Covenants matter more than you think

At my church, Transformed Life Church, we’re eagerly counting down to Easter. We believe it’s a powerful time of year that should be both celebrated and understood. One of the things that makes Easter so incredible is the covenant God made with us through Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Many of us hear the word covenant and think only of marriage or ancient agreements, and we shrug. In today’s society, the word doesn’t carry much significance. Let’s change that. Today, I want to help us fully appreciate the power of the New Covenant in Christ by using one of the Bible’s best examples of covenant in the Old Testament – Passover.

WHAT WAS THE PASSOVER?

Passover commemorates the Israelites’ deliverance from slavery in ancient Egypt. They were enslaved for 400 years and cried out to God for deliverance. God sent Moses and used 10 plagues to set them free. The last plague was the death of every first-born in Egypt (Exodus 11).

To protect themselves, the Israelites were instructed to take a spotless one-year-old lamb, kill it at twilight, and place its blood on their door posts so the destroying angel would pass over their homes. It was a covenant between God and His people – and the power of this covenant secured their victory.

The Passover fits into a category of covenant practised by many Middle Eastern cultures called a Threshold Covenant.

To understand the power and provision of Jesus’ blood, we must understand the Threshold Covenant – and by extension, the Passover.

THE MEANING OF THE THRESHOLD

A threshold in this context was a wooden plank across the doorway of a man’s home. In covenant culture, the threshold was considered sacred. When you stepped across the threshold of someone’s home, you entered an implied covenant with the host. You were received as though you were a member of the family.

There is a Spanish saying, “mi casa es su casa,” meaning “my home is your home.” In the East, they literally meant it. Once you entered a man’s house, he assumed responsibility for you: to provide for you, protect you with his own life, and care for you. We see this covenant principle even before the Passover.

A BIBLICAL EXAMPLE: LOT AND THE ANGELS

In Genesis 19, two angels – appearing as ordinary men – visited Lot in Sodom. Lot invited them to stay with him because staying in the open square was dangerous. Later that night, the men of the city surrounded Lot’s house and demanded that he bring out the visitors so they could violate them.

Lot pleaded with the men not to commit such a wicked act. He said, “ Do nothing to these men, since this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof” (Genesis 19:8, NIV).

The phrase “under the shadow of my roof” means they had crossed the threshold and were now under his covenant protection. Lot was declaring, “They are my brothers, and I will protect them with my own life.”

This illustrates the immense power of a threshold covenant. Lot was willing to sacrifice what mattered most to him to uphold that covenant.

But this covenant became even more significant when blood was involved. Understanding this will help us see the sacrifice of Jesus in a whole new way.

Join me next Sunday as we continue this discovery.