Davidic Covenant. As the history of Israel continues and they settle in the Promised Land, God raises up a king for the people – King David. His greatest moment as king comes with a realization that God’s dwelling place has not been settled in the land. When David is told that his son will take up the temple-building project he has planned, God makes a covenant with him to keep someone on his throne forever (2Sam 7:4-17; 1Chr 17:1-15; cf. Ps 89:3-4; 132:11-12). Thus the final office – the kingly office – was in place in God’s unfolding covenants. This office rules and governs the people of God. It takes up the mantle of vassal king to God’s suzerain – God’s Anointed One (Messiah/Christ).

 

The story of the Old Testament closes with failure of the Israel to be the picture of God’s final kingdom which he intended them to be. The book of Kings, as well as 2 Chronicles, catalogues the history of Israel’s kingdom. The kingdom splits in two, and eventually both kingdoms are dismantled by Ancient Near Eastern empires, and the people of God go into exile.

 

New Covenant. With the typological role of Israel failing, God announced a new covenant – like and unlike the old ones (Isa 59:21; Jer 31:31-33; 32:40; 50:5; Ezek 16:60,62; 20:37; 34:25; 37:26; Hos 2:18). Ultimately, Jesus declares himself to be the Messiah (Lk 4:17-21) and the servant of the covenant (Mt 16:13-28; Mk 8:27-38; Lk 9:18-27) – even the fulfillment of the promises to Abraham (Jn 8:54-58). He makes it clear that he has inaugurated the new covenant at his last supper (Mt 26:26-29; Mk 14:22-25; Lk 22:14-22; cf. 1Cor 11:23-26), and after his resurrection explains to his disciples that his work was the fulfillment of this grand covenantal narrative (Lk 24:25-27,44-47). 

 

We can see, therefore, that from Genesis 3 onward the entire series of unfolding of covenants provides us an unfolding template for understanding God’s great covenantal act of redemption in Jesus Christ. The unity of these covenants ought to be sufficiently clear. However, some disunity also emerges as the new covenant displaces the typological and temporary purposes of the Mosaic law and opens the scope of redemption beyond Abraham’s physical children. Therefore, covenant theology understands the successive covenants primarily as moments of divine revelation in God’s unfolding plan; and yet it also takes care to clarify that each of the earlier covenants has some provisional elements which pass away with the great new covenant under Christ.[1]

 

Our all-too-brief outline of biblical history in terms of covenant commitments sets the backdrop for our understanding of several other key theological and practical issues which we will explore in following articles.

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