Bible Foundations · Major biblical covenants
Major Biblical Covenants
10 minute readintermediate
Covenant is the spine of the biblical story. Five of them carry the plot.
By the end of this lesson
Identify the parties, promises and signs of the major biblical covenants and trace how they build on one another.
Passages to read first
- Genesis 9:8-17
- Genesis 15
- Exodus 24:3-8
- 2 Samuel 7:12-16
- Jeremiah 31:31-34
Historical context
Covenants were a familiar legal form in the ancient Near East, used between kings and vassals and between equals. Biblical writers used that recognisable form, with its promises, obligations and signs, to describe God binding himself to a people.
The lesson
A covenant is a binding relationship with stated promises, obligations and often a sign.
Noah. After the flood God promises never again to destroy the earth by water. It is unconditional and universal; the sign is the rainbow.
Abraham. God promises land, descendants and blessing to all nations. In Genesis 15 God alone passes between the divided animals, taking the obligation on himself. The sign is circumcision.
Moses (Sinai). God has already rescued Israel; now he forms them as a nation. The law describes how a redeemed people live. This covenant carries clear blessings and curses, and the sign is the Sabbath.
David. God promises David a lasting house and throne. Prophets later read this as pointing beyond any single king.
New covenant. Jeremiah promises a covenant in which the law is written on hearts, sins are forgiven and all know God. The New Testament writers understand Jesus' death and resurrection as inaugurating exactly this.
The covenants are cumulative rather than competing: each takes up the earlier promises and carries them further.
People
Noah · Abraham · Moses · David · Jeremiah
Places
Ararat · Canaan · Mount Sinai · Jerusalem
Reflection questions
- Which covenant depends on human performance, and which do not?
- Why does it matter that God alone passed between the pieces in Genesis 15?
- How does the new covenant answer the failures described in Kings and the prophets?
Put it into practice
Make a five-row table listing each covenant's parties, promise, sign and outcome.
Cross references
- Galatians 3:15-29
- Hebrews 8:6-13
- Luke 22:20
Key takeaway
God repeatedly binds himself by promise. The covenants build on one another rather than cancelling one another.
Knowledge check
2 questions. Nothing is graded against you — this is just to see what stuck.
1. What is the sign of the covenant with Noah?
2. Which prophet announces the new covenant?
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