The document discusses the covenants between God and humanity that are described in the Bible. It explains that a covenant is an agreement between two or more parties, and that the Old and New Testaments describe the Old and New Covenants. The Old Covenant promised physical blessings for obedience but was broken by humanity. The New Covenant, established by Jesus, promises eternal life and forgiveness of sins through faith. It is spiritually based rather than dependent on works, and involves God writing his laws on people's hearts rather than on tablets of stone.

1. What are the Covenants– 8th
December2015
“The days are coming,” declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with
the people of Judah” (Jeremiah 31:31).
A covenant is a contractor agreement between two or more parties. Covenant is how God has chosen to
communicate to us,to redeem us, and to guarantee us eternal lifein Jesus. These truths, revealed in the Bible, are
the basis of Christianity.The Bibleis a covenant document. The Old and New Testaments arereally Old and New
Covenants. The word, "testament," is Latin for Covenant. Hundreds of years before Jesus,we can read as said in
Jeremiah 31:31 where he prophesied that a New Covenant would be sent. Why and through whom was not stated
but God made a promisethat itwould be so.We can read in the above passage.We can get an understanding
when we read in Hebrews 8: 7,” For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would
have been sought for another.
There is a pattern to the covenants found in the Bible. It is as follows.Theinitiatingparty describes himself and
what He has done, then there is a listof obligationsbetween the two (or more) parties.Whatfollows is the section
dealingwith rewards and punishments that govern the keeping and breakingof the covenant. The Ten
Commandments fitthis pattern and are a covenant document which forms the Old covenant.
The Old Covenant was a physical or an earth) based agreement that was initially madeat Mount Sinai with the
children of Israel.Itrequired “obedience to the letter” of God's law.It promised that a person or a nation would be
physically blessed such as health,wealth,etc. or the cursed such as poverty, captivity,etc. depending on whether
or not they obeyed all of God's written commandments and statutes. The New Covenant, in contrastto the Old,is
spiritually based.Itis based on obedience from the heart and a fulfillingof God's laws not only in the letter but also
in their spiritual intent.It promises an eternal lifefull of loveand glory for those who obey God and eternal death
for those who completely reject submission to the Creator. The New Covenant was given by Jesus through His
teachings whileHe was here on earth. Therefore understandingwhat is meant by both Covenants areimportant
for Christiansfor several reasons:
God called Moses up into the mountain before He gave the lawand proposed a covenant between Him and His
people: “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured
possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These
are the words you are to speak to the Israelites” (Exodus 19:5-6). Notice how God asked Moses to present His
offer to the people. If the children of Israel acceptGod's proposal,a covenantwill beestablished (Exodus 19:7 -8).
With this the Old Covenant was set up. But before itcould go into formal operation there had to be a sealingor
ratifyingof the pact. This ritualistic serviceinvolved the sprinklingof the blood of an ox on the people and is
described in Exodus 24:4-8:
We arereminded in this passagethatthis covenant was not the law itself, but was made "concerningall these
words." The Ten Commandments were the basis for the agreement. The people promised to keep that law,and
God promised to bless them in return. The crucial weakness in the whole arrangement revolved around the way
the people of Israel promised.There was no suggestion that they “may not fully conform” to every requirement of
God. Neither was there any application for divineassistance."We can do it," they i nsisted verbally.Here is a
perfect example of leaningon the flesh and trustinghuman strength. The words arefilled with self-confidence.
“The people all responded together, “We will do everything the LORD has said.” So Moses brought their answer
back to the LORD" (Exodus 19:8). Were they ableto keep that promise? In spite of their repeated assurances,they
miserably broketheir word before Moses could even get off the mountain with the tables of stone. Do we begin to
see where the poor promises lay in the Old Covenant? We can learn in Hebrews 8 which states that God finding
faultwith them and that He would be establishinga New covenant all becausethe people failed to obey their part
of the agreement. Putting all these things together we can see why a new covenant was desperately needed,
which would have better promises. “But God found fault with the people and said: “The days are coming,

2. declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah”
(Hebrews 8:8).
Thus, we can see why Paul wrote as he did aboutthis Old Covenant in Hebrews 8. The Old covenant was broken by
man! One may inquireif the New Covenant promises arebetter? Yes and we can learn itclearly in Hebrews 8:10-
12,”This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my
laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.11 No longer
will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the
least of them to the greatest. 12 For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more” How
was the New Covenant ratified? Itwas in the samemanner that the Old was ratified - But instead of an ox having
to shed its blood, the sinlessSon of God was the atoning sacrifice.We can learn this in Hebrews 13:20-21,“Now
may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord
Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in
us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever”. Amen.
“The days are coming,” declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with
the people of Israel and with the people of Judah” (Jeremiah 31:31).