Formal contracts are important for several reasons in business, law, and personal relationships. They serve as legally binding agreements between parties, outlining the rights, obligations, and responsibilities of each party involved. In the event of a dispute, a formal contract provides a clear and enforceable framework for resolving conflicts. When God is involved, we call such agreements covenants. A covenant refers to a solemn agreement or promise made between God and humanity. Four important ones are worth looking at carefully. God’s covenants were to serve as binding agreements between parties. They outlined the rights, obligations, and responsibilities between God and humanity. In cases of dispute, it was and still is God’s covenants that provide us with a clear and enforceable framework for resolving our differences with God.
The first one, known as the Adamic Covenant, covers humanity’s responsibilities to God as His new creation. It has two parts:
The covenant was based on Eden and the innocence that existed there. The Adamic (or Edenic) Covenant outlined man’s responsibility toward creation and God’s directive regarding the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 1:26-30; 2:16-17). The Adamic Covenant included the curses pronounced against mankind for the sin of Adam and Eve, as well as God’s provision for that sin (Genesis 3:15). The second part of the covenant came after the fall, when God extended His grace to both Adam and Eve and saved them from immediate death.
(Genesis 3:16-19)1NIV New International Version Translations – “To the woman, he said, ‘I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor, you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.’ To Adam, he said, ‘Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, you must not eat from it, cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil, you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow, you will eat your food until you return to the ground since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
God created Adam and Eve and placed them in the Garden of Eden, a paradise, with only one restriction: they were not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. However, they were tempted by the serpent (Satan) and ate the forbidden fruit, thus disobeying God. As a result of their disobedience, Adam and Eve realized their nakedness and felt shame. God then expelled them from the Garden, cursing them and humanity with the consequences of sin, including pain in childbirth and toiling for food. We call this the “Fall of Man or Original Sin.” The Fall of Man represents the moment when humanity’s perfect relationship with God was broken due to disobedience, and sin entered the world. It is the foundation of Christian theology and defines our beliefs about human nature, sin, and the necessity for redemption through faith in Jesus Christ (See Lostpine’s Study: Three Guesses and the First Two Don’t Count).
Next was God’s covenant with Noah and his family, the survivors of the Great Flood.
(Genesis 9:1-17) – “Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands. Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. ‘But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. And for your lifeblood, I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each human being, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being. Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind. As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it.’ Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: ‘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 all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; 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. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.’ So God said to Noah, ‘This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.’”
In Genesis 9 Noah receives a covenant from the Lord. Part of the covenant removed the prior restrictions against eating meat, allowing Noah and his family to kill animals for food. However, the allowance came with this provision “But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it” (Genesis 9:4). One reason God prohibited the consumption of animal blood in the Old Testament was to teach respect for the sacredness of life. Blood is viewed as a symbol of life throughout the Bible (Leviticus 17:11). The Bible’s first mention of the word blood is found in Genesis 4:10 where God asks the murderer Cain, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.” The shedding of blood represents the loss of life. In the New Testament, the “blood of Christ” is a common figure of speech for the “death of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13; 1 Peter 1:19). It is through Christ’s sacrifice and blood, spilled upon the cross, that we are given life again!
We then have God’s promise to Abraham in the Book of Genesis that his descendants would become a great nation and inherit the land of Canaan. This covenant is foundational to the history and identity of the Jewish people.
(Genesis 15:1-6) – “After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.’ But Abram said, ‘Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit[c] my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?’ And Abram said, ‘You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.’ Then the word of the Lord came to him: ‘This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.’ He took him outside and said, ‘Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’ Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.”
Here again, we see God involved with His people. And once again, we see that the plan of the Incarnation of His Son, Christ, was always part of the salvation of humanity. It would be through Abraham’s genealogy that David, King of Israel would be the seed for the human genealogy of Jesus, the soon-to-be Christ, our Savior.
Along comes Moses, called the Mosaic Covenant (Sinai Covenant). This covenant was established between God and the Israelites at Mount Sinai. It includes the Ten Commandments and various laws and regulations. It came approximately a thousand years, or possibly thousands of years, after Noah and the flood. The Mosaic Covenant forms the basis of the Mosaic Law and the Old Testament. It remains, even today, the principal guide to the world’s morality. Here we find the details of the terms and conditions of an agreement in a structured and organized manner. This helps all parties involved to clearly understand what is expected of them, reducing misunderstandings and misinterpretations. The Mosaic Covenant is different because it is conditional. This covenant brings either blessing or curse depending on Israel’s obedience or disobedience (See Lostpine’s Study: Is Anything Sacred Anymore?). Two of the first covenants (Adamic, and Noahic) were made between God and mankind in general and were not limited to the nation of Israel. You can find the Mosaic Covenant in Exodus 19-24.
Ending the Old Testament Covenants is the foretelling of a New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34). This New Covenant is a covenant made first with the nation of Israel and, ultimately, with all humanity. In the New Covenant, God promises to forgive sin, and there will be a universal understanding of God in the world. Jesus Christ would come to fulfill the Law of Moses (Matthew 5:17) and create a final new covenant between God and His people. Because we are under this New Covenant, both Jews and Gentiles can be free from the penalty of the Law. All are now allowed to receive salvation as a gift (Ephesians 2:8-9).
On the night before Jesus’ crucifixion, His disciples prepared the Passover meal. The traditional Jewish Passover feast commemorates God’s rescue of Israel from Egyptian slavery. Jesus applied elements from this meal—bread and wine—to establish what He would accomplish on the cross as a permanent reminder to us all. When He took the cup of wine and blessed it, He said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you” (Luke 22:20; compare with 1 Corinthians 11:25). In referring to the new covenant, Jesus was announcing that through His death and resurrection forgiveness of sins would be made available to all and that humanity could once again live in communion with God (2 Corinthians 3:6). John 19:14 indicates that Pontius Pilate delivered Jesus to be crucified at the same time the priests sacrificed the Passover lamb in the temple. The timing was more than coincidence. It signified that “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7).
Contemplations
- Contracts have obligations – What do you think our obligations are now that we are under a New Covenant?
- Ideas to Explore: Are the other covenants, the penalties of malfeasance, still in effect? Must we accept Christ’s death as truth and seek Him as our Savior? Or all we have to do is love, right?
- Do you think that some of the “curses,” the penalties of prior covenants, are still in effect?
- Ideas to Explore: Does God still administer punishments? What might they be?
- Do you think that humanity lives like it has contractual obligations with God?
- Ideas to Explore: How would you tell? What are the behaviors you would expect to see if people still felt obligated to adhere to our covenants?
- What are your thoughts about Christ always being part of God’s plan for redemption?
- Ideas to Explore: (John 1:1-4) Christ was always part of the Universe. God was always seeking a perfect fellowship with His creation. This speaks to both the Design and Purpose of the Universe.
- When you partake in communion, where does your mind take you?
- Ideas to Explore: The Last Supper with Jesus; To the hill named Golgotha as a witness to the Cross; To the Upper Room along with the Apostle Thomas (doubting)?
- 1NIV New International Version Translations