What are the Covenants in the Bible ?

A covenant is an agreement between two parties. There are two basic types of covenants: conditional and unconditional. A conditional or bilateral covenant is an agreement that is binding on both parties for its fulfillment. Both parties agreed to fulfill certain conditions. If either party fails to meet their responsibilities, the covenant is broken and neither party has to fulfill the expectations of the covenant. An unconditional or unilateral covenant is an agreement between two parties, but only one of these parties has to do something. Nothing is required of the other party.

The Bible speaks of seven different covenants God made with man. Four of the covenants God made with the nation of Israel. The four covenants are the Abrahamic, the Palestinian, the Mosaic and the Davidic covenants. Of those four, three are unconditional in nature; that is: regardless of Israel’s obedience or disobedience, God will still fulfill these covenants with Israel. One of the covenants, the Mosaic covenant, is conditional in nature. That is, this covenant will bring either blessing or cursing depending on Israel’s obedience or disobedience. The other three covenants of the seven are the Adamic covenant, the Noahic covenant, and the New covenant are made between God and mankind in general, and are not limited to the nation of Israel.

The Seven Covenants described in the Bible are:

The Adamic covenant is found in Genesis 3:16-19. As a result of Adam’s sin, the following curses were pronounced:

The Adamic Covenant – can be thought of in two parts: the Edenic Covenant (innocence) and the Adamic Covenant (grace). The Edenic covenant is found in Genesis 1:26-30; 2:16- 17. The details of this covenant include the following:

• Mankind (male and female) created in God’s image.
• Mankind’s dominion (rule) over the animal kingdom.
• Divine directive for mankind to reproduce and inhabit the Earth
• Mankind to be vegetarian (eating meat established in the noetic covenant: (Genesis 9:3).
• Eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil forbidden (with death as the stated penalty).

The Adamic Covenant is found in Gen 3:16-19. As the result of Adam’s sin, the following curses were pronounced:

a. Enmity (opposition) between Satan and Eve and her descendents. b. Painful childbirth for women. c. Marital strife. d. The soil cursed. e. Introduction of thorns and thistles. f. Survival to be a struggle. g. Death introduced. h. Death will be the inescapable fate of all living things.

Although these curses are severe and inescapable, a wonderful promise of grace was also included in the Adamic covenant. Genesis 3:15 is often referred to as the “Proto-gospel” or “First Gospel.” Speaking to Satan, God says, “and I will put enmity between you and the woman, / in between your seed and her seed; /he shall bruise you on the head, /and you shall bruise him on the heel.”

Here God promises that one born of a woman would be wounded in the process of destroying Satan. The “seed” of the woman who would crush the serpent’s head is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ (Galatians 4:4 &1 John 3:8). Even in the midst of the curse, God’s gracious provision of salvation shines through.

The Noahic Covenant – is found in Genesis 9:8- 17 and is the promise that God made to Noah and his descendents after the flood which destroyed the world. The Noahic covenant has several distinguishing features. First, it is an unconditional covenant. Second, it was made to Noah and all his descendents as well as “every living creature” and the earth in general (Genesis 9:8-10). Third, it was sealed with a sign, the rainbow.

The Noahic covenant is an unconditional covenant because it does not depend upon anything Noah nor his descendents had to do to fulfill the covenant. The promise is based upon God’s faithfulness alone. Because of God’s faithfulness to always do what he says he will do, we can know today with certainty that there will never be another worldwide flood as there was in the days of Noah, no matter how wicked mankind becomes. Neither the wickedness nor the righteousness of mankind affects this unconditional covenant. There is no “condition” under which God will reneged on his promise. This does not mean that God will never again destroy the earth, however. He has promised to one day destroy the earth by fire (2 Peter 3:10, 11; Revelation 20:9, 21:1) in the terrible events known as the “day of the Lord.”

After the flood God promise that he would never again send a worldwide flood to destroy the earth as an act of his divine judgment for sin. As a sign to remind Noah and his descendents of his unconditional promise, God “set the rainbow in the cloud”(Genesis 9:12- 13). Just as circumcision was the sign of the Abrahamic Covenant, the rainbow is the sign of the Noahic covenant. The lesson to us is that when we see a rainbow we should always be reminded of God’s faithfulness and his amazing grace. We should also be reminded that our God is a holy and righteous God who has a holy hatred for sin and who will not allow sin to go unpunished forever. Also, just as God provided a way for Noah and his family to be saved in the ark, he also provided a way for us to be saved through Jesus Christ. Noah and his family were saved from the wrath of God that came in the flood, just as those who are in Christ are saved from the “wrath to come” (1 Thessalonians 1:10).

The Abrahamic Covenant – is an ‘unconditional covenant’. The actual covenant is found in Genesis 12:1-3. The ceremony recorded in Genesis 15 indicates the unconditional nature of the covenant. When a covenant was dependent upon both parties keeping commitments, then both parties would pass between pieces of animals. In Genesis 15 God alone moves between the haves of the animals. Abraham was in a deep sleep. God’s solitary action indicates that the covenant is principally his promise. He binds himself to the covenant.

Later, God gave Abraham the rite of circumcision as the specific sign of the Abraham covenant (Genesis 17:9-14). All males in Abraham’s line were to be circumcised and thus carry with them a lifelong mark in their flesh that they were part of God’s physical blessing in the world. Any descendent of Abraham who refused circumcision was declaring himself to be outside of God’s covenant; this explains why God was angry with Moses when Moses failed to circumcise his son (Exodus 4:24- 26).

God determined to call out special people for himself, and through that special people he would bless the whole world. The Lord tells Abram, “I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:2-3).

Based on this promise, God later changed Abram’s name from Abram (“hi father”) to Abraham (“father of a multitude”) in Genesis 17:5. As we’ve seen, the Abrahamic covenant is unconditional. It should also be taken literally. There’s no need to spiritualize the promise to Abraham. God’s promise to Abraham’s descendents will be fulfilled literally.

The Abrahamic covenant included the promise of land (Genesis 12:1). It was a specific plan, an actual property, with dimensions specified in Genesis 15:18- 21. In Genesis 15:13, God gives Abraham all the land that he can see, and the gift is declared to be “forever.” God is not going to renege on his promise. The territory is given as part of the Abraham it covenant is expanded in Deuteronomy 30:1- 10, often called the Palestinian covenant.

Centuries after Abraham died, the children of Israel took possession of the land under Joshua’s leadership (Joshua 21:43). At no point in history, though, has Israel controlled all of the land God had specified. The remains, a final fulfillment of the Abraham covenant that will see Israel occupying their God-given homeland to the fullest extent. The fulfillment will be more than a matter of geography; it will also be a time of holiness and restoration (see Ezekiel 20:40-44 & 36:1-37:28).

The Abrahamic covenant also promised many descendents (Genesis 12:1-2). God promised that a number of Abraham’s children were rivaled that of the “dust of the earth” (Genesis 15:16). Nations and kings will proceed from him (Genesis 17:6). It is significant that the promise was given to an age, childless couple. But Abraham “did not waver through unbelief” Romans 4:20), and his wife Sarah “considered him faithful who had made the promise” (Hebrews 11:11). Abraham was justified by his faith “Genesis 15:6), and he and his wife welcomed Isaac, the son of promise, into their home when Abraham was 100 & Sarah was 90 years old, respectively (Genesis 21:5).

God reiterates the Abraham covenant to Isaac and to his son Jacob, whose name God changes to Israel. The great nation is eventually established in the land where Abraham had dwelled. King David, one of Abraham’s many descendents, is given the Davidic covenant (2 Samuel 7:12- 16) promising a “son of David” who will one day rule over the Jewish nation-and all nations- from Jerusalem. Many other Old Testament prophecies point to the blessed, future fulfillment of that promise (e.g. Isaiah 11; Michael four; Zechariah 8).

The Abrahamic covenant also included a promise of blessing and redemption (Genesis 12:3). All the earth would be blessed through Abraham. This promise finds its fulfillment in a new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34. cf. Luke 22:20), which was ratified by Jesus Christ, the son of Abraham and Redeemer who will one day “restore everything” (Acts 3:21).

Five times in Genesis 12, as God is giving the Abrahamic Covenant, he says, “I will.” Clearly, God takes the onus of keeping the covenant upon himself. The covenant is unconditional. One day, Israel will repent, be forgiven, and be restored to God’s favor (Zechariah 12:10- 14; Romans 11:25-27). One day, the nation of Israel will possess the entire territory promised to them. One day, the Messiah will return to set up his throne, and through his righteousness rule. The whole world will be blessed with an abundance of peace, pleasure, he whole world.

The Mosaic Covenant – is a conditional covenant made by God and the nation of Israel at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:24). It is sometimes called the Sinai covenant but is more often referred to as the Mosaic covenant since Moses was God’s chosen leader of Israel at the time. The pattern of the covenant is very similar to other ancient covenants of that time because it is between a sovereign king (God) and his people or subjects (Israel). At the time of the covenant, God reminded the people of the obligation to be obedient to his law (Exodus 19:5), and the people agreed to the covenant when they said, “all that the Lord has spoken we will do!” (Exodus 19:8). This covenant would served to set the nation of Israel apart from all other nations as God’s chosen people and was as equally binding as the unconditional covenant that God made with Abraham because it is also a blood covenant. The Mosaic covenant is a significant covenant in both God’s redemptive history and in the history of the nation of Israel through whom God would sovereignly choose to bless the world with both his written word and the living word, Jesus Christ.

The Mosaic covenant was centered around God’s giving his divine law to Moses on Mount Sinai. In understanding the different covenants in the Bible and the relationship to one another, it is important to understand that the Mosaic covenant differs significantly from the Abrahamic covenant and later biblical covenants because it is conditional in that the blessings that God promises are directly related to Israel’s obedience to the Mosaic law. If Israel is obedient, then God will bless them, but if they disobey, then God will punish them. The blessing and curses that are associated with this conditional covenant are found in detail in Deuteronomy 28. The other covenants found in the Bible are unilateral covenants of promise in which God binds himself to do what he promised, regardless of what the recipients of the promises might do. On the other hand the Mosaic covenant is a bilateral agreement, which specifies the obligations of both parties to the covenant.

The Mosaic covenant is especially significant because in it God promises to make Israel “…a kingdom of priest and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:6). Israel was to be God’s light to the dark world around them. They were to be a separate and called out nation so that everyone around them would know that they worship Yahweh, the covenant-keeping God. It is significant because it is here that Israel received the Mosaic law that was to be a schoolmaster pointing the way towards the coming of Christ (Galatians 3:24- 25). The Mosaic law would reveal to people their sinfulness and their need for a Savior, and it is the Mosaic law that Christ himself said that he did not come to abolish but to fulfill. This is an important point because some people get confused by thinking that keeping the law saved people in the Old Testament, but the Bible is clear that salvation has always been by faith alone, and the promise of salvation by faith that God had made to Abraham as part of the Abrahamic covenant still remained in effect (Galatians 3:16- 18).

Also, the sacrificial system of the Mosaic law did not really take away sins (Hebrews 10:1-4); it simply foreshadowed the bearing of sin by Christ, the perfect high priest who was also the perfect sacrifice (Hebrews 9:11- 28). Therefore, the Mosaic covenant itself, with all its detailed laws, could not save people. It is not that there was any problem with the law itself, for the law is perfect and was given by a holy God, but the law had no power to give people new life, and the people were not able to obey the law perfectly (Galatians 3:21).

The Mosaic covenant is also referred to as the old covenant (2 Corinthians 3:14; Hebrews 8:6, 13) and was replaced by the new covenant in Christ (Luke 22:20; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Hebrews 8:8; 8:13; 9:15; 12:24). The new covenant in Christ is far better than the old Mosaic covenant because it replaces it and fulfills the promises made in Jeremiah 31:34, as quoted in Hebrews 8.

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 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. The Davidic covenant is unconditional because God does not place any conditions of obedience upon its fulfillment. The surety of the promises made rests solely on God’s faithfulness and does not depend at all on David or Israel’s obedience.

The Davidic covenant centers on several key promises that are made to David. First, 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 second Samuel 7:10, “I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people would not oppress them anymore.” God then promises that David’s son will succeed him as King of Israel and that this son (Solomon) would build the temple. This promise is seen in second Samuel 7:12-13, “I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my name.”

But then the promise continues and expands: “I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (verse 13), and “your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever” (verse 16). What began as a promise that David’s son Solomon would be blessed and build the temple turns into something different-the promise of an everlasting kingdom. Another son of David would rule forever and build a lasting house. This is a reference to the Messiah, Jesus Christ, called the son of David in Matthew 21:9.

The promise that David’s “house:” “kingdom,” and “throne” will be established forever is significant because it shows that the Messiah will come from the lineage of David and that he will establish a kingdom from which he will reign. The covenant is summarized by the words “house,” promising a dynasty in the lineage of David; “kingdom,” referring to a people who are governed by a king; “throne,” emphasizing the authority of the king’s rule; and “for ever,” emphasizing the eternal and unconditional nature of this promise to David and Israel. Other references to the Davidic covenant are found in Jeremiah 23:5; 30:9, Isaiah 9:7; 11:1; Luke 1:32, 69: acts 11:34; and revelation 3:7.

The Palestinian Covenant is recorded in Deuteronomy 29:1-29 and Deuteronomy 30:1-10 and was made between God and Israel right before Moses died and Israel entered the promised land. The Bible never uses the term “Palestinian covenant,” and Moses certainly never would have called the land “Palestine,” but the term has become common usage. This covenant is also called the land covenant because many of the promises relate to Israel’s possession of the land. God made this covenant with Israel after the Mosaic covenant and after Israel had wondered in the wilderness for 40 years. God made this covenant with Israel while they were in Moab waiting to go into the promised land, and the covenant would serve this new generation of Israelites as a reminder of their special covenant relationship with God.

The Palestinian covenant has many similarities to the Mosaic covenant made at Mount Sinai but is a separate and distinct covenant as clearly seen in Deuteronomy 29:1. “These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant which he made with them in Horeb.” Before making this covenant with Israel, God reminded them that if they obeyed the Mosaic law, He would bless the nation abundantly and warned them that disobedience to the law will result in his cursing the nation (Deuteronomy 28:1- 68).

Besides the promises that God would bless them if they obeyed his commandments and curse them if they disobeyed, the Palestinian covenant also contains some special promises to Israel that many believe will not be completely fulfilled until the millennial reign of Christ. First, God promised to gather the scattered Israelites from all over the world to bring them back into the land that he promised to their ancestors (Deuteronomy 30:3-5). Second, God promise to regenerate the Israelites of that time and their descendents by circumcising their hearts so that they would love him totally (Deuteronomy 30:6). Third, God promised to judge Israel’s enemies (Deuteronomy 30:7), and, fourth, he promised that the Israelites would obey God and that God would prosper them in their obedience (Deuteronomy 30:8-9). While some might see these promises being fulfilled when Israel was returned from captivity in Babylon at the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, there seem to be some aspects of this that have not yet been fully realized yet.

For example, the promised restoration of Israel to the land would not happen until all the blessings and curses promised them were fulfilled (Deuteronomy 30:1), and we know that Israel as a nation rejected Jesus Christ as their Messiah and was once again cursed and cut off from the land when the Romans conquered Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Second, we see that one of the promises in this covenant was that God would circumcise their hearts (Deuteronomy 30:6) so that they and their descendents would obey him (Deuteronomy 30:8). These same promises are repeated in Jeremiah 30:36-44 and Ezekiel 36:22-38 and are part of the blessings and promises of the new covenant. Also, it seems that the final or ultimate restoration of Israel to the land and to an everlasting relationship with God is what Paul is looking forward to in Romans 11:25-26 when he says that “a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in and thus all Israel will be saved.”

The Palestinian covenant also serves to reinforce the promises made to Abraham, Isaac & Jacob that God would establish Israel as his chosen people (Deuteronomy 29:13). Even though God had set before Israel the promise of his blessings for obedience and curses for his disobedience, he knew full well they would turn from him and his covenant and turn to idols. This is why he also promised one day to restore them to the land and have compassion on them (Deuteronomy 30:1-3). Therefore, the ultimate outcome of this covenant does not depend on Israel and its obedience, but instead it depends on God and his faithfulness.

The Palestinian covenant focuses on what God is going to do more than what Israel is supposed to do. While Israel’s prosperity is closely tied to her obedience to God’s commands and they stay will still be punished for their disobedience to God, there is coming a day when God will return them to the land (the full extent of the land as it is outlined in Genesis 15:18- 21), and they will possess it, and God will bless them forever.

At that time God will circumcise their heart so they will obey him (Deuteronomy 30:6). This covenant is again reaffirming the Abrahamic Covenant in that someday the seed of Abraham will possess the promised land forever. Unlike the Mosaic Covenant whose promises are conditional upon Israel’s obedience to the law, ultimate fulfillment of the promises of the Palestinian government are not dependent upon Israel’s obedience. Instead, the Palestinian Covenant is a unconditional, eternal covenant (Ezekiel 16:60) because it is a part of the Abrahamic Covenant and an amplification of it.

The New Covenant – (or New Testament) is the promise that God makes with humanity that he will forgive sin and restore fellowship with those whose hearts are turned toward him. Jesus Christ is the mediator of the new covenant, and his death on the cross is the basis of the promise (Luke 22:20). The new covenant was predicted while the old covenant was still in effect- the prophets Moses, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel all allude to the new covenant.

The Old Covenant that God had established with his people required strict obedience to the Mosaic law. Because the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), the law required that Israel perform daily sacrifices in order to atone for sin. But Moses, through whom the God established the Old Covenant, also anticipated the New Covenant. In one of his final addresses to the nation of Israel, Moses look forward to a time when Israel would be given “a heart to understand” (Deuteronomy 29:4 ESV). Moses predicts that Israel would fall into keeping the Old Covenant (verses 22-28), but he then sees a time of restoration (30:1-5). At that time, Moses says, “the Lord your God will circumcise your heart’s and the hearts of your descendents, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live” (verse six). The New Covenant involves a total change of heart so that God’s people are naturally pleasing him.

The prophet Jeremiah also predicted the new covenant. “The day will come, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah….. But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people” (Jeremiah 31:31, 33). Jesus Christ came to fulfill the law of Moses (Matthew 5:17) and to establish the new covenant between God and his people. The old covenant was written in stone, the new covenant is written on our hearts. Entering the new covenant is made possible only by faith in Christ, who shed his blood to take away the sins of the world (John 1:29). Luke 22:20 relates how Jesus, at the Last Supper, takes the cup and says, this cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood” (ESV).

The New Covenant is also mentioned in Ezekiel 36:26-27, “I will give you a heart and put a new spirit in you;; I will remove from from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” Ezekiel List several aspects of the New Covenant here: a new heart, a new spirit, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and true holiness. The Mosaic law could provide none of these things (see Romans 3:20).

The New Covenant was originally given to Israel includes a promise of fruitfulness, blessing, and peaceful existence in the promised land. In Ezekiel 36:28-30 God says, “then you will live in the land that I gave to your ancestors; you will be my people and I will be your God….. I will call for the green and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you. I will increase the fruit of the trees in the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine.” Deuteronomy 30:1-5 contain similar promises related to Israel under the New Covenant. After the resurrection of Christ, Gentiles were brought into the blessing of the new covenant, too (acts 10; Ephesians 2:13-14). The fulfillment of the New Covenant will be seen in two places: on earth, during the Millennial Kingdom; and in heaven, for all eternity.

We are no longer under the law but under grace (Romans 6:14-15). The Old Covenant (the Mosaic Law) has served its purpose, and has been replaced by “a better covenant” (Hebrews 7:22). “In fact the ministry Jesus has received is superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises” (Hebrews 8:6).

Under the New Covenant, we are given the opportunity to receive salvation as a free gift (Ephesians 2:8-9). Our responsibility is to exercise faith in Christ, the one who fulfilled the law on our behalf and brought an end to the laws sacrifices through his own sacrificial death. Through the life-giving Holy Spirit who lives in all believers (Romans 8:9-11), we share in the inheritance of Christ and enjoy a permanent, unbroken relationship with God (Hebrews 9:15).

by Got Questions.com