I. Covenant Hesed/Agape passes all knowledge (Ephesians 3:14)
A. Studying covenant will enable you to grasp an understanding of God’s love.
1. We are talking about the incomprehensible desire to serve you and give to you and hold you up
a. What is incomprehensible is someone who is both smart and powerful and has it all and has it together for him to come along and say I want to give it all to you, I love you, I want you, I care for and you’re the weak dummy with nothing.
B. Covenant love is Mercy (Chesed) – kindness, loving kindness, favor, goodness,
1. Unfailing love, loyal love, devotion, kindness, often based on a covenant relationship – Kindness, goodness, loving-kindness, favor, mercies, good deeds
2. This is the driving compassion to give – to enter a covenant of blood forever for someone else’s benefit; to promise to give until it is too good to be true. Then swear in your own blood in order to prove that you’re not lying-so they can believe and receive.
a. The deepest desire to give compassion = the drive brought about by mercy – “To be full of eager yearning.”
3. To enter a covenant of blood forever, totally, for someone else’s benefit and blessing.
4. To give yourself totally and all you have to someone who has nothing
5. “Love” is in the verb form and it is the Greek word Agapeo
a. Agapao – to totally give yourself to
1) It’s what we bind ourselves with and become one with
2) It’s total commitment and consumption
3) It is in every sense of the word fanaticism
4) It’s what we put first in our lives
5) It’s a commitment love
b. Hebrews 13:5 – I will never leave you nor forsake you
6. One of the translations of the word hesed/agape is the bowing of the neck – I’m always your servant and never your god
a. Jesus washed the feet of his disciples
7. Remember – I hold you in my mind – You are ever before me – I live in constant reality of the bond between us – It is as if I am at this moment standing n the blood swearing – I am-never I did or I will in the future, always now – I am plotting and planning ways to bless you and surprise you as I keep the covenant terms – Always action. Knock-I’ll open. Seek you’ll find. Ask-you’ll receive
C. God bound himself through the blood covenant to be hesed to us (Deuteronomy 7:9)
1. He said I swear by myself to Hesed you and to keep my covenant with you
2. He had a choice, but He doesn’t have one anymore
a. He bound himself to this through covenant
II. Covenant Relationship
A. 1 Samuel 18:1-3 – Covenant Oneness
1. A covenant is literally coming together of 2 parties to oneness (1)
a. Covenant love is loving someone the way you love yourself
2. Covenant love is love that is loves to the point of joining itself to another
a. “Love” is in the verb form and it is the Greek word Agapeo
1) Agapao – to totally give yourself to
2) It’s what we bind ourselves with and become one with (1 Corinthians 6:17)
3) It’s total commitment and consumption
4) It is in every sense of the word fanaticism
5) It’s what we put first in our lives
6) It’s a commitment love
b. Hebrews 13:5 – I will never leave you nor forsake you
B. Our oneness with God
1. 1 Corinthians 6:17 – You are one spirit with the Lord
2. Ephesians 5:30 – I am bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh
3. 2 Corinthians 5:17 – (AMP) Therefore if any person is [engrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!
4. 2 Corinthians 6:16 – God dwells in me, walks in me
5. Colossians 1:25 – The great mystery is Christ in you the hope of glory
6. Colossians 2:6 – Walk, live, and conduct your lives as one would who is in him
a. Stop talking, thinking, and acting like a person who lives separate from him, apart from him, outside of him, and him outside of you
7. Colossians 2:10-In Christ you are complete
a. Complete (pleroo) – filled full, filled up, supply, be full,
b. In him there is nothing missing and nothing broken and nothing short and nothing lacking and that’s where you are
8. Colossians 3:11-If your born again you are Christ
9. Colossians 3:17-Do everything in do in the name, the authority, the power of the Lord Jesus
C. 1 Samuel 18:8-28 – God’s covenant relationship with David
1. The Lord was with David – He was in covenant with God (12,14)
2. Saul sent David out against the Philistines because he thought they would kill him
a. He was feeding him to the wolves thinking this will take care of David
b. Saul’s a man of war, educated in war and if he thought that David had no chance, then David had no chance
3. Saul didn’t take into account that David was in covenant with God
a. He just got through saying that God was with David, but he had no understanding of what that truly meant
4. David didn’t blink or bat an eye when the task was given to him because of his covenant (26)
a. He’s so covenant minded that he is oblivious to the gravity of the situation
5. Saul asked for 100 foreskins of the Philistines and David brought back 200 foreskins of the philistines
a. God’s loyalty to keep his covenant with David shows up mightily and David accomplished the task
D. 1 Samuel 19:1-10 – Covenant loyalty
1. Jonathan spoke to David and warned him of Saul’s plan to kill him (2,3)
2. Jonathan spoke good of David to the Saul his father and said it was not right or just to kill David (4,5)
3. 7-10-Everything was back to normal, but then David had another great victory and Saul got jealous again and tried to kill him
a. Saul was jealous of David for having something that saw had access to
b. Saul was a Jew and he had just has much right to that covenant as David did
E. 1 Samuel 20:1-17 – Covenant Love
1. Jonathan tells David that Saul won’t do anything without first telling him and when he tells me I’ll tell you
a. 3-Grace (chen) – favor, precious, pleasant
b. Whatever you desire for me to do, I’ll do it
1) That’s Covenant talk
2. 8-David reminds Jonathan of his covenant and tells Jonathan to deal in hesed, loving-kindness, tender-mercy, covenant love, towards him
a. David reminds Jonathan you deal in hesed, tender-mercy, and loving-kindness toward me now because you made a covenant with me
b. David goes on to say, but look if I’ve done something wrong then you kill me – Covenant talk
3. 9-“Far be it from thee”-It seems absurd to Jonathan to know that David’s life is in danger and break the covenant by not reveling it to him
a. I’m in covenant with you and I do everything to protect your life
4. 12-13-If I don’t tell you where you stand with my Father then may the Lord do worse to me
a. Covenant talk – Swearing before God
5. 14-15-Jonathan makes David promise to show him and his family hesed/agape, loving-kindess, tender-mercy forever
a. Covenant love
6. 17-Jonathan caused David to swear again
7. 23-The covenant of the Lord is between us forever
8. 42-We’ll be covenant friends forever and our families forever
F. 1 Samuel 23:16-18 – David’s out here running for his life in the wilderness
1. Jonathan came to David and encouraged him and talked faith to him
a. Jonathan was always there for David
2. That’s hesed/agape/loving-kindness, tender-mercy, covenant friendship
a. If you’re in need I’m here always ready to be the fulfillment of that need – Always ready to serve – Always had David on his mind
3. Standby – one to be relied on especially in emergencies – a favorite or reliable choice or resource – one that is held in reserve ready for use ready or available for immediate action or use – held near at hand and ready for use – of, relating to, or traveling by an airline service in which the passenger must wait for an available unreserved seat
a. He is always ready and available for immediate action and use
1) Someone who is on standby is ready and prepared to take action when action is called for
2) He’s always standing by, He’s always on call, He’s always ready and prepared to jump in and help us at any time in anyway that’s necessary
3) He’s never in a place where you can’t reach him; He’s never in a place where you can’t talk to him. He’s never in a place where He’s too busy.
G. 1 Samuel 24:4-6,10 – David wouldn’t kill Saul because:
1. His covenant with God
2. His covenant with Jonathan
H. 2 Samuel 1:23-26 – David honors Saul and Jonathan
1. 26-Love (ahba) – Covenant loyalty love, friendship, familial love
III. Covenant love and loyalty (2 Samuel 9:1-11)
A. David is looking for someone in Jonathan’s family to be hesed/agape, loving-kindness, tender-mercy towards (1-3)
1. David is saying I want to be loyal to somebody I cut covenant with this man’s family
a. I got to show this loving kindness. I’m not trying to get out of serving, I live to give. I can’t get Jonathan off of my mind I still smell his blood
b. He learned this from God that’s the way God is
2. 1 Samuel 20:13-15 – “For Jonathan’s Sake”
B. He’s been raised to hate David and he probably thinks that David is going to kill him His whole life he had probably been told what an evil man David was and how he’ll just kill everything in sight that is related to Saul (6)
1. They take this kid to see David and he falls on his face in fear of losing his life
C. Don’t be afraid little guy I’m here to show you hesed/agape, tender-mercy, loving-kindness because I had a covenant with your Daddy (7)
1. You will eat bread at my table – Covenant talk
a. Because I was in covenant with your daddy now I’m in covenant with you
D. Me-fib-a-sheth was saying I didn’t do anything to deserve this. What is this? I didn’t do anything? What’s going on here? (8)
1. He was experiencing hesed/agape, tender-mercy, loving-kindness that’s not based on what you’ve deserve, but it is based on the family you were born into
2. Ephesians 2:19 – We’re in the household of God
a. Romans 8:14 – I got a Father
E. 10-David called Saul’s servant over and said everything that Saul owned I’ve given to this boy. You’re going to work the land and bring in the harvest that way he’ll have food to eat. And if you ever think about stopping remember this; this boy eats bread at my table forever
1. In other words he’s in covenant with me and if you come against him you’re coming against me
2. Because he was Jonathan’s son, he’s now my son and he is to be treated as a son of the king
F. Mephibosheth every time he sees David lift his hands he sees this black scar across his wrist and then suddenly he knows why David sought him to give to him and give to him – It was because of his father
1. That’s why Jonathan would slip out the back and tell David that Saul was coming and save his life
2. My Father had one of those scars