7 covenants OF GOD

The Seven Covenants of God in the Bible

There are seven distinct covenants of God explicitly called out and detailed in the Bible, starting with the covenant God made with Noah after the catastrophic global flood event recorded in Genesis chapters 6-9. Every covenant is based upon a promise made by God, and in the case of the covenant given to Noah, the promise was to never again destroy the earth and its inhabitants by flood as long as the present earth remains (Gen 8:21-22; 9:16). 

Any promise of God should only be considered a true covenant if declared as such (its "ratification," e.g., "This is My covenant with you..." Gen 17:4), by its being "inaugurated" through a blood sacrifice ("Even the first covenant was not inaugurated without blood," Heb 9:18), and by his attaching a tangible "sign" to it ("This is the sign of the covenant..." Gen 9:12). Otherwise, it remains simply a promise of God, which is certainly valid, trustworthy, wholly assured and unshakeable in and of itself. But only those promises that meet these three requirements should be counted as a "covenant of God." The "count" of just such promises determined from scripture is seven, the biblical number of "perfection," or better in this context, "completion"  -- the complete set of all the covenants of God.

In addition to the "No More Flood" covenant, or what is sometimes called the "Noahic" Covenant, God made two separate covenants with Abraham, one with Moses that passes down to the Children of Israel, one with the Priests of Israel, one with King David, and a second one with the "House of Israel and Judah" (Jer 31:31) that replaces, yet at the same time in some sense retains, the "Mosaic" Covenant. 

The two distinct covenants made with Abraham, one introduced ("ratified") while his name was still Abram ("Exalted Father"), the other when God changed his name to Abraham ("Father of a Multitude of Nations"), are most often mistakenly intermingled. This unfortunate oversight results in confusion in ascertaining the number of covenants and in distinguishing one covenant from another so as to know who is eligible to claim the declared promises.

God Himself is the "Party of the first part" in all seven covenants. Two of the covenants devolve (pass down) to the benefit of the whole world and all its inhabitants, while the remaining five specifically identify the collective House of Israel or individual members thereof as the sole recipients of the distinct promises found within each covenant.

The list of the covenants of God described here are likely different from all other sources that may be encountered which purport to describe the "Covenants of God," and that is because this list is based on a strict set of criteria: 

1) Each covenant must be explicitly 'called' a covenant (Hebrew - beriyth, Greek - diatheke) in scripture (thus eliminating the "Adamic" or "Edenic" so-called covenants), 

2) Each covenant must identify the party with whom God is making the covenant (e.g., Noah, Abram, Moses, David, etc.), 

3) Each covenant must explicitly identify to whom the covenant passes down (devolves), 

4) Each covenant must clearly describe the promises made under it,

5) Each covenant must include a defined term, or "expiration date,"

6) Each covenant must include an execution action, an "inauguration," which must be "in blood," and

7) Each covenant must include a unique "sign" readily defined somewhere within the revealing context of the covenant.

The seven covenants are defined and distinguished from each other by these criteria. The covenant God made with Abram to give him and his descendants the land of Canaan as an eternal possession devolves exclusively to Isaac, then again only to Jacob, and then to Jacob's descendants exclusively, and comes with its own unique sign (circumcision) that applies only to those named parties. 

It is by the defining criteria that this "Land" covenant is distinguishable from the covenant God made with Abraham at the changing of his name that through his singular "seed" (Galatians 3:16) all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, in that this other one devolves to all the families of the earth, not just to an exclusive named family, has a completely different sign, and has a different "inauguration in blood." There is therefore what could be called an "Abramic" or "Land" Covenant (promise of possession of the Land of Canaan by the sons of Jacob), distinct from the "Abrahamic" or "Blessings" Covenant (promise of blessings to all the nations through the promised singular seed of Abraham).

By this qualifying standard, it also becomes clear that the "New Covenant" of Jeremiah 31 is a completely separate, wholly distinguishable covenant from the "New Covenant" of Luke 22, even though both are referred to as the "New Covenant" at various places in scripture, and noting that this second "New Covenant" is also called the "Better Covenant" (Hebrews 7:22) and the "Eternal Covenant" (Hebrews 13:20), or, more descriptively, the "New Covenant in (Jesus') Blood" (Luke 22:20). Simply stated, the named parties to whom each devolves are distinctly different, the signs are absolutely different, the object of the execution in blood is decidedly different, and most importantly, the promises are different. Conclusion: they are two distinct covenants. To convolute the two into one violates the very defining construct of the biblical covenants.

And yet, this second "New Covenant" -- the one declared by Jesus in Luke 22 -- is revealed by Paul in Galatians 3 to be the very same covenant God first ratified with Abraham in Genesis 22:18! This "New/Better/Eternal Covenant" is in fact the very same "Abrahamic" Covenant offering "blessings to all the nations" through Abraham's promised "Seed" -- Christ (Gal 3:8,9,16,17)! Its "sign" is the sharing of the bread and the cup (Luke 22:20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26), and its inauguration is the spilling of the blood of the Lamb of God on the cross (Hebrews 9:11-28; 10:19,20). Its promise is eternal life through faith in the God of heaven.

This "Better" Covenant was ratified 430 years before the Law Covenant, its sign was instituted at the Last Supper, and its inauguration was at the Cross. And its promise covers collectively all mankind from the Garden to the End. It really is the very fulfillment of what could be called an eternal "Covenant of Grace," for it is by grace through faith that all may be saved!

It must be noted that, besides these seven clearly delineated covenants, there are also many promises made by God in the bible, along with commands, warnings, judgments, prohibitions and admonitions. But unless the promise is called a "covenant", and includes an execution in blood, and carries a unique, identifiable sign, it is not a covenant of God, but remains merely a promise. Thankfully, God is true to all his promises, whether executed as a signed covenant or not.

Here then are the seven covenants of God found in the Bible:

Noah/Flood - Promise: Never Again Destroy the Earth by Flood (Gen 9:11,15) / Ratification: "I Myself am establishing My covenant with you," (Gen 9:9) / Type: One-Way Unconditional / Devolves to: All Mankind (Gen 9:12,17) / Sign: Rainbow (Gen 9:12,13,17) / Inauguration in Blood: Dead Bodies of the Wicked (Gen 6:13,17,18) / Term: As Long as the Earth Remains (Gen 8:22) [some call this the "Noahic" Covenant]

Abram/Land - Promise: Descendants Shall Possess the Land of Canaan (Gen12:7; 13:15; 15:7) / Ratification: "On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, 'To your descendants I have given this land,'" (Gen 15:18) / Type: One-Way Unconditional on Collective, Two-Way Conditional on Individual / Devolves to: Isaac (Gen 17:21), Jacob (Gen 28:10-16), Jacob's Descendants exclusively (Exodus 6:2-9) / Sign: Circumcision (Gen 17:8-14) / Inauguration in Blood: Animals Cut in Half (Gen 15:9-21) / Term: Forever (Gen 17:19) [some call this the "Palestinian" Covenant]

Moses/Law - Promise: Blessings in the Land for Obedience to the Law, Curses for Disobedience / Ratification: "I have made a covenant with you and with Israel," (Ex 34:27) / Type: Two-Way Conditional (Ex 24:3,4) / Devolves to: Every Generation of Israel (Lev 26:46; Deut 29:14,15; 31:11-13) / Sign: Sabbaths (Ex 31:13-17) / Inauguration in Blood: Sprinkling of Blood on Book and People (Ex 24:5-8; Heb 9:19,20) / Term: Until New Covenant of Jeremiah 31 Replaces It (Deut 31:13; Jer 31:31-34)

Aaron/Priest - Promise: Priests to Serve Forever (Ex 28:1,41; 29:9; Num 25:10-13) / Ratification: "I am giving (Phinehas, grandson of Aaron) My covenant of... a permanent priesthood," (Num 25:12) / Type: One-Way Unconditional on Collective, Two-Way Conditional on Individual / Devolves to: Levites (Num 18:23; Ezek 44:15-16) / Sign: Bronze Plating of the Altar (Num 16:36-40) / Inauguration in Blood: Bulls of Consecration (Ex 29:1-21; Num 8:5-14) / Term: Forever (Jer 33:14-26)

David/King - Promise: Son to Rule as King Forever (2 Sam 7:12-16; 23:5) / Ratification: "I covenanted with your father David, saying, 'You shall not lack a man to be ruler in Israel,'" (2 Chron 7:18) / Type: One-Way Unconditional / Devolves to: The Promised Son (2 Sam 7:12-16; Jer 30:3,7-9,24) / Sign: Virgin Birth (Isaiah 7:13-16; 9:1-7; Micah 5:2-5; Luke 2:10-12) / Inauguration in Blood: Death of King of the Jews (Matt 26:28; 27:22-31) / Term: Forever After (Ps 89:34-37; Jer 33:14-26)

Israel/New - Promise: Law Written in Hearts, Replacing Old Covenant (Jer 31:31-34) / Ratification: "Days are coming... when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah," (Jer 31:31) / Type: One-Way Unconditional / Devolves to: House of Israel and Judah (Jer 31:2,31,37) / Sign: Legal Purchase of Property (Jer 32:6-22,42-44) / Inauguration in Blood: Death of Wicked in the Day of Wrath (Jer 31:40; Is 66:24; Ez 39:18) / Term: Forever After (Jer 30:24; 31:1,8,12,27,31-36)

Abraham/Better - Promise: Blessings to All Nations Through Seed Heir (Gen 17:4-5; 18:17; 22:18; Gal 3:8-17) / Ratification: "My covenant is with you... Your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations," (Gen 17:4) / Type: One-Way Unconditional on Collective, Two-Way Conditional on Individual / Devolves to: All Mankind (Gen 12:3; 22:18; Is 55:1-5) / Sign: Bread and Cup (Luke 22:20; Mark 14:24) / Inauguration in Blood: Death of the Lamb of God (Mark 14:24; Heb 9:22) / Term: Forever (Heb 13:20) [also known simply as the "New" or "Eternal" Covenant; or as the "New Covenant in Jesus' Blood"]

"I will Flood the Land with My Law, administered by My Priests, ruled by My King, bringing New, Better Blessings to All the Nations."

 click on the link to the pdf below for the full exploration of each covenant and their supporting references