The Covenants

What is a Covenant?

A covenant is generally an agreement between two people and involves promises on the part of each to the other (like a marriage or a contract). The concept of a covenant between God and His people is one of the central themes of the Bible. In the Biblical sense, a covenant implies much more than a contract or a simple agreement between two parties. Blood was often a "sign of the covenant". This Old Testament traditional ceremony explains the sacrifice of Jesus Christ in the New Testament. God entered into a covenant with us at that time and His son Jesus was the sacrifice.

The word for "covenant" in the Old Testament also provides additional insight into the meaning of this important idea. It comes from a Hebrew root word "bereth" which means "to cut." This explains the strange custom of two people passing through the cut bodies of slain animals after making an agreement. "And I will give the men who have transgressed My covenant, who have not performed the words of the covenant which they made before Me, when they cut the calf in two and passed between the parts of it"...Jer: 34:18. A ceremony such as this often accompanied the making of a covenant in the Old Testament.

Those entering into a covenant often shared a meal, such as when Laban and Jacob made their covenant. "Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his kinsmen to the meal; and they ate the meal and spent the night on the mountain." Gen. 31:54

God's Covenant With Noah and all the Flesh upon the Earth

The first covenant God made with man is recorded in Genesis 9:9-13: " And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth. And I will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

Don't you find it interesting that this promise was made not only with Noah and his extended family but with every living creature that was with Noah? It is the only covenant recorded that includes fowls, cattle and beasts of the earth. God also gave the first food laws to Noah as well as the law to not murder.

God's Covenant with Noah, his "perpetual"
generations and with all creatures

God promised to never destroy or cut off man and animals with a flood to destroy the earth again.
Noah was told to be fruitful, and multiply.
He was told that every moving thing that liveth would be meat for them.
They were instructed not to eat the blood of the animals.
They were instructed not to shed the blood of another human being "for in the image of God made he man".
He made a rainbow be the token of the covenant to remind Noah and his generations as well as Himself of this covenant - the FIRST Covenant God made with man.

God's Covenant with Abraham

Abraham's story begins with his moving from Ur of the Chaldeans in ancient southern Babylonia. Genesis 11:31; He and his family moved north along the trade routes of the ancient world and settled in the prosperous trade center of Haran, several hundred miles to the northwest.

While living in Haran, at the age of 75, Abraham received a call from God to go to a strange, unknown land that God would show him."The Lord promised Abraham that He would make him and his descendants a great nation." Genesis 12:1 The promise must have seemed unbelievable to Abraham because his wife Sarah was childless, Genesis 11:30-31, yet Abraham obeyed God with no hint of doubt or disbelief.

Abraham took his wife and his nephew, Lot, and went toward the land that God would show him. Abraham moved south along the trade routes from Haran, through Shechem and Bethel, to the land of Canaan. Canaan was a populated area at the time, inhabited by the war-like Canaanites; so, Abraham's belief that God would ultimately give this land to him and his descendants was an act of faith.

The circumstances seemed quite difficult, but Abraham's faith in God's promises allowed him to trust in the Lord. In Genesis 15, the Lord reaffirmed His promise to Abraham. The relationship between them should be understood as a Covenant relationship. In this case according to Gen. 12:1-3, Abraham agreed to go to the land that God would show him and God agreed to make Abraham a great nation.

In making a covenant with Abraham, God promised to bless his descendants and make them His own special people -- in return, Abraham was to remain faithful to God and to serve as a channel through which God's blessings could flow to the rest of the world. Gen. 12:1-3

In Genesis 15, Abraham became anxious about the promise of a nation being found in his descendants because of his advanced age and the Lord then reaffirmed the earlier covenant. A common practice of that time among heir-less families was to adopt a slave who would inherit the master's goods. Therefore, because Abraham was childless, he proposed to make a slave, Eliezer of Damascus, his heir. But God rejected this action and challenged Abraham's faith "Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them. And He said to him, 'So shall your descendants be'". :Gen.15:5

Abraham's response is the model of believing faith: Gen. 15:6 "And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness". The rest of Genesis 15 consists of a ceremony between Abraham and God that was commonly used in the ancient world to formalize a covenant. Gen. 15: 7-21 God repeated this covenant to Abraham' son, Isaac. Gen. 17:19, Stephen summarized the story in the book of Acts 7:1-8

Abraham and his children were commanded to be circumcised as a "sign of covenant" between them and God "This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised, And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you." Gen 17:10-11

Noah's son, Shem carried the strong bloodline that gave us Abraham as well as our beloved Jesus. Noah's sons Japheth and Ham carried the bloodlines of the adversaries of Abraham and his descendants (Israel). Japheth and Ham's extended family mixed with and became known as the Canaanites, Jebusites, Amorites, Girgasites, Hivites, Babylonians, Philistines and others. Yet, they all had the same patriarch (Noah) as did Abraham's family which later became known as the 12 tribes of Israel: (Ruben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Gad, Asher, Dan, Naphtali, Joseph, Benjamin).

These 12 tribes of Israel moved to Egypt during the time of Joseph. When a new Pharaoh came upon the scene and turned the Israelites into common slaves, the people cried out to the God of their forefathers. "So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob" Ex. 2:24.

God's Covenant with Moses and the Israelites

The story of Moses and God's covenant with Israel begins in Exodus 2. God chose Moses to lead His people Israel from the land of Egypt and out of slavery. After a series of ten plagues upon the land of Egypt, God brought the Israelites out "of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand" Exodus 32:11.

Three months after leaving the land of Egypt, the children of Israel camped at the base of Mount Sinai, God promised to make a covenant with the Israelites. Before they even knew the conditions of the contract, the people agreed to abide by whatever God said Ex. 19:1-8.

The Ten Commandments are the foundation of the covenant, but they are not the entirety of it. After giving the first ten commands, the people asked the Lord to speak no more. Moses then drew near to the presence of God to hear the rest of the covenant Ex. 20:18-21. After receiving the Law, Moses spoke the words of the covenant to all of the people, and the people agreed to obey. Ex. 20:24

Moses sprinkled the blood of animals on the altar and upon the people who entered into covenant with God . "Then Moses came and recounted to the people all the words of the Lord and all the ordinances and all the people answered with one voice and said, "All the words which the Lord has spoken we will do!"... "So Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, "Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words." Ex. 24:3-8

This covenant between God and the people of Israel was temporary -- God promised a day when He would make a new covenant, not only with Israel but also with all mankind. "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah -- not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people." Jer. 31:31-34

God's Covenant With David

The Davidic Covenant refers to God’s promises to David through Nathan the prophet and is found in 2 Samuel: 7 and later summarized in 1 Chronicles 17:11-14 and 2 Chronicles 6:16. This is an unconditional covenant made between God and David through which God promises David and Israel that the Messiah (Jesus Christ) would come from the lineage of David and the tribe of Judah and would establish a kingdom that would endure forever 2 Samuel 7:10-13. The Davidic Covenant is unconditional because God does not place any conditions of obedience upon its fulfillment.

The Davidic Covenant centers on several key promises that are made to David:

God reaffirms the promise of the land that He made in the first two covenants with Israel (the Abrahamic and Mosaic Covenants). This promise is seen in 2 Samuel 7:10; “Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously.”
God promises that David’s descendant or “seed” will succeed him as king of Israel and that David’s throne will be established forever. This promise is seen in 2 Samuel 7:12-13; "I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” (A reference to the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ. )

The provisions of the covenant are summarized in 2 Samuel 7:16; “And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.”

The promise that David’s “house,” “kingdom” and “throne” would be established forever is significant because it shows that the Messiah would come from the lineage of David and that He would establish a kingdom from which He would reign.

Jesus has since ascended His throne
and is presently reigning.
He is gathering His lost sheep
 of the House of Israel (His ecclesia). He is "the Mediator of the new covenant" Heb. 9:15; 12:24.

The covenant is summarized by the words “house,” which promised a dynasty in the lineage of David; “kingdom,” referred to a people (the "called out ones") who are governed by a king - King Jesus. The “throne,” emphasized the authority of the king’s rule; and “forever,” emphasized the eternal and unconditional nature of this promise to David and Israel.

2 Samuel 7 and later summarized in 1 Chronicles 17:11–14; "And it shall come to pass, when thy days be expired that thou must go to be with thy fathers, that I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build me an house, and I will stablish his throne for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son: and I will not take my mercy away from him, as I took it from him that was before thee: But I will settle him in mine house and in my kingdom for ever: and his throne shall be established for evermore."

This covenant agreement reached its fulfillment when Jesus, a descendant of the line of David, was born in Bethlehem, died on the tree, and rose to take the throne of David. He has established His kingdom forever.

The Covenant Of Christ - New Covenant

The gospel of Matthew records the linage of Christ and shows He was from the line of David, and thus He had the right to rule over God's people. "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham." Matt. 1:1.

Peter preached that Jesus Christ was a fulfillment of God's promise to David: "Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day. Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ." Acts 2:29-36

The "new covenant" is the new agreement God made with mankind, based on the death and raising of Jesus Christ. The concept of a new covenant originated with the promise of Jeremiah that God would accomplish for His people what the old covenant had failed to do . Under this new covenant, God would write His Law on human hearts.

Jeremiah and Ezekiel both prophesied about the new covenant "... I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people..." Jeremiah 31:31-34

"For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. Ezekiel 36:24-28

When Jesus ate the Passover meal at the Last Supper with His disciples, He spoke of the cup and said, "this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins" Matt. 26:28. Luke's account refers to this cup as symbolizing "the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you" Luke 22:20.

The Epistle to the Hebrews gives the new covenant more attention than any other book in the New Testament. Jesus is referred to by the writer of Hebrews as "the Mediator of the new covenant" Heb. 9:15; 12:24. Jesus is the Mediator between God and man! The new covenant, is considered a better covenant, "But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises." Heb. 8:6, which rests on the sacrificial work of Christ.

The new covenant accomplished what the old could not, i.e., the removal of sin and cleansing of the conscience. Heb. 10:2; "For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshipers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins." Heb. 10:22; "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water."

The work of Jesus Christ on the cross thus makes the old covenant obsolete. Heb. 8:13; "In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away." and fulfills the promise of the prophet Jeremiah. The old covenant was done away but the rules and laws God set down to help us enjoy a better life did not. Just like the law of gravity was not done away with, it is still prudent for us to watch our step and obey God's food laws. (Watch for our study on God's law coming soon).

Luke 24:46-47; "And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem."

The "good news" message (gospel) extends to every man and woman who is called to understand.

Jesus sent His apostles into the nations so they could tell the lost sheep of the house of Israel the good news of the New Covenant.

Mark 16:15; "And he said to them, Go you into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."

Bob & Mary Lou Becker
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