Understanding Covenant

This is except from my book titled"A victorious spiritual warfare: using my testimony as a case study". The book is available on Amazon as ebooks https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088QQ4W3R and paperback https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GRQ9NZG

"My covenant will I not break, nor alter the things that is gone out of my lips Psalm 89:34 KJV

Covenant is an agreement, a vow or a promise made between two people (or groups) or between someone and God (or god or devil). Covenant can either be conditional or unconditional. A conditional covenant is the one that has conditions to be fulfilled for the covenant to be valid but if the conditions are not met, the covenant becomes invalid. An unconditional covenant is the one that has no condition for its validity, once it is made, it becomes effective on both parties.

Any covenant has spiritual backing even if it is between two people. Therefore, we must be careful of the covenant we make with people as no common covenant, all are very powerful. 

Covenant between two People (or groups)

“And thou shall not only while yet I live shew me kindness of the LORD that I die not. But also thou shall not cut off thy kindness from my house forever; no, not when the LORD hath cut off the enemies of David everyone from the face of the earth. So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, let the LORD even require it at the hand of David’s enemies. And Jonathan caused David to swear again because he loved him; for he loved him as he loved his own soul”      1Samuel 20:14–17 KJV

Also read Genesis 31:17-55 and Genesis 24:1-14. 

From the above scriptures, we saw David and Jonathan, Jacob and Laban, Abraham and his servant, establishing covenants between themselves.

All the above covenants between the people are conditional. There are conditions to fulfill for the covenants to be valid. All the people kept the covenants and they had peace or else their violation of the covenants would have tormented them. Every violated covenant will result in troubles for the violators.

In Joshua 9:3-27, the people of Gibeon deceived the children of Israel and made the children of Israel to make an unconditional covenant with the people of Gibeon without asking direction from God. This is a covenant between two groups of people.

We must be careful of making covenant because once it is made, it becomes binding on one as we saw between the children of Israel and Gibeon.

People, including Christians, make covenants between themselves because of lack of trust even what they ought not to and eventually violate the covenants, then devil will begin to hold them in serious captivity using that violated covenants as a ground. Many are in this bondage. We must not let the devil deceive us that till we go into a covenant with someone before a mission could be achieved.

We saw what happened between Israel and Gibeon, it would have cost them greatly, thank God for the wisdom they used to handle the matter. Many years later, according to 2Samuel 21: 1-2, King Saul violated the covenant by killing the Gibeonites and this brought a curse of famine in the time of King David for 3 years. You can see why you shouldn’t make covenant with anybody.

In case the ground the devil is holding against you is a covenant which you established in the past with someone and you have violated it, the Lord has the power to nullify such ground and free you totally from the captivity. 

Covenant between People and Devil

“And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mountain, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron and said unto him, up, make us gods, which shall go before us, for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him”          Exodus 32:1 KJV                                                                 

Also read Genesis 3:1-19, 1Kings 11:1-13, Ezekiel 8:1-18.

In all the above scriptures, we saw the children of Israel worshipping idols and also the disobedience of Adam and Eve. Through all these, the people have entered into covenants with the devil. 

We could see in all of the above scriptures, that their covenants with the devil brought destruction upon them. Every covenant with the devil will always bring one into destruction so we must never enter into any covenant with the devil.

Whenever we fall into any sin, we have entered into covenant with the devil through that and will always result in torment. Therefore, we must try not to fall into sin. We must live in obedience to God at all times.

In case you are under a covenant with idolatry, may be as a result of your fore-fathers or yourself or whatever means, the Lord has the power to nullify all such covenants.

Covenant between God and People

i. Conditional covenant

a.   God making covenant with people:

“This is my covenant which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin and it shall be a token of the covenant between me and you”                Genesis 17:10-11 KJV

Also read Genesis 12:1-9, Exodus 19:3-8, Exodus 34:1-17.

We saw in the above scriptures, God establishing covenants with His people, with conditions for them to fulfill for the covenants to stand. When the conditions are fulfilled then they will enjoy the benefits of the covenants.

So also with us, when we fulfill the conditions, then we will enjoy the benefits of the covenants and by that, the covenants of the devil against one shall be nullified.  

b. People making covenant with God

“ And Jacob vowed a vow, saying,  if God will be with me and will keep me in this way I go and will give me bread to eat and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then shall the LORD be my God. And this stone, which I have set for a pillar shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shall give me I will give the tenth unto thee"   Genesis 28:20-22 KJV 

Also read 2Chronicles 34:29-33, Ezra 10:1-5.

We saw Jacob establishing a covenant with God about the journey he was just starting, for God to keep him in the journey. We also saw Josiah and Ezra ensuring the children of Israel made covenants with God to serve Him faithfully.                                                     

Having a genuine covenant with God and with open heart, will make one to serve Him faithfully. Every children of God must get to a point in their lives when they will make a covenant with God in order to make them faithful children of God. All the patriarchs in the bible had this commitment with the LORD. I too have gone through such several times in the course of my journey in the Ministry.

On Friday 26th May 2006 before the LORD took me out of Ijebu-Ode where He had liberated me from the Brewery I was working then, I made a covenant (vow) with the Lord as Jacob did:  “If God will give me a job only Him can provide, I will give Him one-quarter of the money I was paid off”. I made that covenant upon the Altar of a church in Ijebu-Ode with the restructuring letter of the Brewery (which has the amount of my paid off) laid upon the Altar.

That covenant guided me in the course of my Ministerial journey. It preserved me in the journey as it did for Jacob. God is a faithful God. We must be careful of covenant with God. Don’t make covenant you cannot fulfill. It’s better not to make a covenant with God than making a covenant that you cannot fulfill. As good as covenant with God is, so also it can be harmful if not kept. Allow the Holy Spirit to lead you.           

ii. Unconditional covenant of God with people:

“And the Angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of Heaven the second time. And said by myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son. That in blessing I will bless thee and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is upon the sea shore and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies. And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed because thou hast obeyed my voice”        Genesis 22: 15-18 KJV

Also read Numbers 25:6-13, 2Samuel 7:1-17, Genesis 9:1-17, Genesis 35:1-15.

From the above scriptures, we saw that it was after the people have done what pleased God e.g. carried out service of God or fulfilled their covenant with God, and then God made an everlasting covenant with them which was unconditional.

When Jacob had fulfilled the covenant he made with God, then God made a covenant with him. Also, when Abraham had served God faithfully with readiness to even offer his son Isaac, the LORD made an unconditional covenant with him. It is God that can establish this unconditional covenant with one by Himself.

On Wednesday, 9th August 2006, the LORD asked me to fulfill half of the vow I made on Friday 26th May 2006 as I was in a serious attack from the pit of hell that period. After I had fulfilled half of the vow, the LORD made an unconditional everlasting covenant with me as He did with Jacob after he fulfilled his vow. The unconditional covenant He made with me is in 2Chronicles 1:1. 

The unconditional covenant of God brings one into the Rest of God. One must have done what produce a sweet smell before God (Genesis 8:20-22) for Him to establish His unconditional covenant with one. Keep labuoring faithfully in His vineyard and the reward shall surely come (Hebrews 4:1-11).

iii. New Covenant

“For this is my blood of the new testament which is shed for many for the remission of sin”      Matthew 26:28 KJV

Also read Jeremiah 31:31-34, Hebrews 8:6-13, Hebrews 9:11-28.

The death and resurrection of Jesus redeemed us from the covenant of sin and established us as children of God through His Blood of New covenant.

The Blood of Jesus is the greatest covenant that exists upon the Earth. It can destroy any covenants of the devil. Keep being under this Blood covenant of Jesus all through your life. 

Whatever the evil covenant the devil might be using to stand against you in any way, begin to nullify such covenant this hour with a greater covenant which is the Blood of Jesus, the new covenant and establish yourself firmly upon this Blood covenant. It is a Passover Blood. Pharaoh couldn’t withstand it in Egypt. When the Blood was introduced, he had no choice than to let the children of Israel go. Whatever is the pharaoh against you, present the Blood of Jesus to him and he will have no choice than to let you go out of that Egypt.

May the Blood of Jesus speak on your behalf from now and forever, Amen.                                                                                              To share your testimony or for prayer or counseling, you could contact me through:

sundayakoduministries@gmail.com

Twitter: @sundayakodu1        

Shalom