The first of these covenants ( Gen 15) formally ratified God’s promise to make Abraham into a “great nation” ( Gen 12:2), thus the primary focus is on how God will work out his creative goal in Abraham’s biological “offspring,” subsequently identified as the sons of Jacob (Israel). The First of the God’s Covenants with Abraham Indeed, if Gen 17 is read in conjunction with Gen 22 (see below), these chapters arguably present a second covenant-one that is distinct from, but related to, the earlier covenant established in Gen 15. While many hold that the latter simply elaborates or enhances the covenant already established back in Gen 15, the different circumstances and emphases at very least suggest that this is a significant second stage in God’s covenant history with Abraham. 4–6, 16), where God announces an “everlasting covenant” ( Gen 17:7), the so-called “covenant of circumcision” ( Acts 7:8). “cuts”) “a covenant with Abram” ( Gen 15:18) (2) the international dimension of the promise is apparently ignored in Gen 15, but it is alluded to in Gen 17 (cf. Significantly, each of these two aspects are subsequently ratified by covenant: (1) the national dimension of God’s promise is the focus of Gen 15, where God establishes (lit. (2) through him God would mediate blessing to others (i.e., all peoples on earth). (1) God would make him into a great nation and so make his name great. The essence of these divine promises is that God would bless Abraham in two ways. The promises encompassed by the patriarchal covenants (those God established with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) are recorded in Gen 12:1–3. That global emphasis in Gen 1–11 isn’t lost in the subsequent chapters of Genesis and beyond, despite their narrowing focus. It is at least implicit from the scope of this covenant that God’s redemptive goal will ultimately encompass all creation. This further highlights the primary rationale for this covenant: preserving life on earth without further divine interruption. Moreover, the additional commands ( Gen 9:4–6) emphasize the value of human life in particular. God’s covenant with Noah reaffirms his original creational intent that the flood had “disrupted.” So he solemnly promises that a suspension of the natural order will never again interrupt ( Gen 8:21–22 9:11–15) the fulfillment of humanity’s creational mandate (cf. The first mention of this covenant highlights God’s plan to preserve Noah and the others in the ark ( Gen 6:18). While God announces his covenant with Noah and all creation prior to the flood ( Gen 6:18), he establishes it after the deluge subsides ( Gen 8:20-9:17).

Each covenant provides further divine assurance that God will realize his purpose for creation in general and humanity in particular by fully establishing his kingdom on earth. However, while the concept of a covenant may not appear until after the flood, the major divine-human covenants (Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, Davidic, and the new covenant) all support and advance God’s creative (and redemptive) goal. That covenant affirms God’s commitment to creation after the flood. Understanding covenant in the more formal sense, the first divine-human covenant is the one God established with Noah (cf. Others, however, while not denying that God had a relationship with Adam involving mutual obligations, distinguish this from a covenant, which involves additional formalizing elements such as a sworn and/or enacted oath. They refer to this covenant with Adam as “the covenant of works” or a “covenant with creation”. WHERE IS GOD’S COVENANT MENTIONED?Īlthough the Bible does not explicitly mention a covenant until Gen 6:18 (when God announces that he intends to establish a covenant with Noah), many believe that God made a covenant with Adam (cf. This excerpt is from the NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible. Let’s learn about the covenants in the Bible, like God’s covenant with Abraham, and how Christ ultimately fulfills them. So the biblical history of salvation and the unfolding of God’s covenants are almost synonymous. The concept exists at significant points in the Bible’s storyline and is the theological glue that binds promise to fulfillment. It is reflected in the traditional labels Old and New Testaments, i.e., covenants. Covenant is one of the most important theological ideas in biblical theology.

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