*RCCG SUNDAY SCHOOL MANUAL*
LESSON THIRTY-FOUR
SUNDAY, 23RD APRIL 2017
*TOPIC: BIBLICAL COVENANTS*
*MEMORY VERSE:*
‘’Behold the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah." - Jeremiah 31:31
*BIBLE PASSAGE:*
Jeremiah 31:31-34
*INTRODUCTION:*
Covenants are important features of the Bible's teaching. Seven specific covenants are revealed on the Scripture. These seven covenants fall into three categories - conditional, unconditional and general. Conditional covenants are based on certain obligations and prerequisites; if the requirements are not fulfilled, the covenant is broken. Unconditional covenants are made with no strings attached and will be kept regardless of one party's fidelity or infidelity. General covenants are not specific to one people group and can involve a wide range of people.
*LESSON OUTLINES*
1. The biblical covenants of old
2. The new covenant
*THE BIBLICAL COVENANTS OF OLD*
The general covenants of old are:
1. Adam's Covenant. This covenant is in two parts. The Edenic covenant found in Genesis 1:26-30; 2:16-17, which outlined man's responsibility toward creation and God's directive regarding the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The second part of the Adamic covenant includes the curses pronounced against mankind for the sin of Adam and Eve as well as God's future provision for man's redemption (Genesis 3:15).
2. Noahic Covenant. This was made between God and Noah following the departure of Noah, his family and the animals from the ark (Genesis 9:11). This covenant included a sign of God's faithfulness to keep it - the rainbow.
The unconditional covenants are:
1. Abrahamic Covenant. In this covenant, God promised many things to Abraham. He personally promised that He would make Abraham's name great (Genesis 12:1-3), that Abraham would have numerous physical descendants (Genesis 13:16), and that he would be the father of a multitude of nations (Genesis 17:4-5). God also made promises regarding a nation called Israel. Another provision in the Abrahamic Covenant is that the families of the world will be blessed through the physical line of Abraham (Genesis 12:3; 22:18). This is a reference to the Messiah, who would come from the line of Abraham.
2. Palestinian Covenant. God promised to scatter Israel if they disobeyed Him, then to restore them at a later time to their land (Deuteronomy 30:1-10). This covenant has been fulfilled twice, with the Babylonian Captivity and subsequent rebuilding of Jerusalem under Cyrus the Great; and with the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, followed by the reinstatement of the nation of Israel in 1948.
3. Davidic Covenant. God promised to bless David's family line and assured an everlasting kingdom (2Samuel 7:8-16). Jesus is from the family line of David (Luke 1:32-33) and, as the Son of David (Mark 10:47), is the fulfillment of this covenant.
The Mosaic Covenant was a conditional covenant. It is found in Deut. 11, 28. It promised the Israelites a blessing for obedience and a curse for disobedience. The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20) and the rest of the law are parts of the Mosaic covenant. Much of the Old Testament chronicles the fulfillment of this cycle of judgment for sin and later blessing when God's people repented and returned to God.
*THE NEW COVENANT*
This covenant, found in (Jeremiah 31:31-34), promised that God would forgive sin and have a close, unbroken relationship with His people. Under this new covenant, Jesus died in place of sinners, (Hebrews 9:23-28; John 1:29; Matthew 26:26-30). His blood would truly remove the sins of all who place their faith in Him (1John 1:9). It is a better covenant (Hebrews 8:6-13). It is a covenant of hope (Hebrews 7:18-19) and it is an everlasting one (Hebrews 13:20). It is a covenant of eternal inheritance, (Hebrews 2:8-9) that is, Christ's offer to forgive our sins and bring us to God through His sacrificial death. It is new in application because it is written in our hearts and minds. It offers a new way to forgiveness through faith.
*CONCLUSION:*
Have you entered into this new covenant and started walking in the better way?
*QUESTIONS*
1. Mention the seven specific covenants in the Bible.
2. Explain the importance of the new covenant.

God bless you greatly. I used this today.