In 1 Samuel 18:1-5 and 1 Samuel 20 Jonathon and David make covenant with each other. Making covenant literally means two become one. All the assets and liabilities of one become the assets and liabilities of the other, the family of one becomes the family of the other and the two will lay down their lives for each other.
When two people made covenant they would take an animal and split it down the middle placing the two halves opposite one another. They would then walk between the two halves and say “if I should break this covenant may it be done to me as it was done to this animal.”
Making covenant was not taken lightly. Making covenant was literally a life and death proposition. Making covenant was like a marriage.
Genesis 15:9, 10, 17, 18
He said, “O Lord GOD, how may I know that I will possess it?” So He said to him, “Bring Me a three year old heifer, and a three year old female goat, and a three year old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds.
It came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which passed between these pieces. On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates:”
In these passages we see that the Lord (the Creator of the Universe, the I AM WHO I AM) made a covenant with Abraham. This is an amazing thing.
First, it was the Lord who initiated the covenant with Abraham.
Second, the Lord desired to become one with Abraham by giving Abraham the land.
Third, the Lord made covenant with Abraham knowing full well that Abraham would not be able to keep his end of the bargain (though the Lord of course would always keep His).
Fourth, according to Hebrew thought the Torch (or Lapidote) is a symbol of the Messiah. Instead of Abraham walking between the two halves of the animals it was Jesus (the flaming Torch) who would pay the penalty in place of Abraham. Jesus would be the substitute sacrifice who would die if Abraham broke the covenant.
The Lord desires to make this same covenant with you and with me.
The Lord initiated this covenant 2,000 years ago when He sent Jesus into the world to die on a cross.
The Lord desires to become one with you and me through His Holy Spirit and share all of who He is with us.
The Lord knows full well that you and I will stumble and not be able to keep our end of the bargain (though He of course will always keep His).
But the Father loves you and me so much that He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus, to be the flaming Torch - the substitute sacrifice - to die in our place when we break the covenant.
Isaiah 53:5, 6
But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.
John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
So…
Has the I AM made covenant with you?
Is Jesus your Lapidote who died in your place?
