How to Study the Bible: The Patterns of the Covenants

With Abram, God begins making a series of compounding, cumulative covenants, as follows:

* Abram/Abraham

* Moses

* David

* Jesus

But the theologians sometimes also add Adam (the “Adamic covenant”) and the New Heavens and New Earth. McKnight refers to both of these in his C-F-R-C outline of Bible (later replaced by A-B-A’), that is —

* Creation

* Fall

* Redemption

* Consummation

I think A-B-A’ works better if we combine it with C-F-R-C to get C-A-B-A’-C’. I’ll explain this in a bit. It’s beautifully chiastic, which seems to be part of the both the Hebrew and Divine minds.

Now, I’ll have more to say about these covenants, but I should start by noting that, most of the time, we overlook the Davidic covenant. As important as it was, it didn’t fit Scofield’s theology, and so it wasn’t much noticed.

God’s covenant with David

So let’s talk about David. 

Here’s the covenant itself —

(2Sa 7:8-16 ESV)  8 “Now, therefore, thus you [Nathan] shall say to my servant David,

‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel.  9 And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth.  10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly,  11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies.

Moreover, the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house.  12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.  13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.  14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men,  15 but my steadfast love [chesed] will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you.  16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.'”

Quite obviously, this covenant is partly fulfilled in Solomon, but the promise is to establish “his kingdom forever.” And that promise extends far beyond Solomon, being ultimately fulfilled in Jesus.

This is the first time in God’s covenant language that we read of a “kingdom” or of a king called “son of God.” It sets up the promises of Psalm 2 —

(Psa 2:1-2 ESV)  Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?  2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed [Messiah], saying, 

(Psa 2:6-8 ESV)  6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”  7 I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.  8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.”

And so we find the language of “Messiah” and “begotten Son” added to “kingdom” and “king.” And so here, way back in 2 Samuel and early in the Psalms, we begin to understand how Jesus and John the Baptist could preach the “kingdom of heaven” or “kingdom of God” (“heaven” was used by the Jews as a euphemism for “God”) long before Jesus announced that he was the Messiah.

Now, this covenant was given by God to David in response to David’s request to build God a temple. God denied the request, made the covenant, and then had Solomon, who became king in fulfillment of God’s covenant promises, build the Temple — also in fulfillment of God’s covenant with David. It all fits together.

Covenantal patterns

So here’s the pattern of covenants again, with some details added. The parenthetical numbers, such as “A-1,” parallel McKnight’s A-B-A’ sequence. The C’s come from McKnight’s Creation-Fall-Redemption-Consummation sequence.

* Adam (or Creation) (C)

— Covenant made with God’s presence on earth (a “theophany”), but God does not dwell among his people.

— God reveals himself to Adam and Eve by being present with them in the Garden. God does not reveal “knowledge of good and evil,” but this is likely because Adam and Eve, in their innocence, feel no temptation to be anything other than how they were created — in the image and likeness of God.

— The Creation itself is God’s temple. Adam and Eve are God’s images, made in God’s likeness, to be the visible presence of God and priests of God. No sacrifices or altars exist until sin enters the world.

— No sealing of the covenant (no ceremonial meal or sacrifice)

— No sacrifice of an only begotten or oldest son

— No government by God. Rather, God is man’s companion. But even God himself is not a sufficient companion for Adam. The Creation is not complete and Adam is not whole until Eve is made.

— The Spirit does intervene for God. Rather, God himself walks with Adam in the cool of the morning — the traditional time of sacrifice. Hence, rather than communing through sacrifice, man communes with God directly, face-to-face.

— Heaven and earth are joined in the Garden.

— Mankind sins, resulting in the Fall, destroying direct communion with God, requiring that sacrifices be offered, and separating heaven from earth. God’s people quickly cease to honor his governance.

* Abram (A-1)

— Covenant initiated with a theophany (Abraham visited by God in human form), but God does not dwell among his people.

— God reveals himself to Abram/Abraham by being present with him in human form and entering into a covenant of grace, in which God credits faith as righteousness and agrees to suffer death on behalf of Israel. God expects righteousness and justice from Abraham (Gen 18:19, words later  used by the prophets to describe the character of God. Obedience to the covenant is therefore about character: faith/faithfulness, righteousness, and justice, rather than a book of laws.)

— Altars are built but they do not travel with God’s wandering people.

— Covenant sealed with the blood of animals. Abraham eats a sacramental meal of bread and wine with Melchizedek, priest of the Most High God.

— Abraham offers his only begotten son to God on Mt. Moriah. Isaac rescued by hand of God. “God will provide” the required sacrifice.

— God governs his people through individual Patriarchs. God is not called the king of Israel.

— No mention of the Spirit.

— No continuous joining of heaven and earth

— After a few generations, Israel becomes distant from God and in need of redemption from slavery. God’s people no longer submit to his governance.

* Moses (A-2)

— Covenant initiated with a series of theophanies (burning bush, pillar of smoke and fire, Mt. Sinai, the dedication of the tabernacle), and then God “dwells” among the people in the tabernacle

— God reveals himself to Israel through the Torah and the theophanies. Only with Moses is God seen face-to-face. Israel has become so corrupt that the memory of being in the image of God is essentially forgotten. God imposes commands as a bridge back toward an earlier memory.

— A place of worship and sacrifice is built for God, and it travels with a wandering people. God wanders with his people, called the ekklesia.

— God may no longer be worshipped at individual altars. These are destroyed.

— Covenant sealed with the blood of animals and a meal in God’s presence.

— Israel redeemed by deaths of the oldest son of each household. God protects the households that take the Passover meal. Israel not required to give up their sons.

— God governs his people through a series of judges, beginning with Moses and ending with Samuel. Both Eli (Samuel’s predecessor) and Samuel attempt to create inherited judgeships by having their sons rule, but their sons prove unworthy. God is the king of Israel. God is called king of Israel for the first time.

— The Spirit given to Moses and 70 judges.

— Heaven and earth join in the Holy of Holies.

— After a few generations, Israel becomes distant from God. The ark of the covenant (and dwelling presence of God) is lost to the Canaanites. God’s people no longer submit to his governance. (Read the last few chapters of Judges. These are not taught to children.)

* Saul/David/Solomon (B)

— Covenant initiated with a theophany when the Temple is dedicated (after ark is returned by God).

— God reveals himself to his people through the Spirit via a series of prophets. While the Torah remains in effect, God begins to prepare the people for a new covenant. The prophets speak of the necessity for Israel to respond to God’s righteousness and justice with righteousness and justice.

— A place of worship and sacrifice is built for God, and it’s established in Jerusalem, where God dwells among his people, no longer wandering.

— The tabernacle is replaced by the Temple.

— Covenant sealed with the blood of animals and a meal in God’s presence (when Temple dedicated) on Mt. Moriah. Sacrifices made on Mt. Moriah at the Temple.

— David redeemed by the death of his three oldest sons and the death of his oldest son with Bathsheba. David is required to give up these sons. (Three died in Jerusalem.)

— God governs his people through a king in the line of David. God is no longer directly the king of Israel. For the first time, Israel becomes a kingdom. God is called king of Israel, but he rules through a mortal, flawed, inadequate king.

— Spirit given to the king and a very few prophets.

— Heaven and earth join in the Holy of Holies.

— After a few generations, Israel becomes distant from God. God’s people no longer submit to his governance. Israel is sent into exile. The Temple is destroyed. God does not return to the Second Temple until Jesus appears to cleanse the Temple. The Spirit of prophecy departs not to return until the time of Jesus.

* Jesus (A’)

— Covenant initiated with a series of theophanies — Jesus himself, the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost, God’s voice heard at Jesus’ baptism and the Transfiguration.

— God reveals himself through Jesus, both through his teachings and his character. Jesus speaks of the necessity for Israel to be perfect as God is perfect, to embody the grace, righteousness, and justice of God. Torah is re-interpreted by Jesus and the early church as pointing toward the character of God. “Law” is understood to mean becoming like God.

— A place of worship and sacrifice is built for God — the church — and it’s established in Jerusalem but spreads throughout the world. God dwells among his people through the Spirit dwelling in each ekklesia and each follower of Jesus.

— The Second Temple is destroyed.

— Covenant sealed with the blood of Jesus and a meal in Jesus’ presence (the Last Supper).

— Followers of Jesus redeemed by the death of God’s Son, the King.  God provides. No price is paid by the followers of Jesus.

— The Spirit is poured out on all Jesus’ followers, male and female. God is once again king of Israel. For the first time, God is king over a kingdom. God rules through Jesus.

— God governs his people through a king in the line of David, Jesus. But as was true with the Patriarchs, God also speaks individually to each follower through the Spirit.

— Heaven and earth join wherever the ekklesia is gathered.

— The exile is ending and the Kingdom is growing. And has been growing for 2,000 years.

(Dan 2:35 ESV)  35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. 

* Consummation (C’)

— Jesus returns — a theophany, leading to heaven coming down to earth so that God will dwell with man — a second theophany. Or just one theophany — but in every sense the ultimate theophany because now both God and Jesus live among man, and their presence on earth will never end.

— Sin is destroyed, meaning that everything in the Creation that doesn’t shine with the glory of God’s character is destroyed, resulting in a purified, renewed New Heavens and New Earth and Christians fully transformed into the image of God.

— The Creation — now renewed as the New Heavens and New Earth — is once again God’s temple. No more sacrifices or altars because there is no more sin. Jesus and his church had been the temple of God, but because the unredeemed portions of the Creation are destroyed, the Creation and the church are co-extensive, and so the church as temple merges with the Creation as temple. The old temple is not destroyed but perfected.

— No further sacrifice is needed, because the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross remains sufficient to seal the covenant. This is not so much a new covenant as the inaugurated covenant of Jesus fully realized. But there is a meal — the banquet of the wedding of the Lamb and the Bride.

— No further sacrifice of an only or only begotten Son. The price has already been paid.

— Christians are given spiritual bodies that will not die. By this means, they receive immortality. Their bodies are Spirit-powered. The work of the Spirit in the resurrected Christians is not just to provide immortality but also all that’s required for immortality. Therefore, Christians will no longer be at risk of falling away by sin. The Fall cannot happen again. That is, the spiritual nature of the resurrection is not dualistic. Rather, by the Spirit, they receive life superior to that of Adam and Eve. They will surely not die.

— God and Jesus reign together with Christians, who are given dominion over the Creation as kings and priests. They take over the role originally given Adam and Eve.

— Heaven and earth are completely and permanently joined.

— Mankind has become like God. Not God, but like God. (Theosis, which we will consider further later.)

This stage will not be a new covenant. It will be the fulfillment of the new covenant. The new covenant of grace will not end. Rather, the Second Coming will merely be the end of Satan’s reign over portions of the earth and the extension of God’s reign over the remainder of the universe.

(Isa 11:6-9 NIV)  6 The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them.  7 The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.  8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den, the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.  9 They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.