Fulfillments & Interpretations of Biblical Prophesies - The Adamic Covenant

The Adamic Covenant:

Grammatical/Historical Presentation

·         Promise—the promise to Adam was implied in the condition, if he didn’t eat of the tree, he would live (Genesis 2:17).

·         Recipients—Adam, and Eve by virtue of her being flesh of Adam’s flesh and bone of his bone (Genesis 2:22-25).

·         Sign—several signs have been suggested.  Perhaps the work Adam was given to do prior to the curse, or the Tree of Life or the animal skin that God used to cover Adam and Eve’s shameful nakedness after the covenant was broken, and there are good reasons to believe that the Sabbath is the sign God gave to Adam.

·         Condition—do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (Genesis 2:17).

·         Command—Fill the Earth and subdue it (Genesis 1:28).  A blessing (which is later described in v. 29-31) is distributed before the command.

·         Curse—Death (Genesis 2:17) and shame (Genesis 3:7).  When God dispensed the curses of the covenant (Genesis 3:14-19) He did so in three categories: the serpent—he is cursed above all other livestock (Genesis 3:14), and he will suffer enmity with the Woman and his seed with the Woman’s seed (v. 15); the Woman—curse with pain during child birth and discontent at her husband’s headship (v. 16); the Man—all creation is cursed (v. 17) and enmity is placed between man and the earth (v. 18), and the working of the earth will be toil, and physical death will be his end (v. 19).  When God distributed these curses He also implied a promise to man, which is found in the negative aspects to the curse of the serpent (3:15), one will come and though His heel will be bruised by the serpent, He will bruise the serpent’s head.

The fact that I have not presented the redemptive/historical elements of fulfillment and interpretation of the Adamic Covenant here (as will be the format for most of the other covenants) does not mean that I don’t think there are any, only that their rightful place is located under the New Testament’s interpretation of the New Covenant, which will be discussed in a later post.