One of the basic guidelines of Christianity has always been that God’s Word must be carefully and systematically studied by believers of all ages.

Study it carefully, think of it prayerfully,
Till in your heart its precepts dwell.
Slight not its history, ponder its mystery,
None can e’er prize it too fondly or well.
—Unknown

One of the deep concerns of many church leaders is the biblical ignorance of so many church people. Precious time is spent in teaching everything but the Bible itself. Yet churches that do teach the Scriptures diligently and apply their teachings to modern living are the churches that are experiencing the largest growth. We never outgrow our need for the Bible; it becomes more helpful to us as the years go by. We must realize that God’s truth revealed to us is never contrary or apart from the Bible.

It was C. S. Lewis who reminded us that we are becoming now what we will be in eternity — “either something beautiful and full of glory or something hideous and full of darkness.”

A covenant is a formal agreement or treaty between two parties with each assuming some obligation. The first occurrence of the word is in Gen. 6:18: “But with thee [Noah] will I establish my covenant.”

In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word Berith is always translated as covenant. Berit has been used over 280 times and in all parts of the Old Testament. Berith is derived from a root which means “to cut,” and hence a covenant is a “cutting,” with reference to the cutting or dividing of animals into two parts, and the contracting parties passing between them, in making a covenant (Gen. 15; Jer. 34:18, 19).

God has conveyed to humanity the meaning of human life and salvation. Covenant is one of the central themes of the Bible, where some covenants are human to human, others between God and human beings.

Christians believe that prophecy eventually found fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. It is not accidental that the two volumes of the Bible have been called the Old Covenant and New Covenant (the word commonly translated “testament” means “covenant”).

The use of “Old Testament” and “New Testament” as the names for the two sections of the Bible indicates that God’s “covenant” is central to the entire book. The Bible relates God’s “covenant” purpose, that man be joined to Him in loving service and know eternal fellowship with Him through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ.

The essence of covenant is to be found in a particular kind of relationship between persons. Mutual obligations characterize that kind of relationship. Thus, a covenant relationship is not merely a mutual acquaintance but a commitment to responsibility and action. A key word in Scripture to describe that commitment is “faithfulness,” acted out in a context of abiding friendship.

In the Old Testament, the word “covenant” was used in an ordinary human sense as well as in a theological sense. An understanding of human covenants provides a starting point for understanding the covenant between God and human beings.

Students of the Bible hold wildly differing opinions as to how many major covenants exist (or did exist) between God and humanity, with numbers ranging from one to at least twelve. (See covenant theology and dispensationalism for further information on two of the major viewpoints.) In the Scripture, there was a focus on three types of covenants, namely: the Abrahamic covenant, the Mosaic covenant, and the New Covenant mediated by Jesus.

The Noahic covenant (Gen 9:8–17) applies to all of humanity and all other living creatures. In this covenant with all living creatures, God promises never again to destroy all life on Earth by flood Gen. 9:11 and creates the rainbow as the sign of this “everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth”. (9:12–17) Noah and the generations of his posterity were required in their turn never to shed blood, nor to consume it.

The covenant found in Genesis 12–17 is known as the “Covenant between the Parts” in Hebrew and is the basis for Brit Milah (covenant of circumcision) in Judaism. The covenant was for Abraham and his seed, or offspring, both of natural birth and adoption.

1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, 2 that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, 4 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojourning’s, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.” 9 And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me, you, and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, 13 both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.

Covenants in biblical times were often sealed by severing an animal, with the implication that the party who breaks the covenant will suffer a similar fate. In Hebrew, the verb meaning to seal a covenant translates literally as “to cut”. It is presumed by Jewish scholars that the removal of the foreskin symbolically represents such a sealing of the covenant.

With Abraham multiple promised lands were given to his innumerable descendants (Gen 15:18-21; 17:1-9, 19; 22:15-18; 26:2-4, 24; 28; 35:9-13; Gal 3; Abr 2:6-11), with circumcision marking them as a peculiar people set apart (Gen 17:10-13).

In Genesis chapters 12–17 In Genesis 12 and 15, God grants Abraham land and a multitude of descendants but does not place any stipulations (meaning it was unconditional) on Abraham for the covenant’s fulfillment. To make of Abraham a great nation and bless Abraham and make his name great so that he will be a blessing, to bless those who bless him and curse him who curses him and all peoples on earth would be blessed through Abraham. [Gen 12:1–3]

The Abrahamic covenant is part of a tradition of covenantal sacrifices that dates back to the third millennium BC. The animals that are slaughtered in the covenant in Genesis 15 are considered a sacrificial offering. And it is that covenant which preserves the sacrificial element alongside the symbolic act.

The Mosaic covenant made with Moses and the Israelite people at Horeb-Sinai, which is found in Exodus 19–24 and the book of Deuteronomy. In this covenant, God promises to make the Israelites his treasured possession among all people (Ex. 19:5) and “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Ex. 19:6) if they follow God’s commandments. As part of the terms of this covenant, God gives Moses the Ten Commandments (Ex 24:8). Beyond its central religious purpose, the Mosaic covenant was also political. It established Israel as a holy nation, God’s special possession (Ex. 19:5-6).

The Priestly covenant is the covenant that God made with Aaron and his descendants, the Aaronic priesthood, as found in the Hebrew Bible.

David (2 Samuel 7) made the royal covenant. It promised to establish his dynasty forever while acknowledging that its original royal-covenant promises had been given to the ancestor of the whole nation, Abraham.

The Davidic covenant (2 Samuel 7) establishes David and his descendants as the kings of the united monarchy of Israel. The Davidic covenant is an essential element in Christian theology. The messiah is believed to be a future Jewish king from the Davidic line, who will be anointed with holy anointing oil, gather the Jews back into the Land of Israel, usher in an era of peace, build the Third Temple, re-institute the Sanhedrin and rule the Jewish people during the New Age.

Theologian John F. Walvoord maintains that the Davidic covenant deserves a prominent place in determining the purposes of God, that Jesus will fully fulfill the Davidic covenant, the provisions list as:

David is to have a child, yet to be born, who shall succeed him and establish his kingdom. A son (Solomon) shall build the temple instead of David. The throne of his kingdom shall be established forever. The throne will not be taken away from him (Solomon). David’s house, throne, and kingdom shall be established forever (2 Samuel 7:16).

Christians believe that the New Covenant was instituted at the Last Supper, which in the Gospel of John includes the New Commandment. A connection between the Blood of Christ and the New Covenant is seen in most modern English translations of the New Testament with the saying: “this cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood”.

Christians see Jesus as the mediator of this New Covenant, and that his blood, shed at his crucifixion is the required blood of the covenant: as with all covenants between God and man described in the Bible, the New Covenant is considered “a bond in blood sovereignly administered by God”. It has been theorized that the New Covenant is the Law of Christ as spoken during his Sermon on the Mount.

A covenant is a concept central to the message and the history of the OT. The covenant theme continues into the NT as a way of interpreting the Christian gospel. Meaning in human life is to be found in a covenant relationship with the living God. Yet sinful human beings cannot work their way into such a relationship; God alone can initiate it. According to the NT, God’s act in giving his son Jesus to die opened up the covenant relationship to all human beings. The forgiveness made available by Jesus’ “blood of the new covenant” makes it possible for any individual to enter into a covenant relationship with God. Entry into such a relationship, today as in Abraham’s time, hinges upon faith (Gal 3:6–14).

In the same way as God wishes us to enter fully into our covenant relationship with Him, He has very fully entered into the relationship with us. Ultimately, He showed this in His even fuller entry into and understanding of human experience through the life and death of His Son, in whom He was supremely manifested. But even in the Old Testament, there are many examples of how God entered so painfully fully into the covenant relationship with His people but that is a tale for another time…

By Robert Trcopan