By David M. Williams davidmwilliams@geocities.com
Click here to find more of David M. Williams theological essays

The Bible uses just two words for "covenant" that occur 316 times in 295 verses. In the Old Testament tyriB] (berith) means literally a covenant, alliance, pledge, treaty, league, constitution, and an agreement. In the New Testament diaqh<kh (diatheke) means a disposition, arrangement, covenant, testament or will. In fact, the Old and New "Testaments" are really the Old and New "Covenants" - the new covenant being of course that which was established by Christ through His shed blood for the remission of sins (Matthew 26:28).

The Hebrew word above (berith) derives 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. This is illustrated in Genesis 15.

Jeremiah 34:18-19 contains another reference to this form of making a covenant.

A covenant can be between two individuals - for example, David and Jonathan in I Samuel 18:1-4

Another example is Genesis 21:32.

Marriage is referred to as "the covenant of God" in Proverbs 2:17. Wicked men are spoken of as acting as if they had made a "covenant with death" so that it will not destroy them, or with hell not to devour them (Isaiah 28:15,18).

Classically though, covenants are between nations or other powerful groups (for example, as in I Samuel 11:1; Joshua 9:6,15). At the international level - though there are covenants between equal parties - they usually involve an alliance between two unequal parties - the stronger one pledging protection and help to the weaker in return for some form of vassal status.

This is the pattern followed in the Biblical picture of God’s relationship with Israel. It is always made clear that the initiative is God’s - that He makes covenants with His people and not vice versa, and that He is the superior party in the covenant.

In the Old Testament, God promises His protection and His commitment to Israel, in return for which Israel must pledge to worship and serve Him alone, living in conformity with His moral and social standards.

This does not mean that God’s covenant is necessarily conditional. There are certainly obligations laid upon Israel. Israel must worship the Lord alone and be loyal to Him in every sphere of life. Israel must be God’s witness to all the nations. However, at heart the covenants are not based on Israel’s response to God, although this is not only expected but also demanded. The covenants of God are based completely on God’s gracious and sovereign choice of Israel. They are always based on God’s prior grace and will, and it always makes demands on the people involved in terms of how they must live their lives now that they are in a relationship with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

This does not apply just to Israel, but to the Church also. The New Testament contains many obligations on Christians, and many passages like the following,

God’s covenants are never, strictly speaking, conditional. God makes it clear that He will remove His blessings if Israel is disobedient (e.g. Deuteronomy 28:15-19) but He will never reject Israel or withdraw His loving commitment (as seen, for example, in Isaiah 49:15f and Hosea 11:8-9). God will certainly punish, but only as a result of His love for Israel, not because of any abandonment. The correct understanding of Biblical punishment is given in Proverbs 2:11

When God removes His blessings to Israel, it is not a sign of his rejection but in fact of the opposite!

Let us consider five principal covenants in the Bible.

1. The covenant with Noah. The first time the Bible speaks of a covenant is with Noah. In spite of the terrible way in which people had corrupted their lives and societies (Genesis 6:5-6), God renewed His commitment to humanity through the choice of Noah and his family -

But I will establish my covenant with you … (Genesis 6:18).

All of modern life was saved by this pre-flood covenant. The obligation which came to Noah, and which followed on from God’s election of Noah, was to be obedient in building the ark. This obedience was in turn dependent on his trusting relationship with God. After the flood, God’s pledge was renewed

I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you - the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you - every living creature on earth. I establish my covenant with you: Never again will the waters of a flood cut off all life; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.

And God said, This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. (Genesis 9:9-13).

Even though Genesis 9:4-6 details some definitions and limitations, no actual conditions are mentioned for the establishing of the covenant, and indeed the regular breaking of this boundary-setting does not bring about the abrogation of the covenant (note the pre- and post-flood comments in Genesis 6:5 and 8:21).

The very sign of the covenant - the rainbow - symbolises it as God’s transcendent commitment and responsibility as regards all of humanity (Genesis 9:12-17). Just as the rainbow is independent of humanity’s efforts and behaviour, so too is the gracious act of God in initiating and continuing the covenant.

God’s mission to the nations did not begin with the Great Commission of Mathew 28:18-20 but in Genesis. Through Noah God gave mankind a fresh start, but mankind rebelled against God at Babel when independence from Him was asserted. God consequently scattered the people into nations and languages. The first eleven chapters of Genesis record God’s dealings with the human race as a whole. From this time onward however, He planned to reach mankind family by family and nation by nation. It is this relationship of God to dispersed ethnic groups which acts as the background for the next covenant -

2. The covenant with Abraham. This is the covenant used as our example at the beginning, and is grounded in God’s gracious choice of Abraham (then Abram) involving him in a future which was not of his own choosing.

The Lord has said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.

"I will make you into 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 whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you. (Genesis 12:1-3).

The significance of this text cannot be fully appreciated until it is realised that there are three promises of blessing where God promises

This is immediately followed by a purpose clause - it was so "you will be a blessing". Hence, not one of these three promises of blessing was to be for Abraham’s own self-aggrandisement. Indeed, he and his nation were to be blessed so that they might be a blessing. But to whom? How? Let us consider further…

There were to be two whole classes of people: the blessers of Abraham, and the cursers of Abraham. The next two promises were

Again, however, a purpose clause is found, so that a fuller statement of God’s purpose can be given. It was "so that in you all the peoples on earth will be blessed".

This explains why there was so much blessing - Abraham and his descendants were to be missionaries and channels of the truth from the beginning. Again, God’s intention was to bless all His people in His creation -

I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you. (Genesis 12:3).

Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. (Genesis 18:18).

Abraham, a changed man because of this new covenant relationship - a change symbolised by his change of name - was chosen to be the channel of God’s redemptive purposes for all of humanity. This channel continued through the line of Isaac and Jacob.

Paul referred to this as the Gospel in Galatians 3:8 -

And the Scripture, forseeing that God would justify the nations by faith, preached the Gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying ‘In you all the nations shall be blessed’.

Abraham was obliged to keep the covenant which God had made with him (Genesis 17:9), although only the sign of circumcision was given as an actual demand upon the people of the covenant (Genesis 17:10). Christians are used to interpreting this in light of Paul’s teaching in Romans 2:25-29 where he stresses that true circumcision involves the willing and joyful surrender of the heart to God, and not just a physical ritual. However, the people of Israel appreciated this also, as seen in passages like Deuteronomy 10:12-16. Being in a covenant relationship with God brings its responsibilities, but always in response to God’s prior initiatives.

It cannot be emphasised enough that this covenant is the foundational one in the life of Israel. This is the call of Abraham and thus the call of Isaac and Jacob also, and therefore the call of the Jewish people as a whole.

1. The covenant at Sinai. Moses was the next Israelite leader chosen by God to mediate a covenant with Israel.

"I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation of the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the LORD, will do for you today. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare among you. Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles. Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is jealous, is a jealous God. (Exodus 34:10-14).

The Mosaic covenant did not in any way overshadow the Abrahamic covenant, but assumed and functioned within it, as evidenced by Exodus 2:23-24:

The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry went up to God. God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.

Israel was already referred to as God’s people (e.g. Exodus 4:22; Deuteronomy 8:5) - the call remaining the one which had come through Abraham. The two covenants did not conflict with each other; rather through Abraham God formed a people and through Moses He created a national constitution for those people. A great deal of stress was placed on Israel’s obligations concerning spiritual and ethical principles - as well as on socio-economic and ritual laws - because the people of God must live in accordance with God’s own holy nature (Leviticus 11:44).

It is important to realise that this distinctive lifestyle was not simply an end in itself. Israel was intended to be a witness to all the nations -

See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the LORD my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people." (Deuteronomy 4:5-6).

From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you will I fulfill my vows. The poor will eat and be satisfied; they who seek the LORD will praise Him - may your hearts live forever! All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, and all families of the nations will bow down before Him, for dominion belongs to the LORD and He rules over the nations. (Psalm 22:25-28).

Give thanks to the LORD, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done. (I Chronicles 16:8).

Hence, the overall perspective was maintained that God had made plain from the beginning. This is summed up by the notion of Israel, within this covenant, as a ‘priestly nation’ -

You will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation … (Exodus 19:6).

- priests serving to mediate between God and people, so that Israel - as a nation of priests - become the mediator between God and all the other nations. The prophets continued to remind Israel of this in every generation, for example, in Jeremiah 4:1-

"If you will return, O Israel, return to me," declares the LORD. "If you put your detestable idols out of my sight and no longer go astray, and if in a truthful, just and righteous way you swear, ‘As surely as the LORD lives,’ then the nations will be blessed by Him and in Him they will glory.

Israel was to portray God’s holiness to the nations around them. They were commanded to separate themselves from the heathen nations and not to worship their gods (Exodus 9:13-16; 34:10-16; Deuteronomy 7:6-9; 26:16-19; Isaiah 63:11-14).

As a reflection of God’s holiness, Israel was to be pure, totally separated from the moral pollution of neighbouring nations. Israel established an identity of separateness and God sanctified His name, setting it apart from the names of the gods that the Gentile nations worshipped.

The Sinai covenant, then, is a covenant of grace just like the others. The mass of laws given were not evidence of a legalistic relationship with God but rather the necessary code of practice for people who now belong to God and want to know how to live lives which will please Him - in just the same way that Christians live in accordance with strict moral rules, because their relationship with God is based on love and joy and who are grateful to know how to behave in the right ways to please God.

Throughout the time of the Old Testament, Israel was to proclaim God’s salvation to the nations (Deuteronomy 28:9-10; Psalm 67; 96; 105:1-11; Isaiah 49:6). Israel’s prophets expected that all nations on earth one day would acknowledge God (I Chronicles 16; Psalm 47; 96; 99; 100; 117; Isaiah 2:2-4; 40:5; 42:6; 49:6; Micah 4:1-3; Habbakkuk 2:14, 20; Zechariah 8:20-23).

God blessed Israel so that all nations may come to recognise His sovereignty.

2. The covenant with David. Israel had demanded a human king as well as the Lord because the people had seen the advantages that such had brought to the surrounding nations. The perceived benefits were

However, this reflected a turning away from complete trust in God Himself as Israel’s King, able and willing to protect and guide His people (I Samuel 8:6-9; 10:17-19). A King was granted to Israel, but when Saul proved to be disobedient and unworthy of the trust which the people had put in him, God did not turn to the people to point out this had been inevitable; rather from His grace and commitment to Israel He not only continued to allow a further series of kings, but actually initiated the election of a young shepherd. God made a covenant with David which promised that his descendants would always rule as the rightful kings in Jerusalem (as described in Psalm 89:3-4).

This covenant is significant as it forms the basis of the Messianic dynasty from which Jesus Himself is a descendant (Isaiah 11:1f; Ezekiel 34:22-24; Matthew 1:17; 9:27-34; 12:22-24).

As with the previous covenants, this one assumes the context of those that have preceded it. It existed for the benefit of Israel, and not for the glorification of David’s family.

1. The New Covenant prophesied by Jeremiah. This is the fifth of the major covenants detailed in the Scriptures, and its significance to Christians is clear.

"The time is coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them," declares the LORD. "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbour, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." (Jeremiah 31:31-34).

Israel had experienced a great revival of spiritual and moral life under the leadership of king Josiah after ‘the Book of the Law’ had been found in the Temple (II Kings 22-23). However, the people’s hearts were not sufficiently changed to make this a true and lasting reform of the nation’s life (Jeremiah 2; 5; 11). God desired for a new covenant relationship altogether.

It is the promise of such a new relationship which is seen in the prophecy of chapter 31 where the first thing highlighted is that this covenant will unite Israel and Judah - reconciling the kingdoms which were divided since the death of Solomon.

Secondly, there are no direct concerns about laws in this new relationship or any annulment of the laws or principles of the previous covenants. The problems of the past were due to the people, and not the covenants of God. A new heart was needed, and not new laws (Ezekiel 36:25-27). Paul explains in Romans 7 that in his conflict with God’s Law, it was he himself who was at fault. The Law was good, spiritual and godly.

This new covenant is, of course, that which Jesus has brought about. Hebrews 8 explains He is the High Priest and mediator of this new covenant. It is founded on better promises. Hebrews 9 explains Christ has obtained eternal redemption, and has enabled us to serve the living God. He was sacrificed to take away the sins of the people, and He will return a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation for those who are waiting for Him.

In each of these five covenants, spanning the entire time from Genesis 6 to the end of the Church era, God has used His people to bring the nations of the earth to Himself.

In the Old Testament the nations were to be led to worship God by the visible manifestation of the acts of God among the nation of Israel. Israel was never explicitly commanded to "go" and witness to the nations. While God clearly expressed His intention to draw all the nations to Himself, the manner in which this was to be done was centripetal - the nations were drawn to the worship of God because of His acts.

Even though Israel was not directly sent to be a witness to the nations, many Hebrews had contacts with the nations, and brought blessing to them. Abraham himself bore witness to Canaanites, Philistines and Hittites (Genesis 12:6-7; 21:33-34). Joseph blessed Egyptians in many ways (Genesis 41:16, 25, 28). Naomi was a blessing to two Moabite women, Ruth and Orpah (Ruth 1:8-9, 16-17). King Solomon was a blessing to the Queen of Sheba (I Kings 10:1). Esther and her uncle Mordecai were a blessing to the entire Persian Empire (Esther 8:17). The prophet Elijah was a blessing to a Sidonian widow in Zarapath and the prophet Elisha was a blessing to Naaman, an Aramean (I Kings 17:7-24; II Kings 5:1-18). Jonah was a blessing to the Gentile population of Ninevah, capital of Assyria. Daniel and his friends were a blessing to the Babylonians (Daniel 2:44-49; 3:24-30). Ezekiel, Jeremiah and other prophets declared the word of the Lord to various Gentile nations.

In the New Testament God’s methodology is different. The nations are to be drawn toward God as the Church goes to the nations to proclaim His works. God wants to draw all the nations to Himself, but the manner in which this will occur is centrifugal - the nations will acknowledge that God deserves their worship because the Church goes and proclaims the acts of God among them.

We return to the covenant of Abraham, again, however. After Abraham died, Isaac inherited the promises. Isaac did not see the complete fulfillment of the promise, and nor did Jacob who inherited them next (Hebrews 11:9). The promises were inherited by Israel (Romans 9:4-5) and although flourishing under certain kings, Israel did not see the complete fulfillment of God’s promises to Abraham. So what happened to them?

It was the Lord Jesus who finally inherited the promises made to Abraham centuries before. However, again, the One who finally inherited the promises died, and so once more, the promises were available.

When someone had died, it is necessary for their testament to be administered -

So, Jesus rose from the dead and became the legal administrator of His own testament.

When Jesus died, those who were of the faith of Abraham inherited the promises -

The apostle Paul’s understanding of God’s covenant with Abraham was the background of the great revelation that the Lord had given to Him, which he summarised in Romans 4:13-16 -

Abraham received the promise that he would inherit the world. However, it was the seed of Abraham - Jesus Christ - who really inherited the world. This fact was foretold prophetically in Psalm 2:7-8

When Jesus rose from the dead and was seated at the right hand of the Father, He received His inheritance -

However, in Christ, believers have become joint heirs and have therefore also inherited the world. This is a staggering thought! Even though the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one (I John 5:19), according to God the legal owner of the world is Christ and His Church.