The Broken Covenant World: Scripture, Moral Rupture, and the Struggle for Justice

The Broken Covenant World names a hard truth: both the biblical world and the modern world are marked by broken covenant. This book argues that moral rupture—experienced as betrayal, complicity, silence, and systemic harm—is not peripheral to Scripture but central to it. From exile to lament, from prophetic indictment to the cross, the Bible tells the story of a world where trust is shattered and justice is contested. The point of this book is to recover a moral and theological language capable of telling the truth about that rupture. It resists reducing harm to individual sin alone and instead highlights the communal and structural dimensions of injustice that Scripture confronts directly. Its purpose is to guide readers into faithful response, first by reclaiming lament as an honest, necessary act of protest before God; second by calling for truth-telling and accountability in the face of harm; and third by inviting participation in the ongoing work of justice—not as easy restoration but as costly repair. This book ultimately contends that only by facing a broken covenant world can people begin to live truthfully, faithfully, and justly within it.

G. C. Smith is a pastor, author, and disaster spiritual care leader. He serves with the American Red Cross and has been active in disaster response since 2011. A board member of the Iowa Disaster Human Resources Council, he writes and teaches on moral injury, faith, and justice, equipping caregivers and communities to remain human in the face of crisis.