Covenant – God’s
Relationship with Man
A covenant as per dictionary is simply a signed written agreement
between two or more parties to perform some action. Usually there will be an
introduction of the person initiating the agreement and then the obligations
between the two people and also the consequences when this agreement is broken.
The Covenant is how God has chosen to communicate with us. Bible is THE covenant document for us Christians. The Bible consists of the
New and the Old covenants. The Bible is an account of God’s action on this
world. To say it more correctly, it is an account of what God has promised for
His children in this world. It is a lovely covenant document which has a
bountiful promise full of Abundance, Mercy and Grace. It has a list of
obligations between God and man and the rewards and punishments that follow
when we keep or break the covenant.
As we read through the Bible we can see that at difference
stages God had made specific covenants with His people. Right from Adam to the
time of Jesus and the new covenant under which we are now living.
Let us start with the First Covenant. The First Covenant came into being when
God created the World.
Genesis 1:vs 26-28 “And
God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have
dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the
cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth
upon the earth.
So God created man in his own image, in the
image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
And God blessed
them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the
earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the
fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. “
The following is the list of things we see here.
A – Let us make Man
in our Image
The first 5
days of creation are different from the creation of the sixth day. In the first 5 days
we see a number of times that God spoke and it came to pass However He did not
look at the dust and say let there be Man. H Instead he formed us in His image.
There itself there is a big difference between what was created on the first 5
days and the sixth day. We are made to look, speak, hear, feel, and
even think like God.
B – Be fruitful,
multiply and fill the earth
In His
likeness and image we are commanded to be fruitful in all that we do, whatever
be our work, talent, etc be fruitful, multiply this is something I like, God
did not say add, he said multiply. Which will give us more results adding two
numbers or multiplying the same? Like wise multiply. Fill the earth. Don’t
worry God has provided for all of us and more in this earth.
C – Subdue it and
have dominion over it
Rule
over all things in this world, have dominion over all. Mathew Henry’s concise
commentary states the even though Man was created out of the same dust like
other creatures, Man was made different. God forbid that he indulge in its
desires instead to have dominion over it. Bring the creation in to submission.
Dominion means rule like a king over the world
D – Put him in the
garden to tend it
Gen 2 vs15-17 “And
the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and
to keep it.
And the LORD God
commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it:
for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
God took man and put him in the garden to
tend it and keep it. How do we tend to things, we tend to our children, our
parents etc. Like wise tend the garden, take care of the garden. Protect the
garden from danger. Take charge of the garden and Keep it clean and neat as a
place to have fellowship with God.
E – Do not eat of the
tree of knowledge
Right
throughout God has been asking Man to do things this is the only condition laid
down in this agreement. Do not eat of the tree. Why? Man was given the freedom
to choose to eat what he liked, by disobeying God he was to loose eternal life.
If you eat it you will die so it implies that he would loose eternal life
This Adamic covenant failed when Adam sinned. God had to make a new covenant after the fall
of man.
In
part 2 of this we will look at the new covenant God had with Adam.
God bless- Be fruitful , multiply and subdue, Have dominion.
