Covenants in History
After the Flood, God began again, now with Noah and the people
who came afterward. With them, too, He sought a relationship, and
central to that relationship was the idea of covenant. The Bible identi-
fies seven major covenants that God has made with people:
First Covenant—Adam (Genesis 1–3)
Second Covenant—Noah (Genesis 6–9)
Third Covenant—Abraham (Genesis 12:1–3)
Fourth Covenant—Moses and the Israelite nation (known as Sinaitic
or Mosaic Covenant; Exodus 19–24)
Fifth Covenant—Phinehas (Num. 25:10–13)
Sixth Covenant—David (2 Sam. 7:5–16)
Seventh Covenant—New Covenant (Jer. 31:31–34)
Read the following texts. What do they mean by the “everlasting cove
nant”? Gen. 9:16, Gen. 17:7, Isa. 55:3, Heb. 13:20.
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The Bible incorporates the term “everlasting covenant” 16 times. Out
of them, 13 are specifically applied to the covenants with Abraham,
Israel at Sinai, and David. Each of the covenants mentioned above,
although unique, bore the imprint of “the everlasting covenant.” Just
as the everlasting gospel is first announced in Genesis 3:15, but then
progressively revealed throughout the Bible, the same applies to the
everlasting covenant. Each consecutive covenant serves to expound
and deepen our understanding of the everlasting covenant of love,
which is revealed most fully in the plan of salvation. The New and Old
Covenants, as they are often distinguished, contain the same compo-
nents.
1. Sanctification: “I will put My law in their minds, and write it on
their hearts” (Jer. 31:33, NKJV; compare Heb. 8:10).
2. Reconciliation: “I will be their God, and they shall be My
people” (Jer. 31:33, NKJV; Heb. 8:10).
3. Mission: “No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and
every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all
shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them”
(Jer. 31:34, NKJV; Heb. 8:11).
4. Justification: “I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will
remember no more” (Jer. 31:34, NKJV; Heb. 8:12).
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