Nathaniel R. Martin

The Abrahamic Covenant: Genesis 12-17

Sermon Idea: The Abrahamic Covenant sets apart a particular people through whom God will bring the promised seed of the woman, Jesus Christ, who will fulfill all of God’s promises. 

Introduction: Although it seems we are far from Christmas, it is fast approaching. And as uncommon as it is for churches to sing Christmas hymns in the middle of the blazing heat of Summer, I nearly requested that Pastor Aaron make a special exception for today. There is one famous Christmas hymn, written by the great hymn writer Isaac Watts, that includes a verse very fitting not only for our study this morning but for the entire sermon series. 

Joy to the World is one of the most beloved Christmas hymns; no doubt, many of you could sing it from memory. Every year, as I sing that song, I am moved by verse 3. 

No more let sins and sorrows grow,

Nor thorns infest the ground;

He comes to make his blessings flow

Far as the curse is found

Far as the curse is found. Ever since Adam and Eve’s fall into sin, the curse has taken a prominent place in the biblical story. God curses the serpent (3:14). Although Adam and Eve are not personally cursed, they must live in a cursed world. As a result, there will be conflict between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. There will be conflict between man and woman (3:16). Adam’s sin has also brought a curse upon the ground and over creation (3:17).

The presence of sin and death marks the curse of creation in its very being, as dead bodies are buried in the ground. When Cain kills Abel, God references the curse of the ground. 

10 And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. 11 And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. (Ge 4:10-12)

The curse that sin has brought is not only to each person but to the entire creation. This is why Noah’s Father, Lamech, hopes Noah is the promised savior to come. 

29 and called his name Noah, saying, “Out of the ground that the Lord has cursed, this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands.” (Ge 5:29)

These descriptions tell us that no ordinary hero will do. No ordinary effort will suffice. If salvation is to come, it must come from one who can make his blessings flow as far as the curse is found. 

God’s covenant with Abraham is a pivotal step in the revelation of God’s redemptive plan, as it provides a direct response to these curses and offers specific promises to be fulfilled through Abraham and his descendants.  

The Abrahamic Covenant sets apart a particular people through whom God will bring the promised seed of the woman, Jesus Christ, who will fulfill all of God’s promises.

To understand this, we will examine the Abrahamic covenant through three key developments: God’s promises initiate the covenant, God’s ceremony confirms the covenant, and God’s command of circumcision expands the covenant. 

I.) God’s promises initiate the covenant (Gen. 12:1-7)

Before the Genesis account of Abraham, there were no distinct people of God. Israel was not a people or a nation, to make no mention of a kingdom. God is going to call Abraham from his country and family to create a distinct and particular people from him. 

Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 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.” (Ge 12:1–3)

There are three promises that God makes to Abraham at the beginning of this covenant. However, before examining them, notice that God is taking the initiative. The story of Scripture is about God’s sovereignty and redemptive grace. God calls Abraham out from his home country and chooses to make him into a great nation. Just as God extended grace to Adam and Eve with the promise of the seed of the woman, and just as Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord, so God chose and called Abraham by His grace. God is gracious, and our salvation from before eternity to the end of time is by grace and grace alone. 

Not only does God call Abraham from his country, but he also makes three promises to Abraham as he initiates this covenant. God’s promises to Abraham can be summarized as offspring, land, and blessing. 

The first promise God makes to Abraham is that he will have offspring. God’s promise to make Abraham into a “great nation” (Gen. 12:2) is the promise to give Abraham descendants. He is going to have a son, and his descendants will be numerous, beyond counting. 

If you have been with us throughout our study, the promise of offspring should recall God’s promise to Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:15. The first gospel promise is about offspring—the seed of the woman will crush the head of the serpent. 

When God reiterates the promise to give Abraham offspring throughout the Old Testament, we get a clearer understanding of just how significant this promise is. 

In Genesis 17, which we’ll look at later, God’s promise of offspring is expanded. Abraham will not only become a great nation, but he will be the Father of a multitude of nations, and kings will come from him. 

I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. (Ge 17:6)

The nation that God is creating through a covenant with Abraham will become a kingdom. God will rule over his people in a kingdom established through covenant. 

In Genesis 22, God not only says that the descendants of Abraham will be as numerous as the stars in the heavens and the sand on the shore, but that Abraham’s descendants will possess the gates of their enemies. 

I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies (Ge 22:17)

Now that is interesting language! I love how Tom Schreiner ties this all together.  

“The children of Abraham would multiply and rule on the earth by defeating their enemies. The seed of the woman, in other words, would be the children of Abraham (Gen. 3:15), and they would rule over the Serpent and his offspring.”

The second promise God makes to Abraham is that Abraham’s descendants will inherit a land. God calls Abraham to go, “to the land that I will show you” (Gen. 12:2). The land that God will show Abraham is the land of Canaan, and it is promised explicitly to Abraham’s offspring in Genesis 12:7. 

Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” (Ge 12:7)

Now, remember, a consequence for Adam and Eve was to be exiled from the garden. They were removed from the land where God dwelt with his people. Now, God promises to give a particular land where he will dwell with his people. 

After Israel settles in the land of Canaan, God dwells among his people in the temple, which points to and anticipates God dwelling with his people in the New Heavens and the New Earth in eternity. 

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God (Re 21:3)

Lastly, God promises to make Abraham a blessing and, through him, to bless all nations. 

 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.” (Ge 12:1–3)

This is the ultimate purpose of God in making this covenant with Abraham. The promise of offspring and land is a specific way that God blesses the nations. It is through Abraham, this particular people, that God will bring the promised seed of the woman. Salvation to the nations is at the heart of God’s covenant with Abraham, and salvation for the nations can only be accomplished through Jesus Christ. 

The Kingdom of Israel and the covenants made with Israel are to be mere servants in bringing about the promised seed, Jesus Christ, and the new covenant he will bring. Once he comes, the Kingdom of Israel and the Old Covenant made with them find their fulfillment. 

Paul tells us that Jesus Christ is the seed of Abraham, the promised seed of the woman. 

Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ, (Ga 3:16)

To receive the promised blessings of God, one needs to be more than a physical descendant of Abraham. The promised blessing comes through one’s relationship to Abraham’s descendant, Jesus Christ. Through faith in Jesus, anyone from any nation may become Abraham’s offspring.

26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. (Ga 3:26–29)

It is essential, then, to think of God’s covenant with Abraham in two ways. It is, first and foremost, a covenant of earthly promises and blessings. It concerns a particular people in a specific place who will experience God’s blessing as they obey His covenant commands. All of Abraham’s natural offspring are in this covenant. God fulfills all of these promises: offspring, land, and earthly blessing.

Within this covenant, though, is revealed more of the gospel promise. God is going to bless the nations through his offspring. God fulfills these promises in Jesus Christ, so that Abraham will have spiritual offspring through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. 

There is, however, a significant problem. Abraham does not have a son. How is God going to fulfill his promises to Abraham when he doesn’t even have a son of his own? What confidence can Abraham have that God will keep these promises? 

This brings us to God’s ceremony that confirms the covenant in Genesis 15. Please turn in your Bibles there.

II.) God’s ceremony confirms the covenant (Gen. 15:1-21) 

The promises that God made to Abraham are formalized into a covenant through a ceremony. What prompts this ceremony is Abraham’s concern over his childlessness, so God makes a vow to fulfill all of his promises. 

After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 2 But Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” 4 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” 5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 And he beleved the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness. (Ge 15:1–6)

Before God makes his vow, the text tells us that Abraham believes God, and it is counted to him as righteousness. Abraham is saved not because of his works or obedience, but solely through faith in God’s gospel promises. He looked forward to their fulfillment in faith, and we look back to the cross and resurrection through faith. Just as Abraham was counted righteous through faith, so we can only be righteous through faith in Jesus Christ. 

But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. (Ro 4:23–25)

Friends, the way to righteousness before God cannot be found in our best days or our best works. It can only be found by casting ourselves completely in faith on Jesus Christ alone. 

Let’s return to Genesis 15. To make this covenant vow, God instructs Abraham to bring a heifer, a goat, a ram, a turtle dove, and a pigeon. God then instructs Abraham to cut the heifer, goat, and ram in half and to lay the pieces parallel to one another. 

With everything prepared, the ceremony can now take place. The actions that God takes formalize and confirm the covenant made with Abraham. Let’s look at verses 17-21. 

17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land (Ge 15:17–18)

To understand the significance of this, we must comprehend what the covenant ceremony represents. In this ceremony, the cut-up pieces represent the judgment that would fall on the members who broke their covenant commitment. By walking through the pieces, the person is saying, I am staking my life on my ability to keep my covenant promises, and if I break them, may I be like these cut-up pieces. 

Here is what is interesting. Abraham does not walk through these pieces. We only read that a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch pass between the pieces. This is remarkable because smoke and fire are often associated with the presence of God in the Old Testament. 

God spoke to Moses out of the burning bush (Ex. 3:2). God’s glory descends on Mount Sinai, covering it with a cloud of smoke (Ex. 19:18). And most interesting, God leads Israel through the wilderness by a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day (Ex. 13:21). 

God commits himself to these covenant promises. God stakes more than his reputation, but his very being and life on his faithfulness. The idea, of course, is that God can’t fail to keep this covenant. Not only that, but these particular promises are unconditional. God will fulfill them despite any unfaithfulness that may come from Abraham and his descendants. 

God initiates the covenant by making three promises regarding offspring, land, and blessing. The covenant is confirmed by God’s ceremony where God makes covenant commitments. 

Despite the unconditional nature of God keeping these particular promises, Abraham and his offspring will have responsibilities and covenant conditions that they are to keep. Let’s look at Genesis 17. 

III.) God’s command of circumcision expands the covenant (Gen. 17:1-14)

God calls Abraham and his offspring to obey whatever covenant commitments God commands. 

When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, 2 that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” (Ge 17:1–2)

God’s unconditional promise to keep his covenant does not exempt Abraham and his offspring from total, blameless obedience. What are the covenant commitments that God commands? 

And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, 13 both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.” (Ge 17:9–14)

Participation in the earthly blessing of the covenant was conditional on obeying this command to circumcise every male on the eighth day. Circumcision was the sign of the Abrahamic covenant, and it symbolizes two realities. 

First, it marks off Israel as the particular covenant people of God. Circumcision identifies one as an offspring of Abraham and a member of the covenant people, inheriting all the blessings associated with that membership.

Second, it symbolizes the threat and curse of disobeying the covenant. Listen to the language of Genesis 17:14 carefully, “Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.” 

This command points forward to what God does in the heart of those who place faith in Jesus. On the cross, Jesus was cut off for us. Through faith in him, we are “circumcised without hands”—that is, born again by the Holy Spirit. 

In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, (Col 2:11)

In the New Covenant, circumcision is fulfilled and is no longer binding as covenant law to define who is and is not a member of God’s covenant people. 

14 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. (Ga 6:14–15)

Theological Reflections on the Abrahamic Covenant 

  1. The Abrahamic Covenant contains both unconditional and conditional elements. God’s promises to the nation are unconditional, but they are conditional at the level of the individual. Failure to be faithful to God’s covenant would result in being cut off from the land. 
  1. The Abrahamic Covenant serves as the foundation for the Old Covenant. It is a covenant first and foremost about an earthly people, land, and blessing. 
  1. The Abrahamic Covenant contains promises of the gospel, a new covenant of grace, that will be fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the promised seed of the woman. 
  1. The Abrahamic covenant provides a particular people and place to bring about the seed of the woman. This is Israel’s purpose, and once Christ comes, Israel and the covenants of Israel (Eph. 2:12) are fulfilled. 
Nathaniel R. Martin

The Noahic Covenant: Genesis 6-9

Sermon Idea: The Noahic Covenant is a promise to preserve creation so that God might fulfill His redemptive plan through the promised seed of the woman, Jesus Christ. 

Introduction: I have heard preachers occasionally poke fun at children’s lessons and coloring books on the flood that focus only on animals, the ark, and the rainbow, all the while overlooking God’s wrath and judgment in bringing the floodwaters against sin. That’s fine, I guess, but there is something more critical missing, and that is how God’s covenant with Noah connects with the big story of the Bible in a way that’s centered on Jesus Christ. 

One notable exception to this is Sally Lloyd-Jones’ excellent little book, The Jesus Story Book Bible. In her conclusion to the flood story, she points children to the new beginning God made with Noah, but also the greater need for Jesus, who was yet to come. 

“It was a new beginning in God’s world. It wasn’t long before everything went wrong again, but God wasn’t surprised; he knew this would happen. That’s why, before the beginning of time, he had another plan—a better plan. A plan not to destroy the world, but to rescue it—a plan to send his own Son, the Rescuer.

After God promised that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent’s head, people began to expect and hope for the birth of this Savior. 

Eve seems to possess this hope when she says in Genesis 4:1, “I have gotten a man from the help of the Lord.” Cain proves to be anything but a savior as he kills his brother Abel. The promised deliverer is still needed. Who will he be? 

Noah’s father, Lamech, clearly is hoping for a future deliverer and wonders if his son might be it. In Genesis 5:28-29, we read, “…he fathered a son 29 and called his name Noah, saying, ‘Out of the ground that the Lord has cursed, this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands.” (Ge 5:28-29)

Do you hear the hopeful expectation of a savior? In the early chapters of Genesis, numerous themes emerge, but two stand out prominently: the havoc that sin has brought upon creation and the hope for a deliverer. Creation is no longer a paradise but has been corrupted by sin. If paradise is going to be regained, God must fulfill his promise to bring about the savior who will crush the head of the serpent. The storyline of Scripture is more, but never less than, an eager expectation for the promised seed of the woman. 

Lamech hopes that Noah will be the one who brings relief from the work and painful toil that sin has brought. Might this be the one? 

Noah will not be the seed of the woman, but he is a type that points forward to the savior to come. Noah is a righteous man amid an evil generation. God is going to work through this one righteous man to bring about the salvation of the world. How?

God is going to bring the seed of the woman through Noah, and the covenant God makes with Noah in Genesis 9 guarantees his line will continue until the seed of the woman arrives. Even still, Noah will prove to fall short and sin just as Adam did before him. Noah is not the promised seed of the woman, but his obedience and his failure point us to the need for the savior to come, Jesus Christ. 

This morning, we aim to explore the connection between God’s covenant with Noah and God’s eternal, redemptive plan, as revealed in the Bible and centered on Jesus Christ.  

The Noahic Covenant is a promise to preserve creation so that God might fulfill His redemptive plan through the promised seed of the woman, Jesus Christ.

That is what I am to show you this morning, and I hope to achieve that with three points from these chapters: God’s judgment of wickedness is the context of the covenant, God’s new creation commission sets the terms of the covenant, and God’s preservation of creation is the promise of the covenant. 

I.) God’s judgment of wickedness is the context of the covenant 

(Genesis 6-7)

The Bible does not sugarcoat the state of creation and the wickedness of humanity after the Fall. Things have progressively gotten worse so that Noah and his family are a faithful remnant living among a wicked generation. 

Time does not allow me to discuss Genesis 6:1-4 in detail, because it’s a minefield of interpretive problems, and if we enter, we may not emerge unscathed. I do have opinions, and I’m happy to share them whenever we preach through Genesis or in private conversation. For our purposes, we only need to consider verses 5-8. 

5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. (Ge 6:5–6)

This is not a description of unintentional mistakes, slip-ups, or errors. It is not a description of a small segment of the population. Humanity’s wickedness was great on the earth. The language is comprehensive and total. 

Tom Schreiner says, “Evil had become a tsunami that had swept away all goodness: ‘every intention,’ ‘only evil,’ and continually.”

The wickedness of humanity rightly evokes God’s judgment, which sets the context for God’s covenant with Noah. 

When the text says that the Lord “regretted that he had made man” and was “sorry that I have made them,” it is language that communicates God’s judgment on the wickedness of humanity in a way we can understand. It does not mean that God has made a mistake, nor that He regrets it in the same way we do. The Bible tells us that God is not like us and that he doesn’t have regret. 

God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should 

change his mind (Nu 23:19)

29 And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.” (1 Sa 15:29)

What is clear is that God declares his intent to judge the wickedness of the world, and that judgment is total except for one family.

“I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. (Genesis 6:7-8)

God, being faithful to his promise, will bring salvation through judgment. Noah has found favor in the eyes of the Lord. In other words, he has seen the grace of the Lord. God is going to bring judgment but save Noah and his family by grace, through whom he will preserve his promise to bring about the seed of the woman. 

God saves Noah by instructing him to build an ark large enough to accommodate his family and the types of animals that God instructs him to gather. 

 13 And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 14 Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. (Ge 6:12–14)

Noah obeys all the commands that God gives him. God then shuts Noah’s family in the ark, and then the rain comes. 

21 And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all mankind. 22 Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. 23 He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark. 24 And the waters prevailed on the earth 150 days. (Ge 7:21–24)

Judgment washes over creation, but Noah’s family is saved inside the ark of God’s grace. The ark serves as a type of our salvation. Just as God’s grace saves Noah from God’s wrath while safely in the ark, we are saved from God’s wrath as we are united to Jesus Christ, the ark of our salvation. 

If you’re here this morning and you have not taken seriously the reality of God’s holiness and righteousness. If you have not reflected on the gravity of your sin and your standing before God in light of sin, you need to. 

Just as the ark was the only refuge for Noah and his family from the waters of judgment, so faith in Jesus Christ is the only refuge for sinners from the judgment to come. 

Jesus tells us in the Gospel of Matthew that the judgment that will accompany His second coming will come rushing like the floodwaters in the time of Noah. 

38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man (Mt 24:38–39)

Are you safely abiding in the ark of our salvation, Jesus Christ, or are you at risk of being swept under the waters of judgment?

The Apostle Peter says that baptism corresponds to the ark which saved Noah and his family. Baptism does not save us by itself, but it is a pledge by all those who have been saved through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Pe 3:20–21)

The context of God’s covenant with Noah is the total judgment of wickedness that points forward to the final day of judgment. God’s salvation of Noah in the ark points forward to the salvation that is only found in Jesus Christ. 

The catastrophic and comprehensive nature of this judgment places the covenant in its proper perspective. 

II.) God’s new creation commission sets the terms of the covenant (Genesis 8:20-9:7) 

The floodwaters subside because God blows the wind over the water. Genesis 8:1 tells us that God remembered Noah. God had not forgotten or misplaced him. To say that God remembered Noah is a way of saying that God acts graciously toward Noah in faithfulness to his promise. 

But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided. 2 The fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the rain from the heavens was restrained, 3 and the waters receded from the earth continually. (Ge 8:1–3)

With the waters receded, Genesis presents Noah as a New Adam of a New Creation. There are numerous connections in the text to make this point, but I want to focus on the most explicit. Noah is given the same mission that God gave to Adam. Look with me at Genesis 9:1-3. 

And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. 2 The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered. 3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. (Ge 9:1–3)

Noah and all those who come after him are to be fruitful and multiply. They exercise dominion over creation, especially animals, which, in our fallen world, will often fear human beings. There is, however, a key difference. Adam and Eve were meant to be fruitful and multiply to extend God’s garden-temple all over the world. They were to fill the earth with faithful, righteous image bearers of God. Noah cannot do this. That was lost when Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden. 

When God gives this commission to Noah, the curse of sin has already tainted all of creation and every human being. Noah is to be fruitful and multiply to bring the promised seed of the woman.

There is another element to this covenant because of the fall. To preserve life and restrain evil, God institutes human societies or governments to protect life and execute justice as a restraint for evil. 

4 But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 5 And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. 6 “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image. (Ge 9:4–6)

For God’s promise to be fulfilled, life is valued and protected. The purpose of government is to protect life and restrain evil that threatens life. The consequence for a crime as heinous as murder is capital punishment, reinforced and nuanced later in the Mosaic Law. 

What God institutes here in Genesis 9 is the foundation for Paul’s teaching about the God given authority of earthly governments to wield the sword of justice. 

3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. (Ro 13:3–4)

Samuel Renihan explains this connection well. 

“In the Noahic Covenant, human societies therefore have two basic and related jobs: to preserve life, and to preserve family…As a result, any society or government that corrupts the family or murders the innocent is a government in direct treason and disobedience to the God of the universe. They are abusing the sword entrusted to them by turning it on the innocent, rather than the guilty.” 

God is the God of life, and his people are to follow him in valuing the dignity of life. We follow him in speaking on behalf of vulnerable life who cannot speak for themselves, whether it be innocent life in utero, non-verbal image bearers, or even the poor and marginalized when appropriate. 

God brings salvation through judgment. Noah is the second Adam commissioned to be fruitful and multiply. Through Noah’s obedience to that command, God will preserve a holy line to fulfill His promise to provide a Savior, the promised seed of the woman.  

God’s judgment of wickedness is the context for the covenant. God’s new creation commission set the terms of the covenant. Now let’s close by reflecting on the promise of the covenant.

III.) God’s preservation of creation is the promise of the covenant (Genesis 9:8-17) 

20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. 22 While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease. (Ge 8:20–22)

This promise is reiterated in Genesis 9:11, and it is referred to as a covenant. 

 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.” (Ge 9:10–11)

The covenant that God made with Noah, which remains in force today, is to preserve the creation so that He can fulfill all His promises through the seed of the woman, Jesus Christ. This covenant is much more than a promise not to flood the earth. It is a promise to pass over sins, to be patient, to preserve creation, assuring that salvation will come through Jesus Christ. 

This means that you can trust God to keep his promises. Four out of the eight occurrences of the word “covenant” have the possessive pronoun “my” before it. 

18 But I will establish my covenant with you (Ge 6:18)

9 “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, (Ge 9:9)

11 I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, (Ge 9:11)

15 I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. (Ge 9:15)

This is a covenant that God binds himself to. He is obligated to keep it for the sake of his reputation. This covenant will be kept no matter Noah’s failure or those after him. It depends on God. 

A covenant sign accompanies this promise. 

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.” (Ge 9:12–17)

As many scholars have noted, there is no Hebrew word that directly translates to the English term “rainbow.” The word used here is bow, as in a weapon used in warfare. God has set His bow of wrath in the sky, pointed upward toward heaven, as a sign that promises to preserve creation and fulfill His promises in Christ. 

The Noahic Covenant is a promise to preserve creation so that God might fulfill His redemptive plan through the promised seed of the woman, Jesus Christ. 

This is the only biblical covenant that the New Covenant has not fulfilled. It remains in force today and will continue until Christ returns. On that day, God’s grace and patience will reach their end. Salvation will be completed for those in Christ, and judgment will be meted out to those in rebellion against Christ. 

God’s judgment of wickedness in the flood story reminds us of God’s holiness and justice. It reminds us to take sin seriously and reflect on the one refuge from his wrath—the gospel of Jesus Christ. As Noah obeyed God and built the ark, here is the command to repent and believe the gospel. 

Nathaniel R. Martin

The Covenant of Grace Promised: Genesis 3:15

Sermon Idea: God’s eternal redemptive plan, a covenant of grace, is revealed to Adam and fulfilled by the promised seed of the woman. 

Introduction: Graeme Goldsworthy tells a story about an Australian Sunday School teacher who felt her lessons had become a little too predictable. She feared this predictability would lead to boredom, so she decided on a new tactic. 

The following week, she stood before her five-year-old class and said, “Who can tell me what is gray and furry and lives in a Gum tree?”

The children, surprised, said nothing. 

“Come on,” she said, “someone must know. What is gray, furry, lives in a gum tree, has a black leathery nose, and beady eyes? 

Still no answer. 

She repeated herself, nearly giving up until one little girl raised her hand. 

The teacher smiled and said, “Yes, Suzie?” 

Suzie answered, “I know it’s Jesus, but it sounds like a Koala!”1 

One of the challenges of preaching the Old Testament is to do so in a way that is faithful to the text and centered on Jesus Christ without being simple and predictable. 

We aim to connect the dots in a way that allows the progressive nature of God’s revelation to be fully felt. That said, when it comes to faithful reading of Scripture, the Sunday School answer is the correct answer: I know it’s Jesus. After all, this is how Jesus himself taught us to think about the Old Testament. 

26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. (Lk 24:26-27)

46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?” (Jn 5:46–47)

The Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation, from the seed of the woman to the slain lamb on the throne, are about Jesus Christ. As Mitchell Chase reminds us, “Jesus treasured the Old Testament, and at the same time he was—and is—its treasure.”

The promise that God gives to Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:15 is known as the protoevangelium. It is the first form, “proto,” of the gospel promise of grace, “evangelium.” At the center of that promise is the seed of the woman who will crush the head of the serpent. 

The rest of the Old Testament is about the hope of this promised seed. That is why we are pausing to think about this verse in depth. In just a few words, God prepares us for conflict, foreshadows the cross, and promises the covenant of grace in which we are saved through faith in Jesus Christ. 

We might summarize the sermon idea in this way: God’s eternal, redemptive plan—a covenant of grace—is revealed to Adam and fulfilled by the promised seed of the woman. 

I.) The gospel promise comes through conflict 

As Aaron taught you last week, the first gospel promise is given when God curses the serpent. 

14 The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. 15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your 

offspring and her offspring (Ge 3:14-15)

We may not think of enmity and conflict as being good news for us, but we need to remember that God promises this as he curses the serpent. The promise of enmity is hard news for us, but devastating news for the serpent. 

Sinclair Ferguson helpfully notes that the promise of enmity, “…is an 

indication to Satan that he has not actually won. He thinks that because he’s overcome Adam and Eve, that perhaps the whole victory is his. And so, God is forewarning him in this judgment that he has a fight on his hands, that the seed of the woman, those who are faithful believers, will continue to withstand the seed of the serpent…”2

The painful enmity that the seed of the woman must endure is seen immediately in Genesis 4, when Cain kills Abel. These boys share the same biological mother, but one worshipped God rightly and the other opposed God by killing his brother Abel. Cain was the seed of the woman struck down by the seed of the serpent, Abel. 

Yet even here, the seed of the woman perseveres despite the enmity with the seed of the serpent.

25 And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, “God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.” 26 To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord. (Ge 4:25–26)

The Old Testament story is not a record of natural, neutral historical events. It is the record of an ongoing conflict between the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of God. From Pharaoh instructing Hebrew Midwives to murder newborn Hebrew boys to Herod seeking to murder male children in Exodus under the age of two in the Gospel of Matthew, the seed of the serpent attempts to find and destroy the seed of the woman. 

Jesus reinforces this to us in the Gospels when he refers to the Pharisees and the Sadducees as “a brood of vipers.” (Matt. 3:7; Luke 3:7). He does so again in John 8, calling those seeking to kill him, saying in verse 44, “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’sdesires (Jn 8:44). These are not random, harsh words by Jesus, but an allusion to the distinction between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent.3  

If you’re here this morning and you are not a Christian, how does this resonate with you? How will you reflect and respond to God’s revelation that, apart from Christ, you are the seed of the serpent? 

We pray that your reflection will lead you to respond with repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. It is through faith in Jesus that we become children of God. 

12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, (Jn 1:12)

It is through faith in Jesus that we are “…called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (1 Pe 2:9)

Beloved saints in the room. Hear this promise of conflict not in fear, but in hope. The church will face persecution, trials, and difficulties. As long as the Lord tarries, we will remain in a cosmic battle. 

11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Eph 6:11–12)

8sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. (1 Pe 5:8–9)

We need to hear these words and believe them. Yet, we also need to remember that the promise of enmity in Genesis 3:15 is to tell Satan that he has not won. Jesus tells us in Matthew 16:18, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Mt 16:18)

Beloved, the church may struggle. The church may suffer. The church may be persecuted, but the church will be built, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 

Paul encourages us in this way: “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” (Ro 16:20) 

The promise of the gospel comes through conflict, but it is fulfilled on the cross. 

II.) The gospel promise is fulfilled on the cross 

After the promise of conflict comes the promise of victory: he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. (Ge 3:15)

The seed of the woman will bruise the head of the serpent, but will suffer a wound himself, “…and you shall bruise his heel.” You do not need a medical license to understand that a wound to the head is significantly more serious than a wound to the heel. 

There is going to be one seed of the woman, the seed of the woman, who will strike a fatal blow on the head of the serpent through his suffering. That suffering is endured on the cross. 

As the Old Testament anticipated God’s suffering servant, the Messiah, it told of him being crushed for the sins of his people. 

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, 

he was crushed for our iniquities; 

the punishment that brought us peace was on him, 

and by his wounds we are healed. (Is 53:5)

10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, 

and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, 

he will see his offspring and prolong his days, 

and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. (Is 53:10)

The New Testament tells us that it was through the cross that Jesus defeated Satan. The cross was the strike to Jesus’ heel and a crushing blow to Satan’s head. 

14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. (Heb 2:14–15)

This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. (Col 2:14–15)

The promised seed of the woman, the Messiah, was the Son of God incarnate who lived in our place, fulfilling the law we could not keep, and then he died on the cross, paying the penalty for sin we could not pay. 

In that one, substitutionary sacrifice our sin is paid, Satan is crushed, and death is defeated. 

The gospel promise comes through conflict, is fulfilled on the cross, and is mediated through covenant. 

III.) The gospel promise is mediated through covenant 

Up to this point, you may be wondering how exactly God’s first gospel promise in Genesis 3:15 relates to our study of the biblical covenants. God always relates to his people through covenant, and this is no exception.

” A Covenant can be defined as follows: a covenant is a chosen relationship in which two parties make binding promises (and obligations) to each other.” 

If Genesis 3:15 is the first gospel promise, then it is the first promise of a covenant of grace. By the covenant of grace, I mean the covenant under which God saves every believer who places their faith in Christ and applies all the benefits of Christ’s finished work to them. 

Moreover, man having brought himself under the curse of the law by his fall, it pleased the Lord to make a covenant of grace,wherein He freely offers unto sinners life and salvation by Jesus Christ…-  Second London Baptist Confession 7.2 

This covenant is revealed in the gospel; first of all to Adam in the promise of salvation by the seed of the woman, and afterwards by farther steps, until the full discovery thereof was completed in the New Testament;-Second London Baptist Confession 7.3

For those who remember, we said something very similar in our introductory sermon. Let me read what I said then as a reminder.

Adam disobeyed, and all of creation was cursed. However, even as God cursed all of creation, he promised a future covenant, not of works but grace. In Genesis 3:15, God promises that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent. 

All the covenants that follow are God’s way of fulfilling that promise, which is not fulfilled or realized until the New Covenant ratified by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the seed of the woman. 

Here is why this is important. The way that you understand how God brings and administers this covenant of grace makes all the difference in determining your understanding of the church. 

Many in the Baptist tradition have argued for approximately 400 years that the covenant of grace is promised in Genesis 3:15 and progressively revealed through the subsequent biblical covenants; however, it is only the new covenant, mediated by Jesus Christ, that constitutes the covenant of grace. 

The Abrahamic covenant is a gracious covenant of promise, but it is not the covenant of grace. 

The Mosaic covenant is a gracious covenant of promise, but it is not the covenant of grace.  

The Davidic covenant is a gracious covenant of promises, but it is not the covenant of grace. 

These covenants together are what the New Testament refers to as the “Old Covenant.” 

The New Covenant is the covenant of grace formalized and mediated by Jesus Christ.  

15 Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant (Heb 9:15)

Right now, I merely want to plant that particular seed.  As we walk through each covenant in the coming weeks, we will gain a deeper understanding of how God progressively reveals His one plan of redemption, this covenant of grace, and how it impacts our lives as a church. 

  1. Graeme Goldsworthy, Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000) X. ↩︎
  2.  https://learn.ligonier.org/podcasts/ask-ligonier/what-is-the-protoevangelium Accessed June 15th, 2025.  ↩︎
  3. James Hamilton, “The Skull Crushing Seed of the Woman: Inner-Biblical Interpretation of Genesis 3:15” SBJT 10/2 (Summer 2006) ↩︎
Nathaniel R. Martin

The Creation Covenant: Genesis 1-2

Sermon Idea: The creation covenant reveals God’s purpose for humanity, who were created to represent God on earth as his image bearers. God makes this covenant with Adam, promising life & rest in God’s presence for obedience and death for disobedience. 

Introduction: The most crucial part of any structure is the foundation. When the foundation is flawed, the structure will be flawed—this is true not only of architecture, but also of our spiritual lives. Jesus makes this connection in Matthew 7. 

24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. (Mt 7:24-27)

The foundation of our understanding of the Bible and the foundation for understanding ourselves is the doctrine of creation. In Genesis 1-2, we come to know God, ourselves, and the purpose of the world. A thorough understanding of human dignity, human sexuality, work, marriage, and many other topics is found in these two chapters. 

I want to mention this because my purpose is very particular this morning. I want to set the scene of creation only to focus on God’s covenant with Adam and the purpose of the world. That means there are many good things I cannot discuss. 

My purpose this morning is to discuss creation in general and the covenant God makes with Adam in particular. 

The Bible assumes and takes for granted the existence of the one, true, and living God. 

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. (Ge 1:1)

In one verse, the Bible establishes what the Christian tradition has referred to as the creator-creature distinction. God transcends creation, not being part of it nor in any way dependent on it. All that exists is from him and for him. He gives creation its purpose and meaning, including, above all, the creation of human beings. The point of Genesis 1-2 is straightforward: the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the God of Israel—is the one who created all things by the power of His Word. 

By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. (Heb 11:3)

As the creation narrative progresses, God declares judgment on what he has made. 

Five times we read, “And God saw that it was good.” (Gen. 1:10, 12, 18, 21, 25) 

When God creates humanity, his creative work reaches its pinnacle. It is only after the creation of humanity on day six that God looks at all that he has made and declares, “…it was very good.” (Gen. 1:31) 

It is God’s creation of and purpose for humanity that results in God making a covenant. As a reminder, we defined covenant in our intro sermon as a chosen relationship in which two parties make binding promises (and obligations) to each other.”

The word “covenant” does not occur in Genesis 1-2, but the concept is undoubtedly present. Not only that, but later biblical texts also reinforce the idea that a covenant was established at creation. 

1.) In Genesis 2:4, the name LORD (YHWH) is used. As later Israelites read Genesis, they would have most certainly understood this as the name of the covenant Lord (Exodus 3:13-15). 

2.) Adam is not only given commands, but promises for obedience, and curses for disobedience. Had Adam obeyed God in the Garden, it would have resulted in eternal life (Gen. 3:22-24; Rev. 2:7), but disobedience would have brought the curse of death (Gen. 2:17; 3:16-19). 

3.) Later Biblical texts refer to Adam transgressing God’s covenant,But like Adam they transgressed the covenant; there they dealt faithlessly with me. (Ho 6:7)

4.) In the New Testament, Paul consistently and repeatedly compares Adam and Jesus as two representatives of humanity. It is difficult to think of Christ as the head of the new covenant without also considering Adam as the head of a covenant in creation.

18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous (Ro 5:18–19)

The creation covenant reveals God’s purpose for humanity, who were created to represent God on earth as his image bearers. God makes this covenant with Adam, promising life & rest in God’s presence for obedience and death for disobedience.

This morning, we will study God’s covenant with Adam in Genesis 1-2 by discussing the goal of creation, the purpose of the Garden, and the promises of the covenant. 

I.) The Goal of Creation (Gen. 1:26-31)

As Genesis 1 progresses, it becomes clear that what happens on the sixth day is the most significant. All of creation leads to the moment when God makes man in his image. God creates the world so that his image bearers will dwell there as faithful representatives of God’s rule and reign. Look at verses 26-27 with me.  

26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 

27  So God created man in his own image, 

in the image of God he created him; 

male and female he created them. (Ge 1:26–27)

Human beings are unique in that they are created in God’s very image and likeness. Both men and women, together—equally yet complementary—represent God on earth. This is fundamentally what it means to be created in God’s image and likeness. We are his royal representatives on earth.

This understanding of the image is reflected in the Psalmist’s interpretation of Genesis 1:26-28: “What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet.” (Psalm 8:4)

Note that crown, glory, and honor are descriptors of royalty.

Old Testament scholars have noted a remarkable historical fact that sheds some light on this. Kings in the ancient Near East would place statues, images of themselves, in regions to represent their authority and rule. 

This is why I don’t go on long vacations. I’m afraid David is going to plant a statue of himself on the front lawn and declare himself the king of Waldo Hill! 

I like how one book describes the image of God. 

“…when God declares human beings to be his image-bearers, he is establishing the fact that they are to be his visible representatives in the created world. As such, they are to function with a derived authority as God would act and rule over the created order as God himself would.”

The goal of creation is for God to establish his kingdom, his rule and reign, through his image-bearers. As God’s image-bearer, Adam is to exercise dominion over the fish of the sea, birds of the heavens, over the livestock, and every creeping thing on earth. 

We learn something significant in verse 28, though. God’s purpose is not to have one man, or even one couple, represent and worship him on earth. He intends for the entire world to be filled with his image-bearers who worship him and describe his rule and reign on earth. God wants the whole earth to be one big temple, where God’s presence dwells with his people.

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. (Ge 1:28)

Adam has a mission: to extend the presence of God’s rule and reign over the whole earth. To accomplish this, God graciously provides Adam with a helper for him and an institution—marriage— in which they can safely give themselves to one another for the accomplishment of that mission. 

Two brief application points regarding this. 

1. The worthiness of God to be worshipped. 

2. The honor and dignity of human beings. 

This mission has to begin somewhere. That brings us to our second point, the purpose of the garden. 

II.) The Purpose of the Garden (Gen. 2:5-15)

God plants the garden to be a microcosm and prototype for what God intends all of creation to be: a temple where God rules as he dwells with his people. The garden will serve as an initial place where Adam will serve as God’s representative. 

8 And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed (Ge 2:8)

15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it (Ge 2:15)

Adam isn’t just to exercise dominion like a king, but he is also to worship the Lord and serve as a priest. The language and images used to describe the garden are remarkably similar to those used to describe the tabernacle and the temple. Not only that, but Adam’s job description is language used to describe the work of priests. 

We hear the language “work it and keep it‘ and think that Adam was a farmer. To be sure, Adam cared for the garden, but these words, when paired together, do not connote agriculture but priestly service. An excellent example of this is found in Numbers 3:6-10. 

6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. 7 They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle. 8 They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. 9 And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the people of Israel. 10 And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall guard their priesthood. But if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.” (Nu 3:6–10)

Adam is to exercise dominion and subdue the earth. By God’s authority, Adam is a king in the garden. He is to work and keep the garden as a priest. It is Adam’s job to make sure nothing unclean enters the garden. Adam does this primarily by obeying God’s command in Genesis 2:16-17.

16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Ge 2:16–17)

The timing of this command is worth noting. God gives this command to Adam before the creation of the woman. 

God gives Adam an explicit command. It is Adam’s job to ensure that God’s Word is made known, understood, and kept by his wife and his future children. Adam is also the garden’s prophet.

It is Adam’s job to make God’s Word honored and obeyed, so that proper worship can take place in God’s presence. 

Adam is a prophet, a priest, and a king. 

The garden serves as a testing ground for Adam’s mission. Can he be a faithful prophet, priest, and king? Can he be a faithful representative of God’s rule and reign? God’s command not to eat of the tree puts Adam to the test. 

This brings us to our final point—the promises of the covenant. 

III.) The Promises of the Covenant (Gen. 2:9, 16-17) 

We know that Adam is supposed to exercise dominion, be fruitful and multiply, and also be a faithful prophet and priest of God’s garden. What makes this relationship a covenant, though? The two trees in the garden symbolize the most prominent features of a covenant. One tree symbolizes the reward of eternal life and righteousness if Adam obeys. The other tree symbolized the curse of death if Adam disobeys. 

9 And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (Ge 2:9)

The tree of life was a reminder of God’s promise to reward Adam with eternal life and righteousness. God’s exiling of Adam and Eve from the garden, the way the tree of life is used in the Revelation, and the curse of death for disobedience strongly suggest that eternal life would have been rewarded to Adam had he obeyed. 

1. Adam is expelled from the garden, and a Cherubim protects the tree. 

22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life. (Ge 3:22–24)

2. The presence of the tree of life in Revelation reinforces is being a symbol of eternal life. 

7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God (Re 2:7)

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. (Re 22:1–2)

3. Disobedience resulted in death, so obedience would have justly resuled in the reward of life. 

6 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Ge 2:16–17)

This covenant made with Adam is one of works. The reward is conditional upon Adam’s obedience. As Aaron will teach us next week, Adam fails this test and breaks this covenant.

God banishes Adam and Eve from the garden as a punishment for sin, but also as a means of salvation. They are not to return to the covenant of works. They are to look forward to a covenant of grace. Adam doesn’t need to lift his hands to eat of a tree. He needs to lift his eyes in hope of the one who will die on a tree.    

None of us can achieve eternal life by a covenant of works. We can only receive eternal life by way of a covenant of grace. Jesus brings that covenant of grace by his life, death, and resurrection.

Everywhere Adam failed, Christ succeeded. He is a true and better prophet, priest, and king who faithfully represents God as the image of God. I love the opening verse of Christ the True and Better which teaches us exactly that 

Christ, the true and better Adam

Son of God and Son of man

Who, when tempted in the garden

Never yielded, never sinned

He, who makes the many righteous

Brings us back to life again

Dying, He reversed the curse, then

Rising, crushed the serpent’s head

Give a clear gospel call and response.