In Sunday’s message I covered 5 of the covenants found in the Bible. There are far more than 5 covenants in the Word. I simply sped through 5 of the more familiar covenants and their themes. Jesus referenced a new covenant in his death (blood always represented death). He was the fulfillment of the greatest covenant God offer to humankind.
LUKE 22:20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
When the disciples heard him say that they knew the prophets had foretold a ne covenant that was coming. They were also familiar with Old Testament covenants like:
1. Noahic Covenant: In Genesis 8&9 God enters formal relationship w/ Noah & all living creatures promising that despite humanity’s evil he will never again destroy. Rather, he will preserve the world as he works towards fulfilling Genesis 3:15, rescuing humanity and creation through the offspring of the woman. He reiterates the cultural mandate (Genesis 1:28), inviting humans to partner with him in filling & ruling his world.
This covenant included a sign: the rainbow. It represented God laying down his weapon (bow) of destruction.
2. Abrahamic Covenant: God enters a redemptive partnership with Abraham, developed progressively in Genesis 12,15, and 17. He promises Abraham a huge family that will inherit a promised piece of land in Canaan and bring universal blessing to all humanity through his family. You can remember these promises like this: 1) offspring, 2) land, and 3) universal blessing.
The sign for this covenant was circumcision. It set the family apart and signified their dependence upon God for fertility and children.
3. Mosaic Covenant (Israel): God rescues Israel from slavery in Egypt and promises to make them his own treasured possession, a holy, set apart nation. He will personally dwell in their midst and bring them into the promise land. He (Yahweh) will be their God and they (Israel) will be his people. Moreover, they will be a kingdom of priests that mediate his goodness and glory to all the nations. An epic role in redemptive history.
This covenant also included a sign: the sabbath. One day per week was set aside to rest. This was a sign for God’s people and to the nations of their dependence upon the Lord.
4. Davidic Covenant: God establishes David as king over Israel and promises to make his name great. He’ll give David a royal kingdom in which the promises made to Abraham and Israel will be fulfilled through his lineage. God will raise up a Davidic descendant who will build a house for the Lord and his throne and kingdom will last forever. God’s steadfast love will never depart from him. But then prophets speak of a new covenant coming…
Jeremiah 31:31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make pa new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,
5. The New Covenant is the culmination of God’s saving work in his people. He promises to make an everlasting covenant with his people in which he will write his law on their hearts, bring complete forgiveness of sin, put his Spirit in them to empower them to love and obey his commands, raise up a faithful Davidic king to rule over them, bring them back into the land to reunify them into one people of God, and cause them to be a light to the nations. Wow!
"In the Old Testament, God dealt with His people as a nation...Their relationship was completely external. But in the New Covenant, the presence of God moved out of the temple and into our hearts." ~ John Chisum
Scripture: Hebrews 8:10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Here’s the best part. In each covenant God kept his Word, even though we didn't. Consider Abraham, God promises children. Abraham gets impatient and sleeps with his wife’s servant. God still blesses him with Isaac. Israel repeatedly abandons God and worships false idols. God still protects, corrects and even punishes them, but never allows them to be wiped out like so many other nations throughout history.
GOD KEEPS HIS PROMISES EVEN THOUGH WE DON’T. PRAISE BE TO GOD.