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Joshua ch. 9 – the principle and power of COVENANT

Joshua 9:6 And they went to Joshua, to the camp at Gilgal, and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a far country; now therefore, make a covenant with us.” 7 Then the men of Israel said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you dwell among us; so how can we make a covenant with you?” 8 But they said to Joshua, “We [are] your servants.” And Joshua said to them, “Who [are] you, and where do you come from?” [ref. Exodus 34 “you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land, lest it be a snare in your midst”].

2 Samuel 21:1 Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David inquired of the LORD. And the LORD answered, “[It is] because of Saul and [his] bloodthirsty house, because he killed the Gibeonites.” 2 So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites [were] not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; the children of Israel had sworn protection to them, but Saul had sought to kill them in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah. 3 Therefore David said to the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? And with what shall I make atonement, that you may bless the inheritance of the LORD?”

4 And the Gibeonites said to him, “We will have no silver or gold from Saul or from his house, nor shall you kill any man in Israel for us.” So he said, “Whatever you say, I will do for you.” 5 Then they answered the king, “As for the man who consumed us and plotted against us, [that] we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the territories of Israel, 6 “let seven men of his descendants be delivered to us, and we will hang them before the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, [whom] the LORD chose.” And the king said, “I will give [them.]”

9 and he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the hill before the LORD. So they fell, [all] seven together, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first [days,] in the beginning of barley harvest. … 14 … And after that God heeded the prayer for the land.

KJV: after that God was intreated for the land [“athar”: entreat, supplicate]
NET: “was entreated” – God allowed himself to be supplicated through prayer
The first mention of the word “covenant” in the Bible

Genesis 6:17 “And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which [is] the breath of life; everything that [is] on the earth shall die. 18 “But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark–you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.

“Covenant” is the Hebrew word “ber-eeth”. It is mentioned 264 times in the pre-Christ Hebrew Scriptures, which shows its significance. The origin of the root of the word is the Hebrew word “Bara” of Genesis 1:1. When you “cut a covenant” you shape a new “formation” into existence – a new spiritual substance.

The root concept of the covenant, to create/generate an agreement that establishes a new spiritual substance, is the equivalent of the power of creation that is shown in Gen. 1:1 which is accomplished by means of the spoken Word.

Genesis 9:8 Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying: 9 “And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you, 10 “and with every living creature that [is] with you: the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth. 11 “Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12 And God said: “This [is] the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that [is] with you, for perpetual generations: 13 “I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. 14 “It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; 15 “and I will remember My covenant which [is] between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 “The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that [is] on the earth.” 17 And God said to Noah, “This [is] the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that [is] on the earth.”

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