The COVENANT

The word Covenant is rarely used these days, but it is vital when it comes to understanding our relationship with God and ‘The Throne Room Protocol’. So let’s have a close look at it before we go any further.
A Covenant is an agreement between two parties, a bond, a contract, a promise that is not meant to be broken. The oldest institution known to man is a ‘covenant’ established by God with a greater purpose than most people realise. The Institution of ‘marriage’ was established to bring a man and a woman together as ‘one’. It is written in Genesis 2:24 that ‘a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.’ Here we see what in biblical terms is called a ‘type’ or a ‘shadow’ of a greater reality. The covenant relationship of marriage is a ‘type’ of relationship which foreshadows the greater relationship between God and man found in the relationship Jesus Christ has with The Church. In New Testament theology the Church is referred to as the bride and Jesus is the bride groom, and the significance of that will become more apparent as we dig a little deeper.
Types and Shadows are found all through scripture. Whatever we see established by God in Old Testament theology will invariably have a significance in New Testament or End Time theology. The ‘Mysteries’ of God which have for so long been just that, actually have their revelation in careful study of Scripture and the leading / prompting of The Holy Spirit. And as we assess what God is doing, and has planned to do in these ‘end times’ we discover so many truths (keys) which have been established since the beginning of time, that will unlock our futures.
The ‘covenant’ established between God and Abraham and subsequently played out throughout biblical history has as its centrepiece the ‘Ark of the Covenant’ which was a physical representation of what in ancient Hebrew was known as ‘Shekhinah’ the manifestation of God’s physical presence (the Talmudic word for ‘Glory’). The Ark of the Covenant was to reside in the Mishkan (the Tabernacle) and the Shekhinah which rested upon the tabernacle actually went wherever the Ark of The Covenant went. In fact the ‘Glory’ of God upon the Ark of the Covenant was so powerful that unless the ark was handled exactly as the Lord had instructed it would lead to severe consequences (loss of life) for the person or persons who mishandled it, and there were other amazing manifestations of God’s Glory that surrounded the Ark, also known as the Ark of the Testimony. One such incident too place as the ark was being carried over a swollen river, and at the point when those carrying the ark touched the water with their toes, the whole river ceased to flow up stream, and they were able to walk across on dry ground, until the last man had left the water. Another incident was when Nadav and Avihu, the sons of Aaron brought a foreign flame to offer a sacrifice in the Tabernacle, they were devoured by a fire that emanated "from the Lord" (Lev 10:2), and then there was the time the Philistines captured the Ark and took it with them. Many people died as a result, and the Ark was eventually returned to the Israelites. 20 years later while the Ark was being transported back to Jerusalem under David’s care a man named Uzzah reached out to steady the Ark as it toppled in the back of an Ox cart, and he died instantly. This prompted David, who was building the new Temple (a permanent Tabernacle) to leave the Ark in the home of Obed-edon until the construction had been complete. Three months later He moved the Ark to Jerusalem.
Now it was that little 3 months stint at Obed–edom’s house which has many of us today in raptures of delight, as the Lord reveals another of His amazing mysteries. (I’ll come back and fill in the blanks soon)
So as we begin to understand the importance of the “Shekhinah’ – God’s presence – and we see how His ‘Glory’ impacts all that it comes in contact with, we begin to see the value of digging a little deeper, so that we might begin to understand the ‘Protocol’ God calls for to bring us into His Presence, and ultimately to bring His Presence to rest upon us.
Stay Tuned… We’re just getting started.