COVENANT
(Heb. “berit”, Gr. “diatheke”; these terms are commonly translated as “covenant”, although also sometimes as: “covenant” or “testament”).
There are two kinds of them contemplated in the Scriptures:
(a) the covenant of a man with his equal, or of nation with nation, in which the terms of the covenant, or alliance, are mutually considered and consented to, or imposed.
It is then ratified by oath, or by some pledge, before witnesses. It is this type of covenant that is alluded to in Gal. 3:15: A covenant between men, if confirmed, cannot later be manipulated by additions, nor abrogated.
When Abraham purchased Ephron the Hittite’s field at Machpelah, he paid the money “in the presence of the sons of Heth” as witnesses, and so it remained firmly in his possession (Gen. 23:16). In the pact made between Jacob and Laban, they both made a pile of stones as a testimony of the pact, and “they ate there on that pile” (Gen. 31:46).
When the Gibeonites deceived Joshua and the princes of Israel, “the men of Israel took of their provisions, and inquired not of the Lord, and… swore” (Josh. 9:14, 15).
Eating together was and continues to be considered in the East as a pact by which the diners bind each other. The “covenant of salt” mentioned in 2 Chron. 13:5 is still in use in the East; eating salt together is the seal of a covenant.
(b) The covenants made by God are of a different order. The covenants that He proposes are sovereignly proposed to men. God made a pact with Noah that he would not destroy the world with a flood again; As a pledge of this covenant, He placed his bow in the clouds (Gen. 9:8-17).
This pact was in the form of an unconditional promise. This same character also had God’s covenant with Abraham, first with respect to his natural posterity (Gen. 15: 4-6), and then with respect to his seed, Christ (Gen. 22: 15-18 ). He also gave him the “covenant of circumcision” (Gen. 17: 10-14; Acts 7: 8), a sign of the righteousness of faith (cf. Rom. 4:11).
On the other hand, the covenant with the children of Israel at Sinai was conditional. God affirmed to Israel that He would be their God on the condition that they observe His laws (Deut. 14:13, 23).
This covenant, of which the Sabbath was to be the sign (Ex. 31:16), was celebrated at Oreb (Deut. 5:2; 29:1) and later renewed with the next generation in the fields of Moab (Deut. 29:1). If they were disobedient, they would receive a curse (Deut. 27; 28).
There is also another covenant that God made with the Levites (Mal. 2:4, 8), and especially with Phinehas, to give him and his descendants a perpetual priesthood (Num. 25:12, 13).
In Jehovah’s covenant with David an eternal throne is promised to his posterity (Ps. 89: 20-30, 34-38; cf. 2 Sam. 7: 1-29 and 1 Chron. 17: 1-27; 2 Chron. 7:18; Jer. 33:21).
The prophets announce a new covenant of regeneration, which contrasts with that of Sinai. This new covenant has a national character for Israel (Jer. 31:31-34; Heb. 8:8-11), although it is also intended for all nations (Mt. 28:19, 20; Acts 10:44-47 ).
Its dispenser is the Holy Spirit (John 7:39; Acts 2:32, 33; 2 Cor. 3:6-9) and it is entered through faith (Gal. 4:21-31). Christ is the Mediator of this new covenant (Heb. 8:6-13; 9:1; 10:15-17; 12:24).
It may be preferable to call the Old and New Testaments the Old and New Covenants, respectively. The two stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments, fundamental laws of the covenant between God and Israel, were engraved were called “tables of the covenant” (Deut. 9:11), and the ark containing these tables was called “ ark of the covenant” (Num. 10:33).
The book of the covenant, possibly introduced by the Ten Commandments, was composed of the ordinances of Ex. 20:22-23:33. Moses recorded them in a book; The Israelites formally accepted them, and the covenant between Jehovah and his people was ratified (Ex. 24:3-8).
(See THEOCRACY.) The expression “book of the covenant” later came to express the “book of the law” (2 Kings 22:8, 11; 23:2), which included Deuteronomy (Deut. 31:9, 26; 2 Kings 14:6; cf. Deut. 24:16).
Regarding the covenant with Abraham, the apostle Paul argues, in the Epistle to the Galatians, that the promise made by God, “the covenant previously ratified by God with Christ, the law that came four hundred and thirty years later, does not abrogate it, to make void the promise” (Gal. 3:16, 17).
Thus, Israel will not be restored based on the Mosaic covenant, violated by them, but it will be restored based on God’s promise to Abraham (cf. Rom. 11:29 and its context).
As for believers coming from the Gentiles, since the promise had been given through Christ, the apostle can add: “And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, and heirs according to the promise” (Gal. 3:29).
The relationship between the Church and the New Covenant requires more special attention. The New Covenant is an unconditional covenant that God promised to make with the houses of Judah and Israel: He will put his laws in his minds and write them in his hearts; He will be their God, and he will forgive their iniquity, and will remember their sins no more (Jer. 31:31-34 ff.).
The foundation for this was established on the Cross. In the institution of the Lord’s Supper, He spoke of His blood as “the blood of the new covenant” (Matt. 26:28; 1 Cor. 11:25). He is “the Mediator of the new covenant” (Heb 9:15; 12:24).
Thus, it is evident that the conclusion of the new covenant with Judah and Israel is still future. The principle of the new covenant, that is, that of sovereign grace, is now in force, and God acts in accordance with this sovereign grace in establishing the conditions on which He dwells among His people, being the Lord Jesus the Mediator, through whom all blessings are obtained.
See, among others, the passages from Rom. 1:1-10 and 2 Cor. 3, where Paul refers to himself and those with him as “competent ministers of a new covenant,” not of the letter, which kills, but of the spirit, which gives life (2 Cor. 3:6).