Monday January 30, 2023

Today is Monday, January 30 and we are studying what the Bible says about covenant.

Jesus, I am yours. As I approach the newness of a dawning day, I sit quietly in the joy of your presence and relish the comfort of your abiding love. Open the scriptures to me, speak into my life and teach me about covenant.

Pause and Pray

Holy Lord God, I am no longer my own, but yours. Put me to what you will, rank me with whom you will; put me to doing, put me to suffering; let me be employed for you, or laid aside for you, exalted for you, or brought low for you; let me be full, let me be empty. Amen. (The Wesleyan Covenant Prayer, part 1)

I kneel in humility before the Lord and seek him with the words of Psalm 78.

They remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer. But then they would flatter him with their mouths, lying to him with their tongues; their hearts were not loyal to him, they were not faithful to his covenant. Psalm 78:35-37

Pause and Pray

The story of redemption begins in the Garden of Eden with the fall of the human race through the disobedience of Adam and Eve. By the time of Noah, humanity had further deteriorated to a point that God’s only viable solution was to wipe the slate clean and start again. God saw how much wickedness there was on the earth, it was corrupt and full of violence. The intentions of the human heart were evil all the time (Genesis 6:5). Only one man, Noah, found favor in God’s eyes. Carefully following God’s instructions, Noah built an ark, secured his family, gathered two of every living creature and safely floated above the flood until the water receded. Then God spoke his covenant.

Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.” And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.” Genesis 9:8-13

God has a rescue plan for humanity. God’s plan of redemption responds to the unfaithful disobedience of Adam and Eve and repairs the tragedy of Eden and it includes me. I am part of God’s plan alongside all humanity and every living creature on earth. After the flood, God makes a covenant with humanity, with Noah and his descendants. God makes a covenant with the birds, the animals and every living creature. God will never again destroy life by water. A rainbow is established as the enduring sign of hope and promise to every generation. God has not abandoned our world, on the contrary, he has been actively working since the beginning of time for the good of all creation including me and my life.

Ask: Where do I find myself in the story of Noah? Why did God provide a sign of his covenant with Noah?

Pause and Pray

Holy Lord God, your ways are far above my comprehension. Speak to me as you did to Noah and his sons. Explain your covenant promise with all of creation. Help me understand my relationship to the living creatures of the earth, the waters of the sea, and the soil of the land. Teach me what it means to be in a covenant relationship with you and the world in which I live. I read the words from Genesis again and listen for the message you have for me.

Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.” And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.” Genesis 9:8-13

Ask: What image, word or phrase stands out to me when I slowly read this passage? What is God trying to say to me through these words of scripture?

Pause and Pray

The story of Noah and the flood is more than a children’s story inspiring rainbow artwork and Sunday School decor. The covenant with Noah is the beginning of God’s enduring hope for all of humanity and creation. Even though I am familiar with this Bible narrative, I seek God’s meaning for me in a new way today. I pay attention and hope to notice a detail I have previously overlooked. What might the Holy Spirit be revealing to me through this text?

Pause and Pray

God, thank you for loving me and speaking to my heart as you have spoken to those before me. Reveal the places within me that honor covenant and the places where I break covenant. Open my heart and mind to understand what it means to be a part of your glorious promises for humanity. Amen.

I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you. You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. Genesis 6:18-20

I leave this time of prayer to honor my covenant relationship with God and bring life to the world around me.

Amen