Covenant Keepers
If you’ve ever heard or read the story of Job, you know it is a tragedy. Job lived an upright life even gaining the esteem of God bragging on him to Satan over his righteousness. Satan immediately challenged God that Job was just serving him because he was guarded. God had a protective wall around him.
God’s words to Satan about Job are telling: Then YHWH said to Satan, “Very will, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself, do not lay a finger.”
Satan took the challenge and killed all of his livestock, his servants, and his all of his sons and daughters on the SAME DAY! And I thought it was bad having to wake up in the dark this morning. Nonetheless, Job’s life had been permanently altered; kids dead, no money, no servants, and all esteem was gone, so he thought. Satan was then allowed to cover Job with boils all over his body in painful agony. But you know who got nothing? Job’s wife…and she was a treasure (sarcasm intended.) See her words after seeing Job’s plight (and losing her children) “Are you still maintaining your integrity (JOB)? Curse God and die!”
Job’s wife did not seem to be the picture of the helpmeet that I envisioned a wife to be. But my question is this, why wasn’t Job’s wife killed? Why was it that she was not buried with the rest of Job’s loves?
The answer is simple. God will not break a covenant. In America we mistake contract with Covenant. A covenant was a lifetime commitment and was never to be broken. All parties involved enter a covenant to help all parties succeed. Today, if our husband doesn’t lead the way we want, we just get out. Alternatively, if our wives have gained too many pounds we want to trade them in for a younger slimmer version. But to God that is an unheard of thing.
We abuse the ways of God. Covenant is no different…we abuse it. When a husband and wife make vows, we think they are in covenant, and they are. They are vowing to work together for the benefit of all. But they’re also making a covenant to God. And God does not break covenant.
God, Job and is wife were in covenant together and God ‘could’ not kill her because then he would be breaking his covenant with them. Job’s children were not ‘covenanted’ to Job or to God. It seems unreasonable to us, but that’s the way it is. Vows made, vows kept.
Israel had refused YHWH for almost 1000 years before God allowed them to be punished by Assyria and Babylon. How long do we keep covenant? Covenant is for ever.
We have to restore our honor. By honor, I mean keeping our covenants…both to spouse, and God….and his body.
