The Covenant
12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: 13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds… (Genesis 9:1 - 17, v. 13)
The Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:4 - 3:24) is oftentimes seen as a cautionary tale: perfection destroyed by the sin of disobedience. What was once a promise becomes a dream deferred, lost to humanity, seemingly forever. A tantalizing aspect of the story is that of the covenant that Yahweh creates with Adam after He puts him in the garden (Genesis 2:15 - 17). It’s a precedent that will continue all throughout the Bible: the concept of the covenant. What is a covenant? When does Elohim create these covenants? Why would He want one with us?
To define a covenant would be to understand that is an agreement between the two parties. In the legal sense, it holds weight as it is properly convened and accepted by those who are involved. Biblically, circumstances in which a covenant is made often have the person doing something for Yahweh and Him returning by doing something for the person and their descendants.
Most scholars can not agree on the number of covenants that Yahweh made in the Bible, with numbers varying wildly. However, what can be agreed upon by theologians and can be easily understood in the Bible is that there is a minimum of five: Edenic (Genesis 1:28 - 30; Genesis 2:15 - 17), Noahic (Genesis 9:12 - 17), Abrahamic (Genesis 12 - 17), Mosaic (Exodus 19 - 24) and Davidic (2 Samuel 7). Every one of these present how much love Elohim has for His people and His servants.
The source of these covenants between Yahweh and man come from Him: Yahweh sees what desire fills your heart (Psalm 37:4); what drove Noah, Moses, Abraham and David was wanting to know Elohim and serving Him. Call to Him and He will answer you, telling you great and hidden things that you have not known (Jeremiah 33:3). Matthew 6:33 says to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” God will intiate it and tell you what you must do as to not break the covenant that was made between you and Him.
What Yahweh did with them long ago, has not stopped for He has not changed (Numbers 23:19). Those who seek the Holy One of Israël with all of their hearts, of their power and time, will receive Him and build a relationship with Him. He will not abandon you, nor your descendants, as long as you all heed to His commandments and to the covenant that He made with you (Deuteronomy 28:1 - 2)