The The immutability of God's covenants (part 2)

 

2. God’s covenant with the sea

The second perpetual covenant we are going to look at is God's covenant with the sea. God made a covenant with the sea saying; “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” Then He shut in the sea with doors, when it burst forth and issued from the womb; He made the clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band; and fixed His limit for it, and set bars and doors; and said; ‘This far you may come, and here your proud waves must stop” (Genesis 1:9, Job.38:8-11).

The remarkable sign of this unbreakable covenant is the sand of the sea shore. The Lord assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters would not transgress His command and pass over, and return to cover the earth. For thus says the Lord; “Will you not tremble at My presence, who have placed the sand as the bound of the sea, by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass beyond it? And though its waves toss to and fro, yet they cannot prevail; though they roar, yet they cannot pass over it” (Proverbs 8:29; Psalms 104:9; Jeremiah 5:22). 

Even in the case of a tsunami which is an oceanic tidal wave caused by a submarine earthquake or a volcanic eruption when the ocean waves rise above the land and move inland, the water quickly recedes and return to its boundaries.

3. God’s Covenant with His Creation

The third perpetual covenant we are going to look at is God's covenant with His creation. After the flood in which all life on the earth perished with the exception of those who were in the ark with Noah, Noah took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar, the Lord smelled a soothing aroma, and said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done. While the earth remains, seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease” (Genesis 8:20-22).

Then the Lord made a covenant with Noah and his sons on behalf of the entire creation saying; “And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you; the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth. Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

The remarkable thing about this perpetual sign of this covenant is the Rainbow. For thus says the Lord; “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.”

“It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between Me and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth” (Genesis 9:9-17).

God's covenants as far as one can see are immutable, perpetual and are from generations to generations as long as time exist. We should therefore be cognizance of this fact and be mindful not to break our part of the covenant.

To be continued

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph