Is 59:21).

Millions of people around the world still do not know about the eternal salvation available to them – which is why God's covenant gifts to the Church of his Holy Spirit and his word are so important.

Tasks of the Agents of the Covenant of God

1. To Proclaim the Covenant Purposes of God, Past and Present

As God's agents proclaim his purposes today, they will be able to ensure that his people do not pin their hopes on human effort but on the sovereign, unfailing power of the Almighty. So many churches now seem to be operating on a purely human level instead of manifesting the mighty power of God, which is his covenant gift to us and to all believers. They should be listening to and appropriating for their use the very words of God himself.

2. To Encourage and Correct God's People as the Prophets Did

God's agents can find help in fulfilling their task today, as they study their predecessors' obligations under the first covenant. Their role was:

• to remind the people of God that Jehovah's is an everlasting covenant (Is 55:3; 61:8; Jer 32:40). The final verse states. "I will never stop doing them good."
• to reassure God's people that they will never cease to be a nation before him. "He who appoints the sun to shine by day...the moon and stars to shine by night...the Lord Almighty is his name: only if these decrees vanish from my sight will the descendants of Israel ever cease to be a nation before me" (Jer 31:35-36).
• to tell them that God is with his people. "This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear" (Hag 2:5).
• to require that the Lord's people face up to the demands and duties of the covenant. "The Lord said to me, 'Proclaim all these words in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem: listen to the terms of this covenant and follow them'" (Jer 11:6).
• to blow God's trumpet as a reproof to his people for breaking the divine covenant and thereby despising his oath (Is 24:5; Hos 8:1; Ezek 16:59, 17:19).

As well as speaking to the people for their good, the agents of the covenant played their prophetic role fully by interceding for them and by speaking to God on their behalf. "Remember your covenant with us and do not break it" (Jer 14:21). There is no better place nor more suitable an occasion to meditate on the blood of the covenant than at the Lord's Supper. This is where Jesus operated as the chief agent of God's covenant when he said, "This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many" (Mark 14:24).

God had remembered his holy covenant, as Zechariah had prophesied (Luke 1:72). All that had gone before finds its fulfilment at the holy table. There is no place for chance or uncertainty in our God's way of working. What he plans he carries out. How reassuring and worthwhile it is to be his agents!

First published in Prophecy Today, Vol 6, No 4, July/August 1990.