And the Lord said to Moses, “Write these words, for after the purpose and character of these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” (Exodus 34: 27 AMPC)
According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not. (Haggai 2:5 KJV)
The original covenant with Israel was based on the word spoken by the Lord and the action of writing it down by Moses. The word “testament” actually means covenant, which is an agreement, a binding promise. The Old Testament was the original agreement God had with Israel. The New Testament is the new covenant we have through Jesus.
And He said to them, “This is My blood [which ratifies] the new covenant, [the blood] which is being poured out for (on account of) many.” (Mark 14:24 AMPC)
Ratification is consenting formally to an agreement. It is consent to be bound by the terms of the agreement. Jesus offered His blood to ratify the covenant. In the Old Testament (Genesis 8:20 &15:9) covenants were ratified by the shedding of blood through sacrifices. In implementing a new covenant, the Lord Jesus offered His own blood to ratify the covenant.
When the disciples took the cup and drank from it, they came into agreement with the terms of the new covenant. They consented to be bound by the terms of the covenant. Therefore, taking the cup of communion is a reminder that we are bound by a treaty with our Lord Jesus the Messiah.
Similarly, when supper was ended, He took the cup also, saying, “This cup is the new covenant [ratified and established] in My blood. Do this, as often as you drink [it], to call Me [affectionately] to remembrance.” (1 Corinthians 11:25 AMPC)
By revelation to the Apostle Paul, we are called to have communion often for the purpose of calling the Lord Jesus to remembrance. As often as we do so, we remember that we are bound by covenant to Him. Why is it so important to remember the covenant?
To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he has made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace... (Ephesians 1:6-7 AKJC)
Whereas this One [Christ], after He had offered a single sacrifice for our sins [that shall avail] for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, Then to wait until His enemies should be made a stool beneath His feet. For by a single offering He has forever completely cleansed and perfected those who are consecrated and made holy. (Hebrews 10:12-14 AMPC)
The blood of Jesus is perfect. His sacrifice is greater than any other. Therefore, the covenant we have with Him will trump any other covenant. His blood can pay for all sin and pay for or break any covenant!
Covenants Because of Dreams
Since dreams can come from God, our souls, or Satan, we may come into a covenant through them.
… at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established. (Deuteronomy 19:15 AMPC)
Do two walk together except they make an appointment and have agreed? (Amos 3:3 AMPC)
In the American King James Version, we read:
Can two walk together unless they are agreed? (Amos 3:3 AJKV)
When we act on a dream, we are in agreement with whoever brought the information. Acceptance brings the spirit behind the agreement closer: the spirit behind the dream has gained ground in the human's life. Through scripture, we will reveal a pattern concerning dreams, visions, and covenants:
Step 1: An inhabitant of the spirit realm brings information.
Step 2: The inhabitant of the physical realm exercises free will and accepts or rejects the information.
Step 3: When the information is acted upon, this creates grounds for a legal agreement, a covenant. As a result, the inhabitant of the physical realm’s life is impacted.
An agreement is an avenue the spiritual realm uses to affect the physical one. If you act upon the instructions from a dream, this shows your agreement with it. Seeking help to understand the dream does not constitute an agreement with it.
1. Dreams from God
After Job defended his self-righteousness, his friend Elihu, from chapters 32 to 39 of Job, explained many principles by proclaiming God’s justice and goodness, condemning self-righteousness, and by demonstrating God’s majesty and omnipotence. In his address in chapter 33, he clarified the workings of dreams, through which, as we see, covenants can be established.
[One may hear God’s voice] in a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men while slumbering upon the bed, Then He opens the ears of men and seals their instruction [terrifying them with warnings], That He may withdraw man from his purpose and cut off pride from him [disgusting him with his own disappointing self-sufficiency]. He holds him back from the pit [of destruction], and his life from perishing by the sword [of God’s destructive judgments]. (Job 33:15-18 AMPC)
God provides instruction, direction, order, or detailed information telling how something should be done, operated, or assembled. Four categories are noticeable in this passage. God provides instruction through dreams so that He can:
Withdraw man from his purpose - turn a person from their deed: change the person from what they have decided to do. [New Direction]
Cut off pride from him: reveal to a person their prideful way and humble them. [Pride]
Hold him back from the pit: prevent a person from premature death by even revealing the case that could cause the situation, so the person can take action not to die prematurely. [Preserve Life]
Hold back his life from perishing by the sword: this could include avoiding deadly accidents. [Avoid Deadly Accidents or Death]
We see that in verse 16, God can allow dreadful dreams to reveal something significant that exists in the realm of the spirit to preserve life or give a new direction. We will explore these in more detail and apply them to covenants.
1: New Direction
Abram
Through a dream, God provided a new direction to Abram as He established with him a covenant.
When the sun was setting, a deep sleep overcame Abram, and a horror (a terror, a shuddering fear) of great darkness assailed and oppressed him. And [God] said to Abram, Know positively that your descendants will be strangers dwelling as temporary residents in a land that is not theirs [Egypt], and they will be slaves there and will be afflicted and oppressed for 400 years. (Fulfilled in Exodus 12:40.)
But I will bring judgment on that nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. And you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old (hoary) age. And in the fourth generation they [your descendants] shall come back here [to Canaan] again, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full and complete. When the sun had gone down and a [thick] darkness had come on, behold, a smoking oven and a flaming torch passed between those pieces. On the same day, the Lord made a covenant (promise, pledge) with Abram, saying, To your descendants, I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates—the land of The Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, The Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, The Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites. (Genesis 15:12-21 AMPC)
The Lord gave Abram knowledge of future events in a dream. Afterward, God made a covenant with him the same day. The knowledge of the covenant happened in the dream and was followed by entering in the covenant the next day. The dream provided information about the new direction God wanted Abram to go to establish the agreement.
2: Pride
Nebuchadnezzar
O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that the Spirit of the Holy God is in you and no secret mystery is a burden or troubles you, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen and the interpretation of it.
Thus were the visions of my head in my bed; I saw, and behold a tree in the middle of the earth, and the height thereof was great. The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached to Heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the Earth: The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the Heaven dwelled in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it.
I saw in the visions of my head on my bed, and, behold, a watcher and a holy one came down from Heaven; He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches: Nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the Earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of Heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the Earth: Let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given to him; and let seven times pass over him. (Daniel 4:9-16 AKJV)
This is the interpretation, O king: It is the decree of the Most High [God] which has come upon my lord the king: (Daniel 4:24 AMPC)
King Nebuchadnezzar had two dreams. The second dream revealed a decree the Lord had made for the king to be brought low for seven years. The decree came to pass because Nebuchadnezzar failed to comply with what he should have done to avoid that predicament: he was to become righteous and show mercy to the poor.
Daniel reveals that the dream is a declaration from God: it shows what God was going to do. Renouncing the dream would not have removed the decree. This type of dream should be analyzed and understood so that a decision can be made. King Nebuchadnezzar needed to take action after he received the dream.
3: Preserve Life
Pharaoh
So when morning came his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians and all the wise men of Egypt. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but not one could interpret them to [him]. (Genesis 41: 8 AMPC)
And Pharaoh said to Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood on the bank of the river [Nile]; (Genesis 41: 17 AMPC)
This is another example of a prophetic dream. If Pharaoh had rejected the dream, famine would have still come because it was a prophecy about what was going to happen: God was showing him how to prepare for it. Pharaoh acted upon the information received and thus preserved his life and kingdom, including the Israelites. As with many dreams, it actually fits into two categories: A new direction and preserving life.
Solomon
In Gibeon, the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night. And God said, Ask what I shall give you. (1 Kings 3:5 AMPC)
Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream. He came to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants. (1 Kings 3:15 AMPC)
Solomon was interacting with God during a dream and spoke out of his heart. This action caused God to bless Solomon. When the king awoke, his actions as a result of the dream sealed a covenant between him and the Lord. Consequently, he received wisdom to guide the people of Israel.
4: Avoiding Death
Abimelech
God warned Abimelech of the upcoming destruction through a dream and showed him how to avoid it for himself and his kingdom.
But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken [as your own], for she is a man’s wife.”
But Abimelech had not come near her, so he said, “Lord, will you slay a people who are just and innocent? Did not the man tell me, ‘She is my sister?’ And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In integrity of heart and innocency of hands I have done this.”
Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know you did this in the integrity of your heart, for it was I Who kept you back and spared you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not give you occasion to touch her. So now restore to the man his wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her [to him], know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.” (Genesis 20:3-7 AMPC)
Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham and restored to him Sarah his wife. (Genesis 20:14 AMPC)
So Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his female slaves, and they bore children, 18 For the Lord had closed fast the wombs of all in Abimelech’s household because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife. (Genesis 20:17 AMPC)
God warned Abimelech and instructed him with precise actions to take. When he awoke he consented to the dream by taking action in agreement with the instructions of the dream. As a result of his agreement, his life took a new direction, and he received preservation of life for himself and his entourage, including healing and restoration.
2. Evil Dreams
Behold, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams, says the Lord, and tell them and cause My people to err and go astray by their lies and by their vain boasting and recklessness—when I did not send them or command them; nor do they profit these people at all, says the Lord. (Jeremiah 23:32 AMPC)
So do not listen to your [false] prophets, your diviners, your dreamers [and your dreams, whether your own or others’], your soothsayers, your sorcerers, who say to you, You shall not serve the king of Babylon. (Jeremiah 27:9 AMPC)
The Lord warns his people against listening to dreams that are not in alignment with His will. God can send dreams, but they can also come from the enemy or our soul. In the context of this passage, God provided directions on what to do, which is to serve the king of Babylon. However, the false prophets, diviners and dreamers, etc. said otherwise. They were contrary to the will and the word of God.
If a prophet arises among you, or a dreamer of dreams, and gives you a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder he foretells to you comes to pass, and if he says, Let us go after other gods—gods you have not known—and let us serve them, You shall not listen to the words of that prophet or to that dreamer of dreams. For the Lord, your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your [mind and] heart and with your entire being. (Deuteronomy 13:1 AMPC)
Not only is the Lord against lying dreams or dreams of idolatry [and evil dreams by extension], but He commands us not to listen to them. Since we have a choice, He guides us in the right direction. We can choose not to agree with such dreams. Therefore, dreams should be examined: do they agree with the word of God? If not, then renounce them and reject them.
For the teraphim (household idols) have spoken vanity (emptiness, falsity, and futility) and the diviners have seen a lie and the dreamers have told false dreams; they comfort in vain. Therefore the people go their way like sheep; they. (Zechariah 10:2 AMPC)
Affliction and hurt can be generated in people’s lives when they listen to and follow false dreams. If it is a dream from God, there should be a good result or a warning of danger to come that can be avoided.
Removing a Wrong Covenant
Step 1: Confess or recognize that an agreement, a covenant, or a contract is in place. It could have been revealed through:
Dreams where unrighteousness occurred. Note: Any dream where a sinful act occurred should be renounced; simply ask the Lord to remove it from your mind and cleanse your mind with His blood.
If this happens repeatedly, then there may be an open door to that sin.
Eating in dreams usually means there is a covenant in your life. Elements in the dream may indicate where the covenant is. If you cannot identify the covenant, seek the Lord or help from an mature Christian.
The dream is brought so that you can become aware of it, confess, repent, and apply the blood to break it.
...as when a hungry person dreams of eating, but awakens hungry still; as when a thirsty person dreams of drinking, but awakens faint and thirsty still. So will it be with the hordes of all the nations that fight against Mount Zion. (Isaiah 29:8 NIV)
What we do in a dream doesn’t affect us after we are awake. Eating and drinking in a dream is not bad, but rather what we do after the dream determines how it will affect our lives. Simply put: eating in a dream may reveal a covenant, but it doesn’t create one.
Appearance of Beings may not be from God. The dream needs to be examined to see if it is in alignment with God’s word and who God is.
If you have accepted, repeated, and held onto dreams you now realize was Satan masquerading as God, they will need to be renounced.
And it is no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light; So it is not surprising if his servants also masquerade as ministers of righteousness. [But] their end will correspond with their deeds. (2 Corinthians 11:14 -15 AMPC)
Step 2: State your words to renounce the agreement, repent from it, and plead the Blood over it.
And they have overcome (conquered) him by means of the blood of the Lamb and by the utterance of their testimony, for they did not love and cling to life even when faced with death [holding their lives cheap till they had to die for their witnessing]. (Revelation 12:11 AMPC)
Your desire to nullify the covenant is in alignment with the Will of God, as it is written:
You shall make no covenant with them or with their gods. (Exodus 23:32 AMPC)
Step 3: Sever ties and ask the Lord to return His peace to you because of our covenant with Him as our Savior.
I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them, and I will give blessings to them and multiply them and will set My sanctuary in the midst of them forevermore. (Ezekiel 37:26 AMPC)
And I will confirm with them a covenant of peace and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land, and [My people] shall dwell safely in the wilderness, desert, or pastureland and sleep [confidently] in the woods. (Ezekiel 34: 25 AMPC)
My covenant [on My part with Levi] was to give him life and peace, because [on his part] of the [reverent and worshipful] fear with which [the priests] would revere Me and stand in awe of My name. (Malachi 2:5 AMPC)
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