The idea of Covenant is one of the main concepts in scripture. The word covenant is synonymous with the word testament. Thus, the Old Testament and the New Testament are, in fact, the Old and New Covenants. Covenants are based on relationships and not just laws. There are two kinds of covenants in the scripture: parity and suzerainty. Parity is a contract between two equals that requires both parties to keep the conditions of the contract for the covenant to be valid. A covenant of suzerainty is a contract made between a king and his subject. The king can bind himself to conditions that are in effect despite the subject’s ability to keep the conditions of the covenant. The strongest covenant that is in the scripture is called a blood covenant. If you enter a blood covenant with someone you need to know him well and count the cost of doing so.
The word Be’rith in the Hebrew means “to cut” as in “cut a covenant,” which means to shed blood. The covenant for the Jews is represented by the cutting of the foreskin in circumcision.
A Covenant of Suzerainty
In Genesis 15:7-18, we read,
“7Then He said to him, “I [am] the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.” 8And he said, “Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it?” 9So He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. 11And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. 12Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror [and] great darkness fell upon him. 13Then He said to Abram: ‘Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land [that] [is] not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. 14‘And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15‘Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. 16‘But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites [is] not yet complete.” 17And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces. 18On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying: ‘To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates--…”
Here, we see some correspondence to the crucifixion of Jesus as there was a great darkness when Jesus died on the cross. Furthermore, in Hebrews 10:19-21 it says,
19Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, [ the veil of the temple was torn or split into two halves] 21and [having] a High Priest over the house of God.”
Additionally, Jesus is the burning torch that moves between the split animal carcass making a figure eight that represents infinity. Abraham was supposed to do this, but God did not want him to do so, so he put him to sleep. In essence, God makes this covenant with Himself with Jesus because Abraham was incapable of keeping the covenant. Jesus said in John 8 that “Abraham rejoiced to see my day.” Abraham saw Jesus in his dream, as the One who is the covenant ratifier. Several places in the scripture refer to the glory of Jesus being like a fire (Matthew 17:2 and in Revelation, which speaks of the smoking radiance of Jesus). Jesus had to become a man who could keep man’s part of the covenant. The God/man makes a covenant with Himself—a covenant of suzerainty.
A Covenant of Parity: The Covenant of David and Jonathan
1 Samuel18:1-4 states,
“Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 2 Saul took him that day and would not let him go home to his father’s house anymore. 3Then Jonathan and David made a covenant because he loved him as his own soul. 4And Jonathan took off the robe that [was] on him and gave it to David, with his armor, even to his sword and his bow and his belt."
When two Hebrews would enter a blood covenant, as David and Jonathan did, there were several things that represented that covenant. First, there was an exchange of coats. This means all of me belongs to all of you. The coat symbolized all that you were. Isaiah 61:10 states,
“10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks [himself] with ornaments, And as a bride adorns [herself] with her jewels. God clothes us with garments of salvation in place of our filthy rags.”
Paul said it this way in Ephesians 4:22,
“22that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”
Additionally, 2 Corinthians 5:21 states,
21For He made Him who knew no sin [to be] sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
This represents an exchange. Jesus becomes what we are so that we might become what He is. We are wearing Christ/the righteousness of God.
Secondly, they exchanged belts with their weapons. This means Jesus is saying that I am giving you all My strength, or ability to fight. Anyone who touches you touches Me. That means you are tougher than you look. There is more to you than meets the eye. God says to Abraham in Genesis 15:1
“After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I [am] your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
Abram understood that God was making a covenant with him and anyone who came against him would be turned back because God was his shield. Furthermore in Zechariah 2:8-9 it asserts,
“8 For thus says the Lord of hosts: “He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye. 9”For surely, I will shake My hand against them, and they shall become spoil for their servants. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me.”
When we put on the armor of God, we are putting on Jesus; He represents all the armor and the Five-fold ministry to which they can be compared.
We see David, when he encountered Goliath, knew covenant. He said to Goliath. ‘You have not defied Israel, but you have defied God.’ In 1 Sam. 17:45-47 David said to the Philistine,
“You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46”This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47”Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle [is] the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.”
Cutting the Covenant
In a blood covenant, they would split an animal down the middle of the spine. The two halves were laid out with a path between them. A figure eight is done between the animal by both parties as they walk around and through the halves. This means that both parties are saying that they are dying to themselves, and they are giving themselves to each other. The seriousness of the covenant included a curse associated with the action. A person was saying “if I ever break this covenant may I been hewn down the middle like this animal.” In fact, curses were pronounced upon themselves and their descendants. For example, when men made a covenant with God in the Old Testament it was conditional based on the obedience of the person. Jeremiah 34:18-20, states
18“And I will give the men who have transgressed My covenant, who have not performed the words of the covenant which they made before Me, when they cut the calf in two and passed between the parts of it 19`the princes of Judah, the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf 20`I will give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life. Their dead bodies shall be for meat for the birds of the heaven and the beasts of the earth.”
This is reflected in Deuteronomy 28:1-15 representing the blessings of covenant; however, verses 16-69 are the curses that come because of breaking God’s covenant.
Other Aspects to the Blood Covenant
Regarding Jonathan and David’s blood covenant, as well as others, they would then cut their hands mingling their blood as they would press their raised right hands together This was a pledge of their token or allegiance to each other. Even today, the right hand is raised in the swearing of oaths in court or legal proceedings. In other cases, when the palm was cut, the two would clasp right hands as in a handshake. Once again, this is seen as an act of coming to agreement in terms of a contract, as in “let’s shake on it.”
Additionally, they would change their names. They would receive a component of the other person’s name into their name and vice versa. It would be like: Thomas Bohlin Reedy or Jonas Reedy Bohlin. Now, this may be seen in marriage when a woman receives the name or her husband. In the case of my wife Kathy, she did not have a middle name, so she used her maiden name Hethcock as her middle name. Likewise, Robin Bohlin is called Robin Robinson Bohlin. In Genesis15, God changes the name of Abram to Abraham and Sarai to Sarah. What is it that He puts into their names? God’s name, the tetragrammaton (YHWH) was so holy they only used the consonants and not the vowels. They called him Lord. However, you can’t say the middle syllable of God’s name without a breathing emphasis. God took a part of his name and put it into their names--Abra’ham/Sar’ah. By expressing this syllable, there was the impartation of breath or Spirit toward the two of them. God breathed on them. God also took Abraham’s name; He is the God of Abraham.
After they cut their palms, they would cauterize their wounds so that they would not bleed, but it also left a scar. Sometimes they would even put something in the wound to make it show up even more. The scar reminded the parties of the covenant, and it was also a warning to those that would mess with you. It was a seal of covenant. For Israel, the seal was circumcision, a bloody act, but for Christians it is the seal of the Holy Spirit, a circumcision of the heart. Romans 8:16-17 states,
16“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.” Ephesians 1:13-14 tells us,13“In Him you also [trusted], after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.”
Then, they pronounced blessings on each other. The term “Friend” is a covenant term. Abraham is a friend of God. Jesus told his disciples He no longer called them servants, but friends. This is like sharing a meal out at a restaurant and asking your friend to give you money from your wallet. While this is unusual in friendship, in our time it is easily seen in the marriage covenant. This is realized in the idea of death to self. Jesus has a right to ask of us anything, our all, because He gave us his life, everything in Him. This covenant was tested when God asked Abraham for his only son, the son of promise. Abraham understood the covenant and knew that he had to give to the Lord what He asked for. God then said, Now I know that you know the meaning of covenant (paraphrased).
The covenant is celebrated with a meal. We call it communion. They each stuck a piece of the broken bread into each other’s mouth. Sound familiar? This is usually done at weddings with cake, which means it is a bad idea to smear it on the other person’s face in jest. This meant that each person was inside the other person. This is how Jesus is in us and at the same time we are in Jesus. They would exchange wine (in the place of blood) and the covenant would apply to the children until they reached the time when they could choose to affirm or disavow the covenant for themselves. In 1 Samuel 18:18, King Saul is averse to God. David has a heart after God’s heart. Saul hates David, so he seeks to kill David secretly. Jonathan loves David and doesn’t reflect the character of Saul. So, he makes a blood covenant with David even though it jeopardizes his ascension to his father’s throne.
A Covent of Legacy
During the war between Saul and the Philistines, Saul and Jonathan are killed, but Jonathan has a son, who in flight is dropped by his nanny when he was small and then grew up lame in his feet. The son’s name was Mephibosheth. Later, after David defeats the Philistines, he is thinking about his love and the covenant he made with Jonathan and asks his entourage if there are any remaining descendants of Jonathan. In 2 Samuel 9:1-4, it states,
1“Now David said, “Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” 2And [there] [was] a servant of the house of Saul whose name [was] Ziba. So, when they had called him to David, the king said to him, “[Are] you Ziba?” And he said, “At your service!” 3Then the king said, “[Is] there not still someone of the house of Saul, to whom I may show the kindness of God?” And Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan [who] [is] lame in [his] feet.” 4So the king said to him, “Where [is] he?” And Ziba said to the king, “Indeed he [is] in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lo Debar.”
Lo Debar (in the Hebrew no pasture) was a barren outpost of insurrection, where those who had supported Saul in his hatred toward David resided. Mephibosheth lived in this kind of environment with anger towards David. When David’s men came for him, he thought it was for his death. David loved Mephibosheth for the sake of Jonathan and the covenant he made with him. You are not worthy, but it is based on covenant. Yet, Mephibosheth must ratify this covenant offer for himself. Why wouldn’t he? Not a tough choice? All his friends and allegiances, if they are David’s enemy, now become his enemy. James said that whoever is a friend of the world is an enemy of God. However, all that David had became the resources of Mephibosheth.
In 2 Samuel 9:5-11 we read,
5Then King David sent and brought him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo Debar. 6Now when Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, had come to David, he fell on his face and prostrated himself. Then David said, “Mephibosheth?” And he answered, “Here is your servant!” 7So David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually.” 8Then he bowed himself, and said, “What [is] your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I?” . . . . [David commands Saul’s servants to serve Mephibosheth] . . . 11Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king has commanded his servant, so will your servant do.” “As for Mephibosheth, [said the king], he shall eat at my table like one of the king’s sons.”
Like Mephibosheth, we were all born into the Family of Saul, the Man of Flesh, but God adopted us, making a covenant with us. With the son of David, Jesus Christ, it possible for us to eat at the King’s table (fellowship) as “sons”. Although we were not worthy to be at the table, our adoption allowed us a place at His table despite our flesh. Because we were enemies of God, adoption into His Kingdom was necessary in order to give us an inheritance.
______________________________
The word Be’rith in the Hebrew means “to cut” as in “cut a covenant,” which means to shed blood. The covenant for the Jews is represented by the cutting of the foreskin in circumcision.
A Covenant of Suzerainty
In Genesis 15:7-18, we read,
“7Then He said to him, “I [am] the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.” 8And he said, “Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it?” 9So He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. 11And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. 12Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror [and] great darkness fell upon him. 13Then He said to Abram: ‘Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land [that] [is] not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. 14‘And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15‘Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. 16‘But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites [is] not yet complete.” 17And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces. 18On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying: ‘To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates--…”
Here, we see some correspondence to the crucifixion of Jesus as there was a great darkness when Jesus died on the cross. Furthermore, in Hebrews 10:19-21 it says,
19Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, [ the veil of the temple was torn or split into two halves] 21and [having] a High Priest over the house of God.”
Additionally, Jesus is the burning torch that moves between the split animal carcass making a figure eight that represents infinity. Abraham was supposed to do this, but God did not want him to do so, so he put him to sleep. In essence, God makes this covenant with Himself with Jesus because Abraham was incapable of keeping the covenant. Jesus said in John 8 that “Abraham rejoiced to see my day.” Abraham saw Jesus in his dream, as the One who is the covenant ratifier. Several places in the scripture refer to the glory of Jesus being like a fire (Matthew 17:2 and in Revelation, which speaks of the smoking radiance of Jesus). Jesus had to become a man who could keep man’s part of the covenant. The God/man makes a covenant with Himself—a covenant of suzerainty.
A Covenant of Parity: The Covenant of David and Jonathan
1 Samuel18:1-4 states,
“Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 2 Saul took him that day and would not let him go home to his father’s house anymore. 3Then Jonathan and David made a covenant because he loved him as his own soul. 4And Jonathan took off the robe that [was] on him and gave it to David, with his armor, even to his sword and his bow and his belt."
When two Hebrews would enter a blood covenant, as David and Jonathan did, there were several things that represented that covenant. First, there was an exchange of coats. This means all of me belongs to all of you. The coat symbolized all that you were. Isaiah 61:10 states,
“10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks [himself] with ornaments, And as a bride adorns [herself] with her jewels. God clothes us with garments of salvation in place of our filthy rags.”
Paul said it this way in Ephesians 4:22,
“22that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”
Additionally, 2 Corinthians 5:21 states,
21For He made Him who knew no sin [to be] sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
This represents an exchange. Jesus becomes what we are so that we might become what He is. We are wearing Christ/the righteousness of God.
Secondly, they exchanged belts with their weapons. This means Jesus is saying that I am giving you all My strength, or ability to fight. Anyone who touches you touches Me. That means you are tougher than you look. There is more to you than meets the eye. God says to Abraham in Genesis 15:1
“After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I [am] your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
Abram understood that God was making a covenant with him and anyone who came against him would be turned back because God was his shield. Furthermore in Zechariah 2:8-9 it asserts,
“8 For thus says the Lord of hosts: “He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye. 9”For surely, I will shake My hand against them, and they shall become spoil for their servants. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me.”
When we put on the armor of God, we are putting on Jesus; He represents all the armor and the Five-fold ministry to which they can be compared.
We see David, when he encountered Goliath, knew covenant. He said to Goliath. ‘You have not defied Israel, but you have defied God.’ In 1 Sam. 17:45-47 David said to the Philistine,
“You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46”This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47”Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle [is] the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.”
Cutting the Covenant
In a blood covenant, they would split an animal down the middle of the spine. The two halves were laid out with a path between them. A figure eight is done between the animal by both parties as they walk around and through the halves. This means that both parties are saying that they are dying to themselves, and they are giving themselves to each other. The seriousness of the covenant included a curse associated with the action. A person was saying “if I ever break this covenant may I been hewn down the middle like this animal.” In fact, curses were pronounced upon themselves and their descendants. For example, when men made a covenant with God in the Old Testament it was conditional based on the obedience of the person. Jeremiah 34:18-20, states
18“And I will give the men who have transgressed My covenant, who have not performed the words of the covenant which they made before Me, when they cut the calf in two and passed between the parts of it 19`the princes of Judah, the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf 20`I will give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life. Their dead bodies shall be for meat for the birds of the heaven and the beasts of the earth.”
This is reflected in Deuteronomy 28:1-15 representing the blessings of covenant; however, verses 16-69 are the curses that come because of breaking God’s covenant.
Other Aspects to the Blood Covenant
Regarding Jonathan and David’s blood covenant, as well as others, they would then cut their hands mingling their blood as they would press their raised right hands together This was a pledge of their token or allegiance to each other. Even today, the right hand is raised in the swearing of oaths in court or legal proceedings. In other cases, when the palm was cut, the two would clasp right hands as in a handshake. Once again, this is seen as an act of coming to agreement in terms of a contract, as in “let’s shake on it.”
Additionally, they would change their names. They would receive a component of the other person’s name into their name and vice versa. It would be like: Thomas Bohlin Reedy or Jonas Reedy Bohlin. Now, this may be seen in marriage when a woman receives the name or her husband. In the case of my wife Kathy, she did not have a middle name, so she used her maiden name Hethcock as her middle name. Likewise, Robin Bohlin is called Robin Robinson Bohlin. In Genesis15, God changes the name of Abram to Abraham and Sarai to Sarah. What is it that He puts into their names? God’s name, the tetragrammaton (YHWH) was so holy they only used the consonants and not the vowels. They called him Lord. However, you can’t say the middle syllable of God’s name without a breathing emphasis. God took a part of his name and put it into their names--Abra’ham/Sar’ah. By expressing this syllable, there was the impartation of breath or Spirit toward the two of them. God breathed on them. God also took Abraham’s name; He is the God of Abraham.
After they cut their palms, they would cauterize their wounds so that they would not bleed, but it also left a scar. Sometimes they would even put something in the wound to make it show up even more. The scar reminded the parties of the covenant, and it was also a warning to those that would mess with you. It was a seal of covenant. For Israel, the seal was circumcision, a bloody act, but for Christians it is the seal of the Holy Spirit, a circumcision of the heart. Romans 8:16-17 states,
16“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.” Ephesians 1:13-14 tells us,13“In Him you also [trusted], after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.”
Then, they pronounced blessings on each other. The term “Friend” is a covenant term. Abraham is a friend of God. Jesus told his disciples He no longer called them servants, but friends. This is like sharing a meal out at a restaurant and asking your friend to give you money from your wallet. While this is unusual in friendship, in our time it is easily seen in the marriage covenant. This is realized in the idea of death to self. Jesus has a right to ask of us anything, our all, because He gave us his life, everything in Him. This covenant was tested when God asked Abraham for his only son, the son of promise. Abraham understood the covenant and knew that he had to give to the Lord what He asked for. God then said, Now I know that you know the meaning of covenant (paraphrased).
The covenant is celebrated with a meal. We call it communion. They each stuck a piece of the broken bread into each other’s mouth. Sound familiar? This is usually done at weddings with cake, which means it is a bad idea to smear it on the other person’s face in jest. This meant that each person was inside the other person. This is how Jesus is in us and at the same time we are in Jesus. They would exchange wine (in the place of blood) and the covenant would apply to the children until they reached the time when they could choose to affirm or disavow the covenant for themselves. In 1 Samuel 18:18, King Saul is averse to God. David has a heart after God’s heart. Saul hates David, so he seeks to kill David secretly. Jonathan loves David and doesn’t reflect the character of Saul. So, he makes a blood covenant with David even though it jeopardizes his ascension to his father’s throne.
A Covent of Legacy
During the war between Saul and the Philistines, Saul and Jonathan are killed, but Jonathan has a son, who in flight is dropped by his nanny when he was small and then grew up lame in his feet. The son’s name was Mephibosheth. Later, after David defeats the Philistines, he is thinking about his love and the covenant he made with Jonathan and asks his entourage if there are any remaining descendants of Jonathan. In 2 Samuel 9:1-4, it states,
1“Now David said, “Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” 2And [there] [was] a servant of the house of Saul whose name [was] Ziba. So, when they had called him to David, the king said to him, “[Are] you Ziba?” And he said, “At your service!” 3Then the king said, “[Is] there not still someone of the house of Saul, to whom I may show the kindness of God?” And Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan [who] [is] lame in [his] feet.” 4So the king said to him, “Where [is] he?” And Ziba said to the king, “Indeed he [is] in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lo Debar.”
Lo Debar (in the Hebrew no pasture) was a barren outpost of insurrection, where those who had supported Saul in his hatred toward David resided. Mephibosheth lived in this kind of environment with anger towards David. When David’s men came for him, he thought it was for his death. David loved Mephibosheth for the sake of Jonathan and the covenant he made with him. You are not worthy, but it is based on covenant. Yet, Mephibosheth must ratify this covenant offer for himself. Why wouldn’t he? Not a tough choice? All his friends and allegiances, if they are David’s enemy, now become his enemy. James said that whoever is a friend of the world is an enemy of God. However, all that David had became the resources of Mephibosheth.
In 2 Samuel 9:5-11 we read,
5Then King David sent and brought him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo Debar. 6Now when Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, had come to David, he fell on his face and prostrated himself. Then David said, “Mephibosheth?” And he answered, “Here is your servant!” 7So David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually.” 8Then he bowed himself, and said, “What [is] your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I?” . . . . [David commands Saul’s servants to serve Mephibosheth] . . . 11Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king has commanded his servant, so will your servant do.” “As for Mephibosheth, [said the king], he shall eat at my table like one of the king’s sons.”
Like Mephibosheth, we were all born into the Family of Saul, the Man of Flesh, but God adopted us, making a covenant with us. With the son of David, Jesus Christ, it possible for us to eat at the King’s table (fellowship) as “sons”. Although we were not worthy to be at the table, our adoption allowed us a place at His table despite our flesh. Because we were enemies of God, adoption into His Kingdom was necessary in order to give us an inheritance.
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Uniquely qualified as an editor, having taught college Composition courses for 20 years, Dr. Reedy serves as Editor in Chief and a contributor of Fullness Online Magazine. He holds a B.A. degree in Journalism & Communications, an M.A. degree in English–Rhetoric and Composition, and he has completed 30 hours of a Ph.D. program in Classical Rhetoric, Post-modernism, and Victorian Authorship (ABD).
Tom has served as a pastor and church planter for 30 years (12 years as a Baptist pastor). He received his education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div. and a D. Min.).
He served as a pastor of Southern Baptist churches until he was filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit (1985) with the gift of healings, prophecy, and a ministry of deliverance. He was commissioned as an Apostle/Teacher in 1990. Ras Robinson became his spiritual father in 1987, resulting in a vital connection with the “Fullness” message.
Tom has served as a pastor and church planter for 30 years (12 years as a Baptist pastor). He received his education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div. and a D. Min.).
He served as a pastor of Southern Baptist churches until he was filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit (1985) with the gift of healings, prophecy, and a ministry of deliverance. He was commissioned as an Apostle/Teacher in 1990. Ras Robinson became his spiritual father in 1987, resulting in a vital connection with the “Fullness” message.