The Covenants of God

The Hebrew Word: בְּרִית (bərîṯ / berit) - Greek: διαθήκη (diathēkē)
The Hebrew term for “covenant” appears roughly 280–287 times in the Old Testament. While its exact etymology is debated, it is most commonly linked to the ancient ritual phrase כָּרַת בְּרִית (karat berit) “to cut a covenant.”

This refers to the practice of sacrificing animals, cutting them in pieces, and passing between the divided carcasses (as dramatically portrayed in Genesis 15). The act symbolized a self-maledictory oath: “May what happened to these animals happen to me if I break this covenant.”

Above all, they point forward to God’s ultimate plan of redemption.
The first explicit mention of berit comes in;

Genesis 6:18: “But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.” 

From this foundation, Scripture unfolds a series of divine covenants that progressively reveal God’s redemptive purposes. 

1. The Noahic Covenant: God’s Promise to Preserve Creation
After the flood, God establishes the first post-fall covenant explicitly named in Scripture. It is universal, extending to all humanity and every living creature, and entirely unconditional (God asks nothing of Noah in return).

Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. … When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” (Genesis 9:8-16)

The rainbow serves as the visible sign, reminding both God and humanity of God’s commitment to preserve the created order. This covenant underscores God’s common grace: even in a sinful world, He restrains judgment and sustains life.

2. The Abrahamic Covenant: God’s Promise of Land, Seed, and Blessing
Centuries later, God calls Abram (later Abraham) and makes an unconditional covenant that will shape redemptive history. It contains three core promises: a great nation (seed/offspring), a land (Canaan), and universal blessing to all families of the earth through Abraham’s line.
In Genesis 15, God dramatically “cuts” the covenant alone while Abram sleeps:… When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, 

“To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates …” (Genesis 15:17-18)

God Himself walks the path of the cut animals, taking the full burden of the oath upon Himself. Later, in Genesis 17, the covenant is reaffirmed and given its sign, circumcision:

“This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. … So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant.” (Genesis 17:10, 13)

The Abrahamic Covenant is foundational. It introduces the idea of a chosen people through whom God will bless the nations, ultimately fulfilled in the Messiah.

3. The Mosaic (Sinai) Covenant: God’s Law for a Holy Nation
At Mount Sinai, God formalizes His relationship with the descendants of Abraham, the nation of Israel. Unlike the previous unconditional covenants, the Mosaic Covenant is bilateral and conditional: blessings for obedience, curses for disobedience. It does not replace the Abrahamic promises but calls Israel to live as a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation” so that the world might know their God.

“Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (Exodus 19:5-6)

The people respond in unity:

“All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” … And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold, the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.” (Exodus 24:3, 8)

The covenant includes the Ten Commandments, detailed laws, the tabernacle system, and the sacrificial system, all pointing to the need for atonement and foreshadowing the perfect sacrifice to come. Its sign is often linked to the Sabbath (Exodus 31:16-17).

4. The Davidic Covenant: God’s Promise of an Eternal Throne
Hundreds of years later, God makes an unconditional covenant with King David, promising an everlasting dynasty and kingdom.

“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. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. … And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.” (2 Samuel 7:12-13, 16)

This covenant narrows the Abrahamic promise of blessing through a royal line. It looks ahead to the Messiah, the Son of David, who would reign eternally.

5. The New Covenant: God’s Promise of Transformation and Forgiveness
The Old Testament prophets, especially Jeremiah, foresee a time when God would inaugurate a new and better covenant because the people had broken the old one.

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. … For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Jeremiah 31:31-34)

Jesus explicitly fulfills this at the Last Supper:

“This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” (Luke 22:20)

The author of Hebrews explains that Christ mediates a superior covenant “enacted on better promises” (Hebrews 8:6) 

quoting Jeremiah and declaring the old covenant obsolete (Hebrews 8:13).

Under the New Covenant, the law is internalized by the Holy Spirit, sins are fully forgiven through Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice, and intimate knowledge of God is available to all believers, from the least to the greatest.

One Story, One Savior
God’s covenants are not isolated events but a unified, progressive revelation of His unchanging character and redemptive plan. Each one highlights His initiative, faithfulness, and grace. 
The Noahic Covenant preserves the stage; 
the Abrahamic sets the players; 
the Mosaic gives the script; 
the Davidic points to the King; 
and the New Covenant brings the fulfillment in Jesus Christ, the final Ark of salvation, the true seed of Abraham, the perfect Law-keeper, the eternal Davidic King, and the High Priest of the better covenant. Even to the Greeks He’s the Logos (John Chapter 1)

Through these divine promises, we see that God has always been a covenant-keeping God. In Christ, every covenant finds its “Yes” (2 Corinthians 1:20).

We believers today live under the New Covenant, enjoying the blessings of forgiveness, the indwelling Spirit, and the sure hope of an eternal kingdom. The rainbow, the stars, the blood on the altar, the throne forever, and the cup, all point to the same reality: God binds Himself to us so that we might be bound to Him forever.