Isaiah 59:21
"As for Me, says the Lord, this is my covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you and My words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants' descendants, says the Lord, from this time and forevermore."
Much of the Bible's story is account of God's covenants with those of his creation. From Adam and Eve, to Noah, to Abraham, to Jeremiah, to the new church, the Bible tells us God is willing to commit his heart to us in a covenant relationship.
Given God's transcendent nature, it has always been surprising to me that God would care enough for me to even notice the path of my life. Whereas the covenants we're most experienced with are based on fairness and equality, it is not the same with God's covenants. Instead, they stem from God's perfect love. God chooses to reach out and love unlovable humanity. And not only does God choose to love us, he paid a great price to establish his covenant of mercy with humanity, even the death of Jesus Christ on the cross for our sins.
The covenant we see here in Isaiah is one which involved the Spirit's touch. God covenants to not only bring his Spirit upon his people, but to have the Spirit remain upon them. No longer would they need the law, because the law would abide with them. This was also to be an everlasting covenant, one which continued to all generations of those who worship the Lord.
Of course, this covenant was fully fulfilled with the coming of the Spirit upon the church at Pentecost as recorded Acts 2. Earlier, Jesus had prayed that God would send the Spirit, and with Pentecost, the answer to his prayers and the fulfillment of the covenant offered to Isaiah are fulfilled.
As believers, we live in the blessing of this covenant, knowing the word of God in each of our hearts as we experience the blessing of God's Spirit upon us.
LORD JESUS
Lord, I thank you for the covenant of your Spirit upon my life and your church. May we live fully for you in light of your great love for us. Amen.
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