"And I will establish My covenant with you.
Then you shall know that I am the LORD."
Ezekiel 16:62
The minister began his sermon with a question. "Do you know God, or do you just know about Him?" After the service, a man said, "I've known about God all my life, but I'm not sure that I really know Him. Help me understand the difference." The minister responded, "It's like you have known about President George Washington all your life. He was "the father of our country," but he is not your father. The difference is a personal relationship. God has a personal relationship with His children as their Father."
Ezekiel spoke of knowing the LORD. What does that mean? It is knowing God in a personal, covenant relationship. Marriage is intended to be a covenant relationship. A husband and wife commit themselves to each other through vows of promise. God has committed Himself to all believers through vows of promise, referred to in the Bible as testament or covenant. We receive God as LORD of our lives, submitting to His covenant word as our guide. It is a faith relationship, based on our trust in God and the promises of His word.
Believers can trust God with absolute confidence. His covenant word is forever the same. He changes not. God says, "I will establish an everlasting covenant with you" (Ezekiel 16:60). God is always trustworthy. His word is our bond. We bond with Him by believing and obeying His word. These are the words of an old hymn of the church: "Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey." That's what it means to know God in a covenant relationship through Christ.
Father, we praise You for the everlasting covenant through Christ.
