RTW 2024

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life. I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.”

At this, Abram fell face down on the ground. Then God said to him, “This is my covenant with you: I will make you the father of a multitude of nations! What’s more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead, you will be called Abraham, for you will be the father of many nations. I will make you extremely fruitful. Your descendants will become many nations, and kings will be among them!

“I will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you. And I will give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner, to you and your descendants. It will be their possession forever, and I will be their God.”

Genesis 17:1-18

And Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD counted him as righteous because of his faith.Genesis 15:6

• The story of the Bible takes place in the framework of covenants.
• The backbone of the metanarrative is covenants.
• The entire story of Scripture unfolds through God’s covenants, and everything else is understood within that framework.
• A covenant is an agreement between two or more parties.
• Covenants are legally binding.
• Biblical covenants are one-sided.
• God chooses His covenant partner and sets out the expectations without human input.
• God’s covenants declare promises of God’s commitment and express expectations of human faithfulness.
• Each covenant lists the authority of the one making the covenant, the terms of the covenant, and the blessings and curses.
• Creation covenant: Made with Adam to establish an environment of shalom with those made in God’s image.
• Noahic covenant: Made with Noah in Genesis 9 when Noah and his family are rescued from judgment and tasked to preserve creation.
• Abrahamic covenant: Made with Abraham establishing a new nation that would be a blessing to all other nations.
• Mosaic covenant: Through Moses God made a covenant with the people of Israel, setting them apart, giving them the mission to reach the world.
• Davidic covenant: God’s covenant with David was the promise of an eternal kingdom and an Eternal King.
• New covenant: God established a new covenant, promising a new heart, shalom, and forgiveness of sin.
• Only Jesus was perfectly faithful to each covenant’s conditions. He is the ultimate fulfillment of each covenant.
• From the beginning, Jesus was the plan for redemption and restoration.
• God’s loyal, enduring, steadfast love that never gives up, never abandons, and never backs out on a promise is working through every moment throughout history to bring about the fulfillment of His promises.
• His covenant love stays…no matter what we do.
• That is the story of Scripture.

Continue looking in every story in Scripture for the evidence of the covenant love of God. The God of the Bible never changes…He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He loves us the same way now. Praise His Name.