God’s
Covenants as Bible Study Guides
Several writers have reviewed the Covenants that the
Bible records having been made by God with man.
In this post I’d like to review some of the better recognized concepts,
and perhaps offer a few lesser appreciated perspectives.
In review, according to our Strong’s Concordance the word
“covenant(s)” appears 295 times in the Bible, and of those only 23 are in the
New Testament. “Covenant” conveys the meaning of a “compact, league, confederacy,
contract, or testament” between two men. These covenants were initiated by our
Lord Jesus in theophany (His Pre-Incarnate form) as God / the LORD God / the LORD.
(https://www.gotquestions.org/theophany-Christophany.html ) They described His instructions or intentions
towards mankind at progressive times during man’s history.
In our study there are a total of eight (8) covenants in
the Bible. The Scripture records the
first time that the word “covenant” was used occurred in the Book of Genesis. God instructed Noah to enter the Ark and bring
the animals and their sustenance prior
to the world-wide flood. (Genesis 6: 17-22)
However, the concept of the “covenant” appeared prior to that usage, and
accounts for the additional incidences noted in bringing the total to eight
(8). Let’s review them in that light. The
names given to these Covenants in their order of appearance in the Scripture
are: Edenic, Adamic, Noahic (as noted above), Abrahamic, Mosaic,
Palestinian, Davidic, and New.
There are a couple of points I’d like to emphasize at
this time. The first point is that the three initial Covenants were instituted
by God to impact all mankind. As you recall, the Edenic Covenant was
given to the first man Adam in the Garden of Eden. (Genesis 2: 15-17) Given the choice to believe God or not, man
(Adam) chose unbelief and followed the Enemy / Satan. As a result, the Creator
LORD God introduced the Adamic Covenant. That Covenant specified man’s
punishment for his disobedience, but also identified the method God
would use to restore man’s righteousness (being in good-standing), and relationship to Him. (Genesis 3: 14-19)
Even so, man continued to decline spiritually in unbelief
over the next hundreds of years. His behavior was dominated by evil /
wickedness and violence. That sinful spirit of man resulted in God’s flooding
the Earth to destroy mankind. As noted
above, the LORD saved only righteous Noah and his family. (Genesis 6: 11-13) Immediately after the flood the LORD introduced
the Noahic Covenant, promising to never again destroy the Earth with
water. He also introduced the principle
of capital punishment for any who shed a man’s blood; and removed the
restriction of the vegetarian diet (Genesis 8: 21-22; 9: 1-17)
Also after “the Flood”, the LORD moved to implement the
next phase of His Plan for man’s redemption and salvation. Although this
addition of the third Covenant by the LORD came after only eleven (11) chapters
in the first book of the Bible (Genesis), chronologically it took place an
estimated 2,000 years after man was created. (https://biblehub.com/timeline/old.htm ) This
marked the first of three 2,000-year periods that would encompass man’s history
in this world age.
The second major point I’d like you to consider is that the
remaining five Covenants were all directed towards God’s development of His Favored
Nation of Israel. Rather than allowing man to continue to flounder aimlessly
under the influence of his own sin-nature (and without God in his world - Ephesians
2: 11-12), the LORD would introduce the next four Covenants. (Note: One of
the five covenants is yet to be fulfilled / implemented.) These four covenants would cover the second of
the three 2,000-year periods that the Bible records as encompassing man’s
history in this world age.
The “foundational” covenant of the five was established
by God with Abram, and is therefore named the Abrahamic Covenant. It can be considered “foundational” because each
of the subsequent covenants is related to it. (https://www.factsaboutisrael.uk/history-of-israel-timeline/ )
The LORD’s commitment to Abram / Abraham promised that through
him, God would make a great nation (Israel); he would be blessed and be a
blessing to others; his name would be made great; God would bless those that
blessed him and curse those who cursed him; and most importantly, through him
“all families of the earth” would be blessed. (Genesis 12: 1-3). That last commitment was the reference to the
coming of the Lord Jesus, who would become Israel’s Messiah / King, and would pay
the death penalty for the sins of mankind…if they would
believe in Him. (John 3: 16-17; Romans 15: 8-9)
Through Abraham’s son Isaac, and grandson Jacob (later
renamed Israel) the twelve tribes of the Nation of Israel came into
being. That Nation would be taught God’s
standards for moral behavior; for living with others; and how to worship Him.
Further, after practicing these methods, they would then be able to teach the
rest of humanity (Gentiles) God’s Laws. (Mosaic Covenant – Exodus 19: 1-8) God then gave legal deed to Israel for
ownership of its own land in the Middle Eastern geographic area of Palestine,
also called the “Promised Land”. (Palestinian
Covenant - Genesis Chapter 15) Then, to rule over Israel and establish its eternal
Kingdom, God instituted the next covenant named after David, the former
shepherd from the Tribe of Judah who had become Israel’s second king. It would
be through David’s bloodline that Israel’s Messiah / the Lord Jesus would be born. (Davidic
Covenant – 2 Samuel 7: 1-16) https://www.gotquestions.org/Davidic-covenant.html )
In His foreknowledge, the LORD knew that even this
special, set-aside Nation of Israel who received favored treatment / blessings
from God, could not meet His High Moral Standards. They would eventually come
to recognize their need for a Messiah / Savior who would rule over them.
However in the meantime, Israel continued in unbelief over the next thousand
years, Even with the warnings of God’s prophets, Israel continued to reject their
role under the Mosaic Covenant.
Israel’s unbelief ultimately led to their rejection of
the Lord Jesus who had come as their Messiah. As you recall, the Four Gospels
that introduce the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) chronicle those
years of the Lord’s First Coming, including His crucifixion, death, burial and
resurrection. We also know from our study of the Scripture that this
rejection marked the end of the second 2,000-year period of man’s history in
this world age. [Note the early Chapters of the “Transitional Book of Acts”
(Chapters One through Seven) describe how the Lord’s Disciples tried to
convince Israel that it was not too late to repent of their wrong-doing, but to
no avail.] It was then that God moved
to address His message of the remission of sins / Salvation directly to all
mankind / the Gentile world through the Apostle Paul. (Acts Chapter 9)
The Bible later reveals the logic behind the change in
God’s Plan to offer “righteousness” to mankind aside from the potential
influence of a “priesthood” of Israel. (Remember Exodus 19: 1-8 ?) However, many Bible students have not appreciated
that message as revealed to the Apostle Paul by the Ascended Lord Jesus, as
recorded in the Book of Romans, Chapter 11.
I strongly encourage you to review that entire Chapter, that
explains Israel’s “blindness” to who the Lord Jesus really was and is. But
to be brief, please note one key verse that provides the framework for Israel’s
fall:
“I say then, Have they (Israel) stumbled that they
should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto
the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy”. (Romans 11: 11)
With that series of events, the Bible brought us into
the current 2,000-year period of man’s history, known as the “Church Age” or
the “Age of Grace.” Those terms are used to identify this period of time
that targets man’s opportunity to become members of “The Church”, which is the
spiritual body of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians Chapter One) This current period of time is also called the
“Age of Grace” because the Bible also explains that man can’t do or perform any
“works” or acts to gain his own righteousness / salvation for remission of his
sins in the eyes of God. Righteousness is obtained only through the “Grace”
of God for those who believe / have faith in what the Lord
Jesus has accomplished on our behalf. (Habakkuk 2: 2-4; Romans 1: 17; 4: 1-5; Galatians
3: 11; Hebrews Chapter 11) Through His Love
for His favored creation man, He suffered His horrific death on the Cross, as
our “substitute”. He paid the penalty of death for the sins of man, as prophesied
in Genesis Chapter Three, Verse 15, under the Adamic Covenant as noted
above. (Note also the Gospel of Grace: 1 Corinthians 15: 1-4; Romans 10:
9-13)
As this Age of Grace comes to a close (end of the 2,000
years), there are many additional points to be considered, but time does not allow
for them to be addressed in this blog post. I will discuss them in a future
post. Nonetheless, that leads us to God’s fifth covenant with the Nation of
Israel, the “New Covenant”.
Approximately 600 years B.C., the LORD revealed to the Prophet
Jeremiah the New Covenant that He would make with the Nation of Israel. The
LORD had earlier warned Israel of the consequences of their disobedience and
unbelief. He was now revealing their reconciliation during the future 1,000-Year
period following the Tribulation and the Lord Jesus’ Second Coming (The
Millennium). This will happen as the Lord Jesus establishes
His Kingdom on the Earth. (Isaiah 2: 1-4; 11: 1-10; Micah 4: 1-5) Now, with specific regard to the New
Covenant, the Scripture further records the following in Jeremiah 3: 33-34:
33 But this shall be the
covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith
the Lord, I will put my law in their
inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they
shall be my people.
34 And they shall teach no more
every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the
greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I
will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
Note the new Spirit-driven trait given to the people of
Israel. This New Covenant supersedes the part(s) of the Mosaic
Covenant that required each member of the Nation to consciously learn God’s Law
before they could serve as priests of God.
In the Book of Revelation, Chapter 20, the Scripture notes
that during the 1,000-Year period of the Lord’s ruling His Kingdom, Satan has
been bound in chains to prevent him from deceiving the people as he deceived
Eve in the Garden of Eden. (Genesis Chapter Three) It is during this Millennium
that the people of Israel will teach the Gentiles as once envisioned under the Mosaic
Covenant. Afterwards, when God allows
Satan to be loosed to again deceive unbelieving mankind, those who believe Israel’s
teachings and the Just Rule of the Lord will be saved and live into eternity.
Dr. W. A. (Bill) Robinson
