It Is All About Love: Understanding God's Covenant as a Testimony of Jesus

By Eric E. Redic

It Is All About Love, is the result of years of study, much prayer, and research into God and His word. Many differing opinions exist concerning who God is, as well as the significance of His covenant. The purpose of this book is to provide clear evidence from scripture that the entire covenant, from its earliest expressions, to its final fulfillment, is nothing less than Gods effort to restore and protect His creation.

Beginning in Genesis, the covenant is examined to reveal its true purpose as well as humanities relationship to it. Aspects of the covenant that have been misunderstood by some, will become clear, as by the light of Gods word, they reveal the Promised Seed, prophesied from the beginning to crush the serpents head and ultimately restore us back to the image of God, and Earth back to the garden God created it to be. The covenant reveals God as He is; the fullness of true love. The covenant unmasked in the light of Gods word, reveals Jesus as the fullness of the covenant. From that tree in the midst of that first garden, to the covenants festivals, feasts, sacrifices, and even the tabernacle erected in the wilderness, a clear picture develops of Gods love and desire to save and restore us to Himself. Every portion of the covenant is a revelation of Jesus Christ and His love. It Is All About love!

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jul 18, 2016
• ISBN: 9781512749243

Eric E. Redic

Pastor Eric Redic has been fascinated with God from early childhood. This fascination moved him into action. Founding To Know Jesus, TV ministry, he has studied scripture for thirty years, even earning a BA in Theology, minoring in Biblical language. These, combined with his personal relationship with Jesus Christ, yielded amazing discoveries. His book, It Is All About Love, is the result of these things.

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Copyright © 2016 Eric E. Redic.

Cover Illustration Jesus, Light of the World by Nathan Greene ©2004, All Rights Reserved, Used By Permission www.nathangreene.com

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Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-4923-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-4925-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-4924-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016911061

WestBow Press rev. date: 07/15/2016

CONTENTS

Foreword : Dr. Jim Stevens

Introduction

Dedication

Chapter 1 In the Beginning

Chapter 2 The Tree of Knowledge and the Ten Commandments

Chapter 3 A New Hope

Chapter 4 The Covenant’s Devious Enemy

Chapter 5 A Bow in the Sky The Promise Continues

Chapter 6 God’s Man, Abraham

Chapter 7 The Covenant in Flesh

Chapter 8 The Covenant in Sand and Stars

Chapter 9 The Covenant Comes to Israel

Chapter 10 The Covenant Arrives at the Mountain of God

Chapter 11 God Speaks and the Mountain Moves

Chapter 12 The Covenant a Sanctuary of Love

Chapter 13 God Moving Through His Tabernacle

Chapter 14 The Covenant Comes to the Throne of God

Chapter 15 The Covenant’s Perfect Capsule of a Better Time

Chapter 16 The Covenant Reflected Through Feasts and Festivals

Chapter 17 A Fire Falls as the Spirit of God’s Covenant

Chapter 18 The Covenant Seen in Two Goats in the Desert

Chapter 19 A Covenant in Booths an Image of the Promised Seed

Chapter 20 A Fulfillment of Time

Chapter 21 The Shadows Removed; Reality Has Come!

Chapter 22 The Seed Returns and the Serpent Chained

Chapter 23 The Covenant’s Final Chapter, Restored at Last

Bibliography

FOREWORD

T HE WORD COVENANT ENGENDERS MANY allusions such as interdependence, loyalty, unity, and oneness. The Biblical and contemporary allusions to covenant are laden with a sense of spirituality. True covenant envisions rising together beyond the horizon of mediocrity into the loftiest performance and satisfaction levels. A covenant comes when mutuality with God and one another reaches a shared spiritual pinnacle. This covenant is the dream of individuals and the hope of every organizational visionary.

In this book, Pastor Eric Redic examines what it means to enter a covenant in an intricate, thorough, and beautiful way. His examination of covenant carries one back to the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve were partners together in the governance and nurture of each other and this world (Gen. 1:26–28). God allowed Adam and Eve to experience mutual interdependence as a pattern of the relationship that existed in heaven. Mutuality existed as it had among the angels. Interconnectedness between God and the Edenic couple and between Adam and Eve themselves dominated this perfection of Eden. This book examines God’s transcendent covenant throughout the ages. What a blessing it has been for me to read this beautifully penned work of Pastor Redic.

The word covenant comes from the Hebrew word berith. The term in Scripture is often used to speak of the covenant between humanity and God, and usually appears in that sense, but is also used as an agreement between human beings. There are many references to covenants between God and the chosen people. The covenant between Noah and God is found in Genesis 9:8–13. God’s covenant with Abraham is found in Genesis 12:1–3. Covenant is used primarily in the scripture to describe the formal relationship that existed between God on the one hand and Israel as the chosen people on the other. The covenantal relationship between God and God’s people, as well as among is people, was to be the paradigm. This book thoroughly examines this relationship.

Covenant is thus deeply set against every notion of human autonomy. Biblical covenant means forgetting one’s aloneness and autonomy in the world and joining not only in a legal standard, but in spiritual union with a group, an individual, or God. The thread of covenant is intertwined with all other major biblical themes, as will be demonstrated in this book. The relationship of God to individuals and individuals to each other is elucidated in the covenantal understanding. In the Abrahamic covenant, God initiated based on the demonstration of Abraham’s faith. The blessing came from the willingness of Abraham to live in harmony with this God-initiated covenant.

As demonstrated in this book, God continued the covenant and codified it at Sinai. The commandments bring structure and emphasize the consequences of willfully disregarding the covenantal relationship. This covenantal relationship forms the basis for the development of a new nation ideally based on mutual interdependence and trust from each other and from a covenant fulfilling God. In a biblical covenant, a person has significance, responsibility, and accountability in the community. All, including leaders, are held to the same standards of integrity. Life in the covenant community is regarded as a gift since God has formed the community and has guaranteed its existence as a result of being a covenanting partner in it. This book is all about Jesus and His loving covenant with humankind throughout the ages. It explores the concept of the covenant from its perfection in Eden to its complete restoration in the earth made new. You will be blessed as you see the enormity of God’s love through the exploration of Jesus and the covenant in Pastor Eric Redic’s book.

Dr. James L. Stevens

INTRODUCTION

T HROUGH THE YEARS OF MY life, I have sought to know and understand God as He really is. This quest led me in many directions, but eventually, I found my way to the Bible as a testimony of who God is and His will for our lives. My research included a deep examination of scripture as well as accumulated understanding from books, sermons of other pastors, and life experience. In my pursuit of understanding, I found that a personal relationship with Him is humankind’s only hope for salvation. Over the last thirty years, it has become abundantly clear to me that everything God has done is motivated by the love He has for His people. It is from His love that the covenant came forth. It was God’s effort to protect and restore His people to that place and condition of perfection and peace, which existed before the first fall of humanity from innocence.

As my investigation of God’s covenant unfolded, it became obvious that the covenant is all about Jesus and His way of salvation. The covenant is an illustration of Christ Jesus, proclaimed first as the promised Seed who would become the Savior of the world. Beginning in the book of Genesis, the promised Seed of the covenant is presented as God’s answer to the damage done by the serpent’s orchestrated plan to separate God from His people. It was my intention through the pages of this book, to create an easy to understand picture of the covenant’s journey through the ages. Beginning in the early chapters of Genesis, to its ultimate fulfillment in the final chapters of Revelation. It is my endeavor to reveal an image of Jesus and His love.

It was in the Garden of Eden that it all began. God had created a perfect world, with everything humanity would ever need. It all existed out of love and nothing in the universe could surpass its beauty. Every tree, flower, and shrub, was perfect. Every type of fruit existed for the people He created to inhabit it. In this perfect environment, He placed the first two humans—Adam and Eve. Living in perfect harmony with all that was on the earth, these first humans delighted in its magnificence.

One test, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, was placed in the garden to prove whether they would choose to honor and love God as their Creator. In placing this tree in the garden, God took great risk, knowing that they had freedom to choose. They could give their heart to another, but only by offering free choice, would God ever experience true love for Himself. It was by way of this tree that the enemy of God would entice Adam and Eve to turn from God. The serpent, by convincing them that God did not have their best interest at heart, was able to persuade them to turn from God and follow him. It was due to this tree, and the resulting failure by His people, that God devised covenants to restore humanity back to that place before the fall.

This covenant, moving through the ages, has undergone constant attack from the enemy of God. It is the story of this covenant that we will follow in this book from beginning to end. My hope is that this book will in some way make those things pertaining to God’s covenant, which have been twisted and confused, into a clear revelation of Jesus Christ and His love for us. God truly does love people more than anything. It Is All About Love!

DEDICATION

I dedicate this book to the two great loves in my life:

Christ Jesus, who sacrificed all to lift me out of darkness and death into His marvelous light. Without His love and grace, I would have long ago perished into the depths of the earth and would have known only death. Only by His inspiration and love, have these words made their way to the pages of this book. It is to Him that I owe my all.

My beloved wife Wendy, who has been my constant encouragement and support. She has been my best friend and constant companion. It is her love that has given me a reason to go on, even when everything in life seemed to tell me to give up. Next to God’s love and salvation, her love and companionship are the greatest gifts God ever gave to me.

CHAPTER 1

In the Beginning

I N THE BEGINNING, GOD CREATED the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1). In the beginning, the world in which we now live existed without the scars of sin that we have grown so accustomed to. It was a world filled with beauty and unspeakable joy, a place of peace and tranquility. This planet was a world that can scarcely be imagined. What we see now are the effects of sin that so completely permeate our planet, but it was not always like this. For the sake of some kind of backdrop, I will attempt to provide a glimpse of its splendor.

Our world was originally an unbelievable environment of exquisite beauty that spanned the visible circle of the earth. Crystal clear streams of cool, sweet water teeming with life flowed through the vast garden, reflecting the beauty of the glorious surroundings. The appearance of the streams resembled that of ribbons of colored light shimmering through the thick green carpet of vegetation. Lofty trees, like stately sentinels looking out over creation, stood with their branches outstretched, creating a glorious canopy of brilliant green, giving shade and sanctuary to all that desired it, as well as shape and contour to the magnificent garden God had created. An innumerable variety of flowers added a kaleidoscope of color to the blanket of green that covered the landscape; their sweet, various fragrances were carried along on the ever so gentle breeze. Brightly colored butterflies floated on the breeze, their brightly colored wings fluttering effortlessly as they drifted along, sampling the nectar of the many fragrant blossoms. A banquet of glorious fruit hung from the heavy-laden boughs of the many trees, adding color and beauty to wooded areas surrounding that garden. It truly was paradise on earth.

A multitude of creatures moved among lush vegetation, exploring their fantastic surroundings. Squirrels hopped here and there among the blades of grass, seeking out nuts or other morsels of food. A magnificent lion with its flowing mane framing his powerful face, laid quietly in the shade of the trees, lazily chewing on grass as it watched a deer nibbling the leaves of the perfectly formed shrubbery outlining the meadow before them. Red, blue, and yellow danced among the brilliant green of the tree branches as cardinals, bluebirds, and a variety of other birds bounce from branch to branch, inspecting the many blooms and fruits that adorn the many trees.

All this beauty was not created in vain; rather, God had prepared this glorious environment for a people whom He had longed to share His life with. He created a people to love and care for, to fellowship with, and to provide for. He hoped that these people would love Him in return.

Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth. And God said, "See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food." (Gen. 1:26–29)

God created radiant beings reflective of His own image to keep and tend His glorious creation. They were tall and strong, every line in its place, every muscle perfectly proportionate to their frame. They were perfect! Every animal, every bird, and every created thing was placed under the dominion of these beings. God designed this creation out of love for a people He created to love.

God’s original covenant was designed to preserve and protect his creation from the contamination of sin. The covenant after the fall was God’s continuing effort throughout the generations to restore creation back to that original pristine environment, free from the scars of sin and then to protect it in that state.

God, being almighty in power and perfect in knowledge and wisdom, knew that forcing His will upon His new creatures would have been the most logical choice. Yet He also knew that for this creation to ever be all that He desired it to be, and for Him to ever know true love, His people would have to be free to choose whom they would follow. God so desired this new man and woman to love Him, but He knew that without individual freedom to decide for themselves, there could never really be true love. It is for this reason that humanity would have to be free to choose Him or to deny Him. For love, freedom, and real joy to exist, God made covenants with the beings He created in order to protect them and the environment in which they lived.

To ever fully understand the covenants of God, we must understand three things. First, we must realize that God does not change. We see this fact clearly stated: "For I am the LORD, I do not change (Mal. 3:6). Second, we must remember that God, above all else, is love, and He who does not love does not know God, for God is love" (1 John. 4:8). Finally, we must understand that the Bible is one living example, an image comparable to a thousand-piece puzzle. Just as with a puzzle, no single piece reveals the full content of the picture. Only as each piece is placed together, each in its perfect place, can God’s intended message be understood.

Now taking these facts about God and His Word into consideration, there are two questions that need to be asked. The answer to the first leads into the second. Did Adam and Eve have to do anything to inherit the Garden of Eden and dominion over all things of this earth? The answer is a resounding no! The Garden of Eden with all its beauty—the flowers, fruits, birds, and animals—was theirs to enjoy. God created all these things for them before they even existed. Everything was a gift of God to the people He created. Every bit of it was created with them in mind and was created out of love for them. They didn’t have to do anything to receive it.

This leads us to the second question. Did they have to do anything to keep all that God had given them and continue living in their perfect environment? The answer is clearly yes; they needed to love God enough, respect Him enough, and honor Him as the Creator by refraining from eating the fruit of just one tree. As with the latter covenants, God gives first, God saves first, and then humanity, out of love and appreciation for what God has already done, responds by being obedient to Him.

All too often in the search for knowledge, people claim to have new light that seems to do away with God’s covenant of love. This is often due to the fact that people focus on one text of scripture while ignoring others. Just as every piece of the puzzle is required to complete the picture of a large puzzle, all portions of scripture must be taken together if there is any hope of ever having a clear understanding of the picture that God is painting. Each portion of scripture enhances and clarifies others; they do not contradict each other. One of the beautiful things about scripture that sets it apart from all other writings is how its principles remain true to themselves. The simple truth about the covenants is that they are God’s continuous attempts to restore humanity to that perfect environment, that perfect relationship with Him, and then to perpetually protect that place of perfection for all eternity. The covenants are all about love; they are God’s method of restoration and protection of that original perfect environment.

Contrary to popular belief, the covenants did not originate in the context of Judaism; rather, they were originally prepared for humankind as a whole. A frequent statement circulating through Christianity is, Oh those teachings are Old Testament, and those covenants were only for the Jews. The truth is that the earliest covenants were established long before there was a single Jew on the earth. Every covenant made by God with His people had a slant in their favor. Some were little more than a statement or promise of what God would do; however, most were conditional on the choices made by humanity. God never intended any covenant to be difficult, but rather, they were given so that humanity might have freedom to choose. For every choice, there was also a promise and a consequence—that was the covenant. God’s first covenant existed in the garden. It began from the beginning of human life. Even in the joining together of Adam and Eve, God allowed them to experience mutual interdependence as a pattern of the relationship that existed in heaven.

Even though the account of Noah is the first time that the actual word covenant is used, the first covenant was not the rainbow that they saw in the heavens after Noah left the ark. Actually, the first covenant was proclaimed to our original human father in the Garden of Eden.

So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.

And God said, "See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food"; and it was so. Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day. (Gen. 1:27–31)

In this portion of the text, we see that God created mankind in His image and gave them dominion over all that He had created for them. This was the Creator’s portion of the original covenant and as seen here, it was very good! God gave all the splendor of creation—the entire earth—to those He created. It was a wonderful testament to His love for humanity. Yet, He knew that without a choice, it could never really be love.

This brings us to the second part of the covenant—humanity’s choice to honor God as Creator or to rebel against His authority by choosing their own way.

Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die. (Gen. 2.16–17)

God gave mankind every kind of advantage—everything that humanity would ever need was theirs for the taking. He gave them dominion over all creation. Every kind of fresh fruit that was a delight to the eyes and an explosion of flavor and aroma to the senses had been given to them for food.

Again, it is important to realize that they did not have to do anything to earn it—it was a gift from God. In all creation, only the fruit of one tree was forbidden to