THE COVENANTS OF THE BIBLE

A covenant is a legally binding agreement between two parties.

Covenant. A compact or agreement between two parties binding them mutually to undertakings on each other’s behalf. Theologically (used of relations between God and man) it denotes a gracious undertaking entered into by God for the benefit and blessing of humanity, and specifically of those who by faith receive the promises and commit themselves to the obligations which this undertaking involves.

It is often solemnised or ratified by an oath or other means and usually places demands on one or both parties.

Covenants played a major role in the ancient Near East, which made them a useful way for God to relate to his people and demonstrate his commitment to them.

A covenant, often in the form of a treaty, was one common way that ancient Near Eastern people formed relationships with people who were not blood relations.

Ancient covenants were solemnized through certain accompanying rituals, such as the swearing of an oath (e.g., by Abraham’s steward Eliezer; Gen. 24:2–3, 9, 41), a shared meal (as between Abimelech and Isaac; 26:28–30), or the exchanging of clothes (as between David and Jonathan; 1 Sam. 18:4).

A common ancient Near Eastern custom was the cutting of sacrificial animals into pieces, as mentioned in the account of God’s covenant with Abraham (Gen. 15:9–21; cf. Jer. 34:18–20).

In the OT. Uniformly the word used to express the covenant concept is the Hebrew bĕrît. The original meaning of this word was probably “fetter” or “obligation,” coming from a root bārâ, “to bind.”

A general characteristic of the OT bĕrît is its unalterable and permanently binding character. The parties to a covenant obligated themselves to carry out their respective commitments under the penalty of divine retribution should they later attempt to avoid them.

But in the case of the promulgation of a covenant by God with his chosen people, this one-sided aspect of the transaction was even more apparent, since the contracting parties stood upon entirely different levels.

The characteristic statement of this relationship occurs in the formula “I will be their God and they shall be my people” (cf. Jer. 11:4; 24:7; 30:22; 32:38; Ezek. 11:20; 14:11; 36:28; 37:23; Zech. 8:8; etc.).

This signifies that God unreservedly gives himself to his people and that they in turn give themselves to him and belong to him. Thus they are his “peculiar treasure” (sĕgullâ—Exod. 19:5; Deut. 7:6; 14:2; 26:18; Ps. 135:4; Mal. 3:17).

His motive in adopting them as his own covenant children is stated to be “lovingkindness” or “covenant-love” (ḥesed), a term with which bĕrît is often associated (cf. Deut. 7:9; 1 Kings 8:23; Dan. 9:4).

In the NT. The term for covenant employed in the NT is diathēkē, the word used constantly in the LXX for bĕrît. Since the ordinary Greek word for “contract” or “compact”

Covenant, New. Jeremiah first speaks of a new covenant in his prophecy of a great work of salvation which God would perform sometime in the future (Jer. 31:31–34).

Accordingly, it is the fulfillment of the promises of the old covenant and is better by degrees than that former covenant by virtue of its clearer view of Christ and redemption, its richer experience of the Holy Spirit, and by the greater liberty which it grants to believers.

A better solution is to forsake altogether the religio-historical identifications of the two covenants. Jeremiah’s prophecy of a new covenant is a prophecy of the ultimate consummation of the kingdom of God, and in Paul and Hebrews the contrast between the old covenant and the new covenant has to do not with relative distinctions between the two dispensations of God’s covenant of grace succeeding one another in time but with the radical antithesis of two subjective situations: the formalism, legalism, unbelief, and death of ancient Israel on the one hand and the genuine experience of salvation by all believers on the other.

The Noahic Covenant. From Genesis 9, this is a covenant God establishes with Noah after the flood in which he resets and renews the blessings of creation, reaffirming God’s image in humanity and the work of dominion. This covenant promises the preservation of humanity and provides for the restraint of human evil and violence.

In Genesis 12, 15, and 17 we have the Abrahamic covenant when God’s people were viewed as an extended family. The sign of this covenant was circumcision.The form was that of promise through Yahweh’s gracious initiation and Abraham’s response of faith. The promises of land and posterity were blessings conveyed through the patriarchal son, though the favoured son was not selected by merit but by lineal mores (Isaac the first-born) and free choice (Jacob instead of Esau, Judah instead of Reuben). This was clearly an unconditional covenant.

Exodus 19–24 presents us with a different kind of covenant. This was the Mosaic or Sinaitic covenant. The people of God were now a nation of twelve clans The sign of this covenant was the passover with probable antecedents in both the pastoral and agricultural feasts. This was a family celebration in which the children both participated and were taught the mighty acts of Yahweh. This was a conditional covenant in which the blessings or curses were related to obedience or disobedience respectively.

The third covenant in the Old Testament is the Davidic (2 Samuel 7, Psalm 89). In keeping with patrilineage a covenant relating to the monarchy was expressed in a dynastic succession from father to son. This meant that the covenant form, succession, was not based on merit as with the charismatic judges. The promises to David were not nullified by disobedience. This covenant was again unconditional and its sign was the anointing with oil. So one family was the appointed and anointed saviour of the nation. At least this was what was articulated in the covenant even though the historian of the Deuteronomic History interpreted what happened to the nation and the monarchy in terms of the Sinaitic covenant.

Finally, there is the new covenant (Jeremiah 31–32; Ezek. 36). Was this a conditional or an unconditional covenant? It focused on an inner transformation by the Spirit to do the will of God and emphasized the importance of forgiveness.

The family was left in the background here and anticipated the New Testament view of the relationship between God and people related not to sociological but spiritual factors.

Jeremiah 31:31–34 (NKJV) — 31 “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—32 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. 33 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. 34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

Luke 22:14–23 (NKJV) — 14 When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. 15 Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; 16 for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; 18 for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 20 Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you. 21 But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table. 22 And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!” 23 Then they began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing.

Covenant

God’s promise can be trusted (Genesis 9:17)

Jesus established a new covenant (Luke 22:20)

God’s covenant brings life (2 Corinthians 3:6)

The new covenant is superior to the old covenant (Hebrews 8:6)

The old covenant foreshadowed the new covenant (Hebrews 10:1)

Exodus 3:15 (NKJV) — 15 Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’

Acts 3:13 (NKJV) — 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go.

Genesis 50:24 “And Joseph said to his brethren, “I am dying; but God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land to the land of which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.””

Exodus 3:15 “Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’”

Acts 7:32 “saying, ‘I am the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and dared not look.”

Ephesians 1:17 “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,”

1 Peter 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,”

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ echoes a frequent Old Testament word of praise to God (Gen. 14:20; 24:27; Ruth 4:14; 1 Sam. 25:32; 1 Kgs 1:48; Ps. 28:6; 31:21; 41:13) and changes it so as to praise God with a name he never revealed in the Old Testament, ‘Father of our Lord Jesus Christ’.