“As a Christian, I never understood why certain events in the Bible took place. In ministry school, we were taught about the covenants and given an overview and a detailed look at the whats, whys, and hows of the covenants and the parts they played in the Grand Narrative. I am sure, once you read all six parts of this blog treasury, you will share in the wonderment and awe of our God and His gracious way of managing life — and rebellion.
God bless you as you soak up this life-changing information!”
There are three main covenants in the Bible: oath, meal, and blood. We will explore the three main covenants, their stipulations, and reveal what they mean to us today in this -and the next- article.
What, exactly, is a covenant? A covenant is an agreement laid out as a contract generally between two partners to share mutually beneficial conditions/stipulations that constitute the boundaries/expectations of, and for, each partner.
A very important part of the covenants is that they become more contractually binding, and with greater penalties for breaking them, as we go from oath, meal, and blood covenant.
An oath covenant depends on each partner’s ability and desire to fulfill their word, as in the proverb, “A man’s only as good as his word.” In a meal covenant, the breaking of bread together is meant to show that there is a familial element to the contract meaning the partners are to treat each other as family even if they are not blood relatives. In a blood covenant, both partners do all the things of the other covenants plus lay down a sacrifice of blood of some sort (like making a cut in the right hand and allowing their blood to mingle between partners in a handshake — like “blood brothers”).
Marriage is the most easily understood example of a covenant we have in the West. In a righteous marriage, a man and a woman share everything each other brings into the relationship and the contract is publicly stated with such verbiage as the common vows, “to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part.”
Let’s explore the Oath Covenant verbiage as stated in Genesis 1:28-29.
“28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. ”
God made mankind not because He had to, but because He wanted to. He also established morality because he loves us and He wants us to adhere to His code of conduct so we will be blessed. When we break His moral code, it’s called ‘sin’.
Jesus outlined the covenant conditions in the Sermon on the Mount as well as reminding the people that the Royal Law of Love remains in effect. These two Laws are: “You shall love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
The basic tenet of the Oath Covenant is that God made everything then put Adam and Eve in charge of it all. God made this covenant, originally with Adam, so they would know what He expected of them as they take charge of the whole world.
Let’s open up to Genesis 2:9 …
“ The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”
… then Genesis to 2:15-17.
“15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.””
Photo by Nikola Markelov on Unsplash
Why was this tree such a big deal? Why would God give Adam and Eve the authority over the whole world, and everything in it, then turn around and tell them they could not eat the fruit from just one tree? At first, it seems like such a small matter, but, clearly, it wasn’t.
They were allowed to eat from the Tree of Life and they could have lived forever in the Garden of Eden had they remained faithful to God. However, the temptation (lust) to have what she must not have became overwhelming once she decided in her mind to have that fruit no matter the cost.
What enticed Adam and Eve to hang out at the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil even while the notion of certain death remained in the back of their heads? The lure of mystery and curiosity about this tree from which they were forbidden to eat became an obsession until Satan (the serpent) offered her (and Adam, ultimately) a way she/they could satisfy their curiosity and partake in the satisfaction of possessing the one thing God said was taboo.
“4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.””
*Take special notice of how Satan assumes the sin when he says, “When you eat from it.” Compare this to when God said, “When you when you eat from it,” God knew they would sin. Satan was encouraging them to sin, making it seem like he knows what’s best for them.
“You will be like God”? Adam was created in God’s image and Eve was made from one of Adam’s ribs, so Satan’s erroneous assertion was that they could use a ‘boost’ in status and he was more than willing to help justify this transition. What Satan said was also accusatory toward God in that he insinuated that God was, indeed, holding back the best part of the Garden — the chance to be like God. Man, did Satan ever twist their perceptions!
“You will not certainly die,” was a boldfaced lie. Eve had no idea of how eating the fruit was going to change her life. Yes, God made it clear when He said, “When you eat of it, you will certainly die,” but neither she nor Adam physically died that day. They died spiritually.
Satan is making it seem like he’s heroically standing in the gap for Adam and Eve before ‘big, bad God’ when God is always seeking our best. Satan is ultimately trying to fool us into his “fowler’s snare” and infect us with his “deadly pestilence” all while keeping us in the perpetual bondage of sin. It’s clear to see how God and Satan’s desires for mankind are diametrically opposed.
Why, Oh, Why?
Photo by Icons8 Team on Unsplash
Just like a little kid, Eve most likely wanted the fruit for no better reason than the fact that she didn’t have it. When the devil told her she could just take it, she couldn’t help but take the low-hanging fruit in her hand, peel the skin, thrust her face into it, and take a big bite.
Clearly, neither the Tree of Life nor the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil were not your ordinary trees as they did not produce seeds. They were supernatural trees that specifically belonged to God — just like everything else at one point. However, God allowed them to eat from the Tree of Life.
What was exceptional about the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil so they were not allowed to eat its fruit? As I stated, in any covenant there are conditions regarding the adherence to, and what constitutes, the breaching of the covenant’s contract and relationship. The one stipulation regarding their standing with God as His covenant partners was that they were to never eat the fruit of that one tree. Just one tree out of the entire Garden of Eden. They owned the 99.99% and they evidently couldn’t handle not having it ALL.
Photo by Max D. Photography on Unsplash
You will notice that before Eve took the first bite, she concluded that the fruit was “pleasing to the eye and good for food” about all the fruit of the trees from which they were allowed to eat. Does that sound familiar? (Genesis 2:9)
“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was pleasing to the eye and good for food, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. ”
This is when they simultaneously broke the Oath Covenant with God and formed the Meal Covenant with Satan. How did this work?
When Adam -not Eve- ate, (Remember Genesis 2:15-17) he rebelled against God and broke the Oath Covenant by coming into agreement with Satan (the serpent) thus making Satan Adam’s new covenant partner. In other words, Adam was the king of the world, but now, Satan is mankind’s covenant partner instead of God.
This breaking of the covenant with God meant they had to leave God’s domain (the Garden of Eden) and go live with Satan and his demons outside.
“22 And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.”
Satan, now occupying God’s former position as mankind’s covenant partner, takes over as principle partner over mankind and the Earth because he possesses greater power. However, unlike God being willing to very generously give mankind everything but one tree, Satan is not willing to share that power unless it is for human beings to do his bidding (i.e., lying, cheating, stealing, killing, destroying). Satan, and his demons, love to do these things because they hate everything about God and all He has made.
With everything that happened, God never gave up on us. He had a plan because not a single bit of what transpired took Him by surprise.
You will notice how God sacrificed an animal (blood sacrifice) to redeem them from their sins, so this would not be eternally held against them! God is all about the redemption of man and always is seeking a way to draw us closer to Him as He systematically removes what seeks to block us from an intimate relationship with Him.
“The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. ”
God doesn’t want our sin debt to tear us apart from Him forever. However, there is a penalty for each and every sin we commit and it must be paid.
Photo by Alice Pasqual on Unsplash
“23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Because of the Meal Covenant with Satan, each human being carries the debt of their own sins unless they have Jesus Christ as their Covenant Partner.
This curse remains unbreakable except by the blood of Jesus. Only when a person enters into the Blood Covenant with God — through Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross — is a human being able to escape the bondage of sin and spiritual death that comes with partnership with Satan.
It’s easy to get angry for what Adam and Eve did while in the Garden of Eden and how their “original sin” affects every single human being to this day, but it’s important we ask ourselves this question, “How different am I from them?” When we watch the news, we have clear proof that this Meal Covenant with Satan remains on mankind as a generational curse.
We all have our stories of success and failure, of victory and defeat, of sin and faithfulness. We, Christians, do not carry the weight of the sins of the world on our shoulders, Jesus took them upon Himself while on the cross! Hallelujah!
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Prayer
Dear Holy Father God, my mind has been opened to Your goodness and grace as never before! You are so very benevolent and generous! Thank You so very much for giving us (mankind) the opportunity to enjoy Your greatest blessings and to share these with others! This teaching is a lot to take in. Please help me understand everything I need to so I can not only fully understand it myself, but to know it so well that I can help others come to know this, too. My Lord, how can I put words to what is going through my soul right now? I praise You for making us all and never abandoning us, all while having a plan and a purpose for us that we should all come to know You even as we are known by You. Please pour Your love into me as You grant me revelation after revelation about my place in the world and in Your Kingdom as a Child of Yours. Thank You, again, my Lord, for Your goodness pursues me all the days of my life. In Jesus’ holy name, amen!
Banner photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash
