Study 02- The Trail Begins

• Intro: When I bought my house...

  • Chapter 1: The Trail Begins - Quotation

    Although we may seldom hear the language of covenant in a modern context, in ancient times it was one of the ordinary facts of life. When I bought my house I discovered that there was a 'covenant' that I had to agree to. It was a very simple one, it says I must agree not to keep chickens or pigs in my garden. In some countries this would seem a strange condition but, living in a town in England, it was designed to make sure that all the houses that are so close together will not become like small farms. I had to agree to that 'covenant' before I could buy the house. Even though I had the money to buy it and could fulfil all the other conditions I still had to agree to this one, no chickens, no pigs.

    In ancient times there are many agreements or 'covenants' that control the lives of ordinary people. In fact, the word for 'covenant' is used over 300 times in the Bible. In different Bible versions we may find the word translated as 'covenant' or 'alliance' or a 'treaty' but the underlying word is covenant. The word is the constant backdrop to the salvation history that is the storyline of the Bible.

The earliest covenants

1. The Adam Covenant

• The Adam Covenant

  “But they like Adam have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me.”(Hos. 6:7 ASV)

  It seems that Adam was in an agreement or 'covenant' with God and that Adam broke that 'covenant' by an act of 'treachery' and lost his 'right' to Eden... and so much more.

  a. a covenant of 'grace': undeserved

  • all God-intitiated covenants are 'covenants of grace'

    Adam did not 'deserve' to exist setting of such bounty

    Adam did not deserve his twofold commission to 'serve and protet'

    Adam did not deserve a companion that perfectly 'matched' him

  • (Gen. 2:7–9 ASV)

    “And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. And Jehovah God planted a garden eastward, in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made Jehovah God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”(Gen. 2:7–9 ASV)

  b. It was a 'conditional' covenant

  • (Gen. 2:15–17 ASV)

    “And Jehovah God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And Jehovah God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Gen. 2:15–17 ASV)

  c. A 'covenant' for two

  • a distinctive colour to add to our new colour mix on our palette

    The covenant was between God and Adam. personally.

    • (Gen. 2:16–17 KJV)

      “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”

  d. Eve 'shared' all the benefits of that Covenant because of her relationship to Adam

  i. Adam was the 'federal head' of the human race and its representative towards God. As federal head he embraced the covenant and would be its 'mediator' for the coming race. He would 'act for' his entire race. His actions would affect the whole race.

  Adam was the 'one man' who betrayed God and everyone related to him and reprresented by him would benefit or suffer from his decisions and actions

  • This next sentence will take us almost to the end of the trial, but this is why God ulimately had to 'start again' with another 'one man' as Paul explains..

    • (Rom. 5:17–19 NKJV)

      “For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.) Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.”

      one man did the damage, and One Man would make a brand-new start

      iThe New Man, the beginning of the New Creation, who would bring into existence a New Covenant, The Better Covenant.

    • another distinctive colour to add to our new colour mix on our palette.

      Often a covenant has a 'representative' who 'agrees' the covenant on behalf of others. He would be responsible for the 'maintenance' of the covenant on behalf of others. That kind of representative might be called a legal 'middleman' or an agent, or to use a better known Bible word, a mediator.

      Each new concept adds something to our new colour mix

    ii.Eve was 'literally' and 'spiritualy' "in Adam", and what was 'true' of Adam was automatically 'true' of Eve because she was 'in Adam'.

2. The Adam and Eve Covenant

• The Adam and Eve Covenant

  Adam, himself, created another covenant, and of a kind that we are still familiar with today; the covenant of marriage. When God presented Adam with his 'perfect match' Adam responded, instinctivley in a particular way:

  • (Gen. 2:23–24 ASV)

    “And the man said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”

  • why flesh AND bone?

    a Hebrew idiom: It is the legal language used to create a family

    • (2 Sam. 5:1–3 ASV)

      “Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron, and spake, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh. In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was thou that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and Jehovah said to thee, Thou shalt be shepherd of my people Israel, and thou shalt be prince over Israel. So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and king David made a covenant with them in Hebron before Jehovah: and they anointed David king over Israel.”

      cf. Gen 29:14; Judges 9:2; 2Sam 19:12,13;

    • a new entity

      "we are your bone and your flesh" means we are one family; a new identifiable entity has been formed, a family had been created. Adam's 'covenant' became the basic building block of all marriage formulae; from this time forwards Adam and Eve were 'one family' and no longer just two individuals.

  • Jehovah's marriage covenant

    “Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord Jehovah, and thou becamest mine. Then washed I thee with water; yea, I thoroughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil. I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with sealskin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and covered thee with silk. And I decked thee with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck. And I put a ring upon thy nose, and ear-rings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thy head. Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil; and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper unto royal estate. And thy renown went forth among the nations for thy beauty; for it was perfect, through my majesty which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord Jehovah.”

  • Christ's marriage covenant

    “For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” (Eph. 5:30–32 KJV)

  • yet another distinctive colour to add to our new colour mix on our palette.

    a covenant often creates a new legal entity.