In my previous article I closed by saying we would further explore Jesus’ invitation to experience His presence in the covenant relationship but I need to change my route a bit. You know, like when you’re traveling somewhere and you want to take a different way and your GPS says, “recalculating.” In this journey from contract to covenant to prayer in Jesus’ name, Jesus’ words below prompted me to go back to the ancient covenant world, long before Jesus:
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you (John 15:7).
and then several verses later…
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you (John 15:16).
To modern ears, promises like these sound bold and extreme, a bit like having a genie in a bottle, but to Jesus’ audience, they were used to hyperbolic language like this.
When God Entered Empire and Turned It Inside Out
As detailed in previous articles, I spoke of how we live in a world of contracts — signed, sealed, and enforceable. If one side fails, the deal falls apart. Even in the church, we sometimes carry that same logic into our faith: do your part, and God will do His.
But the world of the Bible didn’t think that way.
To understand Jesus’ words about abiding and asking in His name, we need to step back about 1300 years before Jesus, to the late Bronze Age and the Ancient Near East covenant world. This was a world where power ruled through promises sealed in blood, and where God chose to speak that language, only to transform it.
Covenant as Empire Engineering
In the Ancient Near East, covenants were the lifeblood of empire. A great king — the suzerain — would bind weaker nations or rulers, the vassals, to himself through solemn oaths. The suzerain promised protection and prosperity; the vassal pledged absolute loyalty and tribute.
The covenant ceremony was brutal and theatrical — animals divided, blood spilled, oaths sworn before the gods who would enforce the terms. Break the covenant, and the curses of famine, plague, invasion, and death followed. Religion was leveraged for control.
All this sounds barbaric to modern ears, but in that world it was normal. Covenant language shaped how people imagined order, belonging, and power.
God Leverages the Language of Empire – and Rewrites It
When the Scriptures speak of Yahweh making a covenant…
With Abraham: (Read Genesis 15:17-18 and notice God’s spin on the covenant ceremony, usually both parties pass between the pieces of the animals. In God’s version, only God passes between the pieces, meaning God guarantees the covenant, even if Abraham violates it)
With Moses and Israel at Sinai: (Under Egyptian control but the covenant structure borrows from the Hittite suzerain-vassal treaties, especially in Exodus and Deuteronomy. But God’s covenant is initiated by divine grace and boundless love- Hittite gods never made covenants with people. God’s covenant isn’t a contract, it’s a pact maintained through faithfulness not obligation or political practicality)
With David: (The form is familiar but the substance of the covenant is revolutionary. Unconditional, no obedience and loyalty required. Not only a promise of protection but also a messianic hope. No political, contractual language but instead a covenant between Father and son. More than political stability but an eternal kingdom through the Messiah.)
God takes the law and the language of empire and fills it with grace. The suzerain of heaven stoops to bind Himself to the frailty of a people. This covenant:
Not imposed by fear, but initiated by grace.
Not designed to control, but to cultivate trust.
Not sealed by human sacrifice, but sustained by divine promise.
Where kings demanded tribute, God gives provision.
Where they threatened punishment, God offers presence.
Where they enforced loyalty through fear, God invites faithfulness through love.
Even Israel’s own storytelling emphasizes this defeat of covenant as a contract. When the book of Joshua declares, “none were left alive,” it isn’t a historical sitrep — it’s form of faith-based poetry drawn from the language style of empire, but turned inside out. Israel borrows the language of conquest only long enough to proclaim that Yahweh — not Pharaoh or the Hittite king — is the true ruler of history.
The Rebellious Rule of Covenant
In a world of propaganda, domination and exploitation, Israel’s pact became an act of resistance – one God, one people, one covenant. The empire’s fluency in fear became a song of trust for the people of God. The symbols of domination became images of divine dependence.
God entered the imperialist system of control only to overturn the tables from within.
Looking Ahead
Before we hear Jesus speak of “a new covenant in My blood,” we must remember how destructive covenant language already was. God entered the structures of power not to endorse them, but to redeem them. This reminds me of the TV series “The Chosen,” season 2, episode 4 where Jesus heals a paralyzed man at the Pool of Bethesda, as depicted in John 5.
Jesus, in a rebellious act, performs the miracle on the Sabbath, challenging man-made traditions and emphasizing that God’s will takes precedence over man’s law. The episode ends with Jesus saying, “Sometimes you have to stir up the waters.” Yes!!!
The next time we read God’s promises, perhaps we can remember: they were never contracts to control people — they were invitations to belong.
Next time: “When Covenant Became Contract — and Why We Mishear God’s Promises.”