The Bible composes 5 covenants that God establishes with His people throughout history. This is important because covenant reflects the relationship God has with humanity and the Kingdom He has built.
Covenant relationship
In the beginning, God presented a partnership relationship with His special creation. Mankind is originally designed to partner with God in keeping and tending His creations. Moreover, God’s Kingdom is established by keeping a covenant promise with His people. But, men rebelled and wanted to create a world on their own terms. They broke the covenant by rejecting His rule.
So, He chose a smaller group of people to restore His kingdom and made a new partnership by upholding a covenant.
A covenant conveys the idea of a solemn commitment, guaranteeing promises or obligations undertaken by one or both covenanting parties. The promises include blessings for obedience and punishments for disobedience.
5 covenants
Throughout history, there are 5 covenants recorded in the Bible:
- Noah Covenant
The first covenant appeared after the great flood. God solemnly promises never to destroy creation again (Gen. 9:8-11). - Abrahamic Covenant
The second covenant of God is with Abraham. God chooses him and blesses him. Through him, blessings will come to nations. (Gen.12:2) - Mosaic Covenant
Abraham’s descendants, the tribe of Israel, were next to establish a covenant with God. As His set of people, the covenant expects Israel to obey the commands God gave to Moses. (Exod. 20) - Davidic Covenant
The tribe of Israel then became a great nation ruled by King David. God’s covenant with David involves David’s descendants and promises that He will build a dynasty for David. (1 Chr. 17) - New Covenant
The New Covenant is God’s own solution to men’s failures in keeping the covenants. And it is fully expressed through the Person of Jesus. He fulfilled all covenants:
– In the Noah Covenant, He became the Son of Man and image of God (1 Cor. 15:45)
– In fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant, He is the offspring of Abraham and agent of universal blessings (Acts 3:25)
– He fulfilled the Mosaic Covenant by representing Israel as God’s Son, Yahweh’s servant, and the One who fulfilled all the law’s demands. (Col. 2:17)
-For the Davidic Covenant, Jesus is from the seed of David and the King of the Jews.
This is one of the reasons Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matt. 5:17)
Reference: Youtube | Bible Project