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| Abraham’s Vision, with smoke and flames passing between animal pieces (Genesis 15:17), John Linnell 1853 |
Both these covenants are very relevant to today's world.
The First Covenant
The first covenant is established between God and "all flesh that is on the earth.” It is the "Covenant of the Rainbow" found in Genesis 9:8-17
8 Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying: 9 “And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth. 11 Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”
12 And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 13 I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. 14 It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; 15 and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” 17 And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”
With so much talk of "end-times" being like the "day's of Noah," the "Covenant of the Rainbow" is on a lot of believers mind these days. You could say that this Covenant is being tested.
The Second Covenant
The second unconditional covenant is found in Genesis and it is called the “Covenant of the Parts” (ברית בין הבתרים, Brit bein haBetarim). This is is the covenant God makes with Abram in Genesis 15:1-21
1. After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. 2 And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? 3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. 4 And, behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. 5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. 6 And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for. 7 And he said unto him, I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it. 8 And he said, Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? 9 And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon. 10 And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not. 11 And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away. 12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. 13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; 14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. 15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. 16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. 17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. 18 In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: 19 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonite. 20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, 21 And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
What could be more tested today than the Covenant that promised the descendants of Abraham the land that is essentially Israel today. With so much war and so many attacks on the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, it is good to keep Genesis 15.1 in mind: "Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. "
The New Covenant
As my Christian friends know, Jesus created an additional Covenant. This covenant didn't replace the prior covenants, it was a new covenant. Jesus declared this new covenant at the "Last Supper" he had with his Apostles.
In the gospel of Matthew chapter 26:26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”
Jesus was Jewish, so he would have blessed the bread with the Hebrew prayer called the Hamotzi:
"Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech haolam, hamotzi lechem min haaretz".
"Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has brought forth bread from the earth".
After they ate the bread, Jesus raised a cup, for the "kiddish." This was and still is customary for Jews to do. The kiddish is the prayer over the wine, the “Kiddush” קידוש (pronounced roughly “kee-doosh”). The word kiddish and the Hebrew word for "Holy" (Kadosh), come from the same Hebrew root קדש (k-d-sh), which means “to be holy,” “to sanctify,” or “to set apart.”Literal meaning: “sanctification” or “making holy.”
For the kiddish, the rabbi would fill the cup until it reaches the brim or even spills over, symbolizing overflowing blessing, joy, and divine bounty. There is a Jewish practice כוס מלאה – kos mele’ah (“a full cup”). Then the rabbi would give thanks for the wine with these words:
אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ, מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם,
בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָּֽפֶן.
Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech haolam, borei p’ri hagafen.
Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of all, Creator of the fruit of the vine.
In Matthew it reads:
27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 29 But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”
You will notice that Jesus blood is a new covenant for the "remission of sins." Jews have Yom Kippur, the "Day of Atonement." Both the Yom Kippur and the Covenant Jesus made with his blood, have to do with sacrificial blood. In Jesus’s day, the temple still stood in Jerusalem and blood sacrifices were still practiced. Both sacrifices have to do treatment of sin. Both Jews and Christians raise a kiddish cup.
A lot could be said of the Passover and the Lamb, since that is the Jewish holiday that is taking place when Jesus went to the cross.
In biblical and theological language, atonement and remission overlap but are not the same:
“Kippur” (as in Yom Kippur) comes from the Hebrew root כ־פ־ר (k‑p‑r), which means “to cover,” “to atone.” "Remission" is the result or legal outcome in which the guilt and penalty of sin are sent away, cancelled, or removed.
Similarities
The Covenant of the Parts and the New Covenant have somethings in common. In both covenants, there is a sacrifice and blood is shed. Plus, with both covenants God performs the act: God walks through the bloody parts and Jesus gives up his body on the cross. In addition, with both covenants the people have to "take" the sacrafice. In the Covenant of the Parts, Abram "took unto him all these," and in the New Covenant the apostles are told to take the glass and drink of it -- "Drink from it, all of you."
The Ultimate Covenant Test
Death is the ultimate "covenant test." When we die, and our spirit/soul leaves our body we will find out whether our atonement or remission was sufficient and if we are "holy" to enter the Kingdom.
Epilogue:
Let me know if you see the amazing numeric sign! Or ask me and I will point it out. Two Hints: "I Am that I Am" and LOVE.
