In Genesis 9, God gave Noah an instruction that would be a perpetual and permanent ordinance for all: Life ought to be a partnership. God called it a covenant.
“Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying: ‘And as for Me, behold’”—(behold is an attention-getter that says, “Everything I’m about to tell you is really important”)—”‘Behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you’” (vv. 8-9).
It’s an all-important concept. How is it possible for the holy, infinite God and sinful, finite man to ever come together? How can they have fellowship? Only on the basis of a covenant. A covenant is a stipulated agreement of God’s promises. It’s the foundation by which Holy God and sinful mankind can have an agreement and relationship.
In the Bible, there are two kinds of covenants, conditional and unconditional. An unconditional covenant is when God makes a declaration or gives a unilateral promise, saying, “I’m going to do this. This is going to happen. Period.” A covenant is conditional when God and man both have a part to fulfill. “If you keep these conditions, then I will do this or that.”
In the garden of Eden, God made a conditional covenant when He said, “Eat anything you want, but don’t eat from that tree,” (see Genesis 2:16-17). That was the only condition: Don’t eat from one single tree. That’s pretty simple. But Adam and Eve failed. The covenant was broken.
In Genesis 12, God made a covenant with Abraham. He said, “I will bless you. I will multiply you. I will give you this land.” It was an unconditional covenant. He didn’t say, “If you’re perfect and upright and holy and everybody obeys perfectly, then I’ll give you this land.” God just said, “I’m giving this portion of land to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
The covenant of the Law of Moses was conditional: “Make these sacrifices, obey these instructions, and I’ll bless you” (see Exodus 19:5-6 and 34:10-27). That covenant failed—not because God failed, but because man failed. Man was unable to keep the covenant. But God knew the outcome from the beginning.
God gave the prophet Jeremiah a hint of what was to come: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah…. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” (see 31:31, 33-34).
The covenant of the law demanded righteousness from man. The covenant of grace gives righteousness to man from God. Grace says, here is the work of Jesus Christ. It’s finished; it’s done. You can’t add to it or subtract from it. It’s not your works. It’s His work.
That’s an unconditional covenant from our covenant-making, covenant-keeping, God.
