To those that understand the doctrine of predestination, I just want to say, I am aware of that and take that in mind. If you don’t know it, don’t worry. I say this because it just continues to concern me why we keep holding on to a dead covenant or agreement. There are predominantly 3 covenants that God made with people. The Abrahamic, The Mosaic and the Grace Covenants or agreements. The Abrahamic covenant as the name says, was made with Abraham, The Mosaic with the Israelites through Moses and The Grace with Israel for everyone through Christ.
John 1:17 (ESVST)
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT
The contents of the agreement between God and Abraham are:
Genesis 17:4-10 (ESVST)
4 “ Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”
9 And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you:Every male among you shall be circumcised.
Notice the letter “I” from verse 4 all the way to verse 8. This letter represents God. Notice how in verse 9 it changes from the letter “I” to the word “you”. This shows two parts to an agreement between God and Abraham and his descendants. God says I will and you will. It does not ends there, if anyone breaks this covenant, he will will be cut off:
Genesis 17:14 (ESVST)
Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”
There is a whole lot of things that God will do in this agreement and there is only one thing that God wants from Abraham and his descendants, circumcision. This agreement does not make provision for cancellation. It can never be cancelled. The only thing that will happen if anyone breaks it is that, they will be cut off. That’s it. This is not an agreement of give and take. In this agreement, God will always do his part but if anyone does not do his part, they get cut off. This agreement is still in force and has not been revoked even today.
THE MOSAIC OR AS COMMONLY KNOWN, THE OLD COVENANT
The contents of the agreement between Israelites and God are:
Exodus 19:3-8 (ESVST)
while Moses went up to God. The Lord called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel:4 You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles ‘wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”
7 So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. 8 All the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord.
Notice how this agreement starts with a condition. Here God promises a whole lot of things only if the Israelites would obey his voice and his covenant. Notice also how the people in verse 8 agree to keep their end of the contract. God says, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, I will do the following and the people say, God, we will obey and keep your covenant. So, this is a give and take agreement.
Were the above all the contents of the agreement? no, the agreement included the 10 commandments and all the rest of the law that was given to Moses by God. This included the ceremonial and judicial law.
Deuteronomy 4:13-14 (ESVST)
And he declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments, and he wrote them on two tablets of stone. 14 And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and rules, that you might do them in the land that you are going over to possess.
This agreement is only valid as long as the Israelites obey God’s voice and keep his covenant. This agreement was later declared null and void by God because Israel failed to keep the condition that God gave them
Jeremiah 31:31-32 (ESVST)
31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord.
God here says, Israel has broken my covenant and now I will revoke it and replace it with a new covenant. So, this covenant was declared dead. This is why I called it, the dead covenant.
Hebrews 8:13 (ESVST)
In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.