Comparison of God’s
principal Covenants:
1.
The
Noahic Covenant:
This
was the Covenant made by God
with Noah and all living creatures, which has no
conditions or obligations by
mankind attached to it. It is a covenant that promised the
preservation of
mankind after the deluge. (Genesis 9:16)
The covenant is,
therefore, a sovereign administration of grace and
forbearance, divine in its
origin, disclosure, confirmation and fulfilment.[1]
2.
The
Abrahamic Covenant:
(Circa BC 1913)
The
covenant with Abraham promised
him physical offspring and that nations would
come from him; it
was conditional upon their circumcision (Genesis
17:1–14).
However, it was also a Covenant of Grace—unmerited
by Abraham—and initiated
by God, while Abraham was
sleeping (Genesis 15:12–18;
17:2). The same covenant was to
be extended to his son (Genesis 17:19, 25, 28–34).
The three [promises]
expressly mentioned in connection with the covenant are the
possession of
the Land of Canaan, the multiplying of Abraham’s
seed, and the
promise that God would be a God to him and his seed
after him. [2]
3.
The
Mosaic Covenant:
(Circa BC 1491)
The
Covenant made with the Children
of Israel was a covenant that dealt with God’s
relationship with them as a
Nation. (Exodus 19:5–6;
34:10)
This was made with
Israel as a people who had been sovereignly chosen in love
unto redemption and
adoption. [3]
The
blessings of the Mosaic
covenant were conditional on their keeping the Ten
Commandments given at Mt.
Sinai. Figuratively, God was to be their husband, and
they were to be his wife.
The
Ark of the Covenant (and its mercy seat) was their life-line to God
on the annual Day of
Atonement. Their obedience would be displayed in the
promised blessings (Exodus
24:3–8),
but their disobedience would
bring cursing upon them. (Cf. Deuteronomy 11:16–17;
28:15–68)
Even
in this early covenant there
was a hint that God would expand this covenant to include
the Gentile nations
(Deuteronomy 29:9–15);
this expansion was prefigured
in the provisions already made under the Mosaic covenant
for the stranger
and sojourner
to join themselves to the Children of Israel (Leviticus
17:8–13,
22:18). In fact, strangers and sojourners from the Gentile
nations were already
present at Sinai on that day to hear Moses’ speech to the
Israelites. Towards
the end of Moses’ life (Circa 1451 BC), God promised to
send the Israelites
another Prophet like Moses from among their brethren—i.e.,
Jesus Christ, Jewish
Messiah—whose
Gospel message would be
preached to the whole world! (Deuteronomy 18:18)
4.
The
Davidic Covenant:
(Circa 1048? BC)
This
was God’s covenant promise to
King David (from the tribe of Benjamin/Judah), which was
later extended to
David’s son, Solomon. The Davidic Covenant centred on
the establishment of a
Royal throne in the house of David,
whose
descendants would rule over Israel.
It also deals with the establishment of a house for God to
dwell in, i.e., the
magnificent Temple built in Jerusalem by David’s son,
Solomon. The Davidic
Covenant is therefore eternal, and messianic in its
ultimate reference; it was
embellished and confirmed in the writings of Isaiah prior
to the Assyrian and
Babylonian invasions (Circa 712 BC). The servant of the
Lord is described as a Covenant
to the people. (Isaiah 42:6, 8; Psalm 89:3–4;
28–37;
132:11–18;
2 Samuel 7:12–17;
23:5)
5. Jeremiah’s
New Covenant: (Revealed Circa 606 BC, and fulfilled in
AD 30)
According
to his letter
(Jeremiah
29:10), which was sent to the exiles in Babylon, their
captivity would last for
70 years, and then God would perform His ‘good word’
toward them. Jeremiah then
wrote a book (Jeremiah
30–33) in similar vein, promising the people of
Judah that ‘after those
days of captivity’ God would institute a New
Covenant to supersede
the old Covenant of Law given during their Exodus from
Egypt. This New
Covenant would ‘put His Law in
their minds, and write it on their hearts; He will again
be their God,
and He will forgive their iniquity, and their sin,
and remember it no
more.’
All
of these promises were kept at Passover (Pesach) and
within the space of 50
days after the Feast of First Fruits (Resurrection
Sunday), when the 120
disciples received the Holy Spirit at 9 am on the day of
Pentecost (Omer count
50 to Shavout), 10 days after Jesus’ ascension (Acts
2:1–4).
6. The
Messenger of the Covenant: (Fulfilled in AD 30)
This
Covenant would include the
Gentiles. (Isaiah 42:1, 6; cf.
Isaiah 49:8; 55:3–4;
Daniel 9:27)
The Messiah is
Himself the covenant because the blessings and
provisions of God’s covenant
with the people of God are to such an extent bound up with
the Messiah that He
is Himself the embodiment of these blessings and of the
presence of the Lord
with His people which the covenant ensures.
[4]
Further
promises regarding the
coming Messiah of Israel, and His birthplace, were given
by Micah the prophet.
(Micah 5:2) It was through the purposeful and progressive
prophecies uttered by
a number of God’s prophetic servants that the Messenger of
the New Covenant was
foreseen and prepared for in Old Testament times.
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