Ezekiel 17 is a good example of a covenant. The king of Babylon made a treaty with Israel and it was executed by an oath (:13). But Israel's leader despised the oath and broke the treaty (:16). He broke the covenant (:18). "Will he who does such things escape" (:15)? "He shall not escape" (:18).

Israel was in a covenant relationship with God. "'My covenant . . . they broke . . . [even though] I was a husband to them'" (Jer 31:32). Israel ignored God's warnings, rejected his precepts, turned to idols, and behaved as other nations did (2Ki 17:15). In Malachi 2:10 they profaned the covenant of their fathers. It was a lasting covenant and was to have been propagated via the progeny of Israel because God was "seeking a godly offspring" (:15). But the covenant was broken by intermarriage (:11). Does this qualify as officially breaking the contract? In Jeremiah 33:20-21 God says if the terms of a covenant are violated then "'My covenant may also be broken.'"

In a marriage covenant there are guidelines (Jer 11:6). It is a covenant of love to be obeyed wholeheartedly (1Ki 8:23). It is kept by paying attention to the duties of the covenant (Jer 11:10) and by not forgetting the promises made (Ps 103:18). But it can be undermined by the wrong attitude (1Ki 11:11) and an unfaithful heart (Ps 78:37). This leads to forgetting the promises (Dt 4:23) and rebelling against the agreement (Hos 8:1). Then the violator will reject the other party and turn away (Dt 31:20).