We hear a lot about covenants in scripture. Anyone know what a covenant is? How would you define it if someone asked you, “What’s a covenant?”

That’s right. It has “legal” connotation. It’s actually ancient legal language. You might call it a kind of agreement or contract between two or more parties in a legally binding promise or vow. If you look at our marriage liturgy, you can see it there! You can also see it in our communion liturgy.

In the marriage contract, the covenant of marriage refers to the promise made and fulfilled between two people uniting in matrimony. In scripture, a covenant is also used to describe God’s relationship with God’s people.

God promises to watch over, protect, love, cherish humankind. In turn, humankind promises to be loyal only to God. It was the kind of…