Covenants in Genesis Part 3

This is my last post on the covenants in Genesis.

I've found Michael Lawrence's comments on the covenants helpful, so below are a few paragraphs from his book Biblical Theology:

Covenant of Creation
This is the initial covenant made with Adam in Genesis 2:15-17. As Romans 5 makes clear, he entered into that covenant as the representative of the entire human race. Its blessings or curses would fall on us all. The blessing was implied - the promise of eternal sinless life. The curse was death. The stipulation was to refrain from eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, as well as working and guarding the garden of Eden. In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve's loyalty to God was tested. They failed the test and broke the stipulations. The curses followed immediately and have continued to work themselves out through all of history and each of our lives.

Covenant of Redemption
This is an intra-Trinitarian covenant in which the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit agree together to accomplish the redemption of a people. This covenant is implied in Genesis 3:15, and referred to in other Old and New Testament passages (cf. Isaiah 49, Psalm 2, Psalm 110, John 5, Revelation 5). What's interesting about Genesis 3:15 and what suggests that there is covenant behind these words is that in the midst of the curse on the serpent, God himself undertakes obligations and makes promises. This covenant becomes the basis for the covenant of grace in all its various administrations. Its outlines are worked out through the rest of Scripture.

Noahic Covenant
This covenant is made with Noah and all living creatures in Genesis 9:8-17. It's called a covenant of grace because of the unilateral promise on God's part. It's called a covenant of common grace because it applies to all people, whether they trust in God or not. The purpose of this covenant is to provide the field upon which the story of redemption will run its course. Judgment is postponed until redemption is full accomplished. Thus, quite appropriately, the sign of this covenant is the rainbow, a symbol of God the warrior's bow, held at rest!

Abrahamic Covenant
This covenant is recorded in Genesis 15:1-21 and picks up God's original purpose with Adam - the creation of a people who will display his glory as vice-regent image-bearers on earth. However, it's made not with all humanity, but with Abraham and his seed. God does make demands upon Abraham's obedience, but this is fundamentally a covenant of grace. God promises Abraham a people and a place under God's benevolent rule, and the blessings of this covenant will eventually flow to all the earth. The sign of the covenant - circumcision - is given in Genesis 17.

Lawrence, Michael  Biblical Theology in the Life of the Church, A Guide for Ministry (Wheaton: Crossway, 2010), 59-60.

Covenants in Genesis Part 2

With my last post in mind, below I have looked at the various covenants in Genesis and tried to fit the pieces together into the form of a ancient Near Eastern covenants (note that I didn't do this for the marriage covenants in Genesis). Again, while each has the elements that fill out the form of many covenants in ancient Near Eastern culture, it seems that these covenants weren't recorded with a specific order or structure in mind. There is continuity and discontinuity in the form of each of them. I have found it helpful to look for the various elements in them, partly because it has helped me see the continuity and discontinuity more clearly.

This is merely my attempt to fit some of these things together. First, this is by no means perfect, and I'm open to suggestions for how it could be better. Second, much more could be said for each one of these, and for each of the various categories. That said, hopefully I've put enough information down to show some of my thought process. For my purposes, I'm just covering things at a fairly high level so I can get back to blogging through the rest of Genesis.

Lord willing, tomorrow I'm going to post a brief summary of the four covenants between God and men in Genesis from Michael Lawrence's book Biblical Theology:

I. God's Covenant with Adam also called "Adamic Covenant" or "Covenant of Creation" (see Hosea 6:7 and Romans 5)

Genesis 2:15-17 
"15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, 'You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.'"

Parties of the Covenant: God and Adam (with implications for all mankind)
Type of Covenant: Covenant of Works

1. Preamble ~ The "LORD God" (Gen. 2:15).
2. Historical Prologue ~ Pre-fall: God put Adam in the garden of Eden (Gen. 2:15). Post-fall: God didn't kill them. 
3. Stipulations ~ Pre-fall: Keep garden, eat of any tree but the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:16-17). Post-fall: The creation mandate for mankind doesn't change, but because of their sin God punishes them by making their roles more difficult (Gen. 3). Further, their works will not be enough to reconcile them to God (see the next covenant below, the Covenant of Redemption).
4. Document Clause ~ Implied by the fact it's contained in the 1st book of the Pentateuch (Deut. 17:18; Psalm 1:1-2 etc.). Evidenced by the fact that we still have a record of it.
5. Blessings ~ Pre-fall: Implied that they will not die or be separated from God's pleasure (Gen. 2:17). Post-fall: Implied that though they die, through Eve's seed a messiah will come (Gen. 3:15).
6. Curses ~ Pre-fall: They would surely die (Gen. 2:17), and their creation roles would be more difficult (see God's punishment in Gen. 3). Post-fall: Though we die an eternal second death will be faced.
7. Oath/Sacrifice ~ Pre-fall: God's act of creating them, the oath is established by giving them His image, and giving them flesh, blood, and life. Post-fall: God's extension of life to people to be able to come to a knowledge of Yahweh by not immediately killing Adam and Eve, and by His continued provision for mankind, even after the fall. The blood sacrifice that shows this is when the Lord killed animals to cloth Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:21).

II. God's Covenant of Redemption

Genesis 3:15 (see Jim Hamilton's article on this)
"And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” 

Psalm 48:7-8,
"7 No man can by any means redeem his brother or give to God a ransom for him - 8 for the redemption of his soul is costly and he should cease trying forever[.]"

Isaiah 53:10
"Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand." 

Luke 24:27,
"And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself."

Luke 10:18-19,
"18 And He said to them, 'I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you[.]'" 

Romans 16:20
"The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your [the church in Rome's] feet[.]” 

Parties of the Covenant: All 3 persons of the 1 God, to save believing mankind
Type of Covenant: Covenant of Works (Intra-Trinitarian) / Grace to undeserving beneficiaries

1. Preamble ~ God will give a son to Eve (Jesus Christ) who will crush Satan's head (Gen. 3:15).
2. Historical Prologue ~ The entire Old Testament through the gospels (Note especially Luke 3:21-38, Jesus is the seed/son of Adam that was promised in Gen. 3:15).
3. Stipulations ~ He will be crushed to save His people (Isaiah 53:5, 10; Matt. 1:21; etc.).
4. Document Clause ~ Implied by the fact it's contained in the 1st book of the Pentateuch (Deut. 17:18; Psalm 1:1-2; 2 Tim. 3:16-18; etc.).
5. Blessings ~ Salvation for those who repent and believe in Jesus Christ (Mark 1:15; Rom. 10:9-10; etc.).
6. Curses ~ Eternal damnation for those who reject the Son (Psalm 2:12; Matt. 25:41; etc.).
7. Oath/Sacrifice ~ The death of Jesus Christ (Isaiah 53; Rom. 3:22-26; Gal. 3:13-14; Matt. 26:28; 1 Cor. 11:25;  represented in the New Covenant life of the church in/through the Lord's Supper.

III. God's Covenant with Noah also called "Noahic Covenant"

Genesis 6:18
"But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you." 

Genesis 8:20
"Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar." 

Genesis 9:8-17
"8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9 'Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. 11 I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.' 12 And God said, 'This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 13 I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.' 17 God said to Noah, 'This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.'" 

Parties of the Covenant: God and Noah (and Noah's family and every living creature)
Type of Covenant: Covenant of Grace

1. Preamble ~ God is the king establishing this covenant (Gen. 6:18).
2. Historical Prologue ~ Genesis 7-8 (not to mention Gen. 1-6).
3. Stipulations ~ The only stipulation is what God has established for Himself (Gen. 9:15-16).
4. Document Clause ~ Implied by the fact it's contained in the first book of the Pentateuch (see Deuteronomy 17:18; Psalm 1:1-2, etc.). Evidenced by the fact that we still have a record of it.
5. Blessings ~ This is a covenant of common grace which promises blessing to all by virtue of being part of the creation (Gen. 9:8-17). In this sense it is a covenant of common grace to all.
6. Curses ~ This appears to be a promise to withhold the curse of death to the entire world until the end of time, but there is no curse for disobedience stipulations of this covenant. This is a one way covenant from God to the creation.
7. Oath/Sacrifice ~ The sign and seal of this covenant isn't primarily a sacrifice in blood but a bow in the clouds (Gen. 9:12-13), as if God were laying down His weapon. That said, Noah's sacrifice (Gen. 8:20) seems to be in response to God's promise of a covenant (Gen. 6:18). Also, the blood shed in God's judgment through the flood could definitely be seen as part the sacrifice given in order to seal/establish this covenant (Gen. 6:17; 9:15).

IV. Abram Part 1: Initiation of the "Abrahamic Covenant" 

Genesis 15:1-20
"1 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: 'Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.' 2 But Abram said, 'O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?' 3 And Abram said, 'Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.' 4 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: 'This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.' 5 And he brought him outside and said, 'Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.' Then he said to him, 'So shall your offspring be.' 6 And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness. 7 And he said to him, 'I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.' 8 But he said, 'O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?' 9 He said to him, 'Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.' 10 And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half. 11 And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. 12 As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then the LORD said to Abram, 'Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. 14 But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15 As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. 16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.' 17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, 'To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, 19 the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.'"

Parties of the Covenant: God and Abraham (and his posterity that God chooses)
Type of Covenant: Covenant of Grace. This is a self-maledictory oath (compare verse 17 with Jeremiah 34:17-20 especially 34:18)

1. Preamble ~ The LORD, Yahweh (Gen. 15:1).
2. Historical Prologue ~ Yahweh brought Abram out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give him the land of Canaan to possess it (Gen. 15:7).
3. Stipulations ~ Believing the LORD (Gen. 15:6). It appears though that God's going to give Abram the gift of belief anyway though, and God's choosing of Abram isn't dependent upon his believing in God. God's choosing of Abram produces the fruit of belief in Abram.
4. Document Clause ~ Implied by the fact it's contained in the first book of the Pentateuch (see Deuteronomy 17:18; Psalm 1:1-2, etc.).
5. Blessings ~ An heir for Abram (Gen. 15:4), offspring as numerous as the stars (Gen. 15:5), counting belief in Him as righteousness (Gen. 15:6). The land of Canaan as a possession for Abram's offspring (Gen. 15:18-21). God prophesies of Israel's slavery in Egypt of 400 years and that God will deliver them in accordance with His choosing of Abram (Gen. 15:13-14).
6. Curses ~ These aren't detailed, but the implication is that for those who reject faith in God in Abram's lineage will not be counted as the people of God (i.e. Ishmael, Esau, etc. Also, see Jer. 34:18).
7. Oath/Sacrifice ~ Sacrificing a heifer, female goat, and a ram (all 3 years old). The Lord cut them in half and laid them across from each other, and then Yahweh passed through the pieces, swearing an oath on Himself. Also, a turtledove and a young pigeon were sacrificed (but He didn't cut the birds in half). (Gen. 15:9-10).

V. Abram Part 2: Re-affirmation/Re-establishment of the "Abrahamic Covenant" 

Genesis 17:1-21
"1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, 'I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, 2 that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.' 3 Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, 4 'Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.' 9 And God said to Abraham, 'As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, 13 both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.' 15 And God said to Abraham, 'As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.' 17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, 'Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?' 18 And Abraham said to God, 'Oh that Ishmael might live before you!' 19 God said, 'No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. 20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year.'"

Parties of the Covenant: God and Abraham (and his posterity that God chooses)
Type of Covenant: Covenant of Grace

1. Preamble ~ God Almighty is making the covenant (Gen. 17:1).
2. Historical Prologue ~ Genesis 15-17 (not to mention Genesis 1-14).
3. Stipulations ~ To walk before God blamelessly (Gen. 17:1), and to circumcise the all those who are part of the household, not just family (Gen. 17:14).
4. Document Clause ~ Implied by the fact it's contained in the first book of the Pentateuch (see Deuteronomy 17:18; Psalm 1:1-2, etc.).
5. Blessings ~ That Abram would be the father of a multitude of nations (Gen. 17:5), and the promised land of Canaan (Gen. 17:8), a child, Isaac, at their old age, and that Yahweh would be the God of their offspring. (Gen. 17:8). The chosen line will be Isaac, not Ishmael (Gen. 17:19, 21).
6. Curses ~ To be cut off from the people of God (Gen. 17:14).
7. Oath/Sacrifice ~ The change of Abram's name to Abraham (Gen. 17:5) and Sarai's name to Sarah (Gen. 17:15), also circumcision (Gen. 17:10-12).

VI. Abraham & Abimelech

Genesis 21:22-34
"22 At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army said to Abraham, 'God is with you in all that you do. 23 Now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my descendants or with my posterity, but as I have dealt kindly with you, so you will deal with me and with the land where you have sojourned.' 24 And Abraham said, 'I will swear.' 25 When Abraham reproved Abimelech about a well of water that Abimelech's servants had seized, 26 Abimelech said, 'I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, and I have not heard of it until today.' 27 So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a covenant. 28 Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock apart. 29 And Abimelech said to Abraham, 'What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?' 30 He said, 'These seven ewe lambs you will take from my hand, that this may be a witness for me that I dug this well.' 31 Therefore that place was called Beersheba, because there both of them swore an oath. 32 So they made a covenant at Beersheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army rose up and returned to the land of the Philistines. 33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and called there on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God. 34 And Abraham sojourned many days in the land of the Philistines."

Parties of the Covenant: Abimelech and Abraham

Type of Covenant: Covenant of Works

1. Preamble ~ Abimelech and Phicol with Abraham (Gen. 21:22).
2. Historical Prologue ~ God is with Abraham in all he does, so they wanted to make a covenant with him so that he would deal kindly with them as they had with him (Gen. 21:22-23).
3. Stipulations ~ Deal kindly with each other (Gen. 21:22-23), in other words not steal wells, etc. (Gen. 21:25-26).
4. Document Clause ~ Implied that they would keep record of this somehow (orally or written).
5. Blessings ~ Peace (the entire passage alludes to this).
6. Curses ~ War/strife (implied).
7. Oath/Sacrifice ~ Abraham gave Abimelech livestock as a witness to the covenant (Gen. 21:27-31).

VII. Isaac & Abimelech

Genesis 26:26-33
"26 When Abimelech went to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army, 27 Isaac said to them, 'Why have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and have sent me away from you?' 28 They said, 'We see plainly that the LORD has been with you. So we said, let there be a sworn pact between us, between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you, 29 that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the LORD.' 30 So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31 In the morning they rose early and exchanged oaths. And Isaac sent them on their way, and they departed from him in peace. 32 That same day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well that they had dug and said to him, 'We have found water.' 33 He called it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day."

Parties of the Covenant: Abimelech and Isaac
Type of Covenant: Covenant of Works

1. Preamble ~ Abimelech, Ahuzzath, and Phicol with Isaac (Gen. 26:26).
2. Historical Prologue ~ The LORD has been with them, that they would not do them harm just as they have not harmed them (Gen. 26:28-29).
3. Stipulations ~ Not do each other harm (Gen. 26:28-29).
4. Document Clause ~ This is implied to be done (either orally or written, and by virtue of the fact it's in Genesis today shows this was done).
5. Blessings ~ Peace
6. Curses ~ War/Strife 
7. Oath/Sacrifice ~ The covenant was sworn to and the oath was established in the context of a meal/feast. The sacrifice may be seen as the animals that were killed for the feast (Gen. 26:30-31).

VIII. Jacob & Laban: 

Genesis 31:44-54 
"44 'Come now, let us make a covenant, you and I. And let it be a witness between you and me.' 45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. 46 And Jacob said to his kinsmen, 'Gather stones.' And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there by the heap. 47 Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed. 48 Laban said, 'This heap is a witness between you and me today.' Therefore he named it Galeed, 49 and Mizpah, for he said, 'The LORD watch between you and me, when we are out of one another's sight. 50 If you oppress my daughters, or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one is with us, see, God is witness between you and me.' 51 Then Laban said to Jacob, 'See this heap and the pillar, which I have set between you and me. 52 This heap is a witness, and the pillar is a witness, that I will not pass over this heap to you, and you will not pass over this heap and this pillar to me, to do harm. 53 The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.' So Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac, 54 and Jacob offered a sacrifice in the hill country and called his kinsmen to eat bread. They ate bread and spent the night in the hill country."

Parties of the Covenant: Laban and Jacob
Type of Covenant: Covenant of Works

1. Preamble ~ Laban with Jacob (Gen. 31:44).
2. Historical Prologue ~  Genesis 28-31.
3. Stipulations ~ When out of sight, Jacob is to not mistreat Leah and Rachel (Gen. 31:49-50), and to not pass over the pillar of stones to harm one another (Gen. 31:52).
4. Document Clause ~ This is implied, but the heap of stones seems to fill out this function too (Gen. 31:46-52). As if it were a stone of remembrance.
5. Blessings ~ Peace/prosperity.
6. Curses ~ War/strife (implied).
7. Oath/Sacrifice ~ God is called to witness their oath (Gen. 31:49, 50, 53), and Jacob offered a sacrifice and he called his kinsmen to eat bread together (Gen. 31:53-54). The heap of stones seems to have acted as a visible marker of their pledge as well (Gen. 31:46-52).

Covenants in Genesis Part 1

"Covenant" is one of the central themes of Genesis. So, it's appropriate to spend a few posts thinking about what a covenant is in Genesis. In a book that was just published, How to Read the Bible Through the Jesus Lens, Michael Williams writes that the theme of Genesis is, "God separates out one through whom he would bless all nations." (p. 13) The way that God separates His people is by choosing them and entering into a covenant with them.

What is a Covenant?
Here's a brief definition of what a covenant is: "A solemn commitment, guaranteeing promises or obligations undertaken by one or more parties, usually between a being with more authority and someone with less authority." In ancient Near Eastern culture this was most commonly seen between great kings and vassal kings. In essence a covenant functions similar to a contract, but it encompasses much more. When a covenant is taking place between men in Genesis it includes a third party witness, namely God. If it is a covenant made with God, it comes from God to the man (with implications for his familial posterity or society in general). Further, if the covenant is between God and man it is God who initiates and establishes the covenant.

Covenants are not merely made, but the verb enacting the covenant is actually "to cut" (karat = cut; berit = covenant). Covenants were forged through the cutting of flesh and the shedding of blood. This affirms and bears witness to a covenant's solemnity and finality.

"[A] covenant is not merely a 'contract' or a 'promise' as we understand such things. Rather, it's a bond that establishes an all-encompassing relationship. A covenant is not merely a financial obligation or a military treaty. It's a claim on someone's total loyalty and allegiance . . . it's generational. When Israel entered the covenant, they did so for the generations yet to come." (Lawrence, 57)

Covenants can even be accompanied by a "self-maledictory oath", which in essence means the initiator says, "may what has happened in the slaughter, cutting, and dividing of these animals happen to me if I do not fulfill my end of the covenant." Further, when God makes covenants with people it may issue in a name change. A person's very identity as an individual can be changed because of a covenant with God.This is serious stuff.

2 Kinds of Covenants
Generally speaking, in the Bible there are two kinds of covenants: (1) Works and (2) Grace. The covenant of works requires obedience to the stipulations that are laid out. The covenant of grace requires nothing of the vassal king, it's the forging of a legal relationship out of generous love, goodness, and benevolence.

Ancient Near Eastern Structure of a Covenant 
Here are the elements that are included in many ancient Near Eastern covenants, which are shown in different ways in the covenants of Genesis (see Michael Lawrence, p. 56):

1. Preamble ~ This identifies the king who authors the covenant.
2. Historical Prologue ~ Outlining the kings past grace to the vassal king serving as a foundation for the vassal king's obedience.
3. Stipulations ~ Outlining what is expected of the vassal king.
4. Document Clause ~ This required that each king keep the record of the covenant and read it from time to time.
5. Blessings ~ The good things that would happen if they were obedient to the covenant.
6. Curses ~ The bad things that would happen if they were disobedient to the covenant.
7. Oath/Sacrifice ~ After all these terms were fulfilled in some way the covenant would be ratified by an oath that involved the shedding of sacrificial blood.

Note that this is a structured covenant form of a covenant was not necessarily detailed out in the formation of God's people in Genesis. We'll see later in the Pentateuch that the Mosaic covenant exhibits these marks more clearly. 

I have attempted to fit the covenants of Genesis into this scheme, and to be honest they are a little awkward, so I'm not so certain that the covenants of Genesis were following a prescribed order. However, I think its clear that many of the marks of what would later become a systematized structure are either implied or actually seen in the accounts.

In my next post I'll show how I've fleshed this out in various covenants in Genesis.

All Covenants Point to Jesus
The covenants all foreshadow and point straight at Jesus Christ, the guarantor of a better covenant (Heb. 7:22), which is built on better promises (Heb. 8:6, c.f. 12:24). All previous covenants (in fact all covenants period, marriage or otherwise) point to the covenant that was forged in Jesus' blood for the forgiveness of sins. All mankind carries the covenant obligation to be holy as God is holy. All mankind carries the obligation to live a perfect life. This is a daunting thought, because we can't do it. And we need to come to this sober realization, that everyone's relationship to God is in part a legal one. It's much more multi-faceted than just this, but our lives say something about God, and we are bound by virtue of our existence and nature to obey God's commands and be perfect as He is perfect. This is the case, because we all bear His image. If we don't fulfill our obligations as His image bearers we will be objectively/forensically and legally evaluated, and God's just ruling will be that we "miss the mark". This aspect of the covenant points to the bad news of the Bible. We are all under the condemnation of God because of our inherited and willful rebellion against Him.

This then gives way to the good news of the Bible. By virtue of the covenant God has made through Jesus Christ we have the opportunity to become part of God's family by adoption as sons! The "covenant of grace" we have witnessed beginning in Genesis 3:15 has found it's full completion and consummation in the New Covenant in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Messiah that would come to crush the head of God's enemy. Jesus was the perfect man that Adam never could have been. Jesus not only consummated the "covenant of grace" to our benefit, but He even fulfilled the "covenant of works" on our behalf. Jesus even fulfilled the just punishment that should be credited to our account because of our sin. The covenant God has made is forged by the power of Jesus' indestructible life. Now, through Jesus Christ we can be God's chosen people of the covenant, only through Jesus Christ. There is no other way that we can be justified before the legal demands of God's law.

The promise of covenant blessings that come because of faithfulness to the covenant obligations can now assuredly be ours by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. Genealogy, ethnicity, and works no longer have a bearing on who is marked out as the chosen covenant people of God. It is only in Christ that anyone can be saved into a covenant relationship with God, case closed. And what is the covenant promise and blessing that we can be certain to have through Jesus Christ? God Himself! We can be reconciled to God, not bearing the weight of God's wrath, but we can be freed through Jesus Christ to walk in uninhibited relationship and access to Yahweh, in His perfect joy, holy delight, all-powerful love, incomprehensible beauty, and incorruptible goodness.