Treasures New and Old

Genesis: Chapter Eight: Covenants

This month we will wrap up our study of Genesis, Chapter 7 and 8. At this point, the waters have receded from the earth, there’s enough dry land to have land plant growth already (remember the dove brought back and olive leaf by now), and it’s time for Noah and his family and all of the animals to leave the ark. But the real focus for the lesson this month is regarding the covenant God had made with Noah. This is actually the first reference in the Bible using the word covenant. Although many consider the promise God made by having the seed of the woman crush the head of the serpent after Adam and Eve sinned as a covenant called the Adamic covenant, the word covenant is not used in that instant.

Therefore, this is our first look at a covenant relationship between God and man that He has specifically designated as a covenant. We will take this opportunity to look at more than just Noah’s covenant with God, but what are covenants, what kind of covenants, and will list several covenants that have occurred throughout the Bible. So, let’s go ahead and begin . . .

First, the Scriptures in Genesis, Chapter 8

Genesis 6:18: “But with thee will I establish my covenant (beriyth (Strong’s H1285)); and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy son’s wives with thee.”

Noah is commanded to leave the ark with all life

Genesis 8:15-19: “And God spoke into Noah, saying, Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons’ wives with thee. Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth. And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him: Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark.”

Quick recap:

• God commands: Noah and all life are to now leave the ark and start over on the earth.

• God reiterates to Noah the same command he gave to Adam, that of multiplying, being fruitful, and replenishing the earth with life.

• And so, all life left the ark, and the wording in the Hebrew indicates two things: (1) that all of the animals went out in their various pairs, male and females; and (2) that the animals went out as kinds. What does it means? It means that the animals went out not with all the variations that one can find within a particular kind today but with only the male and female of that species. Therefore, for instance, the dog kind may have included a large male wolf and its mate. The horse kind may have included one horse and its mate, and so on.
  

• However, of the clean animals, seven pairs of male and female went out but also in their “kind”. So, for example, I would expect that there were seven pairs of sheep that may or may not have been different (in variety) but most likely were the same.

• I suspect with the bug kind there was a queen and a drone, (male and female) of each creeping thing.

Noah builds an alter and offers sacrifice unto the Lord

Genesis 8:20-22: “And Noah built an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the LORD smelled a sweet savor; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day with night shall not cease.”

Quick recap:

• Our first covenant: Although the word covenant is not exactly stated in Chapter 8, it is stated in Chapter 6. The Hebrew words for covenant are listed below, and the word used in Chapter 6 is beriyth which refers to a cutting covenant, a sacrifice with bloodshed.
  

• And, indeed, Noah sacrificed burnt offerings upon the altar that he built after everyone left the ark. We can safely assume that the animals used were all clean.

• God never promised that there would never be another flood. He promised to never again destroy all life on the earth by a flood. We know from reading Revelations that a great fire will burn up the old earth so that God can make it new. I find it interesting that God will use fire next whereas He used a flood first.

• There is included in this new covenant a promise by God that we will always enjoy seasons, seedtime and harvest, summers and winters, cold days and hot days, and, of course, day and night. The cycles are key to all life on earth today. And God has kept that promise and will continue to keep it until the new heaven and new earth are established.

Covenants

• (Strong’s H1285) beriyth: a compact (made by passing between pieces of flesh), confederacy, league. Two root words:
  

• (Strong’s H1262) barah: to select, to feed, to render clear or to choose, cause to eat, give meat, to manifest.
  

• (Strong’s H1254) bara: to create, to cut down (a word), select, feed, choose, creator, dispatch, do, make (fat); to bind (a fetter or obligation)
  

• A covenant was ratified between two parties by eating the sacrifice of the party’s offering, at the time when offered. This, then, imparted the conditions selected for the covenant to be ratified. To cut or strike (in half), to slay an animal and divide its pieces; (both God – man and man – man).

Permanent – No termination – Conditions specified

(The following is loosely taken from Glower pgs. 362-363 and Unger pg. 595)

Who: Greater (initiator) and lessor (acceptor) parties

What: A mutual pact of agreement

Where: Often at a place of initiator or neutral place under the watchful eye of God (understood)

When: A mutually beneficial time, usually evening meal

Why: Not easily broken, much more than a contract, often binding for generations

How: 1) Covenant meal sealed the “deal”, parting of flesh and walking between it, breaking of bread. 2) A token or gift is given, or something is erected (pillar of stones) to act as a reminder of the covenant.

CONTRACT: Compact (agreement – syntheke (Greek – not in the Bible)) between two parties based on equal (or acceptable) exchange and for a specified time period; often contained clauses that specified acceptance terms for contract termination.

COVENANT: (Strong’s G1242) diatheke, An arrangement made by one party with plenary powers, which the other party may accept or reject, but whose conditions are not open to change or modification.

TESTAMENT: The unilateral enactment of making a disposition of one’s own property; a will. Root of diatheke is (Strong’s G1303) diatithemai.

Differences between Covenants and Contracts

Contracts are never used in the Old Testament or New Testament

1. Covenant initiator:     GOD/man/husband
2. Covenant acceptor:     Abram/woman/man/nation
3. Initiator conditions:     Salvation/blessings
4. Acceptor conditions:     Obedience/faith/circumcision
5. Covenant seal:     Blood/salt/bread/water
6. Covenant tokens:     Stones/rainbow/ark-tablets/cross/Last Supper
7. Covenant act of ratification:    Cutting/pass between/eat meal together

Two Prominent Covenants in the Bible:

Covenant of blood:     Blood/lambs/bulls/goats/Christ

Covenant of love (HESED):     Lovingkindness

Last Supper:

• Matthew 26:17-30: “testament” is covenant
• Mark 14:17-26: breaking of bread/body
• Luke 22:14-23: drinking of cup (blood); Passover (eat) lamb/blood on doorposts
• John 13:1-18:1; 1Corinthians 11:23-24

LOVE:

1. Ah-havah or ahab aheb: root: ah-hav (Strong’s H157): what God or a man delights or earnestly desires.
2. Chesed – Ghed-sed (hesed) (Strong’s H261): mercy, kindness, loving-kindness, favor; (Micah 7:20) “covenant love”
3. Rayah – Rag-yah (Strong’s H7474): my love, my lover (Song of Solomon 6:4; 9:1, 15; 4:1, 7; 5:2)

COVENANT EXAMPLES: (Wigram, pgs. 272-618)

• Abraham – to divide (Genesis 15:1-18)
• Job – a league – a binding (Job 31:1)
• Noah – a binding/with annual sacrifice (Genesis 8-9)
• Joshua – a league – salt or bread (Joshua 9:15-16)
• Yearly – blood (Hebrews 13:20; Hebrews 9:22; Hebrews 9:7; Exodus 30:10; Zechariah 9:11; Leviticus 17:11)
• Marriage – meal (Genesis 24:33-60; Malachi 2:14-16)
• David – salt (2 Chronicles 13:4-5)
• Hosea 1:1-2; Hosea 2:1-23; Hosea 14:4-7; Hebrews 9 and 10 selected; Ephesians 5:25

Differences Between Old and New Covenants

** Note: because God established marriage, the covenant is really His. To break a marriage is to break covenant with God – as well as the fathers and mothers and families involved.

Covenant

Exodus 6:6-8: “Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for a heritage: I am the LORD.”

Some Definitions of Covenant

Amanah: A sure covenant, firm covenant: [fem. noun: <H548>; fem. of AMEN <H543>] This word means agreement, faith, support; it is also translated firm agreement, binding agreement, certain portion, fixed provision, firm regulation. It occurs in Nehemiah 9:38 and Nehemiah 11:23. In Nehemiah 9:38, it is the object of the verb kara (TO CUT <H3772>), which is also used in the idiom to make (lit., to cut) a covenant, suggesting a possible semantic overlap (Pidgeon).

Beriyth [fem. noun: <H1285>; from EAT <H1262> (in the sense of cutting; like CREATE <H1254>)] This word means treaty, alliance, agreement. It is used many times in the Old Testament. Its basic uses are outlined here. It describes covenants, or agreements between and among human beings: between Abraham and the Amorites, Abraham and the Philistines, Jacob and Laban, etc. (Gen. 14:13; 21:27, 32; 31:44). The nations were said to have made a covenant against Israel (Ps. 83:5). It is used figuratively to depict a covenant with death (Is. 28:15, 18) or with the stones of the field (Job 5:23) (Pidgeon).

The corresponding word in the New Testament Greek is diatheke (Zodhiates, pg. 425), which is, however, rendered “testament” generally in the Authorized Version. It ought to be rendered, just as the word beriyth of the Old Testament, “covenant.”

The word testamentum is often used in Latin to express the Hebrew word which signifies covenant; whence the titles, Old and New Testaments, are used to denote the old and new covenants (Webster).

“I Will” of God’s Covenanting Grace

The Lord covenanted with Himself that He would bless His people, and He always keeps His word. See the seven “I wills” of His pledged word in Exodus 6:6-8 (Marsh):

1. The I will of deliverance. “I will bring you out.” (also first cup of Passover meal – Cup of Sanctification)

2. The I will of liberty. “I will rid you of their bondage.” (also second cup of Passover meal – Cup of Deliverance)

3. The I will of power. “I will redeem you.” (also third cup of Passover meal – Cup of Redemption)

4. The I will of relationship. “I will take you to Me for a people.” (also forth cup of Passover meal – Marriage Cup)

5. The I will of friendship. “I will be to you a God.”

6. The I will of blessing. “I will bring you into the land.”

7. The I will of inheritance. “I will give it to you for a heritage.”

The New Covenant

The new covenant hinges on God’s grace (Romans 3:24; 5:15-21; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5). By this covenant, God makes those once a not people a people of God and obtaining mercy (Hebrews 8:8; 10; 1 Peter 2:9-10). But this is not automatic. If people want to enjoy this blessing, they must, in faith and obedience, respond back to that grace (Galatians 3:14; Hebrews 5:9; 1 Peter 1:2).

The old and new covenants are quite different. The old covenants were lacking in the ability to be wholly adequate and sufficient. They were made before Christ, and could not give permanent salvation. Only Christ’s propitiating death does that. Before Christ, new covenants were always being made. The next one always promising something better (Hebrews 8:6-9, 13; 10:9-10).

The new covenant does not demand obedience to a set of external laws (which Christ fulfilled), but puts the Holy Spirit within us. It does not require priests to mediate on our behalf, because Christ is the only mediator for all believers who now have a direct relationship with Him. As far as the east is from the west, our sin is now forgotten (Hebrews 8:10-12).

The linchpin of the new covenant is Jesus Christ’s death. He is the mediator of the covenant. His blood seals the covenant (1 Corinthians 11:25; Hebrews 9:15; 12:24). The shedding of that innocent blood allows complete forgiveness of sin. The new covenant brings actual cleansing (forgiveness), not mere symbolic, ceremonial cleansing (Matthew 26:28; cf. Hebrews 9:19-22). This covenant is eternal, there is no need for another. So also the blessings that spring from it are everlasting (Hebrews 10:16-18; 13:20).

Maranatha!

Bro. Joe

Glower, R. (1987). The New Manners and Customs of Bible Times. Chicago, Illinois: Moody Press.

Marsh, F. E., (2007). 1000 Bible Study Outlines: Study Helps and Sermon Outlines. Wordsearch. (2020). Wordsearch Bible. [computer software] . Nashville, TN: LifeWay Christian Resources.

Pidgeon, E. R., (2016). AMG’s Comprehensive Dictionary of the Old Testament Words. Wordsearch. (2020). Wordsearch Bible. [computer software] . Nashville, TN: LifeWay Christian Resources.

Strong, J. Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries. Meyers, R. (2005). e-Sword. [computer software] . Franklin, TN: Equipping Ministries Foundation. (Original work published 1539)

Unger, M., Nelson, G. (1984). The New Unger’s Bible Handbook. Chicago, Illinois: Moody Press.

Webster, Noah. Noah Webster’s First Edition of an American Dictionary of the English Language Facsimile Fifth Edition. San Francisco, CA now at Chesapeake Bay, VA: The Foundation for American Christian Education. 1987. (Original work published 1828)

Wigram, G. V. (Ed.). (1970). The Englishman’s Hebrew and Chaldee Concordance of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House.

Zhodiates, Dr. S. (Ed.). (1992). The Complete Word Study Dictionary New Testament. Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.