God’s Covenants
God has made five key covenants with humankind throughout history, each building upon the previous one and revealing more of His redemptive plan for all of creation. These Biblical Covenants with God are central to the Hebrew Scriptures and provide a foundation for understanding God's promises and plan of salvation. From Noah to Abraham, Moses to David, these covenants reveal God's love and faithfulness to His people, despite their shortcomings and failures. But even when these covenants were broken by Israel, God promised a new covenant that would be fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah.
Covenant with Noah
The Noahic Covenant marked a new beginning for the world after the flood, and it included Noah and all his descendants, as well as every living creature on earth. God made unconditional promises to never again flood the earth and to maintain the order of the seasons and cycles of life. This covenant was guaranteed with the sign of a rainbow.
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Noah was a righteous man
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The Earth was corrupt
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God destroyed His creation except for Noah and his family
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God established His covenant with Noah, his descendants and with every living creature
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God promised to never destroy the earth with a flood again
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God put a rainbow in the sky as a sign of the covenant between Him and the earth
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This is a covenant of peace
9 …Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God…11…Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and full of violence…17 And behold, I will bring floodwaters upon the earth to destroy every creature under the heavens that has the breath of life. Everything on the earth will perish. 18 But I will establish My covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you…
9 “Now behold, I Myself am establishing My covenant with you, and with your descendants after you; 10 and with every living creature that is with you… 11 I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall never again be eliminated by the waters of a flood, nor shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth…” 12 God said, “This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations; 13 I have set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall serve as a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth.
9 For this is like the days of Noah to Me, When I swore that the waters of Noah Would not flood the earth again; So I have sworn that I will not be angry with you nor rebuke you. 10 Though the mountains will be removed and the hills will be shaken, my favor will not depart from you, and my covenant of peace will not be broken,” says Yahweh, who has compassion on you…
Covenant with Abraham
The Covenant with Abraham is a promise from God to make him the father of a great nation, based on his righteousness and obedience. In return, Abraham was asked to follow certain commands, including circumcision, which was a sign of his covenant with God. The promise was renewed through the covenant with his son, Isaac, and the descendants of Abraham were given the land of Canaan as their inheritance. This covenant paved the way for the coming of Messiah and the ultimate fulfillment of the promise that all families of the earth will be blessed.
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Abram ("exalted father") has to leave his country and his family and go to the land that God will show him
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God promises to make Abram a great nation and bless him
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God promises to bless those who bless Abram and curse those who curse him
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In Abram all families of the earth will be blessed
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Abram believes God and God counts it as righteousness
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God tells Abram to bring animals for sacrifice: a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a turtledove and a young pigeon
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Abram brings the animals and splits them open in half except for the birds
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During the sunset Abram falls asleep
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God shows him what will happen to his descendants in the future
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God gives Abram's descendants the land between Nile and Euphrates
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When Abram is 90 years old God changes his name to Abraham ("a father of many")
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God establishes a covenant with Abraham and his seed to be their God
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God gives Abraham circumcision as a sign of this covenant
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God gives Abraham son Isaac and a promise to make a covenant with him
1 Now Yahweh had said to Abram, get out of your country, and from your kindred, and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you: 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless you, and curse him that curses you: and in you shall all families of the earth be blessed.
6 Abram believed Yahweh, and it was credited to him as righteousness. 7 Yahweh also told him, “I am Yahweh, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” 8 But Abram replied, “Lord Yahweh, how can I know that I will possess it?” 9 And Yahweh said to him, “Bring Me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a turtledove and a young pigeon.” 10 So Abram brought all these to Him, split each of them down the middle, and laid the halves opposite each other. The birds, however, he did not cut in half. 11 And the birds of prey descended on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. 12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and suddenly great terror and darkness overwhelmed him. 13 Then Yahweh said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. 14 But I will judge the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will depart with many possessions. 15 You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a ripe old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” 17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch appeared and passed between the halves of the carcasses. 18 In the same day Yahweh made a covenant with Abram, saying, to your seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates…
1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, Yahweh appeared to Abram, and said to him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be perfect. 2 And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly. 3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, 4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. 5 Neither shall your name any more be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made you. 6 And I will make you exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come out of you.
7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your seed after you in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you, and to your seed after you. 8 And I will give to you, and to your seed after you, the land where you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. 9 And God said to Abraham, you shall keep my covenant therefore, you, and your seed after you in their generations. 11 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your seed after you; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. 12 And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant between me and you. 13 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of your seed. 14 He that is born in your house, and he that is bought with your money, must be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant...19 ...And God said, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son indeed; and you shall call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he bring forth, and I will make him a great nation.
21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear to you at this set time in the next year.
Covenant with Moses
After years of slavery in Egypt, God freed his people and lead them to the Promised Land. This was a forshadow of freedom from sin under the new covenant and of inhereting God's kingdom by believers in Christ. In return, God asked the Israelites to follow his commandments. As part of this covenant, God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, which continue to guide believers to this day. By following these commandments we can live a life in alignment with God's will.
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Moses and the house of Israel are delivered by God from slavery in Egypt
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If they obey God's voice and keep His covenant, they will be a kingdom of priests set apart to God
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God gives Moses two stone tablets with commandments inscribed by His finger
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After Moses breaks the tablets he has to chisel out new ones so God can inscribe the commandments again
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God gives Moses instructions on keeping the covenant which Moses has to write down
3 And Moses went up unto God, and Yahweh called to him out of the mountain, saying, you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; 4 You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I lifted you on eagles' wings, and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will obey my voice, and keep my covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure to me above all people: for all the earth is mine: 6 And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.
…Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us
and has released us from our sins by His blood, and has made us to be a kingdom of priests to his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
16 The Israelites must keep the Sabbath, celebrating it as a permanent covenant for the generations to come. 17 It is a sign between Me and the Israelites forever; for in six days Yahweh made the heavens and the earth, but on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’ 18 When Yahweh had finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, He gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.
1 Yahweh said to Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke… 10 …Then Yahweh said: “I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, Yahweh, will do for you. 11 Observe what I command you this day. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites 12 Be careful not to make a treaty with the inhabitants of the land you are entering, unless they become a snare in your midst. 13 Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles. 14 For you must not worship any other god, for Yahweh, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. 15 Do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you, and you will eat their sacrifices. 16 And when you choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will lead your sons to do the same. 17 You shall make no molten gods for yourselves 18 You are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, you are to eat unleavened bread as I commanded you. For in the month of Abib you came out of Egypt. 19 The first offspring of every womb belongs to Me, including all the firstborn males among your livestock, whether cattle or sheep. 20 You must redeem the firstborn of a donkey with a lamb; but if you do not redeem it, you are to break its neck. You must redeem all the firstborn of your sons. No one shall appear before Me empty-handed. 21 Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even in the seasons of plowing and harvesting, you must rest. 22 And you are to celebrate the Feast of Weeks with the first-fruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year. 23 Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord Yahweh, the God of Israel 24 For I will drive out the nations before you and enlarge your borders, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before Yahweh your God. 25 Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to Me along with anything leavened, and do not let any of the sacrifice from the Passover Feast remain until morning. 26 Bring the best of the first-fruits of your soil to the house of Yahweh your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk. 27 Yahweh also said to Moses, “Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.
8 Every Sabbath day the bread is to be set out before Yahweh on behalf of the Israelites as a permanent covenant. 9 It belongs to Aaron and his sons, who are to eat it in a holy place; for it is to him a most holy part of the offerings made by fire to Yahweh—his portion forever.
Covenant with David
Through His covenant with David, God promised to establish His eternal throne and a resting place in Zion. This covenant ultimately brought about salvation for all through the coming of the Messiah.
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God promises David to establish David's offspring and throne forever
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God will place one of David's descendants on his throne
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If David's sons keep God's covenant they will also sit on this throne
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God chooses Zion as a resting place for His throne forever
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God will bless Zion with abundant provision and salvation
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In Zion will be a place for the Messiah
3 You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant, 4 I will establish your offspring forever, and build your throne for all generations… 28 …I will forever preserve My loving devotion for him, and My covenant with him will stand fast. 29 I will establish his seed forever, his throne as long as the heavens endure.
11 Yahweh swore an oath to David, a sure oath he will not revoke: One of your own descendants I will place on your throne. 12 If your sons keep My covenant and the testimony I will teach them, then their sons will also sit on your throne forever and ever. 13 For Yahweh has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His home: 14 This is my resting place for ever and ever; here I will sit enthroned, for I have desired it. 15 I will bless her with abundant provisions; I will satisfy her poor with bread. 16 I will clothe her priests with salvation, and her saints will sing out in joy. 17 There I will make a horn grow for David; I have prepared a lamp for My anointed one.18 I will clothe his enemies with shame, but the crown upon him will gleam.
Broken Covenant
The history of Israel serves as an example of the consequences of breaking a covenant with God. Through their disobedience of God's laws, they brought a curse upon themselves. This broken covenant between Israel and God pointed to the need for a new covenant that can reconcile us with our Creator.
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God repeatedly warned Israel to obey Him, but they didn't
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The earth is defiled by it's people by them breaking the covenant and disobeying God's laws
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The curse consumes the earth and people must bear their guilt
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God sends out the enemy against His house
5 The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant. 6 Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt…
7 From the time I brought your ancestors up from Egypt until today, I warned them again and again, saying, “Obey me.” 8 Yet they would not obey or incline their ears, but each one followed the stubbornness of his evil heart. So I brought on them all the curses of this covenant I had commanded them to follow but they did not.
17 Therefore this is what Yahweh says: You have not obeyed Me; you have not proclaimed release, each man for his brother and for his neighbor. So now I proclaim release for you, declares Yahweh release to fall by sword, by plague, and by famine! I will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. 18 And those who have transgressed My covenant and have not fulfilled the terms of the covenant they made before Me, I will treat like the calf they cut in two in order to pass between its pieces.
6 Tell the rebellious house of Israel that this is what the Lord Yahweh says: ‘I have had enough of all your abominations, O house of Israel. 7 In addition to all your other detestable practices, you brought foreigners uncircumcised in heart and flesh into my sanctuary, desecrating my temple while you offered me food, fat and blood, and you broke my covenant.
1 Put the trumpet to your lips! Like an eagle the enemy comes against the house of Yahweh, because they have transgressed My covenant, and rebelled against My law.
The New Covenant
The new covenant is a promise of forgiveness and freedom from sin. The law is no longer written on tablets of stone, but on our hearts. Our new heart and spirit enable us to live a life that is pleasing to God and allows us to live according to the spirit rather than the letter of the law.
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God promises to make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah
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It will be different from the previous covenant
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God will put His law in their minds and write it on their hearts
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Everyone will know God
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God will forgive and forget people's sins
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God will cleanse His people
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God will give His people a new heart and put a new spirit in them
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Because of the blood of this covenant God will release prisoners from waterless pit (hell)
31 Behold, the days are coming, declares Yahweh, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt a covenant they broke, though I was a husband to them,” declares Yahweh 33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares Yahweh. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will each man teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know Yahweh,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares Yahweh. For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.
24 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 25 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.…
He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
11 As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit.
28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
5…our competence comes from God. 6 He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life…
6 Now, however, Jesus has received a much more excellent ministry, just as the covenant He mediates is better and is founded on better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need to look for a second one.
Further Bible studies: