Sometimes In discussing my faith to Christian friends, I try to explain why I keep the Sabbath, or why I don’t eat pork. Often I receive comments such as this: “Christians are under the New Covenant, not the Old Covenant, so the Old Testament law does not apply to us.”  I have a hard time quickly and succinctly responding to this statement, but it is an important issue, and one worth analyzing, so let’s examine this question:

 As a believer in the Messiah, what covenant am I under?

I must first examine the question, to determine what it means. What is a covenant, and what does it mean to be under one? A covenant, in Biblical terms, is an agreement, a contract, or a promise between two people, or between God and a person or group. Covenants between men usually involve witnesses and often a sacrifice being offered, or gifts being exchanged to seal the covenant.

 Gen. 21:27  So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a covenant. 28  Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock apart. 29  And Abimelech said to Abraham, "What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?" 30  He said, "These seven ewe lambs you will take from my hand, that this may be a witness for me that I dug this well."

 Often Covenants carry with them a visible sign, as a reminder to the people involved. In our modern culture, the most common type of covenant we see it the marital covenant between a man and a woman. There are witnesses, vows made, gifts exchanged, and a sign is worn in the form of the wedding ring to show that this man and woman are involved in a covenant with each other. Unlike most casual contracts or agreements, there are unconditional expectations that the parties in a covenant are bound to carry out. We see this in the wedding ceremony in the phrase, "for better or worse". The husband doesn’t say he will love honor and cherish his wife as long as she continues to interest him. He swears "until death do us part." There are also conditional covenants where one party promises something in return for some action taken on the others part.

Let’s examine all of the covenants God has made with his people. (Yes there are more than just Old and New, although you wouldn’t know it from looking at our Bible divisions)

The first covenant God made was with Adam, on the sixth day. in Genesis 1:28 and added to in Gen. 3 after the Fall:

 Gen 1:28  And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

 The main attributes were that man would have dominion over the earth, would multiply and fill it, and that he would work to subdue, or repair it. These were unconditional statements. Some of the negative effects after the fall corrupted creation were pain in child bearing and the necessity of hard work to bring forth food. We do however see hope in the veiled promise of a Messiah, the seed of woman (sons are always elsewhere referred to as the seed of their father, not their mother) who will crush the head of the serpent.

The second covenant God makes with Noah and his children after the Flood. It is mentioned in Gen. 9:8-17.

 Gen 9:8  Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9  "Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, 10  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. 11  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." 12  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: 13  I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14  When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15  I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16  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." 17  God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth."

 This was another unconditional covenant wherein God promises to never again destroy the world with a flood. A sign (or reminder) is given in the form of a rainbow that will show up after storms to remind men that no matter how hard it rains, God is not going to flood the world again. This is an eternal sign that is still seen today.     

The third covenant God made with Abraham. The promise of God to Abram is first seen in Gen. 12:2 but the Covenant was sealed in Gen. 15 with the sacrifice of animals.

 Gen 12:2  And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3  I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."