COVENANTS
Definition
DEFINITION:
A formal agreement, a contract
SYNONYMS:
Contract, deal, pact, agreement, treaty, alliance, pledge,
constitution, testament or will.
A
covenant, in contract law, is a legally enforceable agreement
between two or more persons to do or to refrain from doing a certain
act, or specifying that a given state of facts does or does not
exist.
A
modern legally binding contract between people could be described as
follows:
Both
parties must voluntarily agree to enter into the contract (no
duress).
The
contract might have all terms stipulated by one party (e.g. hire
purchase) or could have terms negotiated by both parties (e.g.
business partnership).
There
might be conditions (about either promised action and/or
non-action) attached to one or both parties (e.g. inter-country
alliance treaty) or it may be unconditional (e.g. last will or
testament).
A
contract with conditions attached might require mediation by a
third party.
If
either party breaches the agreement by not adhering to the
stipulated conditions, the other party is automatically released
from their obligations, and the contract becomes null and void.
There may be a penalty clause to penalise the offending party.
The
conditions of the contract can only be legally changed by consent
of both parties, or by the existence of a more recent contract,
which supersedes the previous one.
The
contract must be signed by both parties and countersigned by
witnesses to make it legally binding.
Typical
commonplace contracts are marriage, business partnerships, sale of
property, insurance policies, hire-purchase agreements, rental or
lease contracts, inter-country treaties etc.
A
CONTRACT OR COVENANT HAS ALWAYS BEEN A CRUCIAL PART OF GOD'S
RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS PEOPLE.
Covenant
is a legal concept often used in the Bible as a metaphor to describe
the relationship between God and humankind… The idea of a covenant
between God and humankind lies at the heart of the Bible. This idea
explains the selection of the word testament, a synonym for
covenant, in naming the two parts of the Bible.
God
always honours his covenants, unlike people who often make covenant
vows and then dishonour them. The marriage covenant where people
swear “until death us do part” with God as a witness, and then
lightly disregard this is but one example.
Malachi
2:13-16 Another thing you do: You flood the LORD's altar with tears.
You weep and wail because he no longer pays attention to your
offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. You ask,
"Why?" It is because the
LORD is acting as the witness
between you and the wife of your youth, because you
have broken faith with her,
though she is your partner,
the wife of your marriage covenant.
Has not the LORD made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his.
And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. So guard
yourself in your spirit, and
do not break faith
with the wife of your youth. "I hate divorce," says the
LORD God of Israel, "…
Types of
covenants
Equals and
non-equals
In
ancient times, a covenant was a treaty between two parties. There
were two kinds of covenants:
a voluntary agreement between equals
(as with David and Jonathan - 1 Samuel 18:3) and
treaties of loyalty between a great king and a lesser king
(his vassal). In the Bible, covenants
between God and his people are always of the second type.
God
always dictates the terms
of His covenants, which assert His sovereignty and kingship, and the
people's obligation of faith and obedience.
The
Hebrew for covenant is “berîth”.
In
the OT
berîth
identifies three different types of legal relationships.
A
two-sided covenant between human parties, both of which voluntarily
accept the terms of the agreement… God
however never "enters in" to such a covenant of equality
with men.
A
one-sided
disposition imposed by a superior party
(Ezekiel 17:13-14) .
God the Lord thus “commands" a berîth
which man, the servant, is to "obey"
(Joshua 23:16).
God’s
self-imposed obligation, for the reconciliation of sinners to
himself (Deuteronomy 7:6-8, Psalm 89:3-4)
Not
only the Hebrew, but also the Greek, emphasises that God’s
covenants are not an agreement between equals. The Septuagint (LXX),
which is the Greek translation of the Old Testament by 72 Hebrew
scholars before the time of Christ, is useful in ascertaining the
equivalent Greek terms for the Old Testament Hebrew. In its
translation of the Hebrew berîth,
more light is thrown in this regard:
The
LXX avoided the usual Greek term for covenant, synthêke
(Meaning a thing mutually
"put together"),
as unsuitable
for the action of the sovereign God
and substituted diathêke
(a thing, literally, "put through"), the primary meaning
of which is "a disposition of property by a will."
We
are familiar in modern times with contracts where we are not able to
negotiate conditions but are obliged to accept what the initiating
party has stipulated (e.g. a rental agreement). Our extent of
negotiation is in accepting or rejecting the terms altogether, but
not in modifying them.
Likewise,
the covenants between God and man do not have the conditions
negotiated by both parties. God stipulates the conditions for men,
but in his love, also imposes conditions on himself, albeit not due
to pressure or bargaining by men (e.g. the Abrahamic covenant).
Man’s freedom of choice allows for acceptance or rejection of the
contract, but not for variation of God’s stipulated terms.
Joshua
23:16 If you violate the
covenant
of the LORD your God, which
he commanded you,
and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the LORD's anger
will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good
land he has given you.
Major
types of Covenants
In
the ancient Near East there were 3 main types of covenants; the
Covenant of Parity, a Royal Grant and the Suzerain-Vassal Covenant.
Commitments
made in these covenants were accompanied by self-maledictory oaths
(made orally, ceremonially, or both). The gods were called upon to
witness the covenants and implement the curses of the oaths if the
covenants were violated.
Parity
Parity:
A covenant between equals, binding them to mutual friendship or at
least to mutual respect for each other’s spheres and interests,
Participants called each other “brothers”.
This
was the type of covenant entered into by Abraham and Abimelech,
Jacob and Laban, and David and Jonathan.
Royal
Grant
Royal
grant (unconditional): A
king’s grant of land or some other benefit to a loyal servant for
faithful or exceptional service. The grant was normally perpetual
and unconditional, but the servant’s heirs benefited from it only
as they continued their father’s loyalty and service.
There
were different kinds of covenants in the biblical world, however,
just as there are different kinds of contracts today. One type of
ancient covenant that serves as a model for certain biblical
passages is the royal
grant.
In this type of covenant, a king or other person in authority
rewards a loyal
subject
by granting him an office, land, exemption from taxes, or the like.
It is typical of such covenants that only
the superior party binds himself; conditions are not imposed on the
inferior party.
Such covenants are also referred to as covenants of promise or
unconditional
covenants.
The covenants God made with NOAH (Genesis 9:8-17), ABRAHAM (Genesis
15:18), and DAVID (2 Samuel 7; 23:5) fit this pattern. In each of
these cases, it is God alone who binds himself by a solemn oath to
keep the covenant.
Suzerain-Vassal
Suzerain-Vassal
(conditional):A
covenant regulating a relationship between a great king and one of
his subject kings. The great king claimed absolute right of
sovereignty, demanded total loyalty and service (the vassal must
"love" his suzerain) and pledged protection of the
subject’s realm and dynasty, conditional on the vassal's
faithfulness and loyalty to him. The vassal pledged absolute loyalty
to his suzerain - whatever service his suzerain demanded - an
exclusive reliance on the suzerain's protection. Participants called
each other "lord" and "servant", or "father"
and “son”.
The
Mosaic covenant (Exodus 19-24; Deuteronomy; Joshua 24) seems to have
been modelled on another type of ancient covenant, the political
treaty between a powerful king and his weaker vassal. Following the
standard form of such treaties, God, the suzerain, reminds Israel,
the vassal, how God has saved it, and Israel in response accepts the
covenant stipulations. Israel is promised a blessing for obedience
and a curse for breaking the covenant.
All
covenants between God and man before the New Covenant are either of
the Royal
Grant or Suzerain-Vassal
type, or both.
Testament
or will
Jesus
Christ added another model, that of a last will and testament. At
the Last Supper, he interpreted his own life and death as the
perfect covenant (Matthew 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20).
Table :Types of covenants
COVENANT
|
TYPE
|
PARTICIPANTS
|
Edenic
|
Suzerain-Vassal
|
Adam
& Eve
|
Adamic
|
Royal
Grant
|
All
mankind
|
Noachic
|
Royal
Grant / Suzerain-Vassal
|
Noah,
his descendants and every living thing on earth
|
Abrahamic
|
Royal
Grant / Suzerain-Vassal
|
Abraham
|
Mosaic
|
Suzerain-Vassal
|
Israel
|
Phinehas
|
Royal
Grant
|
Phinehas
|
Davidic
|
Royal
Grant
|
David
|
New
|
Last
will or testament
|
All
men who believe
|
Covenants
of parity
Abraham
and Abimelech made a covenant of parity. In return for securing
property rights for water wells in Beersheba, Abraham promises to be
kind to Abimelech and his offspring. The covenant was sealed with an
oath and the 7 lambs set apart from the others as a witness were
probably used in the treaty ceremony. As equals they negotiate the
terms of the treaty.
Genesis
21:22-31 At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his
forces said to Abraham, "God is with you in everything you do.
Now swear
to me