What other scriptures emphasize the importance of keeping God's "everlasting covenant"? Setting the Scene: God’s Determination to Keep and Require His Covenant From the opening pages of Genesis to the final benediction of Hebrews, Scripture consistently presents the everlasting covenant as both a divine pledge and a call to faithful obedience. The passages below show how God not only establishes an eternal bond with His people but also commands them to “keep” that covenant in daily life. Key Old-Testament Foundations • Genesis 17:7 & 9 — “I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you… Then God said to Abraham, ‘You must keep My covenant—you and your descendants after you for the generations to come.’” • Exodus 19:5 — “Now if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations—for the whole earth is Mine.” • Deuteronomy 7:9 — “Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps His covenant of loving devotion for a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments.” • Deuteronomy 29:9 — “Therefore keep the words of this covenant and practice them, so that you may prosper in all that you do.” Worshipful Reminders in Israel’s History • 1 Chronicles 16:15 — “Remember His covenant forever, the word He commanded for a thousand generations.” • Psalm 103:17-18 — “But from everlasting to everlasting the loving devotion of the LORD extends to those who fear Him… to those who keep His covenant and remember to obey His precepts.” • Psalm 105:8-10 — “He remembers His covenant forever… the covenant He made with Abraham… He confirmed it… to Israel as an everlasting covenant.” Prophetic Echoes and Promises • Isaiah 55:3 — “Incline your ear and come to Me; listen, so that your soul may live. And I will make with you an everlasting covenant, My loving devotion promised to David.” • Isaiah 56:4-6 — God honors “the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths… and hold fast to My covenant,” as well as “the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD… and hold fast My covenant.” • Jeremiah 32:40 — “I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never turn away from doing good to them, and I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will never turn away from Me.” • Ezekiel 37:26 — “I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant with them.” New-Testament Fulfillment and Continuity • Luke 1:72-73 — God sent Jesus “to show mercy to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, the oath He swore to our father Abraham.” • Hebrews 8:10 — “For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put My laws in their minds and inscribe them on their hearts.” • Hebrews 13:20-21 — “Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the everlasting covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus… equip you with every good thing to do His will.” Themes the Spirit Repeats • Permanence — God’s covenant is “everlasting,” not temporary. • Relationship — The covenant always includes the promise, “I will be their God.” • Responsibility — Blessing is linked to actively “keeping” the covenant. • Redemption — The New Covenant in Christ’s blood fulfills, rather than replaces, the earlier promises. Living It Out • Remember — Regularly recall God’s unwavering faithfulness (Psalm 105:8). • Obey — Align attitudes and actions with His revealed commands (Deuteronomy 29:9). • Trust — Rest in the finished work of Christ, whose blood secures the everlasting covenant (Hebrews 13:20). • Persevere — Hold fast to the covenant even when culture pulls the other way (Isaiah 56:6). The Lord’s everlasting covenant stands firm. Scripture’s repeated call to “keep” it is an invitation to walk daily in loyal love toward the One who has pledged Himself to us forever. |
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