The Biblical Covenants

Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath,

to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations

as a perpetual covenant.

Exodus 31:16

Covenants in General

• There are 7 or 8 Principal Covenants – God to man.

• The Creator God relates to His people through covenant relationships (see, e.g., Isa. 56:1-8; John 10:16; Eph. 2:11-13).

• Covenants were a common thing in the Ancient Near East – long before Yeshua’s incarnation.

• It was through covenantal concepts that God was able to readily relate to His people.

• The principal Biblical covenants comprise the structural framework for the entirety of the Bible.

• When correctly understood, the covenants provide a key factor in properly understanding the Scriptures as a whole.

• Any study of Torah is not complete unless done within a covenantal context.

• God’s covenants build one-on-another, are perpetual, and progressively reveal His Person.

Covenants vs. Dispensations

• Standing in contradistinction to God’s covenants is man’s dispensational theology – a form of Biblical interpretation that has existed for less than 200 years; and, has operated to corrupt the truth of God’s Word in the minds of many.

• Dispensationalist teachings have portrayed a God who changes, and One who has two differing plans for two distinct peoples.

• We will look briefly at dispensationalism so that we are equipped to recognize it, and able to see the merit and depth of God’s covenants with man.

Biblical Covenants Defined

• A covenant entered into creates a legally binding relationship between two parties – God and man.

• In today’s terms, what is most closely associated with a covenant is a contract; but there are distinct differences – discussed below.

• Transliterated from the Hebrew, covenant is seen as brit, or sometimes berit(h). When translated, brit means to “to cut (i.e., to consummate or enter into) a covenant (see, e.g., Gen. 15:9-11).”

• Biblical covenants cannot declare a former covenant void, and therefore replace with a “newer” one; instead, they reinforce an on-going understanding, and have no specified ending or consummating date certain.

• Biblical covenants are never in conflict with former or later covenants.

• The term covenant has historically been misapplied in referring to the so-called Old and New Testaments. Preferably, they should be called the TaNaKh and the Apostolic Scriptures, respectively; thereby recognizing the two canons.

• The Bible contains the term “New Covenant,” but is found in the Book of Jeremiah, at Jer. 31:31-34.

However, there is no such term “Old Covenant” found in the Bible.

• Sadly, improper usage of the terms Old and New Testaments has operated to subtly mislead some into thinking the New Testament has somehow superseded the Old Testament. This is not true.

Distinguishing Covenants, Contracts and Testaments

• In modern practice a contract is a legally binding document between two or more parties. Its terms stipulate the responsibilities of each party. Once the terms have been satisfied it no longer is in force, unless it contains stipulations such as specific on-going performance acts, or consummating dates certain.

• Biblically, the term “testament” is of man’s doing, not God’s. The two canons of the Bible, separated in time by some 500 plus years, are just that – two differing portions of God’s inspired Word recognized for its God breathed inspiration.

• Seen in its most modern sense (a Greek legal term), testament appears in the form of a “Last Will and Testament.” Here, the lawful rights and wishes of one are expressed in anticipation of passing, the terms serving to stipulate those wishes regarding the disposition of his or her estate. A testament can unilaterally be changed by its maker, before passing. A covenant, once consummated, cannot be changed.

Biblical Covenant Types

• Covenants can be of several types: 1.) Between relative equals, such as marriage (e.g., Prov. 2:1-22 and 3:1; Mal. 2:14), or man-to-man; 2.) Between adversaries such as Abraham and Abimelech (e.g., Gen. 21: 22-32); 3.) Between tribes or nations (e.g., 1 Sam. 11); 4.) Between superior and subordinate (e.g., when Nebuchadnezzar imposed upon Zedekiah, Ezek. 17).

• Thus, in the Bible we find covenants that are man-to-man, between nations or tribes, adversaries, superior and subordinate (e.g., a Suzerain Treaty), and God to man.

• Man is not in a position to covenant with God as a relative equal, an adversary or a superior; but only as a subordinate or servant.

• A Biblical covenant is not always mutually binding, but can be a commitment one makes to another (e.g., God makes to man). The party making the covenant binds himself to fulfill the terms of the covenant. God, of course, has never broken any covenant to which He has been a party; man, however, has repeatedly broken covenants – both with God and with man.

• Thus, covenants between God and man can be conditional on man, or unconditional on man.

• Since God does not impose His covenants upon man, we see that covenants relating to God are actually self-imposed; i.e., God agrees to arrange His providences for the welfare of man, and to partner with man to advance His purposes. Thus, God functions as the initiator, man as the responder, but with the latter having free-will.

• For example, God chose Israel to be His nation and chosen people, and from that nation would come the Redeemer for sinful mankind (Amos 2:4-16;3:1-2), wherein both houses of Israel (Judah and Israel) are judged for breaking (i.e., sinning; see 1 John 3:4-6) the covenant of the Law (Torah).

• Biblical covenants can be universal (i.e., applicable to all of mankind), or non-universal (i.e., applicable only to those who respond to and accept God’s laws, terms and conditions.

• Certain of the Biblical covenants were accompanied by a sign given by God, serving as a reminder to man of his covenant commitment.

• Ancient covenants were often sworn and invoked in the presence of God to make the promises more solemn and binding (see, e.g., 1 Sam. 20:8). When God’s name was invoked in a covenant between men, and the covenant was subsequently broken, it was considered to be a heinous sin (Ezek. 17: 12-20). See also Mat. 5:33-37.

Elements of Ancient Covenants

• God’s covenants with man followed similar patterns and contained some of the same elements familiar to mankind through man-to-man covenants.

• For example, the entire Book of Deuteronomy very closely follows the pattern and content of an ancient Suzerain Treaty, where a superior (often conquering) king (or lord) covenants with a vassal (servant) state. See the table below.

Suzerain Treaty Deuteronomy

Position of Suzerain King Preamble, 1:1-5

Acts of King History/Prologue, 1:6 – 4:49

Covenant Expectations Stipulations, 5:1-26:19

Result of Obed./Dis-Obed. Blessings/Curses, 27-30

Ratification of Covenant Witnesses, 30:19

Term of Covenant Succession, 31:1-8

Archival, Public Renewal Deposit, Reiteration, 31:9-13

• The Book of Deuteronomy, by its name and content, represents a reiteration by Moses to the second generation of the children of Israel, whose parents broke their covenant with God made at the foot of Mt. Sinai.

• The name Deuteronomy can be interpreted as “Second Law,” not that there were two laws given, but that the Book itself is a reiteration to the second generation, with a strong admonition not to repeat the mistakes of their forefathers.

Steps in Making an Ancient Covenant

• While somewhat variable, steps in cutting an ancient covenant followed a general pattern and content.

1. Preparation and Deliberation – a covenant was not entered into lightly, but only after careful thought and deliberation.

2. Witnesses – were sought as trusted mediators for both parties to the covenant. Covenants were meant to be a public declaration of intent. In some cases God was called upon to be witness, or heaven and earth.

3. Items of Commitment Exchanged – often garments or weapons, signifying by readily identifiable items who the parties to the covenant were. This was to keep the parties ever mindful of their mutual commitment.

4. Mutual Fidelity Symbols – often a belt or girdle was exchanged, signifying “my strength shall be your strength.”

5. Blood – certain animal(s) would be split into two parts, with the parties to the covenant standing or passing between them. This symbolized that, as the animal(s) gave up its life, so too would either party to the covenant loose its life for infidelity to the covenant. Alternatively, both parties would slit their own wrists, raising their hands into the air and clasping hands while pointing to the heavens, signifying the making of a covenant with God as their witness. The resultant intermingling of their blood signified the joining of a blood relationship. They would then coterize the wounds with a hot iron to inflict a noticeable scar which would serve as a perpetual reminder of the covenant promises.

6. Names Exchanged – often names would be exchanged so that the parties would refer to themselves as “name, the covenant friend of name.”

7. Mutual Assets – a list of all assets and liabilities would be exchanged, signifying that as a united, covenanted pair, they would each share in the other’s belongings and burdens.

8. Covenant Stipulations – a listing and recording of the covenant’s stipulations, indicating the blessings and curses for fidelity to, or infidelity from, respectively, such as to ensure a clarity of understanding and faithfulness of the parties, as well as accountability through encouragement from the witnesses.

9. Covenant Reminder/Memorial/Sign – establish a covenant reminder or memorial by planting a tree, building a heap of uncut stones, etc.

10. Covenant Feast or Meal – a covenant meal of bread and wine concluded the procedures and sealed its commitment by the parties. As an example, we are reminded of the Passover meal recorded in Luke 22:19-20.

• While not all covenants entailed each and every step outlined above, the list does provide examples of many elements found in most man-to-man covenants, and some of the elements that went into the God-to-man covenants. No doubt you have recognized some of the above steps from your study of the Scriptures.

Principal Biblical Covenants Outlined

• The principal Biblical covenants, listed here in chronological order by common name, estimated date, and with a brief descriptor, are:

1. Edenic (c. 3700-3600 B.C.) – from the Garden of Eden, with Adam and Eve.

2. Adamic (c. 3600-3400 B.C.) – from which sin was brought into the world.

3. Noahic (c. 2200-2050 B.C.) – human government

4. Abrahamic (c. 2000-1800 B.C.) – preservation of Israel and inheritance of the Promised Land through the seed of Abram.

5. Mosaic (c. 1450-1250 B.C.) – the giving and administration of God’s Law, the Torah.

6. Promised Land/Deuteronomic (c. 1200-1100 B.C.) – a reminder of the Abrahamic and Mosaic covenants, just before crossing over the Jordon River into the Promised Land.

7. Davidic (c. 1000-960 B.C.) – in perpetuity, the line of Messiah Yeshua through the house, kingdom and throne of David.

8. New Covenant (c. 600-580 B.C.) – wherein culmination of the covenant terms from all the previous covenants apply, but are imparted not on tablets of stone but on hearts of flesh.

Individual Covenants Detailed

Edenic Covenant

• This is the first principal covenant between God and man (Gen. 1:26-30; 2:15-17). It is universal in nature and scope, and for all time. It is also a conditional covenant, meaning man’s response to it in terms of obedience or disobedience will determine the outcome for man (i.e., blessings or curses).

• In the Garden of Eden man was initially free of sin, completely provided for, and living in harmony and communion with the Creator God.

• The Garden was an idyllic environment where Adam and Eve enjoyed congenial, rewarding responsibilities.

• Adam was instructed to tend the garden, to be fruitful and multiply, to subdue the earth, and to take dominion over every living thing in the garden.

• There was one condition given to Adam, which was to be a test of Adam’s (ultimately man’s) loyalty to, and love for, his Creator God: not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

• Adam failed this test (broke the covenant) by consenting to his wife’s offer to eat of the tree, after the serpent (Satan) had convinced her that she “… will surely not die.”

• The test itself provides the proof that mankind was created a morally accountable creature, responsible for his actions and answerable to his Creator God.

• Through Adam’s failure of the test, sin (defined in 1 John 3:4) was imputed to all of humankind, and the need for a Savior confirmed (to come through the seed of the woman – Eve) from Gen. 3:15.

• Subsequently, Adam and Eve (mankind) were cast out of the Garden and severed from their harmony with God (the tree of life), and told: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it for all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it will bring forth for you…In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground…”(Gen. 3:17-19).

Adamic Covenant

• The second principal covenant (Gen. 3:16-19), it is universal in nature, being for all of mankind and for all time. It is an unconditional covenant in which God declared to Adam and Eve what man’s lot in life would be since their actions (disobedience) brought sin into the world.

• Under this covenant there is no avenue of appeal for this life from the declared consequences.

• Key elements of the covenant include:

1. Curses for the serpent (Satan); Gen. 3:14; Rom. 16:20; 2 Cor. 11:3-4; and Rev. 12:7-12.

2. Promise of the Redeemer (Messiah Yeshua – seed of the woman), from Gen. 3:15.

3. Multiplied pain and sorrow of the woman in child birth, and her increased subordination to the headship of the man, from Gen. 3:16.

4. Man’s toil and sweat of his brow to provide food for himself until he returns to the ground in physical death (Gen. 3:17-19). And, most significantly, spiritual death unless individual man appropriates the Redeemer’s provision for atonement of sin through true remorse, repentance, and obedience to God’s Laws in the form of changed life.

Noahic Covenant

• The third principal covenant (Gen. 9:1-18), it reconfirms and builds in part on the Adamic Covenant, adding the principle of human government to deal with sin.

• It reveals the Creator’s purpose for the human race subsequent to the flood, which left only Noah and his immediate family to repopulate the earth.

• The covenant is universal in nature, being for all of mankind, and it is unconditional, meaning that its provisions apply irrespective of man’s response.

• Key elements of the covenant include:

1. Establishes capital punishment for taking another man’s life through the institution of an ordained society authorized to render judgment under God’s Laws (Gen. 9:6).

2. Reaffirms man’s dominion over the animals, and man is given permission to eat the flesh of certain animals (Lev. Chapt. 11), from Gen. 9:3-4.

3. Incorporates the prophecy regarding Noah’s three sons and their descendants (Gen. 9:18-28; 10:1-32). Through Noah’s son Shem would flow the Godly line in whom would come the Messiah Yeshua.

4. Introduces the first sign and seal of a covenant, the rainbow. God promises that never again would there be a flood as the means of judgment to destroy the whole earth (Gen. 9:11-17). See Gen. 8:20-22, and Chapter 9 and 10.

5. The Canaanite peoples would come under God’s special curses.

Abrahamic Covenant

• The fourth principal covenant (Gen. 12:1-3, 6-7; 13:14-17; 15; 17:1-14; and 22:15-18) between God and man, it is everlasting and unconditional. Although initially directed to the Hebrews, Abram’s descendants (Gen. 12:3; 17:7), it is in reality universal in nature and scope for all of mankind (Gen. 12:3).

• Perhaps the most pivotal of the principal covenants, it still is intertwined with the other seven, provides a continuous flow in the progressive revelation of all the covenants, and does not in any way supersede or replace any of the others, but simply builds on and reinforces the terms of them all.

• Key elements of the covenant include:

1. Its promises are applicable to both Abram’s physical seed (descendants), and to all who commit to covenant relationship with God through Messiah Yeshua (spiritual seed).

2. The covenant guarantees the permanent ownership the Promised Land (Gen. 12:3,7).

3. Through the covenant God has revealed Himself through Israel, has provided redemption through Israel (Messiah Yeshua), brought Israel into the Promised Land, and has preserved Israel to this very day.

4. History to date has born out the promises of both curses and blessings as found in Gen. 12:3.

5. In response to Abram’s question (Gen. 15:7-8), “how shall I know that I will inherit it [the Promised Land]?,” God establishes this solemn covenant to prove that He would keep His commitment. This was reaffirmed to Isaac in Gen. 26:23-24, and to Jacob in Gen. 35:9-15.

6. The sign of this covenant is that of circumcision.

Mosaic Covenant

• The fifth principal covenant (Ex. Chapter 20), it is conditional and carries forward provisions of the previous covenants still in effect. The covenant is not universal, but was made with the children of Israel (Hebrews) at the foot of Mt. Sinai.

• Key elements of the covenant include:

1. Giving and administration of God’s laws (the fundamental framework being the Ten Commandments) for personal, inter-personal and public matters, and of course concerning man’s relationship with his Creator God.

2. Expounded, God’s laws address His will (Ex. 20:1-26), judgments relating to social and civic affairs in the life of Israel, administration of justice and distribution of wealth (Ex. 21, 22, 23, through 24:11), and ordinances regarding ceremonial laws such as cleansing, offerings, worship and sacrifices (Ex. 21:1 – 31:18).

3. God’s laws amounted to teaching and instruction for a redeemed people, were given to apprise Israel of God’s Holiness, His righteous and just demands, to make them aware of the seriousness of sin, and to show that man could not possibly save himself from the consequences of his sin nature.

4. God promised that if Israel would obey His commandments, laws, statutes and ordinances (Ex. 19:5-6), He would make them a cherished possession of His own, and a kingdom of priests to mediate God’s blessings to the Gentile nations, and would make them a holy nation.

• The sign of the covenant was given as the Sabbath (Ex. 31:16-17).

Promised Land/Deuteronomic Covenant

• The sixth covenant with God, although not considered to be one of the principal covenants by many scholars, is actually a reminder of the prior two covenants of the Abrahamic and Mosaic covenants (Deut. 29:1-13). It also serves to reiterate to the generation following the Exodus from Egypt the importance of the covenant relationship established with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

• The location of this covenant reminder was on the plains of Moab, east of the Dead Sea and across from the Promised Land that they were to conquer in conjunction with God’s help.

• The covenant was not universal, and is in part conditional, and in part unconditional.

• The subject matter of this covenant is three-fold:

1. The specific plot of land that was described (Gen. 13:13-17; Num. 34:1-12)

2. Preparation of the second generation to cross over the Jordan River and take the land (Joshua Chapt. 1) .

3. A reminder to obey the commandments after crossing over the Jordan River (Deut. 12:22-32; 27 and 28;l Joshua 8:30-35).

• The extensive land area described as the Promised Land has never been fully occupied by the descendants of Abraham, but one day it will be, in fulfillment of the promise, when Israel genuinely turns to God in repentance and willingly obeys Him.

• The covenant is considered to be unconditional in that one day the promises of land as an everlasting possession will miraculously be fulfilled (Gen. 12:7; 17:7-8).

• The covenant is conditional in that the final generation that appropriates their part under the covenant must be obedient to God and His Laws.

Davidic Covenant

• The seventh covenant with God (2 Sam. 7:4-16; 1 Chron. 17:3-15), it was not to be universal, and is unconditional.

• David was given three promises:

1. David’s “house,” or descendancy, would endure forever.

2. David’s kingdom would never permanently pass away.

3. The throne of David (Tribe of Judah) would never permanently pass away.

• In the case of the latter two promises, they would historically cease for a period, but would always be restored (e.g., Luke 1:32-33).

• The covenant was made with the house of David, the Hebrews, and David’s descendants.

• The sign of the covenant was to be a House (Temple of God) and a king.

New Covenant

• The eighth and last of the principal covenants is considered to be highly important. Found principally in Jer. 31:31-34, the covenant in no manner annuls any of the previous covenants, but instead builds upon and reinforces them all. For example, we read in Galatians 3:17-18:

“And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before God in Messiah Yeshua, that it should make the promise of no effect. For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise.”

• What the Apostle Paul is saying is that the Law (Torah), which was given 430 years after the promises contained within the Abrahamic Covenant, did not invalidate or annul a previously ratified covenant by God (see Gen. 15:18). The covenantal terms of the Abrahamic covenant (“which they broke,” Jer. 31:32) did not change in the New Covenant. What did change is the manner of imparting the terms; from being written on tablets of stone to being written on our minds and on hearts of flesh (Jer. 31:33). See also Ezek. 36:26-27.

• The New Covenant contains terms and provisions which make it both conditional and unconditional.

• The conditional elements are:

1. “You will be careful to observe My ordinances (Ezek. 37:27).”

2. “You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God (Ezek. 36:31).”

3. “Then you will remember your evil ways…, and you will loath yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and your abominations (Ezek. 36:31).”

• The unconditional elements are:

1. “I will write my Law [Torah] on their minds, and on their hearts I will write it…”

2. “…for I will forgive their iniquity…(Jer. 31:34).”

3. “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean… from all your filthiness and from your idols (Ezek. 36:25).”

• The New Covenant is equally applicable to both Jew and non-Jew (using the term “Jew” in its common form of today). Ethnicity is not a determining factor in God’s eyes. What matters is circumcision of the heart, not the flesh (Rom. 2:25-29; Jer. 9:23-26; 1 Cor. 7:18-20). Ultimately, God desired that His covenants would be taken to heart in faith.

• In Jeremiah 31:31, the prophet clearly indicates that God will “… make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah…” Neither the Church nor any other entity is mentioned here or elsewhere in Scriptures regarding the New Covenant.

• The sign of the New Covenant is the blood of Messiah Yeshua (Luke 22:20-21), and the love of His followers one to another (John 13:34-35), and towards the Master Himself (John 14:15).

In Conclusion

• Just as the Ten Commandments comprise the framework structure of the Torah, so too God’s covenants with mankind (the covenantal building blocks) provide the structural framework for the entirety of the Written Word of God.

• A critical factor in reaching an understanding of God’s instructions for mankind, found in His Written Word, is to have a thorough grasp on the progressive revelation of the principal God-to-man covenants.

• See the attached Comparative Biblical Covenants Overview for a summary of the above eight Biblical covenants.