Covenants as layered access
The Bible records successive covenants, each at nearer range than the one before — the same God made more addressable across history:
- Noahide (Genesis 9:8–17) — universal, addressed to all flesh, sealed by the rainbow. Never again.
- Abrahamic (Genesis 12:1–3; 15; 17) — to one man and his seed, sealed by circumcision. All the families of the earth will be blessed
- Mosaic (Exodus 19–24) — to a nation, sealed by the Law and the blood of the covenant. A kingdom of priests, an holy nation.
- Davidic (2 Samuel 7:12–16) — to a king and his throne forever. Your throne will be established forever.
- New (Jeremiah 31:31–34; Hebrews 8:8–13) — written on the heart, sealed by the blood of the Son. I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Each covenant does not replace the prior; it makes the same one God more addressable. The New does not abolish the Mosaic — "“Don’t think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I didn’t come to destroy, but to fulfill." (Matthew 5:17).
See: Genesis 9; 12; 15; 17; Exodus 19–24; 2 Samuel 7; Jeremiah 31; Hebrews 8.