The New Covenant of Grace: the Blood of Jesus setting us free

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Genesis 17:7

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And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.

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God Fixed the Broken Relationship.  The essence of God's everlasting promise to Abraham is the promise we live under today, namely that He will be our God and our children's God: giving His protection and provision. The original covenants were between God and man, required man to obey God's laws, and in doing so, they would display His wonderful attributes to the world. The problem was that man always failed to hold up his side, so God with a loving and forgiving heart, said He would make a new covenant to fix this problem relationship. It is the new covenant made in Jesus' blood that only requires that man should believe, not work. The is counter-cultural truth for there is a God, who loves you and He wants a relationship with you. He wants to help you.

The Broken Covenants. The original covenants were based on the works of God and of man, but we failed every time. The first was made with Adam, where God created a wonderful existence for him and he only had to work the land and eat of all the trees except one. That didn't last long before he and his family were released into the world to find their own ways and means, without God. The selfish wickedness of man grew quickly, and God punished it with a flood in the days of Noah, only 10 generations from Adam. He promised to not do that again and sealed it with an oath, but they still were without God. Then another 10 generations pass and God made a covenant with Abraham, to be his God. Abraham was a decedent of Shem, the son of Noah, whom he blessed. When God made the 'Abrahamic Covenant,' all 10 of his forefathers were still alive. This shows that God moved quickly to restore a relationship with mankind.

The New Covenant. The new covenant was made with the blood of Jesus (Jeremiah 31:31; Luke 22:20). In this new covenant, He made the first one obsolete (Hebrews 8:13) so that man would not have to attempt to live up to the righteous requirements of God, which is impossible for man. The law brought a particular problem for man, which is why the bible refers to it as a curse. The law made man aware of his transgressions and disobedience to God, and that knowledge made him guilty. And being guilty, he now had to be held accountable and pay the penalty of his error. This is the sweetness of the blood of Jesus. This is why we remember it and speak of it often; for by the blood that was spilled, it offered the forgiveness of sins. Jesus lived according to the law of God and He never failed it. In living up to the high standards of it, he fulfilled it. Man could now enter into the place where God alone resides, in the unshakable heaven, the real heaven.

How Sweet the Blood. Oh now sweet the blood of Jesus is to us. For it washed us clean as snow. It took away our sin and death. It left behind the system of unattainable workings of the law and the judgement thereafter. It ushered in the gentiles, man who was once far away but is now near to God. It released us from the fear of death and the tight grip of satan with all his accusations about us before God. It restored our dominion over this world and everything within it. It put us back into the hands of a loving Father who could be our friend and not be angry anymore. It gave us the protection, the provision, the love and mercy of God. We are now able to be His people and He is able to be our God, and there is no longer fear and trembling of pleasing Him or suffering the wrath. No, now should we disobey, we can repent, see the error of our ways and turn back to Him, and ask His forgiveness. The blood has even given us a God so near us, that He lives inside our hearts. He is there to comfort, guide and protect.

Dear heavenly Father, we thank you for the sweet blood of Jesus. We thank you for always making a way for us to be with You. We thank You that You spared us from Your wrath. We thank You that You have always loved us. We ask that You deepen our understanding of You and Your holiness so that we can give You the praise and honor due You. Amen.