The Covenants of Promise
A covenant is an agreement by which two parties bind themselves to keep a promise of goodwill between them. Most covenants described in the Bible consisted of two parties, one being God who proposed blessings on the other party. It was assumed that the other party would abide by the terms of the covenant previously made known at the outset. The agreement was usually made binding on both parties when an appropriate animal had been provided and sacrificed.
The First Covenant
The first covenant God made was, however, an exception to the rule because of the exceptional circumstances in which it was made. This was the unique occasion when Noah, his family, the animals and the birds came out of the ark after the flood had destroyed every other breathing creature. It was quite possible that when it began to rain again, Noah and his family would wonder whether another similar flood was beginning. To reassure them, God said that He would make the rainbow, with its many beautiful colours, a sign that this would not be so.
“I will establish my covenant with you: neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth…” (Gen.9:11-17).
As we have already stated, it was customary for covenants to be ratified by the sacrifice of animals, but in this case, Noah had just offered acceptable sacrifices and the very few animals that survived the flood were required for breeding.
A covenant with Abraham
The next covenant that God made was with Abram 391 years later. He made some remarkable promises to him when he was 55 years of age one of which had to do with his descendants. These would become so numerous as to be like ‘the stars for multitude and as the sand on the sea shore innumerable.’
Abram lived in a city called Ur of the Chaldees near the river Euphrates. This was an idolatrous city which he was to leave, and go to a land that God would show him (Gen.12:1-3). After a journey of some 400 miles he arrived at Haran where he and his company rested for a while. Abram’s company consisted of his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, his father Terah and many servants, besides asses, camels and flocks of sheep and goats. After leaving his father Terah in Haran they proceeded south into Canaan where the LORD (Yahweh) appeared unto Abram saying, “Unto thy seed will I give this land” (Gen.12:7).
By this time Abram was 75 years of age and his wife Sarai was 65 and a promise concerning his seed must have sounded very comforting because ‘Sarai was barren: she had no child’ (Gen.11:30). To fulfil this promise, therefore, it would be necessary for God to bless Sarai with at least one baby boy. However, an unexpected famine caused them to go down into Egypt for a while after which they returned to Canaan with much wealth. Because of this Abram and Lot agreed to separate, Lot and his company going down into the Jordan valley and Abram and his company remaining in the hill country of Canaan.
At this time God renewed his promise to Abram saying, “Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered”.
After this the years rolled by; Abram reached the age of 85 and Sarai 75 and, understandably, they would wonder how much longer they would be expected to wait for their first child. God assured them that Sarai would have a child (Gen.15:4-5). Abram believed God and as the record says ‘he counted it to him for righteousness’(v.6). Abram was then reassured again by God providing a covenant with the following terms.
The covenant ceremony
“Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon. And he took unto him all these and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not…And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him” (v.9,10,12). Then follows a prophetic introduction to the drama of the covenant itself.
“Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not their’s, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; and also that nation whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come-hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full”.
And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. In the same day the LORD (Yahweh) made a covenant with Abram, saying, “Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates” (Gen.15:13-18).
Then followed the names of ten nations that occupied that extensive territory now covenanted to Abram. By this dramatic ceremonial the LORD bound himself by the burning lamp, which represented Himself, that passed between the divided animals, that He would one day fulfil His part.
Abram was well acquainted with this territory of 500 miles in extent, having travelled the region of the Euphrates in his earlier life and more recently spent some time in Egypt also.
Abram was 100 years of age and Sarai 90 when at last Sarai gave birth to her firstborn son Isaac, a sure token that the wonderful promises made to this faithful pair would, in their appointed time, eventually be fulfilled.
The covenant with the nation of Israel
About four hundred years after God made thea covenant with Abraham, his descendants, who had been made slaves in Egypt, were brought out by their leader Moses. This was achieved by the exercise of God’s mighty power manifested in the dramatic events of the Exodus. By this time Abraham’s descendants had become a nation of about two million people and these were encouraged to make the long journey back to the land of Canaan. At Mount Sinai they rested and it was here that the LORD (Yahweh) made a covenant with the nation.
This covenant was very comprehensive; it incorporated laws that were to guide their national and religious life. It was introduced by the words, “If ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation” (Ex.19:5-6).
The people were agreeable, ‘All the people answered together and said, “All that the LORD hath spoken we will do”, And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD’ (v.8).
The basis of the covenant was summarised in Ten Commandments detailed in chapter 20 verses 2-17. The moral significance of this ceremony was impressed upon the people by an unforgettable demonstration of divine power. ‘Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly’, (v.18). A comprehensive promulgation of laws was then set before the people which occupies chapters 21 to 23, and was called The Book of the Covenant.
The inauguration of this covenant consisted of a sacrificial ceremony of burnt offerings, ‘And (they) sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the LORD, and Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basins; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar (representing God’s part) And he took the Book of the Covenant, and read in the audience of the people and they said, “All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient”, And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Behold the blood of the Covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words”’ (Ex.24:5-8).
What might be called a fellowship meal was then arranged to round off this important occasion. Moses, Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel were invited to the top of the mount to see God; the surroundings were awesome. “They saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness…they saw God, and did eat and drink’ (Ex.24:9-11).
There would have been angels present on this memorable occasion who would provide the food to be eaten at the meal.
Lastly, Moses was given two tables of stone, on which were engraved the Ten Commandments. In this permanent form they were to be kept in the ark in the tabernacle.
Some of the covenant laws that were amplified in the book of Leviticus included God’s blessings if they walked in His laws and kept his commandments and curses if they did not. In chapter 26 thirteen verses describe these blessings (v.1-13) and twenty-six verses describe the curses (v.14-39).
These curses were dreadful indeed. One of the punishments was that they would be taken captives into a strange land. However, if they should repent and confess their iniquity as described in verse 40, God would relent and restore them to their former blessings. “…when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the LORD their God” (v.44). The final blessings for the nation of Israel will be achieved in the Kingdom of God.
The New Covenant
The Israelites were subject to the law given to them by Moses but because of the influence of the idolatrous nations by which they were surrounded there were long periods when they failed to keep it. At last, after more than 800 years, in the days of the last kings of Israel, God pronounced judgement on Zedekiah.
“Thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come when iniquity shall have an end”, thus saith the Lord God; “Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same…I will overturn, overturn, overturn it (the kingdom), and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him” (Ez.21:25-27).
It was at this time that because the Mosaic covenant did not often produce the results that He desired, God decided that it was necessary to make a change. So God inspired Jeremiah to write, “Behold the days come, saith the LORD (Yahweh), that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they break, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: but this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel: After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying< Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jer.31:31-34).
One of the remarkable features of this gracious covenant was the writing of God’s law on the hearts of those who were to be associated with it so that they would want to keep it and give God lasting pleasure. Another feature was the complete removal of sin and iniquity that would be remembered no more. However, there was no mention of a sacrifice even though every covenant was expected to be ratified by some kind of sacrifice. Nor was the name of the mediator revealed, nor precisely when the covenant would be put into effect.
However, all these three features were revealed soon after by an angelic message conveyed to the prophet Daniel who was contemporary with Jeremiah. In what is known as the ‘seventy weeks’ prophecy the angel Gabriel informed Daniel that ‘Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression… Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and rebuild Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks and sixty and two weeks… And after sixty and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off… And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease” (Dan.9:24-27).
This amazing prophecy was introduced by a message of intent in the following words, “….to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy…” (ch.9:24).
The intention of making an end of transgression, sins and iniquity was also included in the New Covenant described in Jeremiah’s prophecy as we have just seen.
In verse 26 we are informed that after the stated period shall Messiah ‘be cut off’ (Heb.’Karath’). This is the same word used in Jeremiah concerning the making of a new covenant. In this case, then, the Messiah is involved by providing a sacrificial death that would make this covenant operative.
In compliance with this requirement, Jesus, who is the Messiah, revealed at the end of his ministry that he was about to offer himself as a sacrifice for sins as recorded in Matthew’s gospel 26:27-28. The record says, ‘And he took the cup (of wine) and gave thanks, and gave it to them (his 12 disciples) saying, “Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for many for the remission of sins”’. Here Jesus is revealing that by his sacrificial death he would make effective the New Covenant that the LORD said he would make with Israel at some future time.
The Seventy Weeks in Daniel 9:24
The period of seventy weeks, which is little more than a year when taken literally, is connected in the prophecy with the starting point, ‘the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem’. You may notice that within this period Messiah is mentioned who is actively involved but who lives, after this, in New Testament times, some hundreds of years after the time of Daniel. This means, then, that we have to understand the term ‘weeks’ in an extended sense.
Taking a day to represent a year was done, for example, for the wanderings of Israel in the wilderness. In this case we read, “After the number of days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years” (Num.14:34). By taking one day for a year, then the seventy weeks, or 490 days means 490 years.
Applying this principle to history we find that Cyrus made a decree to restore Jerusalem but there were other later decrees also. The one that fits the historical fulfillment exactly is the one made in the 7th year of Artaxerxes in BC457. 490 years later in AD33, the 490 years were completed. It was in the midst of the last week, that is in AD30, that the sacrifice and oblation were to cease (v.27).
The cessation of animal sacrifices occurred when on Passover day Jesus was ‘cut off’, that is, was put to death by crucifixion just as he said he would be. It was then that the making an end of transgression, sins and iniquity was accomplished. Immediately the veil of the temple, being torn from top to bottom, showed the visible and miraculous hand of God. (Matt.27:51) In this way the ritual of the Mosaic covenant was shown to be ended. Jesus became the Mediator of the New Covenant (Heb.12:24) through whom, by faith, we may approach unto God in prayer.
Although Jesus died on the cross, he was taken down and placed in a tomb. But he did not remain there for long. He himself said, “...and be slain, and be raied the third day” (Luke 9:22; Matt16:21; Mk.8:31). And so it came to pass: after three days Jesus showed himself alive to his disciples and they were overjoyed to see him (Luke 24:36-43). In him was fulfilled the promise of the Psalms, ‘He, the holy one, was not suffered to see corruption’ (Ps.16:10; Acts 2:27).
The ascension of Jesus
Another feature that is important is the fact that after 40 days Jesus ascended to heaven to be seated on the right hand of God. This ascension was witnessed by his disciples as recorded in Acts 1:9-11. This wonderful event fulfilled the prophecy through David, “The LORD (Yahweh) said unto my lord, sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool” (Ps.110:1). In the same Psalm it is added, “The LORD hath sworn and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec”. Jesus is not only Messiah but has been appointed a priest with an oath for those who are associated with the New Covenant.
Jesus, then, has been provided by God in His wisdom and power to be the Mediator of the New Covenant. Jesus has written God’s righteous laws on our hearts by his masterly teaching which was both captivating and compelling. To those who mourned because of human weakness, his words were spiritually uplifting, they were the words of eternal life (Jn.6:68).
Those who are thus minded are able to respond to Jesus’ gracious invitation, “Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt.11:28-30).
Bro. Ralph Green (UK)
