An Introduction to Bible Covenants
By Hayes Press
()
About this ebook
The topic of Bible covenants might seem to be an unusual subject, but it's vitally important to get to grips with to understand how God wants to have a relationship with mankind. This little guide is a perfect way to get a quick introduction to the subject. The first chapter reviews the main components of the Biblical covenant with the following chapters taking a look at the main covenants in the Bible, as well as some lesser well-known ones. The final chapters analyse the progression of these covenants from Old to New Testament, from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant, and the final chapter concludes the book with a look at the relevance of the use of the word "Testament". Why do we have Old and New Testaments and how is this related to covenants?
Read more from Hayes Press
The Hidden Christ Volume 1: Types and Shadows in the Old Testament Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCalled to Serve: Lessons from the Levites Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsProfiles of the Prophets Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHeavenly Meanings - The Parables of Jesus Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBaptism - Its Meaning and Teaching Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBuilders for God Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStudies on the Resurrection of Christ Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLessons from Ezra and Nehemiah Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Hidden Christ - Volume 3: Types and Shadows in Genesis Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPossessing the Land: Spiritual Lessons from Joshua Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsExploring The Psalms: Volume 1 - Thoughts on Key Themes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAn Introduction to the Book of Hebrews Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKnowing God: His Names and Nature Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKeys to Church Growth Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Message of the Minor Prophets Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCollected Writings On ... Exploring Biblical Fellowship Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSpiritual Warfare: Satan and His Kingdom: Spiritual Warfare Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Hidden Christ - Volumes 1-4 Box Set Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsExploring the Psalms: Volume 3 - Surveying Key Sections Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsExploring The Psalms: Volumes 1-4 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Little Book About Being Christlike Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhat is the Kingdom of God? Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Psalms: Volume 4 - Savouring Choice Selections Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Bible - Its Inspiration and Authority Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCollected Writings On ... Exploring Biblical Joy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Faith: Outlines of Scripture Doctrine Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPrayer in the New Testament Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5An Introduction to the Holy Spirit Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCollected Writings On ... Exploring Biblical Holiness Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to An Introduction to Bible Covenants
Related ebooks
What Does the Bible Say About the Old and New Covenants? Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhy and How to Do Bible Study Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Way Forward: Nurturing New Believers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEvangelism and Christian Apologetics: Crash Course Training in One-On-One Evangelism Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Believing Behaving Faith: A Practical Commentary On James Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Message Jesus Preached: Things Were Different in the Church Jesus Started Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNow What? for Youth Salvation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Gospels Through Old Testament Eyes: Exploring Extended Allusions Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsI Love Thy Law: An Expository Study of the Book of Malachi Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMuch Fruit Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Tabernacle, Temple, and Sanctuary: Revelation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPractical Insights for Living: 40 Bible Studies from Proverbs Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOne Hour Bible Studies: 44 Different Topics of Study Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPsalms 42--89: A Christian Union Bible Study Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsYour Glory: A Biblical Study Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsProverbs Leader Guide: Pathways to Wisdom Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Message of the Kingdom of God Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsYour Old Testament Sermon Needs to Get Saved: A Handbook for Preaching Christ from the Old Testament Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Open Bible: The Gospel of Mark: Chapter 6 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChrist in the Old Testament: Types and Illustrations of Jesus Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrom Eden to Calvary: Jesus Christ, The Last Adam Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCalling to Christ: Where’S My Place? Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Survey of the Old Testament Volume 1 - Genesis to Ruth Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhy I Am a Baptist Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsExodus: Stories of Redemption and Relationship Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAn Examination of the Theme of Discipleship in The Seven Churches of Revelation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSaints & Scoundrels of the Bible: The Good, the Bad, and the Downright Dastardly Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Christ Portrayed in the Old Testament Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe True Vine Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPsalms 1--41: A Christian Union Bible Study Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Christianity For You
Winning the War in Your Mind: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wild at Heart Expanded Edition: Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Screwtape Letters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Decluttering at the Speed of Life: Winning Your Never-Ending Battle with Stuff Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mere Christianity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Four Loves Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Boundaries Updated and Expanded Edition: When to Say Yes, How to Say No To Take Control of Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Grief Observed Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Good Boundaries and Goodbyes: Loving Others Without Losing the Best of Who You Are Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Law of Connection: Lesson 10 from The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I'll Start Again Monday: Break the Cycle of Unhealthy Eating Habits with Lasting Spiritual Satisfaction Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies About Who You Are so You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Boundaries Workbook: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Don't Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table: It's Time to Win the Battle of Your Mind... Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Boundaries with Kids: How Healthy Choices Grow Healthy Children Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Uninvited: Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Less Fret, More Faith: An 11-Week Action Plan to Overcome Anxiety Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Changes That Heal: Four Practical Steps to a Happier, Healthier You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Stories We Tell: Every Piece of Your Story Matters Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Story: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bible Recap: A One-Year Guide to Reading and Understanding the Entire Bible Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for An Introduction to Bible Covenants
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
An Introduction to Bible Covenants - Hayes Press
CHAPTER ONE: AN OVERVIEW OF BIBLE COVENANTS (GEOFF HYDON)
A Major Issue in the Bible
Covenants are a primary feature of the Scriptures. There are almost 300 references in the Old Testament to various covenants, spread among 27 of the 39 books. And there are over 30 references to covenant or testament in the New Testament. Most of these Bible references are comments about covenants rather than the precise form of covenant wording. No single passage provides a comprehensive textbook definition of what a biblical covenant is. So we discover that what we miss in one covenant example we may learn in another, and so build a composite picture. This chapter will provide a brief overview of three different types of covenants we find in the Scriptures
Common features of a covenant have been addressed in the opening chapter. We conclude a covenant is more than just a declaration. The covenant ultimately exists in the relationship that is in view when the declaration is made. For instance, marriage, which dates back to the Garden of Eden, is a type of covenant (Malachi 2:14). We would not say that a marriage consists of a marriage certificate. That document may be required by local law or custom, but the marriage is the actual covenant relationship between the people.
We must keep in mind that the new covenant God has made with His present-day people is in every way better than the old; the old covenant with Israel was a lead-in, not a constraint, to the new. Rather, we gain insight into New Testament truth from what God progressively revealed in the Old Testament. So we do well to review Old Testament passages first in this study.
Types of Covenant
Covenants are solemn declarations governing important relationships. In one type of covenant the relationship is very one-sided. A superior states what is going to happen based on actions to be undertaken by an inferior. These are sometimes called suzerainty
covenants or treaties. A suzerain is a master. A second type of covenant found in the Bible is a covenant involving a mutual exchange of promises, confirmed by an oath. These are sometimes called parity treaties
. A third type is divine covenants, covenants God makes. We will look at them a little more below, but then the whole of the rest of the book will examine more closely each of the major divine covenants in turn as well as some lesser-known examples.
Suzerainty Covenants
Joshua 9:15 is an example of a suzerainty covenant. Joshua had the upper hand. The small, apparently weak, group before him said they were representatives of a distant people. They had heard how the Lord had fought for the children of Israel and therefore they sought terms of peace and promised to be Israel’s servants. Without seeking direction from the Lord, Joshua and the leaders of the congregation entered into a covenant with them and bound Israel not to attack the Gibeonites. However, the Gibeonites were among the local peoples that God had told Joshua to remove from the land. Nevertheless, Joshua would not back down from his covenant and the Gibeonites survived as Israel’s servants instead of being eradicated like their neighbouring kingdoms. In a world where an oath would be kept, the weaker of the parties could rely on the stronger party to live up to its commitments. Read the sequel in Joshua 10.
Other suzerainty covenants were established on the initiative of the stronger party after a military victory and simply imposed on the losing side (see 1 Kings 20:34; 1 Samuel 11:1-3). They were what we might now term peace treaties. In these victor/loser covenants, the losers would voluntarily accept the punishment conditions and swear to keep their side of the agreement. These oaths are called self-maledictory oaths because the party agreed to the curse being inflicted upon them. There are abundant examples of this type of covenant in historical literature.
Would we want God to make a covenant of this type with us, who stood in rebellion to Him? Is there a more pleasant type of covenant? Yes.
Mutual Covenants
We see mutual or parity covenants illustrated in relationships between Abraham and his neighbours (Genesis 14:13; 21:27), again with Isaac (Genesis 26:28), and between Jacob and Laban (Genesis 31:44). Solomon’s covenant with Hiram would fit under this category (1 Kings 5:12), in its objective of ensuring peace between neighbouring kings. A lovelier example of a mutual covenant would be that between Jonathan and David. 1 Samuel 18:3 says: Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.
Later, this relationship became the subject of a further covenant. First Jonathan gave up his regal garments and his weapons; then he gave up his title to the throne (1 Samuel 23:17). What did he get in exchange? Confirmation that David would be his loving protector, and that this would even extend to subsequent generations (1 Samuel 20:42). Now this seems a far more pleasant type of covenant. Would we not prefer God to covenant with us on this basis? But we are not capable of covenanting with God as equals.
Divine Covenants
There are examples in the Bible of covenants men made with God (e.g. 2 Chronicles 29:10; 34:31; Ezra 10:3), but these are really in the nature of re-accepting the terms of a covenant God first made with men. Divine covenants are not modelled on either of the previous types. Divine covenants came first. Jeremiah 33:20,25 and Hosea 2:18 mention covenants that seem to go back to early days of creation and span into the distant future. God’s covenant with Noah, and through him the whole of mankind, is central to understanding the account in Genesis 6-9, and a focus in Isaiah 24:5. Then we have another example in His covenant with Abraham and his sons (Genesis 15,17 and see Nehemiah 9:8), the Patriarchs. Then as God’s purposes in a collective people became clearer He expressed His covenant with Israel through Moses (Exodus 19-24), and this was subsequently reiterated (Deuteronomy 4ff) and renewed (Deuteronomy 29:1; Joshua 24:25). The Lord’s covenant with David (2 Samuel 23:5; Psalm 89; 2 Chronicles 21:7) is another example.
There is a close connection in these covenants with the Lord’s purposes in Israel’s occupation of the land of promise (Exodus 6:4), ruled under a theocracy. God desired to live among His people in the place of His choosing. His choosing, not theirs. In fact, that describes the essential feature of all divine covenants. God did not leave the terms to be decided mutually, for fallen human beings would not choose correctly. All the terms are chosen by Him and are simply presented without duress for acceptance. A key feature (Exodus 24:7) is:
All that the Lord has said we will do and be obedient
. This was exactly what God wanted to hear in response to His covenant terms. Thus He was justly able to fulfil His promises to Israel, and in keeping their word they evidenced they were a chosen race, the people of God, a holy nation, a kingdom of priests. And they had access to God’s house to bring Him acceptable worship and find resources to meet their every need. God covenanted with Aaron and the Levites for this purpose (e.g. Exodus 29:9; Numbers 25:12; Malachi 2:4). It was not that Israel was entitled to the distinguished titles God gave them, but it was necessary to show those titles were theirs. We remember the Lord’s words, If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them
(John 13:17).
God ordered that the tables of the covenant should be put inside the ark of the covenant (see 1 Kings 8:21). He did not leave in any doubt the terms of the covenant He made with Israel, nor the exceedingly precious place that covenant should be given by them. Without the protection of this divine covenant the people of Israel could not be sanctified for God to dwell among them. A correct appreciation of this aspect helps us to understand the reference in Hebrews 10:29 to the blood of the covenant.
The New Covenant
Covenants are more than the vital promises they contain (Galatians 3:18; Hebrews 8:6). Covenants are solemn, binding declarations that give effect to promises. The promise of eternal redemption is secured by the terms of the new covenant. Even the glorious promises given to Israel were to be surpassed. God promised a new covenant (Isaiah 61:8; Jeremiah