Church Words 101: Covenant
The term “covenant” is significant and runs throughout the entire Bible. In fact, the term “testament” is another word for covenant, which designates the two parts of the Bible. Covenants were the means by which God revealed Himself and relates to His people. God both reveals what He is like and obliges Himself to a faithful course of action enacting grace, mercy, and justice through His covenants. Author Wayne Grudem defines covenant this way: “A covenant is an unchangeable, divinely imposed legal agreement between God and man that stipulates the conditions of their relationship. The elements of a covenant often include clear stipulations between parties, conditions of the covenant, and a promise of blessing for obedience and punishment for disobedience.”
There are several significant covenants throughout the scriptures. While the term “covenant” is not used in the account with Adam in Genesis, there appears to be references to a stipulated agreement, and this is often called the “covenant of works.” God speaks to Adam and gives Him commands that He expects him to follow. He tells Adam that he may eat of all the trees in the garden except for the tree of the knowledge of good or evil, or he would die. (Gen. 2:16-17) The punishment for disobedience would be death and the promise of blessing would be a spiritual life that lasted forever with God. Many times, a “sign” is associated with a covenant, and the tree of life in the garden may well represent such a sign.
After God sent a flood to the earth, He made a covenant with Noah that he would not again destroy the earth in this way. The sign of the covenant would be the rainbow, which would forever remind humanity of God’s faithfulness. The additional commands in Genesis 9:4-6 show the value of preserving human life since all humans bear the image of their creator.
God then made a covenant of promise to Abraham in which he promised that He would make him into a great nation, bless him, make his name great, and be a blessing. All the people of the earth will be blessed through Abraham. (Genesis 12:1-3) God announces this everlasting covenant with a sign of circumcision. This covenant was reiterated in Genesis 15 and 17.
Next, God made a covenant with Moses for how God’s people must conduct themselves in the Promised Land that God was giving to them as God’s chosen people. Israel was to keep God’s covenant by following the requirements of the commands and laws. (Exodus 20-23) This covenant would guarantee that God would have a people set apart to represent Him. This relationship was to be maintained through sacrificial worship, especially on the Day of Atonement, (Leviticus 16) which would atone for their sin and symbolically express God’s forgiveness towards them. This covenant was needed to secure a royal line through which Abraham’s ultimate Son and Heir (Jesus) would come. (Galatians 3:16)
God also made a covenant with David, promising that He would have a descendant sit on His throne forever. (2 Samuel 7) Many of the wicked kings had their reigns limited by their own disobedience and choices. Despite David and his sons’ failures, God remained and remains faithful. This, too, was an unconditional covenant, and one that would ultimately be filled by Christ. Time and time again, God’s people and his leaders fail. All the while, there is a climatic buildup for a King, a Messiah, to bring to fruition all that God promised.
In Jeremiah 31, God promised a New Covenant with His people. Israel continued to be faithless and break the terms of the covenant. In this new covenant, God would change the hearts of His people to empower them to be faithful. Not only this but Gentiles would be included in this covenant.
Professor Paul Williamson notes the following regarding this new covenant that Jesus enacts:
“Analogous conclusions are also drawn by the author of Hebrews. Having noted the superiority of the new covenant in 7:22, the writer elaborates his point through an extended comment on Jerimiah 31:31-34, which forms a literary bracket around much of the argument in Hebrews 8-10. Not only does Jesus exercise a permanent, perfect, and heavenly priesthood (7:23-8:6), but the covenant of which he is mediator is established on better promises (8:6), explained in terms of an eternal redemption (9:12) and eternal inheritance (9:15) secured through the blood of Christ (9:11-10:18)—later described as the ‘blood of the eternal covenant.’ Like Paul, therefore, the contrast is not between something bad and something good, but between something good (but temporary) and something better (because eternal).”
The covenant is significant for many reasons, but not the least of which is this: While we are faithless, God remains faithful! (2 Timothy 2:13) God always keeps His promises, and Jesus is the “yes” to all of God’s promises. (2 Corinthians 1:20) The invitation to all of us today is to be a part of this covenant-keeping God’s community by putting faith in Jesus Christ. Doing so ensures the promises of Revelation 22.
No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. – Revelation 22:3-5
