There appears to be two main types of covenants in Scripture: the Suzerain treaty, and the royal grant. In the former, a Suzerain (great king or emperor) would vow to protect a Vassal (lesser or weaker king) and his kingdom from his enemies with the agreement that the Vassal would serve and adore the Suzerain or be punished by the Suzerain’s strength, and if the Suzerain failed in his duties, then he would do so under pain of death—symbolized by the cutting in two of the animals that were sacrificed to ratify the covenant. The royal grant is a type of covenant where one king graciously gives protection or food or other services to another weaker king and his people without any stipulations on the gift. Even if subsequent adoration or thankfulness is expected as a result, the gift is given freely and without condition. Mike Horton in his book, “God of Promise”, addresses this topic in great detail.
The covenants recorded for us in Scripture appear to have several common elements: the idea of a promise, the recipients to whom the promise is made, some sort of sign signifying that the covenant has been made and is generally something to be observed, which consequently, sets the covenant members apart from non-members, and either a command (as in a royal grant, where the benefactor expects but doesn’t require for dispensing the covenant blessing, a posture or action on the part of the beneficiary) or a condition (as in a Suzerain treaty, where some service or action is required for the benefactor to be obligated to provide the benefits of the covenant). Lastly, a curse of some sort is associated, to one degree or another, with the covenants—to the members themselves as in the Mosaic and Davidic, or to those outside the covenant who deal harshly with the members or each other, as in the Noahic and Abrahamic. Though I haven’t given it its own category here, warnings associated with the breaking of covenant commands are worth mentioning. In the Davidic and New Covenants we don’t find the threat of removal from the covenant community per se, but rather, the warning to persons who find themselves in the perpetual lack of repentance for their disobedience to God’s Law, that perhaps they haven’t actually been made members of the covenant community (1 Corinthians 6:9; 15:50; Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 5:5; 1 John 3:15; Revelation 22:15). We will examine as many of these elements as are applicable in the contexts of five covenants found in Scripture: the Noahic, the Abrahamic, the Mosaic, the Davidic, and the New. In addition, the scope of this brief look at biblical covenants will encompass these themes: Promises of a Coming One (Genesis 3:15), Promises of Land (Genesis 12, 15, 17), Promises of a Seed (Genesis 17:4-8), Promise of a Lamb (Genesis 22:8-14), Promise of an Everlasting King, Promise of an Everlasting Kingdom, Promise of Eternal Rest, and the Prophesy of a Temple. Paul tells us that all the promises of God are yes and amen in Jesus Christ, so in a very real sense, and for the elect remnant of God’s covenant people, the conditionality of any covenant administration is fulfilled in the obedience of Christ, thus establishing the grace of God throughout the covenant history: from Adam to David.
In the samples supplied below, the grammatical/historical presentation shows—based on how Scripture exposes it—the most accurate interpretation at the time it was received by the Prophet and then by his audience; we will see how in the promise or prophesy of a future fulfillment or event had a definite meaning at the time it was presented. In addition to that meaning is the redemptive/historical interpretation—the interpretations that fits the promise or prophesy into the grand story Scripture is intended to tell. You could say it is the understanding of the passage in light of Christ’s coming, or in light of the New Testament. Such an interpretation is not meant to replace the grammatical/historical one, but to augment it by grafting it into the old interpretation, so to speak.
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