Many Christians may not realize it, but the entire Bible is based on the covenants God gave to man. They reveal the structure and framework of His plan for salvation for all of mankind throughout the ages. They encompass and define our relationship with Him from Adam through eternity.They are worth studying.

 

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a covenant is a “formal, solemn and binding agreement; compact;” or “a written agreement or promise usually under seal between two or more parties especially for the performance of some action.”  It         can be looked upon as a legal pledge. The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature by McClintock and Strong says Biblical covenants were used to denote relationships between God and man.

 

 

The First Covenant

 

If we understand the plan of God to be divided into time segments -- depending on which group of people He was dealing with during those segments -- we can see that in each age God has provided a way to approach Him, a path to establish a relationship with Him.  When Adam was created, the first covenant God introduced was very simple: obey and live, or disobey and die.  Adam was not created as a robot.  He had free moral will and free ability to make choices.  Distressingly for himself and all his subsequent progeny, he chose to remain loyal to Eve rather than to God.  He failed the test of obedience by not complying with God’s direct instructions, defaulted on the agreement, and was cast out of Eden (Genesis 3:23-24, Hosea 6:7).  The consequence of this was death for Adam, Eve, and all descendants since (Romans 5:12).  But surely one of the worst aspects of the punishment was losing the direct Father/son relationship he and Eve had had with God before they chose to ignore God’s commandment. 

 

Adam did not have a named covenant with God, but he understood what was expected of him.  The test had been made very clear in Genesis 2:17:  “…but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it, you shall surely die.” Adam did not commit his sin ignorantly or through Satan’s deception, but he did have a lack of experience (1 Timothy 2:14).  It was Adam’s choice.  

 

We might be inclined to think that God was a trifle harsh in His punishment until we remember that Adam’s sin was peculiar to him in that he was created perfect and had direct contact with and knowledge of God -- advantages that no one else since     has ever had except our Lord and Savior.  Still, Adam disobeyed.  And he did not ask for forgiveness.  On the contrary, he at first tried to hide, and then he made excuses (Genesis 3:12).  Because Adam had broken the agreement, God was no longer obligated to bless Adam in any way, and certainly not with eternal life. Yet there is an ultimate blessing to the entire human race in Adam’s sin, and that blessing is our experience with sin-- a teaching experience.  We must understand that sin and evil bring suffering, and righteousness brings blessings.  When God’s kingdom is established on earth, mankind must have that experience and knowledge to then choose to follow God’s laws.

 

 

The Rainbow Covenant

 

The next in the series of covenants recorded in the Bible is the Rainbow Covenant made between God and Noah.  It is unilateral; in other words, God freely granted it with no conditions required of Noah.  Before the Flood, the world had become populated with the offspring of angels and men (Genesis 6:1-5).  This was not a good combination, as we read in Genesis 6:5, 11-12: “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually…Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence.” The offspring of fallen angels and women were not a legitimate race in God’s eyes, and they had no part in His plan of salvation.  Only Adam’s pure descendants will be eligible for Christ’s redemption and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:21-22).  Therefore, God determined to wipe out all that He had made, save Noah and his family, so that only a pure race remained.

 

Because Noah found favor with God (Genesis 6:8-9), he and his family were forewarned about the coming destruction of the earth through the flood.  Afterwards, when they emerged from the Ark into a new, clean world, Noah built an altar to the Lord and made burnt offerings on it. God responded by establishing with Noah and all future generations that He would never destroy the earth again. Genesis 8:21-22: “And the LORD smelled the soothing aroma; and the LORD said to Himself, I will never again curse the ground on account of man…and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done.  While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”  In Genesis 9:9-13 God says: “Now behold, I Myself do establish My covenant with you, and with your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you…all flesh shall never again be cut off by the water of the flood, neither shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth…I will set My bow in the clouds, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth.”

How marvelous is this covenant!  Mankind never again has to worry that this level of devastation will be repeated!  The earth will be preserved as a future home in God’s kingdom for all the families of the earth!  Because of Noah’s faith and loyalty, God formally guaranteed to protect the earth and His creation forever. The Rainbow Covenant assures an everlasting earth, which is confirmed in Ecclesiastes 1:4: “A generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.”

 

 

The Abrahamic Covenant

 

Now we come to the most comprehensive covenant of all, the one on which hangs the entire plan of salvation for all mankind -- God’s "umbrella promise."  It involves every human being who has ever lived!  It was given to Abraham first and reiterated many times.  The very earliest inkling we have of this offer by God is in Genesis 12:1-3.  God told Abraham (Abram) to leave his home and go into a land “which I will show you, and I will make you a great nation…And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” 

 

There is no Biblical indication that Abram questioned this command; he was 75 years old and had no child, but nevertheless, he set off in faith for the land God would show him and for the son he had not yet had. When Abram arrived in this land, God expanded the promise to add the words,  “dust of the earth.” In Genesis 13:14-17 we read: “And the LORD said to Abram…Now lift up your eyes, and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever. And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth -- so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered.  Arise, walk about the land through its length and breadth; for I will give it to you.”

 

In Genesis 15:5, God expanded the promise by adding a reference to “stars" --  “And He (God) took him (Abram) outside and said, Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.  And He said, So shall your descendants be.” 

 

Years later, after Isaac’s miraculous birth, Abraham again obeyed the Lord’s command and was about to sacrifice his son.  God stayed his hand and provided a ram to substitute for Isaac as a burnt offering.  The Lord then told Abraham in Genesis 22:16-18:  “…By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD.  Because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son, indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is on the seashore.  And your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies.  And in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

 

What a promise! It applies not only to Abraham, but to all people!  It is divided into two parts; the “stars of the heavens” and “the sand which is on the seashore.”  The thought here conveys more than just an extensive family lineage.  These two references describe two different salvations.  The “stars” represent the spiritual seed of Abraham.  Paul     tells us this in Galatians 3:16 when he links this promise directly to Christ:  “Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and his seed.  He does not say, AND TO SEEDS, as referring to many, but rather to one, AND TO YOUR SEED, this is, Christ.”  Paul then goes on to associate the Church, Christ’s true followers, with this same seed in Galatians 3:26-29:  “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.  For all of you     who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ…for you are all     one in Christ Jesus.  And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise.”   This verse identifies the “seed of Abraham” as Jesus and     his followers.

 

Isaac was literally a miracle baby. Abraham and Sarah, Abraham’s true wife, were far past the age of having children when Isaac was born.  Isaac was the child of promise that God had pledged to them because of Abraham’s enormous faith.  Abraham’s faith was a living thing.  His life was shaped by the commands and promises of God.  In Genesis 17:4, 19 we read:  “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations…but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac, and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.”   The Apostle Paul likens the Church to Isaac in Galatians 4:28: “And you brethren, like Isaac, are children of promise.”  God further associated Isaac with the “stars” or spiritual seed when He reiterated the promise to Isaac directly in Genesis 26:4: “And I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed.”

 

The Christ, which includes both Head (Jesus) and Body (his Church), is one seed — the child of promise.  The Church shares the same baptism, death, and sufferings as our Lord (Romans 6:3-4; Galatians 2:20; 1 Peter 4:13), and if faithful unto death, it is assured of a share in his glory as well as the opportunity to uplift the world of mankind during the Millennial Kingdom. 

 

The “sands” component of the promise represents the earthly salvation, first to the nation of Israel, and through it to all mankind.  The spiritual seed must be completed from among the Gentiles, and after that, Israel’s hardness of heart will be removed and it will be saved.  This is explained by the Apostle Paul in Romans 11:25-27:  “For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery…that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles has come in; and thus all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION (spiritual Israel, the stars), AND HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB (natural Israel, the sands).  AND THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS.” 

 

The “fulness of the Gentiles” refers to the full number of the Body of Christ being chosen from the Gentiles (and some individual Jews) as a prerequisite to the saving of Israel. Hosea 1:10 confirms the idea of Israel as “the sand which is on the seashore -- “Yet the number of the sons of Israel will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered; and it will come about that, in the place where it is said to them, you are not My people, it will be said of them, you are the sons of the living God.” 

 

Soon natural Israel will have its “partial hardening” removed, and through it, all the nations of the earth will learn of God’s plan and His glory.  All will understand and have a chance to live in God’s righteous new order.  In Isaiah 2:2-4, Isaiah prophetically recounts the roles of both spiritual and natural Israel in the saving of the world:  “…The mountain [kingdom] of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains…and all nations will stream to it.  And many peoples will come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us concerning His ways, and that we may walk in His paths.  For the law will go forth from Zion (spiritual Israel), and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem (earthly Israel).”  In Zechariah 8:23, the prophet says:  “Thus says the LORD of hosts, In those days (the Millennial Kingdom) ten men from the nations of every language will grasp the garment of a Jew saying, Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”

 

By the end of Millennial age, all of earth and humanity will live in harmony with God. Revelation 21:4 says: “And He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things are passed away.”  Mankind will live in peace and health and happiness for eternity.  All will be blessed!  We have been promised a marvelous future. Salvation for everyone who has ever lived is revealed in this one covenant that God made with Abraham so many centuries ago!

 

 

The Law Covenant

 

Four hundred and thirty years after God gave the covenant to Abraham, He instituted the Law Covenant with the nation of Israel (Galatians 3:17).  Why did He do it?  What did it mean for Israel?  Why was it given to Israel and not some other nation? 

 

Because of Abraham’s faith, Israel was God’s chosen nation.  In Amos 3:2 we read: “You only have I known among all the families of the earth…”   The Abrahamic Covenant was given to Abraham and will eventually apply to the entire world.  The Law Covenant was given exclusively to the nation of Israel, and it remained in effect until Jesus declared to the Jews in Matthew 23:37-38,  “…your house is being left to you desolate.” 

 

The Law Covenant, unlike the Rainbow Covenant or the Abrahamic Covenant, was bilateral and conditional.  This meant it was an agreement between two parties, both of whom had to fulfill obligations in order to keep the agreement in force.  It needed a mediator to act as a go-between amidst the two parties.  This go-between was Moses. 

The Law, as given to Moses in Exodus 20 and subsequent chapters, was an exact behavioral template for Israel.  The terms were simple in concept:  If they kept their part of the covenant, God promised they could continue a special relationship with Him.      He would protect them from their enemies, bless all their endeavors, and bless the land itself.  This is detailed in Exodus 19:5:  “…If you will obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine.”  In the ensuing chapters of Exodus, God gives Moses the Ten Commandments and many other ordinances and laws that explain Israel’s relationship with God and each other.  There are detailed instructions on dietary and health practices and the treatment of animals.  The agreement was that Israel had to follow the Law exactly as given to Moses, and they assented to this in Exodus 19:7-8.

 

God reiterated this promise again in Deuteronomy 30:8-9:  “And you shall again obey the LORD, and observe all His commandments which I command you today.  Then the LORD your God will prosper you abundantly in all the work of your hand, in the offspring of your body, and in the offspring of your cattle, and in the produce of your ground…”   The Law as given to Moses did not promise everlasting life unless it were perfectly obeyed.  Jesus, in Luke 10:25-28, links the perfect fulfillment of the Law with eternal life when the lawyer asks Jesus what he must do to obtain it. 

 

But the Law had a much larger significance than a simple “You do this, and I’ll do that” application.  God knew from the beginning that imperfect people would not be able to perfectly keep it, so why would He institute it?  On the surface it seemed to be detrimental to Israel.  They would suffer repeatedly, both nationally and personally, when they violated its terms.  It could make no one perfect because they were not perfect (Hebrews 7:18-19).  It actually put them under a curse as stated in Galatians 3:10:  “For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, CURSED IS EVERY ONE WHO DOES NOT ABIDE BY ALL THINGS WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF THE LAW, TO PERFORM THEM.” 

 

So why would God do this?  He had so many reasons! 

 

First of all, it educated Israel, and (in subsequent centuries) the whole world, on what sin is.  The Apostle Paul says in Romans 3:20,  “…for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.” In Galatians 3:19 he says, “Why the Law then?  It was added because of transgressions, having been ordained through the angels by the agency of a mediator (Moses) until the seed should come (Jesus) to whom the promise had been made.”  

 

 The Ten Commandments pointed the way, through character development, to a relationship with God and the godly treatment of others.  In Romans 7:7, Paul explains, “…I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, YOU SHALL NOT COVET.” The Commandments give us insight into what God expects, and it revealed the sin to Israel within themselves. 

 

Secondly, as the years rolled by, the Jews experienced another type of education through the Law -- the education of self-awareness.  They were unable to keep the statutes as given to them by God.  The Law did provide a way to atone for their sins in the form of the animal sacrifices, but those sacrifices were not a permanent fix (Hebrews 10:1)  They had to be repeated every year, and as soon as the Day of Atonement was over, the people were sinning again due to their inherited imperfect state.  Many times they so transgressed the Law as to worship idols.  As soon as they repented, God showed great mercy in taking them back.  But in trying to follow the Law, the people should have realized that it was impossible to obtain God’s favor or everlasting life through it because of their imperfections.  It was a teaching tool to show them their weaknesses,     to educate and humble them with the reality that for real, lasting atonement with God, a Messiah was needed.  As flawed, sinful human beings, they could not live in harmony with God.  This knowledge should have primed their hearts to accept the Messiah when he came.  As Paul says in Galatians 3:24,  “Therefore the Law has become our tutor, to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith.”

 

Israel knew a Messiah was coming because of the prophecies in Scripture; but most Jews were expecting a warrior who would free them from Roman rule and lead them to great battlefield victories.  The Scribes and Pharisees did not recognize in Jesus a Messiah who could guide them, through faith in him, to a personal relationship with God.  They saw instead a man whom they believed was trying to usurp their power -- a threat to their status in society.  They had followed the Law in its letter but had missed its spirit.  In so doing, they had failed in their commission to use it as a guide to prepare the people to accept their Messiah.

 

God knew that, in the time between the giving of the Law and the birth of Jesus, many years would pass.  Jesus was to be born from this people.  How could God keep them apart from the surrounding nations -- keep them as holy as possible -- in the interim? He did it by giving them these rules and procedures (Galatians 3:19).  They couldn’t and didn’t follow them perfectly, but the purpose was served to keep them separate from those who were not under a covenant relationship with God.  Some were ready to receive Jesus when he came.  To this day, the Law keeps Israel separate from other peoples.

 

The Law was also a type, or picture, of the coming New Covenant that will be established during the kingdom.  It will help Israel and the world understand how the New Covenant will be realized. It pictured, through the required animal sacrifices, the coming sacrifice of Jesus who, because of his perfect obedience, was the only one capable of truly redeeming Israel and the world of mankind, and justifying them before God.  Hebrews 10:1-4 states, “The Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never by the same sacrifices year by year, which they offer continually, make perfect (justify) those who draw near.  Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins? But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year.  For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin.”

 

Jesus ended the Law Covenant.  It was no longer necessary or applicable after his death. In Colossians 2:14, the Apostle Paul says, “…having cancelled out the certificate of debt (the Law Covenant) consisting of decrees against us and which were hostile to us; and he has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”  Although it no longer provided a pathway for a relationship to God, it continues to serve the purpose of keeping Israel separate from the world, and it continues to be an illustration of the coming New Covenant to those who understand the types and pictures in the Bible.  It was a vital component of God’s plan for salvation for all mankind. Among other things, it proved Jesus' perfection.

 

 

 New Covenant

 

Now we come to the last covenant God will make with mankind.  This one will bring about the fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant to bless all the families of the earth and thus will eventually involve all of humanity. Why is it needed?  Because the Law Covenant was established between God and Israel with Moses as the mediator. God was of course perfect.  Israel and Moses were not; so this covenant led ultimately to death. The old Law Covenant could not give any imperfect person eternal life. A new and better covenant was needed, an agreement that would lead to eternal life through actual atonement for sin (Hebrews 10:1).

 

 

What are the terms of the New Covenant? They will likely be similar to the old Law Covenant: obey and live; disobey and die.  God promises wonderful blessings to Israel and all of mankind if they live by the rules He will set up.  But under the New Covenant, because of the bitter lessons that experience with sin have taught us in this life, man will be able to make informed, individual choices for living in righteousness. During the Kingdom, when the New Covenant will go into effect, God will arrange conditions to be much more conducive -- indeed, POSSIBLE! -- to being able to follow His laws. 

 

Who will be the parties to this New Covenant?  Just like the Law Covenant, it will be made, through a mediator, between God and the whole nation of Israel.  Jeremiah 31:31: 

“Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah.”  At the time, Israel had been divided into two nations (Israel & Judah), and God wanted to be sure to include both of them in this future covenant.  In Ezekiel 60:60, 62 we read:  “Nevertheless, I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.  Thus I will establish My covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the LORD.”  But who will be the mediator? 

 

Jesus is the only one who has the qualifications to act between God and Israel in this capacity.  As Hebrews 8:6-7 says: “But he (Jesus) has now obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises.  For if that first covenant (the Law) had been faultless, there would be no occasion sought for a second.”  God has also been gracious enough to include the Church, the body of Christ, to participate in this mediation of the New Covenant.  Galatians 3:16,29 explains the special relationship between Christ and his Church:  “Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed.  He does not say, ‘AND TO SEEDS,’ as referring to many, but rather to one, ‘AND TO YOUR SEED,’ THAT IS, Christ…And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.”

 

What are the “better promises?” They are described in Amos 9:11-15:  “In that day I will raise up the fallen booth of David, and wall up its breaches…That they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by My name, declares the LORD who does this.  Behold days are coming, declares the LORD, when the plowman         will overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows seed; When the mountains will drip sweet wine…Also I will restore the captivity (fortunes) of my people Israel, and they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them…I will also plant them on their land, and they will not again be rooted out from their land which I have given them, says the LORD your God.”

 

 

Among the “better promises,” then, are assurances that God will restore the nation of Israel in the land He promised them long ago, never to be uprooted again.  The land will produce bountifully for them.  They are also promised they will “possess…all the nations who are called by My name…”  -- thus eventually bringing the whole world under the New Covenant.  In Zechariah 8:23:20-23, the prophet predicts these events saying,  “Thus says the LORD of hosts,  It will yet be that peoples will come, even the inhabitants of many cities; and the inhabitants of one will go to another saying, Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the LORD and to seek the LORD of hosts; I will also go.  So many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD.  Thus says the LORD of hosts, In those days ten men from nations of every language will grasp the garment of a Jew, saying, Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”

 

When the rest of the world sees the blessings given to Israel through the New Covenant, they will want to have that same covenant relationship with God.  They will in effect become Israelites, themselves, by conversion -- which will qualify them to be included in all the promised blessings of the “sands which are on the seashore” portion of the Abrahamic Covenant. 

 

Thus the New Covenant will be the arrangement by which the Abrahamic Covenant is fulfilled as it relates to Israel and mankind. These blessings will be carried out through the mediation of Christ, head and body. 

 

Why will a mediator be necessary?  At the beginning of the Kingdom when God raises mankind (Acts 24:15), people will not be in a perfect moral state.  Satan will no longer be allowed to influence their behavior, but they will still need an education in righteous behavior to gradually come up to the state of perfection that God requires.  This is where the role of the Church comes in.  While Christ will serve as the head, protecting humanity from further condemnation under his cloak of merit, the Church will be educating them in the process of learning righteousness and, thereby, reconciling them to God.  This process will take a thousand years (Revelation 20:1-3).  After this thousand years of education and growth is complete, and people will have attained mental, moral and physical perfection, there will no longer be a need for a mediator — people will be able to have a direct, individual relationship with God just as Adam did before he sinned. 1 Corinthians 15:24-26,28 explains the time frame:  “…then comes the end, when he (Christ) delivers up the kingdom to God, even the Father -- when he (Christ) has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For he (Christ) must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.  The last enemy that will be abolished is death [all remnants of it]... that God may be all in all.”

 

When will the New Covenant be instituted?  It cannot be set up before the Church is complete because the Christ, head and body, will be administering it. We believe through various prophecies that this time is near.

The beautiful plan of God is comprehensive, inclusive of all who have ever lived, and complete in every way.  The covenants are the framework upon which God’s plan stands. Humanity has a glorious future ahead!  Understanding these covenants opens up the understanding of the Bible.

 

Daniel 7:14: “And to him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and men of every language might serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed.”

 

Isaiah 11:9: “They will not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain [kingdom], for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.”

 

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