Biblical Covenants
Throughout the Bible, God has made several different promises to his people. God has always kept his promises. These promises are known as the Biblical Covenants. The word covenant by definition is an agreement between two or more parties to perform a certain action. There are six distinct covenants in the Bible. In this brief article, we will examine each covenant. Each covenant has its own characteristics. Examining these covenants will lead us into a greater understanding of God’s character and give us greater insight on how God deals with his people in order to bring about his plan of salvation. It should be noted that there is somewhat of a discrepancy on whether God had a specific covenant with Adam or whether it was only a commandment of God. This author is under the impression that the so called Adamic Covenant is merely a commandment by God. The reasoning for this is the word covenant is not used when God is dealing with Adam. There have been many writings that include the Adamic Covenant however this author disagrees.
The Noahic Covenant
The story of Noah is very popular even outside of the Christian population. Although it is impossible to precisely calculate the exact date of the days of Noah, based on Genesis Chapter five we can come to the conclusion that the earth was approximately one thousand years old when Noah was born. In the days of Noah, God was sad that he had created man and had decided that he would destroy everything on the earth. The reasoning for this was that the wickedness of man was great and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually (see Genesis 6:5-7). God had chosen Noah and his family as the only people out of the whole human race to be saved. God called Noah to build an ark so that Noah, his family and two of every animal would be safe during the great flood. Building the ark was Noah’s part of the agreement (see Genesis 6:18-22). The covenant that God made with Noah was that God would never again cause a flood to destroy the earth. Noah, his family and the animals were spared and spent forty days and forty nights in the ark. As a token of this covenant God made a rainbow to appear in the clouds (see Genesis 9:13).
The Abrahamic Covenant
Abraham is known as the Father of Israel. God’s covenant with Abraham was two fold. God promised Abraham that he would give the land of Caanan unto him (see Genesis 15:18). The second part of the covenant was that he would multiply exceedingly and be the father of many nations (see Genesis 17:2-4). Abraham’s part of the agreement was that every man child born among him should be circumcised (see 17:10, 11). This token of circumcision symbolized that Abraham’s people were God’s chosen people. There is a third part of the Abrahamic Covenant that needs to be explained. Although Abraham is the Father of many nations, not all of Abraham’s descendants will be God’s chosen people. God stated that the covenant will be established in Isaac, who is Abraham’s son (see Genesis 17:21). It is of Isaac that all the children of Israel shall come from (see Romans 9:6, 7). Abraham’s other son, Ishmael, who was born of a handmaid, would not inherit the blessing and therefore his descendants are not part of God’s people (see Genesis 16:12). God fulfilled the covenant that he made to Abraham when he brought his people out of Egypt and into the land of Canaan.
The Mosaic Covenant
In the time of Moses, the people were very grateful that God had kept his promise and delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians. At that time God had given Moses the Ten Commandments to minister unto the people (see Deuteronomy 20: 1-17). There were also many other laws which the LORD had given Moses for the people to obey. The Ten Commandments were only a small part of the law, yet at the same time encompassed the whole law. The whole law that the people said that they would obey (see Exodus 24:3), is written in chapters 20-31 of Exodus. God explained how the people were to make offerings of atonement for sin (see Exodus 25). God spoke of how Moses was to build the Tabernacle and the Altar for making burnt offerings (see Exodus 26, 27). God explained in detail how the priests were to be dressed (see Exodus 28). When the priests went into the Tabernacle to make offerings, they had to be cleansed and anointed in a certain way (see Exodus 29). The Lord commanded that there be incense burned at the altar in a specific fashion (see Exodus 30). Now all of these people agreed with these covenants as mentioned earlier. Just as the circumcision signified Abraham upholding his part of the covenant, and the ark was to Noah, so was the Sabbath to the people in keeping their part of the Mosaic covenant with God (see Exodus 31:13, 16). The Sabbath was a sign from the people unto God that the people know that he is the LORD.
The Palestinian Covenant
This covenant is between the people of Israel and God which occurs after Moses dies. The terms of the covenant are drawn in Deuteronomy 28. God’s part of the covenant is that his people shall be blessed in the city and in the field. The fruit of their body, the fruit of the ground, and the fruit of their cattle shall all be blessed. They shall be blessed when they come in and when the go out. And the Lord shall cause the enemies of the people to die (see Deuteronomy 28:3-7). This covenant is beside the covenant which God made with Moses, and is a completely separate covenant (see Deuteronomy 29:1). The people’s part of the agreement is that they would uphold the law which was drawn in Deuteronomy 28 (see 28:1). This covenant reinforces and establishes the promises God made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that the Israelites would be God’s chosen people (see Deuteronomy 29: 13).
Davidic Covenant
God’s plan of salvation was that he would send Jesus, his only begotten son, to take away the sins of the world. The Davidic Covenant is a promise to King David that the Messiah would come from his family line. David was the second King of Israel. He took over Saul’s kingdom after his death and was a most righteous king. God described David as a man after his own heart (see I Samuel 13:14). When David was king he wanted to build a temple for the Lord. The Lord said that the temple would not be built by him but by one of his sons (II Samuel 7: 12-16). This promise is established as a covenant between God and David (see Psalms 89:3). Unlike the other covenants, God does not ask for a sign or a token from David. It almost seems that this blessing unto David from the LORD is a reward to David for being such a righteous king. This covenant reestablishes that the Israelites are God’s people (see II Samuel 7:24).
The New Covenant
As we read the Bible, we learn that all of God’s promises lead to the coming of his Son. When Jesus died for our sins, he perfected God’s plan of salvation. This New Covenant states God will build a temple that is not made with hands (see Hebrews 9:11), and will write the law upon the hearts of his people instead of on tablets of stone. This new covenant between God and his people is prophesied in Jeremiah 31: 31-34. Jesus is of course the new temple not made with hands and is the mediator of the new covenant (see Hebrews 9:15). The covenants in the Old Testament were merely foreshadowing of this new and perfect covenant (see Hebrews 8:6). The Old Testament was full of ordinances that were necessary to atone for the sin of the people. This is all described in the Mosaic Covenant. Jesus was the sacrifice to end all sacrifices. God’s people no longer need to sacrifice animals in order to atone for sin. When Christ died, all the sins of the people were atoned for (see Hebrews 10:10). Faith in Jesus Christ is the people’s part of the agreement. By believing that Jesus Christ is the son of God, God delivers his people from sin, redeems them and brings them unto himself ( II Corinthians 5:19).
Conclusion
God’s covenants throughout the Bible tell an amazing story. God had a plan for salvation from the very beginning. He showed what would happen to people if they continued in their sin, yet gave them a door to escape from sin. Jesus is this door (see John 10:9). Jesus is the way the truth and life, and only by him does one come to the Father (see John 14:6). All the covenants preceding the New Covenant were drawn in order to finally establish the covenant with Jesus. God always keeps his promises and continues to show that he is most righteous and wants to be the Father of his people.
