KOT-03 Divine Covenants

If you were a great king in the ancient world, and you were determined to spread your rule over other nations, how would you administer your kingdom? How would you establish the fundamental policies of your empire as it grew larger and larger? These are good questions to ask as we study the Old Testament because the Old Testament presents God as the supreme divine King who is determined to spread his kingdom to the ends of the earth. Ancient Israelites knew that great human kings in their day ruled their expanding kingdoms through international treaties or covenants. So, it was no surprise to them to learn that God administered his expanding kingdom through covenants as well. God’s covenants established the basic policies that governed his kingdom as it spread throughout the earth.

This is the third lesson in our series Kingdom, Covenants & Canon of the Old Testament, and we’ve entitled it, “Divine Covenants.” In this lesson, we’ll explore how God governed his kingdom through a series of covenants to advance his kingdom throughout the world.

As we’re learning in this series, the books of the Old Testament canon were written to address God’s people in a variety of times and circumstances. Yet, the outlooks of each book rested on a set of beliefs that all Old Testament authors held in common. They all believed that God’s grand purpose in history was to expand his kingdom from heaven to the ends of the earth. And they also believed that God administered the expansion of his kingdom in different time periods through a series of major covenants. In effect, Old Testament authors wrote their books to further God’s kingdom by applying his covenant policies to the challenges of different situations. And for this reason, understanding God’s covenants is crucial to grasping the significance of every portion of the Old Testament.

Our exploration of divine covenants in the Old Testament will divide into four main parts. First, we’ll investigate the crucial connections between God’s kingdom and his covenants. Second, we’ll look into the history of God’s covenants in the Old Testament. Third, we’ll examine the dynamics of life in these covenants. And fourth, we’ll explore the people of God’s covenants. Let’s start with the connections between God’s kingdom and his covenants.