The Servant King: A Contractual Analysis

He stands there nervous. The room is filled with friends and family. There has been much preparation for this day and for this moment. The doors open and in she walks. The beautiful bride. The entire room stands to their feet as she makes her way to him. This is the day they will marry. They will share promises to one another. They will make a pledge to God. And they will live happily ever after. The marriage ceremony is a beautiful moment for a bride and groom and yet something very important is taking place among all the music, flowers and guests—a covenant is being made between the bride, groom and God. And even through, the couple will sign a piece of paper surrounded by their witnesses, they are not entering into a contractual agreement,
Therefore, the importance of a covenant focuses on both promises and obligations (or commitments) of the people involved. In addition, Lunde points out that there are a few different types of covenants. There is an “unconditional” covenantal where one party guarantees their promises regardless of the demands being met by another party (Lunde 515). This type of covenant is seen throughout the Bible in which God keeps his promises even when the people fail to obey his commands. For example, God promises to never flood the earth again after he saves Noah even though people will continue to be wicked (Lunde 878). In addition, Jesus promises to forgive sin, even repeated sin (1 John 1:9). Another type of covenant is a “conditional” covenant in which there are obligations that need to be upheld in order for a promise to be kept (Lunde 535). An example given by Lunde would be that of a king conquering another nation and promising to provide and protect the subjects as long as they remain loyal to the king. Throughout the Bible, God promises to provide for his people if they remain faithful to him; yet at the same time God clearly states that they will be taken captive by other nations if they disobey. For example, God speaks through Moses to the people on their way to
In summary, God asks Hosea to marry a prostitute signifying Israel’s unfaithfulness to God, but God’s faithfulness to not break his covenant with Israel even though they had broken God’s demands. What is worse is Hosea’s new wife cheats on him even after he commits his love to her. Once again this describes Israel’s poor faithfulness to God. But even then God declares, “But then I will win her back once again. I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her there” (Hosea 2:14). In essence, God choses to lead with his grace in order to win the people back. The same can be useful in a marriage relationship. Couples will sometimes have to choose grace in order to win back their lover. In addition God says, “I will make you my wife forever, showing you righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion. I will be faithful to you and make you mine, and you will finally know me as the Lord” (Hosea 2:19-20). God’s pattern of faithfulness and his unwavering pursuit of Israel drew them back again and