Our Covenant Keeping God

By Dale M. Sides

While I have been teaching a class called Covenant Healing in Communion, I have been continually reminded that our God is the God of all gods. No one keeps covenant like Him. When Solomon dedicated the temple, he said,

O LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee in the heaven, nor in the earth; which keepest covenant, and shewest mercy unto thy servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts. 2 Chronicles 6:14

Our God is Yahweh. There are others who claim to be gods, but none of them—in heaven or in earth—keeps covenant like our God and Father. He makes promises and He keeps promises. He gives His word and He keeps His word. What He says He will do, He does. There truly is no God like Yahweh.

When a covenant is made, it means that a deal, or a pact, is made between two parties. Both parties agree to abide by the arrangements made and swear by an oath that they will keep their end of the deal. (Or, as it is said in the southern part of the United States, “hold up your end of the stick.”) God has entered into covenants with numbers of people throughout the history of mankind. He made a covenant with Noah that He would never again destroy the earth with water, and He also made a covenant with Abraham that He would provide Abraham a seed for his inheritance. In these instances, along with all others, our God keeps His word.

According to 2 Chronicles 6:14, there is no god in heaven or earth like our God who keeps covenant with His servants. Examples of this are as abundant as there are false gods. The queen of heaven (Jeremiah 7:18; 44:17–19,25) who flows under so many names has no reliability. She will not covenant with anyone and what she requires today may not be good enough for tomorrow. Allah, the god of Islam, has never guaranteed that any female will meet his standard and go to his heaven. He refuses to commit himself.

The inconsistencies in all other writings, apart from the Bible, only further documents the truth of 2 Chronicles 6:14. There is no god like Yahweh. You can almost feel the despair of Job when he said, “Oh . . . that mine adversary had written a book” (Job 31:35). Hey Job, don’t count on it. Job was confused because of the devil’s attacks. The devil first attacked Job’s children, then his possessions, then his body, then his marriage, and then his relationships. That is because the devil changes the rules whenever it benefits him. This reminds me of a valuable lesson I learned from turkey hunting, but it is also true when dealing with the devil and all other gods. “The only thing predictable about them is that they are unpredictable.” Think of how exasperating it must be to worship a god who has no faithfulness. Think of the fear and uncertainty that must brood in the worshipper. Aren’t we thankful that our God wrote a Book?

Notice further from 2 Chronicles 6:14 that our covenant keeping God requires that we keep our part of the agreement too. He keeps His covenant with those servants who walk after Him with their whole hearts. Many times people have wondered if God truly keeps His word when they do not see the results they want to see, when they want to see them. We must all realize that a covenant requires that both parties keep the requirements and God expects us to walk after Him with our whole hearts. This applies to anyone who makes a covenant with God—whether they are Christians or not.

This brings up a good question to ask: Are people who are not Christians under covenant with God? Has God agreed to bless them, heal them, care for them, and provide for them? The answer is that if they have never entered into covenant with God and asked Him for these blessings, God is not obligated to bless them.

It is easy enough for Christians to accept that unbelievers must make the covenant with God by accepting Jesus as Savior, but after the initial commitment, Christians must keep the covenant too. According to 2 Chronicles 6:14, we keep covenant with God by walking after Him with our whole hearts. God requires that we do more than just say we are in covenant with Him; we must walk in His ways and live according to His commandments.

Under the Old Covenant/Testament (“testament” is the same Hebrew word as “covenant”) God provided freedom for the children of Israel when He broke the stronghold of Pharaoh because they entered into covenant with Him at the time of the Passover. He fed them with manna, gave them water from the rock, defeated the armies of the heathen, led them by the cloud of the Holy Spirit, and finally brought them to the Promised Land. But only those who continued to follow after Him actually entered into the Promised Land. God was faithful to provide, but His people had to be faithful to follow Him too.

The same is true of Christians in the New Testament or New Covenant. God likewise provides freedom, sustenance, protection, direction, and hope. We must follow after Him with our whole hearts. Galatians 6:7–9 has a message to New Testament covenant keepers:

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. Galatians 6:7–9

God has integrity, and what He says He will do He will do, but the same is true when God says He will not do something. For example, if someone with integrity tells you that he will meet you at 8 a.m., you should expect him to be where he said he would be and you should expect him at the time he said he would be there. Likewise, if he says that he will not be there at 8 a.m., you should expect to not see him there regardless if you go and look for him. My earthly Dad has been faithful to keep his word to me. If he said he would do something, he did it. But likewise, if he said he would not do something, he did not do it.

Too many times people have not followed after God with their whole hearts, yet they still expect God to do what He promised to not do—keep covenant with unfaithful people. As a result, people question His integrity and reliability. Sometimes these people raise their fists toward heaven, defy God, and challenge His love. They say, “How could God let this happen to me?” (Actually, when God does not do what they want, it is a manifestation that He is still a covenant keeping God.) We should expect His faithfulness to be manifested in equal proportion, both in doing what He says He will do and in not doing what He says He will not do.

Yes, our God is a covenant keeping God. It is impossible for Him to lie (Hebrews 6:18). He is reliable and what He says He will do, He will do, just as He is reliable to not do what He says He will not do.

The good news of the covenant is that God is the keeper of His word. He keeps His word and fulfills what He has promised. Our God is Yahweh. No god in heaven or in earth keeps covenant with His servants like Him.