[Time: 3 minutes. Read below or listen here.]
Before the coming of Jesus Christ and His New Covenant, there were at least five previous covenants in the Old Testament, three of them in the book of Genesis. I say at least five because people who study these things differ on the number and importance of the covenants. These covenants have their place in dispensational theology and are central, as you might expect, to covenant theology. You can bring either theological system to these steps in grasping the story of the Bible.
So, instead of using the traditional covenant names, we will use instead just the names of the key figures:
Adam
Noah
Abraham
Moses
David
Jesus
Much of the New Testament after the four Gospels deals with the inclusion of the Gentiles (non-Jews) in God’s plan. Therefore, the seventh person to include in our list is you and me: Everyone.
Adam
Noah
Abraham
Moses
David
Jesus
Everyone
But the whole Story centers on Jesus.
Adam was tempted by Satan and yielded to the temptation. Jesus was tempted directly by Satan and was victorious.
Noah found safety in the ark from God’s judgment on the world. Jesus taught that salvation was to be found in Him.
Abraham was justified in God’s sight by faith. We are justified before God by faith in Jesus Christ.
Moses went up a mountain to receive God’s instructions. Jesus taught crowds on the mount about His new way.
David was the foundation of the kingdom of Israel. Jesus is now and ever will be the King in God’s kingdom.
Jesus is the center of the story.
Everyone now has equal access to God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, regardless of ethnicity, nation, or gender (I am sensitive to the fact that six of my seven points above refer to males, but that’s the story the Bible gives us in those ancient times. The New Testament emphasizes the place of women throughout.). Jesus is our strength against temptation, our place of safety in the storms of life, the object and source of our faith, the once and future King, and the One who makes all things new in our lives today.
Next Step: Genesis, including three of the foundational Story points.