Tag: contract

God’s Covenant Is Forever

On By vickleaIn promises, Scripture1 Comment

If you are reading this and think that you don’t know what a covenant is, I am almost sure that you do, but you may not have used that exact word. A covenant is another word for a binding agreement, a contract or a promise. Anyone who is married has entered into a covenant relationship with their spouse, for example. God entered into a covenant with Abraham when He promised that his seed would be as numerous as the sand. He entered into a covenant with David when He promised that someone from his lineage would be on the throne forever. And He entered into a covenant with us when He sent Jesus to die for our sins; our part of that agreement was to accept the sacrifice. God does not make promises lightly because he always keeps them. Always and in all ways!

God has promised us unfailing love…we cannot escape this promise if we just hold on to it. We have to listen to find life. To what do we listen? To God speaking to us in His Word. Within the cover of the Holy Bible is where all of His promises and His covenant agreements with us can be found. You cannot know what they are unless you read and study His Word. What if you suddenly discovered that you owned valuable property but had never been shown the contract so you were unaware of it? That is what it’s like to never claim the promises of God’s Word. They are meant for each of us, His children, but we have to know them and know that God’s love has provided them for us.

God is faithful. We look around at mankind and see few examples of faithfulness. Most people who call themselves public servants are actually just serving themselves and their own desire for glory, fame and riches. God doesn’t need our worship. We need Him because He is the One we can count on to always be faithful and to always keep His covenant. God is still working out His purpose in our lives every day. We need to help Him fulfill the best for our lives by getting in step with His plan, not insisting that He bless the plan that we have come up with ourselves. God is a faithful, covenant-keeping God and for that I am eternally grateful.

The Blessings in Revelation 19

On By vickleaIn ScriptureLeave a comment

In our Sunday school class, we have been doing a three month study of the Book of Revelation. We made our way through the mazes of symbolism that is at times hard to comprehend, the visions of the bowls, seals and trumpets and finally arrived last week at the wedding of the bride. Our teacher, Dr. Gary Johnson (via video presentations), explained our the wedding is comparable to the events leading up to and the actual wedding in a Jewish ceremony. I cannot explain it all very well myself but there are three stages. Researching online, I found more than three stages, but here is what Dr. Johnson shared that really blessed me. Having looked up information online, I realize that this is simplistic and may not be totally accurate. (My apologies to my friend David Ettinger for anything I get wrong here. David, please feel free to chime in with truth and your own knowledge!)

The “Kiddushin” is the legal arrangement for two to marry. It is a contract that the parents may make long before the children even know each other. According to Dr. Johnson, God made a contract to marry the bride to Jesus as far back as Genesis 3:15. God had a plan and the entire Bible is His working His plan to fulfillment, beginning all the way back in Genesis.

The next part, the part that “blessed my socks off” is called the “Mohar.” This is like a dowry or a bride price that the groom pays in order to secure the bride for his own. Jesus paid the ultimate price on the cross!

Finally, there is the “Huppah” (or “Chuppah” in some sources). This is when the bridegroom goes to the bride to bring her to his home. She doesn’t know when he is coming. Only the Father of the groom knows this and sends his son to get his bride and bring her to her new home with him. Following that is the wedding supper, a great feast to celebrate the long-awaited marriage. Jesus is coming back for His bride. Hallelujah!

If you want to read more about these traditions and fill in some blanks that I have omitted because of lack of time and knowledge, check out this website: Christian Truth Center

Finally, my devotional this morning had a verse that reminded me of last week’s lesson at church and made me want to try to share it with you all with the hope that you, too, would be blessed by God’s plan, His dowry price and the invitation to the wedding supper preceded by Jesus’s return for His bride.

God is faithful and is always working to bring us closer to Him. May we be found faithful when He returns for us!