As our nation enters into a new political administration and governmental direction, I hear many Christians declaring that God is now going to bless America by establishing a renewed covenant with our land and our people. Using the Word of God as my means of assessing the truth of this viewpoint, I must respectfully disagree with this position. Let me tell you why...
My skepticism comes from 1) my belief that politics is not the answer to what ails us; and 2) my understanding of what covenant means to God and who the Bible says He has made covenants with. I think it's wonderful that so many in the new administration in Washington D.C. have made it clear how important their faith is to them. We need men and women who are seeking to rule this nation in the righteous principles of our God. But an administration seeking to provide political solutions to the individual spiritual problems of 341,145,670 American citizens [as of January 18, 2025] will not restore our relationship with God. It is only through understanding what covenant means to our Heavenly Father that we can return to our original state with Him. And I believe it is an individual endeavor.
So, let me begin by stating what I believe God reveals in His Word regarding Covenant. The word Covenant defines an ongoing relationship with no appointed end; it implies a continuing relationship; a growing organic process that is a natural development. Unfortunately, through the centuries of Biblical interpretation, we have learned to think of God's covenants in terms of the New and Old Testaments. But, to God, Testaments are legal documents that can be declared null and void, as a new testament/legal document replaces the previous one ... they have a definite beginning and a specified end.
But God's Covenants are renewed, not replacing the previous ones. These renewed covenants simply include the previous ones and expand on them, enfolding them into the existing covenant which still remains in force. We see this principle playing out in God's [Biblical] seven progressive and inclusive covenants He made with mankind, beginning in the Garden of Eden and advancing through the history of man: the Adamic, Noachic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, Davidic, New, and Everlasting covenants.
[NOTE: the Church tends to assign these covenants to the Old Testament only. But they are meant for us, too! In order to change the future of this nation, the people need to understand God's intentions in establishing the covenants and their purposes. We need to understand that within the Bible, God has assigned these seven covenants into four fundamental covenant types: Blood, Salt, Sandal and Marriage Covenants -- in that specific and progressive order; folding each one into the next one as a process of inviting us to grow and mature into one who is worthy to become the Bride of Christ.]
Here is a further depiction of these fundamental covenants. The Biblical description of the Blood Covenant is when we enter into a relationship of Servanthood, which requires the shedding of blood by sacrifice. Jesus did that for us on the Cross, so when we declare Him as our Lord, Savior, and Redeemer, we receive His free gift of Salvation, and we make a commitment to serve God by fighting the good fight against the world's temptations which can lead to sin. This decision to die to our sins must be made daily, as expressed by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:31: "I affirm, brethren, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily". Through this covenant, God asks mankind to serve and obey Him.
A nation cannot accomplish this through its political efforts. It is the result of individuals choosing to enter into each state of their faith as they commit to a covenant relationship that, if we choose to be intentional, will progress to the next level, while maintaining every aspect of the previous level.
Once we have become God's servant, we can choose to grow into the Salt Covenant, which is an eternal covenant, intended to restore the lost Friendship and closeness we forfeited in the Garden. There is an ancient Hebrew custom which portrays the nature of this covenant ... Each person carried a small pouch of salt. When two or more men wanted to enter into this type of relationship with each other, the parties to the covenant would mix their salt in a common bowl, break bread, dip it into the salt, and eat it. When they finished they would redistribute the salt into their pouches. The only way to break this covenant was to separate each grain and return them to the original owner. It is clear that this covenant was meant to establish a bond forever -- it was an eternal covenant. When we enter into the Salt Covenant, God expands on the Servanthood [Blood] Covenant and rewards us with more of Himself.
The next step in the progressive Covenants is the Sandal Covenant, or covenant of Inheritance. Ancient Hebrews used worn-out sandals to mark the boundaries of their property and to set the boundaries in place; to move them was strictly forbidden by divine command. Therefore, the Sandal Covenant came to represent a picture of the relationship of sons and daughters with their parents. Along with the privilege of Inheritance comes the responsibility to maintain the Servant Covenant and the Friendship Covenant with God, as well. Inheritance also requires us to be a good steward of our Father's estate. This was the original intent for Adam and Eve. But they lost their authority and responsibility to manage the Garden and the earth, and they lost it through their disobedience.
Can you see that these covenants point us to the progressive nature of our purification, relationship, and partnership with God? Moreover, they point to the first step: our Salvation which leads to our Sanctification [being set apart to be a Servant to our God]; to our dedication as an eternal Friend; and to our Inheritance as sons and daughters, growing in commitment and intimacy with our Heavenly Father.
It is important to note that we do not acquire our Salvation through any "works" connected to each of these covenants. Only Jesus's blood sacrifice and death on the cross, and our acceptance of His forgiveness provide that -- for everyone ever born! Sadly, today, many believers think they can get saved and have all the intimacy they'll ever need by accepting the free gift, with no additional effort on their part. But Salvation is only the beginning; only the first step toward establishing the intimacy God desires. We are given the choice of going further and increasing the maturity and intimacy of our relationship with Him. We have to consciously make that commitment to move beyond basic Salvation and into true covenant relationships with Him. This will result in a step-by-step increase of His Kingdom in our lives -- and the life of our nation! -- IF we choose to walk out our faith by advancing into these covenants.
There is so much more I could say about God's Biblical Covenants ... specifically, the Marriage Covenant. But within history, we have not yet come to the marriage of the Bridegroom with His chosen Bride, so I don't want to complicate the context of this post which is about the question whether America is in the process of entering a Biblical covenant with God. For now, it is enough to understand that the Marriage Covenant is yet to be fulfilled. You need to know that it is the final step in the process of restoration, and it is in the hand of the Bridegroom alone; it is His decision to offer betrothal and marriage, which is the fulfillment of all the covenants.
But becoming part of the Bride doesn't happen automatically! Many Christians assume that Salvation alone is all they need to become "one with Christ", now and forever united with Him as His Chosen One, His Bride dressed in white. It's not that simple! By now, I hope you can perceive that we, if we are Saved, have simply taken the first step and accepted His free gift. From that moment, we have had the obligation, the opportunity, and the privilege of choosing how far we want to go in our relationship with God. We can be His Servant, growing into His Friend, and then maturing into our Inheritance as His son or daughter.
To reach that most important and eternal Covenant of Marriage, we must choose, as individuals, to accept the first three progressive covenants of Service, Friendship and Inheritance, offered by God. BUT THEY CANNOT BE LEGISLATED! The Bible has revealed that the Lord refers to Israel as His Wife in Isaiah 54:6, and in Jeremiah 3:14-20, the Body of Christ [the Church] is referred to as the Bride of Christ. We, as individual and corporate believers, are the Church. But just as we see the Lord serve Israel a writ of divorce after the leaders and the people of Israel (the apple of God's eye) became treacherous and treasonous, it is not the nation or its leaders that can decree or ratify their covenant relationship with God.
It is the nation whose individual citizens have accepted God's offer of Servanthood, Friendship, and Inheritance [along with their privileges and responsibilities] that will qualify to be considered and invited as Marriage material with the King of Kings. The Bible is full of accounts of the leaders of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah who fell short in their pursuit of righteousness, leading their people astray and away from the Holy God of Israel. We must, as individual citizens of God's Kingdom on earth, live our lives as models of Covenant relationship with God Almighty, showing others [including our leaders] what that looks like.
In conclusion, there is no evidence in Scripture that God made a special covenant relationship with America, like He did with Israel. There is evidence, however, that our moral and social values have declined, and the Church has failed to be accountable for that. We have squandered knowledge of our Founders and the Christian elements that they enshrined in our Constitution. In light of that consideration, the Biblical principles upon which America was founded have given us a solid foundation on which to return to. No elected President can [or will] guarantee that God will look upon our nation with favor. It is time to look inward, humbling ourselves and asking God for forgiveness, His wisdom and guidance, and our offers of repentance as we build renewed covenants with Him in our individual lives. One by one, we can turn this nation into one who "trusts in the Lord with all our hearts... acknowledging Him in all our ways". That will go a long way towards our restoration and purification, making us worthy to be invited to be His Bride.
Deuteronomy 7:9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; He is the faithful God, keeping His Covenant of Love to a thousand generations.
