Covenants in the Bible (Part II)

 

By: Richard N. Sison

 

 

In the previous issue, we discussed the first three covenants, namely, Edenic, Adamic and Noahic covenants. Now, we will discuss the next two covenant made by God to Abraham and Moses.

D. Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 12:1-4; 13:14-17; 15:1- 18; 17:1-8) Reconfirmed through Isaac (Genesis 26:2-5) Jacob (Genesis 28:1-4, 12-15). This is the first theocratic covenant. A Theocracy is a form of government in which, a divine power governs an earthly state. An unconditional
Theocratic Covenant then would be a covenant based solely on God’s Choices. This covenant is unconditional based solely on God’s grace, this “I will”, is for Abraham… also, it holds condition for the friends &enemies of his line as pertaining to the rule of God (Acts 26:6; Rom 9:5; 11:28;
15:8; Heb 1:1-3; John 8:39). This covenant is unconditional and contains a Messianic Prophecy:

a. Make you a great nation
b. I will bless you
c. Make your name great
d. Abraham would be a blessing
e. Blessing for those who bless
f. Cursing for cursing
g. In you all the families will be
blessed (Eph 3:14-21; Rev 7:9-10)
h. The Land of Israel

The sign of the covenant is circumcision. In response to the question, “How may I know that I will possess it?” God established a solemn covenant with Abraham. There were no “ifs” in the formal declaration of Genesis 15:7-18. The purpose of the covenant was to prove to Abraham that God would keep what He promised. If it were dependent upon Abraham’s actions it would not have been reconfirmed years later after much sinning, and yet it was reconfirmed to Abraham’s offspring in the same manner it was given to Abraham. (See Genesis 50:24-26 and Exodus 2:24; 6:2-8; Psalm 105:8-11; Luke 1:67-75; Hebrews 6:13-18) It guaranteed the permanent existence of Israel as a nation and it guaranteed Israel’s permanent ownership of the Promised Land

The Abrahamic covenant feeds into
three additional covenants:

E. Mosaic Covenant Exodus 19:4-6 (YHWH’s) 19:8 (Israel’s) 20:1-31:18 (specifics). This is the second theocratic covenant. The Law is composed of 613 (365 prohibitions and 248 demands) specific commandments probing every area of national life from personal matters like marriage,
sex, hygiene and diet; to public matters like finance, welfare, gove rnment and political alliances. The Mosaic Covenant was given by God to Moses to
manage His relationship to the children of Israel. This covenant is a temporary modification of the Abrahamic Covenant but does not in any way put aside the unconditional covenant with Abraham. The commandments were simple, comprehensive and just and can be classified into three areas:
a. The commandments containing the express will of God (Exodus 20:1-26).
b. Judgments relating to the social and civic life of Israel (Ex 21:1-24:11).
c. The ordinances (Ex 24:12-31:18).

There is no doubt that the Mosaic Covenant is conditional and, fortunately, temporary as it shadowed to Yeshua’s (Jesus) ultimate sacrifice at the cross when He died for our sins. The sign of the Mosaic covenant is the Sabbath. The Mosaic Covenant is the most remarkable legal code ever held among the ancient civilization. Given at Mt. Sinai under the most solemn of conditions the purpose was to teach Israel of God’s holiness,
His righteous demands and the seriousness of sin and to show the people there was never any way that man could possibly be in a position to save himself. In the formal declaration of the covenant (Exodus 19:5,6) God assures the Israelites that He would do three things IF they would obey Him:
1) He would make them a cherished possession of His own.
2) He would make them a kingdom of priests to mediate
God’s blessings to the Gentile nations.
3) He would make them a “holy nation” if they would obey Him. The death penalty was levied for murder, adultery, breaking the Sabbath, rebellion against parents, witchcraft, sorcery, spiritism, kidnapping, and sexual perversion (including homosexuality and bestiality). The children of Israel
were taught that the wages of sin is death!

The main components of this covenant are as follows:
a) Monotheism: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone” (Deut 6:4; cf. Exod 20:1-3)
b) Torah: the Law given on Mount Sinai, or Mount Horeb (esp. the Ten Commandments: Exod 20:1- 17; Deut 5:1-21)
c) Reciprocity of relationship: “I will be your God, you will be my people” (esp. Exod 6:7; Lev 26:12)
d) The “sign” of this covenant: the stone tablets on which the Law is written (Exod 24:12; 31:18; etc.)