May 31, 2013 … Breaking Covenants Is Costly

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2013 - Day 151

Passage of the Day #1: 2nd Samuel 21: 1 [with verses 1-3] [NLT] …  
1 There was a famine during David’s reign that lasted for three years, so David asked the LORD about it. And the LORD said, “The famine has come because Saul and his family are guilty of murdering the Gibeonites.” 2 So King David summoned the Gibeonites. They were not part of Israel but were all that was left of the nation of the Amorites. Israel had sworn not to kill them, but Saul, in his zeal, had tried to wipe them out. 3 David asked them, “What can I do for you to make amends? Tell me so that the LORD will bless his people again.” 
============
Contextual Study for today’s passage: 2nd Samuel, Chapter 21 [NLT] … Go to this link … 
===========

Reference Passage #1: Numbers 23: 19 : [When God promises, He delivers; but do we? ] …[NLT] … 19 God is not a man, that He should lie. He is not a human, that He should change His mind. Has He ever spoken and failed to act? Has He ever promised and not carried it through?

  Reference Passage #2: Matthew 5: 34-37 : [Jesus gave His warning against false promises.] …[NLT] …  
34 But I say, do not make any vows! Do not say, ‘By heaven!’ because heaven is God’s throne. 35 And do not say, ‘By the earth!’ because the earth is His footstool. And do not say, ‘By Jerusalem!’ for Jerusalem is the city of the great King. 36 Do not even say, ‘By my head!’ for you can’t turn one hair white or black. 37 Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one.

My Journal for Today: Fellow Christian, … I hope all reading here with me realize that we serve a covenant making and covenant keeping Lord; and He expects us to keep our covenants (i.e., our promises or oaths) when we make them.

David discovered that his predecessor, Saul, had broken a covenant with God concerning the Gibeonite people and so David sought out the proper repentance and correction from God (see today’s highlight passage from 2nd Samuel 21. When we, as followers of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and involved with our life covenant with the Son of God, Who has fulfilled God’s covenant with His peoples, break our relationship with The Messiah, we can expect there will be repercussions. In other words, sin has consequences.

 In the case of David with the Gibeonites, the Lord brought a famine on the Israelites because of Saul’s sinful actions. David didn’t do it; but Saul’s sin carried over and had an effect on God’s people at a later time. And sin – or broken covenants in disobedience – can have delayed costs in our lives as well. For years I lived in a pattern of rebellion against God with my hidden lifestyle of habitual sexual sin; and those years of sin later had dire and lasting consequences on my marriage and my relationship with God. When that pattern of sin was uncovered by the famine in my marriage, I had to confess, repent, and to make it right by living my life by walking the walk of faith in repentance in order to restore my relationship with my God, allowing Him to heal my marriage and to serve Him, being covered by the grace He could once again pour into my life through His redeeming blood.

My friend, broken promises, especially those made in covenant to the living God, always will have consequences. So, if we’re living in a time of famine in our life, … perhaps a famine in our relationship with God, … maybe it’s a time to look deeply at how we’re living in our covenant relationship with our Savior and Redeemer.

 Is there some residual, unresolved stronghold of sin in our lives which requires repentance and restoration? Because if there is, we need to also remember that our God is a merciful and forgiving God; and He is long-suffering in His willingness to allow us to confess and be cleansed of whatever broken covenants might be causing the relational brokenness between us and our God [see 1st John 1: 9, which I hope you have memorized].

Take a moment and go to this You Tube link and see just how loving our covenant God is by viewing a video one of my favorite songs by Phillips, Craig, and Dean … He’ll Do Whatever It Takes! …  And then, my friend, we need to do whatever it takes to allow our merciful God to forgive us, cleanse us, and restore our fellowship with Him.

My Prayer for Today … Thank You, Lord, for being my covenant keeping God! … Amen