The Structure of the Old Testament and God's Covenants

Biblical Literacy Session 3 OT Intro: Knowing a Holy God

Course Agenda Session 1 -The Bible: God s Word, Our Hope Session 2 The Gospel: Instructions for Hope Session 3 OT Intro: Knowing a Holy God Session 4 OT Intro: Looking for a Future King Session 5 NT Intro: The Arrival of the King Session 6 NT Intro: Living for the King

Session 3 Agenda The Structure of the Old Testament Covenants of God The Law and Its Purpose Wisdom Literature

OT Intro: Knowing a Holy God The Structure of the Old Testament

The Structure of the Old Testament The Pentateuchor the Torah The First 5 Books The Historical Books Spanning Joshua through Esther The Writings Job through Song of Solomon The Prophets Isaiah through Malachi

The Structure of the Old Testament The Jewish OT would have the following: Torah The Prophets (both Prophets and Historical) The Writings These are collectively known as the Tanakh Torah, Nevi im, Ketuvim T_N_K

Pentateuch or Torah Genesis The Beginning both the World and God s People Exodus The Exit from Captivity both from Egypt and the curse of sin Leviticus The Law and the Keepers of the Law

Pentateuch or Torah Numbers The Counting of God s People and the accounting of their failures Deuteronomy The Words or the Repeated Law as the people prepare for the Promised Land

OT Intro: Knowing a Holy God Covenants of God

Covenants of God Covenants are promises from God to humanity displaying God s unifying, redemptive pattern drawing us to salvation in Christ. Scriptural Covenants are: Divinely initiated and binding Deliver blessings and responsibilities Require death as payment for violations

Implied Covenants Covenant of Redemption Implied as a Triune covenant before the creation of the world Covenant of Works Genesis 1-3, blessing ensured by obedience in the Garden Covenant of Grace Promise of the rescue of man, the Gospel

Explicit Covenants Adamic Covenant Noahic Covenant Abrahamic Covenant Mosaic Covenant Davidic Covenant

Noahic Covenant Genesis 6:18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark you and your sons and your wife and your sons wives with you.

Genesis 8:20-22 (Noahic Covenant) Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart:

Sacrificial System Sacrifices are equated with forgiveness in the OT. The one offering sacrifices is portrayed as a sinner or one in need of forgiveness. The sacrifice is a substitution (one of God s creation offered for forgiveness of another)

Sacrificial System Christ is the perfect sacrifice, offered not as one of God s Creation but as God s Son. Hebrews shows this movement from imperfect sacrifice to perfect sacrifice: Once for all (Ch 9 and 10) Purge the conscious of guilt (Ch 1, 9, and 1o) Resulting in access to God (Ch 8, 9, and 10)

Genesis 8:20-22 (Noahic Covenant) Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done. As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.

Genesis 9:1-17 (Noahic Covenant) Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands. Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.

Genesis 9:1-17 (Noahic Covenant) But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each human being, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being.

Genesis 9:1-17 (Noahic Covenant) Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind. As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it.

Genesis 9:1-17 (Noahic Covenant) Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you every living creature on earth. I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.

Genesis 9:1-17 (Noahic Covenant) And God said, This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind.

Genesis 9:1-17 (Noahic Covenant) Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth. So God said to Noah, This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.

Abrahamic Covenant Genesis Chapters 12, 15, 17, and 22 Shared in parts: Chapter 12 is a declaration of intent Chapter 15 is the covenant for the Jews Chapter 17 is the covenant for the nations Chapter 22 is the testing of Abraham

Abrahamic Covenant Genesis 12:1-3 The Lord had said to Abram, Go from your country, your people and your father s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

Abrahamic Covenant Genesis 12:1-3 The Lord had said to Abram, Go from your country, your people and your father s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

Genesis 17:3-8 (Abrahamic Covenant) When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers. Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations.

Genesis 17:3-8 (Abrahamic Covenant) No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.

Mosaic Covenant Exodus 19:3-6 Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, This is what you are to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles wings and brought you to myself. 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, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

Mosaic Covenant The covenant referred to is detailed in Exodus Chapters 20-23 The 10 Commandments summarize the 613 laws Laws regarding: Servants Personal Injury Property Civil

Davidic Covenant 2 Samuel 7, 1 Chronicles 17 Not expressly stated as a covenant , however later references declare it a covenant 2 Samuel 23:5 and Jeremiah 33:21

2 Samuel 7 (Davidic Covenant) After the king was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, he said to Nathan the prophet, Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent. Nathan replied to the king, Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you.

2 Samuel 7 (Davidic Covenant) But that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying: Go and tell my servant David, This is what the Lord says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, Why have you not built me a house of cedar?

2 Samuel 7 (Davidic Covenant) Now then, tell my servant David, This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth. And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies.

2 Samuel 7 (Davidic Covenant) The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.

2 Samuel 7 (Davidic Covenant) Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation. Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said:

2 Samuel 7 (Davidic Covenant) Who am I, Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And as if this were not enough in your sight, Sovereign Lord, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant and this decree, Sovereign Lord, is for a mere human!

2 Samuel 7 (Davidic Covenant) What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, Sovereign Lord. For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant.

2 Samuel 7 (Davidic Covenant) How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. And who is like your people Israel the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, Lord, have become their God.

2 Samuel 7 (Davidic Covenant) And now, Lord God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, so that your name will be great forever. Then people will say, The Lord Almighty is God over Israel! And the house of your servant David will be established in your sight.

2 Samuel 7 (Davidic Covenant) Lord Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, I will build a house for you. So your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. Sovereign Lord, you are God! Your covenant is trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant. Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, Sovereign Lord, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever.

Explicit Covenants Adamic Covenant Established God s expectations of obedience Noahic Covenant Declared God s love and mercy

Explicit Covenants Abrahamic Covenant Expressed God s redemptive plan through Abraham s seed Mosaic Covenant Made known God s standard of holiness Davidic Covenant Identification of the seed who will fulfill the promise

OT Intro: Knowing a Holy God The Law and Its Purpose

The Law and Its Purpose Ceremonial How we show honor to a holy God Civil How we love one another as God s people Moral How we live according to God s holiness

Galatians 3:15-29 Brothers and sisters, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say and to seeds, meaning many people, but and to your seed, meaning one person, who is Christ. What I mean is this:

Galatians 3:15-29 The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on the promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.

Galatians 3:15-29 Why, then, was the law given at all?

Galatians 3:15-29 It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator. A mediator, however, implies more than one party; but God is one.

Galatians 3:15-29 Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God?