A Covenant Relationship

Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Tuesday, June 20. How committed are you toward people in your life? Let's continue the study of 1 Samuel to see the friendship between Jonathan and David as a prime example of a covenant relationship. Let me explain, first of all, what a covenant is. And if you looked in the Hebrew and you look at that word, more than likely, the explanation would be to cut a covenant because a cutting was a part of a covenant when it was a certain type of covenant, which certainly, surely this was between Jonathan and David. Now, a covenant is an agreement.

It's a contract. It's more than just a yes, I will, no, I won't kind of a thing, but it's a binding thing. And of course, a person's loyalty and their word and their faithfulness was the heart and core and the basis of all that. And when men made covenants in those days, they intended to keep the covenant and they did several things that would remind them of their commitment because with the responsibility oftentimes went blessing.

And of course, with the blessing, there was a responsibility. If you go back in the scriptures, the first time you'll find that word is when God makes a covenant with whom? Noah. I remember what God said to Noah. He said, he's going to make a covenant with him. And what did he say? He says, and this will be a sign of the covenant. What's the sign?

Rainbow. Every time you see that you ought to say, praise the Lord. He's still keeping his word because what he said was, I'm going to make a covenant between us that I will never destroy the whole earth by water again. So then of course you come on through the scriptures and you find the most familiar covenant with Abraham. And you recall what God said to him.

He said, I'm going to make of you a great nation. He gave him lots of blessings there in the 15th, 17th chapters of Genesis. But the important thing is the three characteristics that are always involved in a covenant. First of all, whether it is conditional or unconditional. And you'll recall when God made the covenant with Abraham, was it conditional or unconditional? What was it unconditional? Which means God said, here's what I'm going to do.

Period. I'm going to give you this land. Uh, your seeds going to be blessed. The nations of the earth are going to be blessed because you heat and say, if you do this, if you do that, if you do the other, that is an unconditional covenant. When he makes covenants later on, for example, when he says, if you will do this, this is what I will do. A conditional covenant.

A second characteristic that was that it was either temporal or eternal, that it was something that was for a short period of time or something that lasted forever. And then the third thing was, was it symbolical or was it a literal covenant? And sometime they were symbolical. And of course, I believe you and I can understand clearly this was a very literal covenant that they made a pledge, an agreement, a contract, a covenant, a commitment to one another. That as long as they lived in, even in their households and families to come, that they too would be included in this agreement that they made. So it wasn't a temporal thing.

It certainly wasn't symbolical. And it was a covenant that they made not conditional, but unconditional. This is it, a covenant of love and loyalty to each other. Now, when you think about the way they transacted this covenant here, we get an indication in the third verse when it says and Jonathan and David made a covenant because he loved him as his own soul. Jonathan stripped himself of his robe that he had upon himself and gave it to David and his garments even to his sword, to his bow and to his girdle. Now, there were a number of ways that people are indicated of the covenant relationship and binding that covenant.

Sometimes I felt like a takeoff issue, never felt takeoff issue. They made a contract with each other or sometimes as they carried salt in a little pouch, they would just, I give you a pinch of salt, you give me a pinch of yours. But the way that they made eternal, everlasting, irrevocable covenants was always they shed blood.

Sometimes it's in the hand of their wrist, bound their wrist together in order that their blood may mingle together, which meant my life and your life, your life and my life. And it was a covenant that was not to be broken. Now, they did not make those covenants lightly. And you know, it may be that's where we got the idea of shaking hands on a deal.

You know, let's shake hands and that's the deal. But in those days, they didn't just shake hands, they shook hands and shed blood. And their word was a bond. Each time they saw that scar when it mended, that reminded them of the responsibility that they had plus the blessings that would ensue as a result of the covenant that they had made to each other. Now, when we look at this covenant here, it does not say that they shed blood, but because it was a covenant that was an eternal covenant between their households, we know that they did.

They didn't just swap shoes or just simply swap clothes here. But it was an eternal covenant. And that very word covenant means or the idea is to cut a cabinet, when it was to be something that was the last irrevocable, it was the shedding of blood. So once you notice what happened here, and I want us to see four things about their covenant.

And first of all, what was the motive of it? Because this will relate to the two applications that I want to share a few moments later. First of all, they joined in their covenant with each other built on two things. First of all, their genuine love for one another, and their loyalty to each other.

And I believe those are two qualities that ought to be more evident in the lives of Christians than ever before. Because there are so few people it seems I may be wrong, but it seems that loyalty is a thing of the past. And most people don't really understand the true meaning of love. When you say I love you, what does that mean?

If it's just verbiage, we ought not say it. Love is an all encompassing thing that demands something. When these two men cut a covenant between them, motivated by love and loyalty to each other. They meant that for a lifetime. They didn't mean that until one of them wrong the other or to one of them misunderstood the other. So the motive here was that of love and loyalty to each other.

Secondly, what was the method that they used? All right. First of all, you notice the exchange possessions. Jonathan stripped himself of his robe, which must have been very valuable, of his garments, likewise valuable. It says even to his sword, which was one of the last things a man would give up, especially a warrior, and to his bow and to his girdle.

That is, what he gave is he gave what clothed him and likewise he gave his protection. What they were really saying is that the two men were becoming one in their love and loyalty to each other. It was a bonding of their faithfulness of support and unconditional to support to one another.

Not only that, but it was a commitment that included not only themselves, but a commitment that included their families. Because when Jonathan and David came together, potentially their families likewise were involved in that covenant. When Saul and Jonathan were killed in the battle and finally David became king, of course, the household of Saul fled for their lives because they were told when David becomes king, he's going to wipe out everything that reminds him of Saul. Now, what they didn't understand was that Jonathan and David had made a covenant with each other. So in the fourth chapter of Second Samuel, it says, verse four, and Jonathan, Saul's son had a son that was lame of his feet. He was five years old when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel.

That is, he was five years of age now, Jonathan's son, when they heard that Jonathan and Saul had been killed in the battle of the Philistines at Jezreel. So they knew that David was coming on the scene. He was coming fast and hard. He was going to take over. So the scripture says that a nurse, his nurse took him up and fled. They were going to flee for their lives. And it came to pass as she made haste to flee that he fell. And as a result of the fall, it broke his legs or in such a way that it made him lame.

He couldn't walk. And his name was Mephibosheth. Now let's just move on over to chapter nine for a moment, if you will. So all the rest of going through that, we'll come back to that later about how David takes over. But now David has been king for a while and his friend, Jonathan, with whom he made the covenant, unconditional, literal covenant of love and loyalty, which they likewise included in their whole household, the household of Jonathan and the household of David. Jonathan's dead, Saul's dead. And what has happened to the household of Jonathan?

Well, naturally, they had scattered. So some time went by and David kept trying to find out if there was anyone around left of Jonathan's household. So chapter nine says, and David said, Is there any left of the house of Saul that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake? He'd made a blood covenant with Jonathan for their household. Now Saul had tried to kill him several times, hunted him down like a wolf.

For 10 long years he tried to kill him. And each time David you recall had a chance to kill Saul, he did not do it. One of the reasons is because they had made a covenant promise with each other.

And that included their households. Okay, we come down now. Jonathan, Saul are dead.

David can't find any of the remains of Jonathan's family. So he says, I want to find somebody and show them kindness for Jonathan's sake. Verse two, and there was of the house of Saul, a servant whose name was Ziba. And when they had called him under David, the king said to him, Are you Ziba? And he said, Thy servant is he. And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul that I may show the kindness of God unto him? And Ziba said unto the king, Jonathan has yet a son who is lame on his feet.

He can't walk. And the king said to him, Where is he? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he is in the house of Makar, the son of Amiel in Lodivar. Then King David sent and fetched him out of the house of Makar, the son of Amiel from Lodivar. Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul was coming to David, fell on his face and did reverence.

Here is Mephibosheth, who's been lame all of his life now, some years have gone by. And he's been told all this time, the one thing you want to avoid, like the plague is David. He's out to kill everything that reminds him of Saul's household. But what they didn't realize now, say again, is they didn't realize the covenant. So when Mephibosheth heard, when they came to get him, he knew this was it. I mean, you know, he made it so far hiding out in Lodivar, but this was it because David was either going to decapitate him, put him in prison, or cut him up.

But he surely was going to die. So when they brought him into David, notice what happens. It says now when verse six, when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul was coming to David, he fell on his face and did reverence. And David said to Mephibosheth, and he answered, behold thy servant.

He knew he was going to lose his life. David said to him, fear not. Now listen to this, for I will show the kindness for Jonathan, thy father's sake. He kept his word. He kept the covenant.

And I won't listen to this. He didn't have to do this. I will restore unto thee all the land of Saul, thy father. He says, whatever Saul owned, I'm giving it to you. And thou shall eat bread at my table continually. He says, not only am I going to give you everything that belonged to Saul, he says, but I am adopting you here and now from this moment on, you sit at my table, not at in Lodivar in some rundown shack somewhere scared to death.

Now, here's what I want you to see. The covenant went not only between the two men, but also to their families. So that when those two men made a blood covenant with each other, it was an eternal covenant that included their households. Now that is a covenant relationship. Doesn't mean anything to us because we don't make covenant relationships like that today. But God, the father made a covenant with this whole world and he provided the shedding of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, not with two different people's wrist, but he stretched them out on a cross and drove a spike through both wrists, crowned his head with thorns, severed his side with a javelin, drove the nails in his feet.

And God said, this is my covenant. I will say, I will redeem. I will make a child of God. I'll make it possible for you to sit at my table.

I will indwell you. I will give you eternal security. I will be responsible for all of your needs.

I will equip you to do whatever I call you to do. I assume total responsibility for every need you ever have from this moment, the moment you receive and accept my covenant relationship through Jesus Christ for all eternity, I assume the responsibility, which gets me back to what I said in the very beginning. If you and I ever begin to grasp what is ours because of what God did at the cross through Jesus Christ, he sealed your redemption in mind through the shedding of his blood.

Now listen, the very thing that was true of Jonathan David, God's done for you and me. What did he say to Mephibosheth? He said, what belonged to your father?

It's all yours. And what is God saying to us? God says that you and I have become joint heirs of Jesus Christ. All that's his is ours. He says, we have Christ within us. He says, we are seated in the heaven.

All whatever needs are deposited to our account. He's going to live his life through us. He's going to empower us. We have the anointing of the Spirit of God within each of us who is a child of God. We are sealed under the day of redemption. He says he's providing us a home in heaven.

Listen, anybody in his right mind wants to be saved when all of that is offered through Jesus Christ. And secondly, nobody ought to be giving out of duty. Listen, how in the world can you give out of duty when God Almighty has through the Lord Jesus Christ provided all your possessions, all of your power, his presence, the promise of everything you'll ever need. He says, it's not going to be yours. It's already yours. Come sit at my table, yield your life to me and let me bless you with all that I have already provided. I've made a covenant relationship through the Lord Jesus Christ.

It's yours for the taking. What would you have thought of Mephibosheth? He said, oh no, I can't take that. Walked out, went back to Lodi Bar to live in a shack until he died. When the King David said, you sit at my table, the servants will wait on you.

All you have to do is to enjoy the rest of your life. I've made a covenant with your father, Jonathan. And I'm saying to you, my friend, that almighty God, the sovereign of this universe has made a covenant. And that covenant was sealed in the blood of Jesus Christ. And the covenant says, whosoever shall believe in the name of the son of God will be redeemed, made a child of God and forever shall be eternally secured as a child of God with all access to all that we'll ever need until Jesus Christ comes to take us home, which he is surely and certainly going to do one of those days.

And then we're going to have the full blessing of the covenant he's made. Now let me tell you something. If you're not saved, then I don't want to say something. Think about this. Just to be honest, cut out all of the surface stuff and just think about this.

Have you got a better deal than that? Living for the devil, who's going to destroy your body, destroy your mind, destroy your soul. Can he give you the capacity to love? Can you anoint you with God's spirit? And almighty God says, I've made a covenant through my son, Jesus Christ. And I just told you what he had to offer. And I want to tell you, my friend, out of love in my heart, you are a fool to turn down the grace of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Because there are only two options. It's the devil's way on your way to hell or God's way blessing now and blessing forever.

He made a cabinet. Listen, it's conditioned upon my trusting the Lord Jesus Christ is my Savior. It is an eternal covenant and it is not a type. It's not a symbol.

It is a literal salvation and eternal redemption through Jesus Christ. Isn't that sort of buying somebody off? No. He's the one who provided it. He's the one who gave the invitation. You know what he says? He says, don't you know that the goodness of God is for the purpose of leading you to repentance? God loves us to get our attention to say, look what I provided for you. Listen, it's unconditional love.

You see, if you say, wait a minute, you're trying to buy us off. Listen, if your idea about love is conditional or that's the way you love, you may see that. That unconditional love says, I want you regardless of what it costs me and regardless of how wicked you've been and how wicked your family's been, I'll take you just like you are. Receive me and I'll bless you for eternity. What did Mephibosheth do to deserve David's blessing?

Not a thing because you see, Mephibosheth enjoyed the fruits of David and Jonathan's covenant with each other. You and I have the privilege of eternally enjoying the relationship, the fellowship, the blessings of the covenant that God has made with us through Jesus Christ our Lord. And I want to invite you, my friend, to start living beginning tonight, trusting Jesus Christ as your Savior. Thank you for listening to A Covenant Relationship. If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or In Touch Ministries, stop by InTouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.