Covenants and Contracts

We find both covenants and contracts in the Bible. What is the difference between the two? A covenant is an agreement where one person makes all the terms. Others may accept or reject the agreement but they cannot change the terms. A last will and testament is a good example of a covenant (see Galatians 3:15). One may challenge it in court as not valid, but the terms of a will cannot be modified once the testator has died.

On the other hand, a contract is an agreement where all individuals have input into the terms. They can be negotiated. Abraham wanted to purchase a cave to bury his wife Sarah in; Ephron responded that he needed to buy the field containing the cave for four hundred shekels as well, to which terms Abraham agreed (Genesis 23:8-16). Judas negotiated with the Jewish leaders to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver (Matthew 26:14-16).

God does not make contracts; he only makes covenants. He gets to set the terms of his covenants and people cannot change them. There are two types of covenants that God makes. One type is the covenant of promise. That is where God binds himself to fulfill a promise. Examples include the covenant with Noah not to flood the whole world again, the covenant with the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give them many descendants and the land of Canaan and a blessing to all nations through their seed, and the covenant with David that God would build a house for him. The other type of covenant is called a "suzerain treaty" covenant. This is where a benefactor helps a people, and thus they owe him obligation to fulfill the terms of the covenant that he sets forth. The Old Covenant of Moses is such a covenant. The list of the Ten Commandments begins with what God has done for the people, although that verse is often omitted from the list. In the same way with the New Covenant, Jesus has died to save us, so he has the right to tell us how we are supposed to live. Sometimes our focus is only on what he expects of us, but we must remember first what he has done for us.