Today’s Reading: Ezekiel 16:23-63 (including Saturday’s lection) 

…yet I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish with you an everlasting covenant.
Ezekiel 16:60

When I was a child, I discovered that prescription nasal sprays create a beautiful mist. 

I was home alone, but not for long. Growing up on a college campus, I believe my mom had walked to the post office, also on campus, leaving me alone for just a few minutes. Having discovered this beautiful and amazing nasal spray reality, I felt tempted to spray the bottle over and over again. I wanted to see the mist, be enveloped in the mist; you might say there was something mystical about it (have to put a dad joke in every so often, right?!).

I knew I shouldn’t do it. I knew the prescription was expensive. I knew we couldn’t just go back to the store and easily get more. But the temptation was too strong. I grabbed the nasal spray and began to pump. As the mist grew, I danced around in it, enjoying every minute, finding great delight in the world I was creating. 

Until mom came home. I was still busy dancing, spraying, and was caught in the act. I expected her to read me the riot act; I expected grave consequences. And as I recall, there were consequences. But there was also allowance for my childlike behavior, considering I was a child, and understanding that sometimes, children just do foolish things. There was a remembering of the parent-child relationship, what we might call a covenant. 

A covenant is more than a promise. It defines the relationship between parties. In some ways, it’s like the US Constitution: it defines the boundaries of good and proper behavior on the part of both parties (the government and the people in this case), and makes promises (consider the First Amendment, for example). So it is with the idea of covenant. It defines the relationship between God and the people (I will be your God and you will be my people), it sets boundaries (God cannot completely destroy them, they should always follow God’s law), and thus defines the relationship. 

Here in Ezekiel, we see that. In verses 23-52, God lays out the case against them. They have failed their part of the covenant, their part of this divine-human relationship. Yet, (and I love that word in scripture for it often indicates forgiveness and redemption is coming!), God will not destroy them. God will remember the covenant, the promises God made, the willingness God had to self-limit, and will eventually restore them. 

For a time, they will suffer the consequences of their actions, like a child who’s done wrong. But that will not last forever. God will restore and redeem, because God will keep the covenant. 

We, too, have such a relationship with God. Through Jesus, God has covenanted with us, too, and while we may suffer the consequences of our actions from time to time, God will restore and redeem, for God keeps God’s promises. 

Think
When has God kept a promise to me? When have I suffered the consequences of my actions and seen God provide? 

Pray
Give God thanks for the covenantal relationship you have and for the time God kept a promise to you.

Do
Read Jeremiah 31:31-34 for more information on this idea of covenant. 

Think, Pray, Do. As we respond in faith to scripture, God moves in power through our minds, hearts, and bodies. We are the people of God. Thanks for reading today. Go in peace. Amen.

Think, Pray, Do devotionals by Ted Goshorn follow the suggested bible reading plan from his website and book, Prayer Changes Us. Find this Bible reading plan at tedgoshorn.org/biblereading. If you have found today’s devotion helpful, don’t forget to subscribe for daily emails at tedgoshorn.org and share with others that we may think, pray, and do faithfully.