Part Three - Sevenfold Covenants And The New Covenant
One thing I noticed this past year while going through the book of Genesis with my online Bible study group is that many of the covenants God made with man are sevenfold - meaning there are seven parts to each one of them.
Also, unlike God’s promises - which contain our parts and His parts (ie. if we fulfill our part of the promise, the Lord will fulfill His part) - God’s covenants only depend upon God Himself.
The Hebrew word for covenant is Strong’s #h1285. “ḇerîyṯ; from 1262 (in the sense of cutting (like 1254)); a compact (because made by passing between pieces of flesh).”
Compare these two covenants - Abraham making a covenant with Abimelech, and Abram (Abraham) making a covenant with God.
In Genesis 21, we see Abraham making a covenant with Abimelech.
Genesis 21:22-24 And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phichol the chief captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest: Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son: but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned. And Abraham said, I will swear.
The Hebrew word for swear or to make an oath means “to seven oneself, i.e. swear (as if by repeating a declaration seven times).”
Genesis 21:31 Wherefore he called that place Beersheba; because there they sware both of them.
Beersheba means “Well of the Oath.” This oath involved both making a covenant with each other. They would have both walked through the animal sacrifices together, pronouncing a curse on either party if one or both parties forfeited or broke the covenant.
But now consider the following passage where God makes a covenant with Abram:
Genesis 15:7-12, 17 And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it. And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon. And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not. And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away. And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him… And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.
Genesis 15:18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
God made a covenant with Abram (later changed to Abraham). As stated before, usually Biblical covenants involve the cutting up of animals (ie. sacrificing them), and both parties walking between the pieces. The significance of this means they are swearing to each other that if either side forfeited their part of the covenant that the same thing that happened to the animal sacrifices would also happen to the party that broke the covenant.
God put Abram to sleep, then took on the form of a burning lamp and went through the pieces of the sacrifices by Himself, indicating the covenant depended only upon Himself - not on both Abram and God together, but only upon God.
The Bible also states that God swears by Himself, vows to Himself alone because there is no one greater. God sevens Himself!
Seven passages where God swears by Himself:
A. Hebrews 6:13-20 For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
B. Genesis 22:16-18 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
C. Exodus 32:13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.
D. Isaiah 45:23 I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.
E. Jeremiah 22:5 But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation.
F. Jeremiah 49:13 For I have sworn by myself, saith the LORD, that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes.
G. Amos 6:8 The Lord GOD hath sworn by himself, saith the LORD the God of hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein.
The following is a list of seven sevenfold covenants made by the Lord God with various men He has chosen or with mankind:
A. Covenant with Abraham - Genesis 12:2-3
1) And I will make of thee a great nation,
2) and I will bless thee,
3) and make thy name great;
4) and thou shalt be a blessing:
5) And I will bless them that bless thee,
6) and curse him that curseth thee:
7) and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
B. Covenant with Jacob - Genesis 28:13-15
And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac:
1) the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;
2) And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south:
3) and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
4) And, behold, I am with thee,
5) and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest,
6) and will bring thee again into this land;
7) for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
C. Covenant with Israel - Exodus 6:6-8
Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and
1) I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians,
2) and I will rid you out of their bondage,
3) and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments:
4) And I will take you to me for a people,
5) and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
6) And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob;
7) and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the LORD.
D. Covenant with Israel regarding the possession of the Promised Land - Joshua 21:43-45
1) And the LORD gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers;
2) and they possessed it,
3) and dwelt therein.
4) And the LORD gave them rest round about, according to all that he sware unto their fathers:
5) and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them;
6) the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand.
7) There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.
E. Covenant with David - 1 Chronicles 17:12-14
1) He shall build me an house,
2) and I will stablish his throne for ever.
3) I will be his father,
4) and he shall be my son:
5) and I will not take my mercy away from him, as I took it from him that was before thee:
6) But I will settle him in mine house and in my kingdom for ever:
7) and his throne shall be established for evermore.
F. The New Covenant - Jeremiah 31:33-34
But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD,
1) I will put my law in their inward parts,
2) and write it in their hearts;
3) and will be their God,
4) and they shall be my people.
And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD:
5) for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD:
6) for I will forgive their iniquity,
7) and I will remember their sin no more.
G. Covenant regarding the Messiah’s birth - Luke 1:31-33
And, behold,
1) thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son,
2) and shalt call his name JESUS.
3) He shall be great,
4) and shall be called the Son of the Highest:
5) and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
6) And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever;
7) and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
Notice, not a single one of these covenants depend upon man. Yes, God chose Mary as a willing vessel to bear Jesus in her womb - but it was the Holy Ghost Himself who would cause her to conceive without having relations with any man (see Luke 1:35).
To sum up, the Lord God made these seven sevenfold covenants with man, sevened Himself and swore by Himself to keep them - put the responsibility solely upon Himself - upon penalty of death.
And man continually broke God's covenants, over and over again.
Isaiah 24:5 The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.
Then to save us, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself bore the penalty of Israel’s (and man’s) repeated breaking of His covenants, by bearing the penalty of those broken covenants Himself. Jesus became a Man so He could die for man’s sins - He was sacrificed on the cross for us to reconcile us to God the Father!
Hebrews 10:12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
What love the Saviour showed to us on the old rugged cross!
Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Part Four - The Spotless Lamb Of God
Everlasting implies something has always existed and will always exist - from eternity past to eternity future. The word everlasting is associated in various places with the covenants God made with man, including the Gospel of salvation. We can see this from the beginning of the Word of God to the end. From the first covenant made with man after the flood to the last one emphasized in the book of Revelation - from Genesis 9:16 to Revelation 14:6. Though this is not a complete list, consider the following references to everlasting:
Isaiah 40:28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.
Isaiah 45:17 But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.
Jeremiah 31:3 The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
Daniel 9:24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (With the Gospel of John being the one main Gospel so many Christians print and distribute to present the Lord Jesus Christ to the lost in the communities they are trying to reach, it is no wonder the phrase "everlasting life" is used seven times in it: John 3:16, 36; 4:14; 5:24; 6:27, 40, 47.)
Hebrews 13:20-21 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Revelation 14:6-7 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
The everlasting God loved us with an everlasting love and promises everlasting life (everlasting because we share in the life and love of God, which existed from all eternity) to all those who will believe in the everlasting Gospel, to all who will trust the Saviour (the Lord Jesus Christ) alone for salvation. This can also be seen in the Bible’s references to the foundation of the world.
Seven things are stated to have happened from or before the foundation of the world:
From the foundation of the world:
A. Matthew 25:34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Though this prophecy is specifically applied to those who become believers during the tribulation period, all who have believed in Jesus Christ for salvation throughout history will be resurrected and have a part in His Millennial kingdom. This kingdom has been prepared from the foundation of the world.
B. Hebrews 4:3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
God’s work of creation and the physical rest found in Him (ie. the sabbath and what it pictures in Christ) have been finished since the foundation of the world - though our spiritual rest (the work of redemption) was finished upon the cross of Calvary.
C. Revelation 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Before Adam and Eve ever fell into sin, the Godhead (ie. the Trinity) planned man’s salvation. Before there was ever any sin, there was a Saviour chosen, and the plan of salvation (the everlasting Gospel) was set in motion. Jesus was the Lamb of God - the chosen sacrifice - slain from the foundation of the world. This redemption was planned and nothing could prevent it from happening in due time. In the eyes of God, the plan of salvation was as good as done, though Jesus Christ dying upon the cross for the sins of the world was still yet many years off. Mankind had to wait for seventy seven generations (see Luke 3:23-38) before the Messiah finally came in the fulness of time.
D. Revelation 17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
God knows the end from the beginning. In His perfect foreknowledge He knows all who will ever receive the Lord Jesus Christ and the salvation found in Him. If you are saved, your name was written down when the Lord God was creating this world. If you have chosen to trust in Jesus Christ by grace through faith, you were not a surprise to God - your salvation was planned, just like the Gospel was planned from the foundation of the world.
Before the foundation of the world:
E. John 17:24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
The Father loved the Son before the foundation of the world - from all eternity - and Jesus wants all true believers to know and understand that everlasting love. See John 17:26.
F. Ephesians 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
No, this is not Calvinism - but the Bible teaches that all those whom God foreknew would trust in Jesus Christ have been placed in Christ, accepted in the Beloved. He did not indiscriminately choose people to go to Heaven or Hell apart from any response on their part, BUT He has chosen that all who will receive Christ will be made like Christ (conformed to His image, holy and without blame before Him), will be given eternal life in Him, will have a future inheritance laid up for them in Heaven. Read the first three chapters of Ephesians and notice how many times believers are stated to be in Christ Jesus, in Him, in the Beloved.
1 Peter 1:2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
G. 1 Peter 1:18-20 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
This is similar to the earlier passage we read about Jesus being the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Here the Bible also states that God planned from before the foundation of the world that Jesus would be the perfect, spotless Lamb that would shed His precious blood for our sins. Precious indicates something is very valuable because it is rare. (The word precious is used seven times in the books of 1 and 2 Peter: 1 Peter 1:7, 19; 2:4, 6, 7; 2 Peter 1:1, 4.)
Ever since mankind’s sin in the Garden of Eden, the Lord has promised and prophesied of the coming Substitute, who would be God’s Lamb - in fact, who would be God Himself. God didn’t plan that man would be a savior or be able to save themselves, but that God Himself would be that Saviour, the Redeemer, the Lamb of God.
Genesis 22:8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
Notice the progression in the following passage about the Passover Lamb:
Exodus 12:3-7 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.
Notice, the Israelites were to choose a young male lamb (in the prime of its life) that they would bring into their house for four days, to examine it, to make sure it was perfect. The lamb was to be without blemish or spot. By keeping the lamb in their own homes, they would then become endeared to it and it would become their lamb.
On Palm Sunday, Jesus Christ rode into Jerusalem on a donkey to present Himself publicly to the nation of Israel. The whole nation examined Him for the next four days. This included the multitude, the Herodians, and the religious crowd - consisting of the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the scribes and lawyers - and then Pilate and Herod themselves. Their conclusion was that there was no sin or fault in Jesus, despite the false accusations against Him. It is interesting to note that the religious leaders sought to find fault with Jesus during much of His public ministry, and this only increased during those final days. (See Matthew 12:10; Mark 3:2; and Luke 11:54.)
During Jesus' trials and on the cross, there are seven people who declared Jesus was innocent (ie. not a criminal) - notice, even Pilate himself stated this fact seven times:
1. Pilate - Matthew 27:24; Luke 23:4, 14, 22; John 18:38; 19:4, 6
2. Judas - Matthew 27:4
3. Pilate’s wife - Matthew 27:19
4. The Centurion - Matthew 27:54; Mark 15:39; Luke 23:47
5. Those with the Centurion- Matthew 27:54
6. Herod - Luke 23:15
7. The penitent thief - Luke 23:41
Isaiah 53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
1 Corinthians 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
Perfect, complete salvation; perfect, complete forgiveness - because Jesus Christ is our perfect, sinless Passover Lamb!
John 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
November 2025
Jerry Bouey
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