[In the entire Bible God made eight covenants with man: seven in the Old Testament and one in the New Testament. The first covenant which God made with man was a covenant that God made with the created man (Gen. 2:8-9, 15-17). The One who made this covenant was Jehovah God, the One who always is and the mighty One who is faithful. The one with whom the covenant was made was the created man who was without God’s life and without sin, but who had a spirit and a free will and who was assigned to dress and guard the garden of God. God made a covenant with him that by eating he should receive the tree of life, which signifies God as the source of life, so that God might enter into him to be joined and mingled with him, thus fulfilling God’s purpose in creating man. Furthermore, God wanted man to reject the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which signifies Satan as the source of sin and death, lest Satan’s evil, poisonous element should enter into man, thus damaging the upright and pure man whom God created for His eternal purpose. Eventually, man acted contrary to God’s covenant and, having been deceived by the serpent (the Devil), ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thus receiving Satan and having sin and death. Hence, man was driven out of the Garden of Eden and was kept away from the tree of life, that is, kept away by the cherubim, which signify God’s glory, by the flame, which signifies God’s holiness, and by the sword, which signifies God’s righteousness. It was not until the accomplishment of Christ’s redemption, which satisfied the requirements of God’s glory, holiness, and righteousness, that the way to the tree of life was opened once again.]
[In the Old Testament, after man’s creation, God made the first covenant with man; after man’s fall He came to the place of fallen man to seek and to call fallen man. It was with such a man who transgressed God’s prohibition, who had sin and death, who had the knowledge of good and evil, and who knew his nakedness and made skirts of leaves to cover the shame, that God made the second covenant with man (Gen. 3:8-21). In this covenant God cursed the serpent, restricting it so that it would creep only on the earth and that it would eat dust during its entire life. He also promised that the seed of the woman, Christ, would come to bruise the serpent’s head, that is, to cause Satan’s death. Finally, He required the woman to suffer in childbearing and to be ruled by the husband, and He required the man to labor and sweat until he should return to the ground so that fallen man, being restricted by suffering, would have security and protection and would turn to God to receive deliverance through the seed of the woman. Eventually, Adam believed in what was promised in God’s covenant and called his wife Eve, meaning “living” or “life.” By faith he also had the hope of life. Then God made coats of skins for them that fallen sinners, having been justified by God through Christ, might be accepted by God and have fellowship with Him. By faith Abel received God’s way of redemption, offering the sacrifice with the shedding of blood and being accepted by God. However, Cain refused God’s way of redemption, offering produce without the shedding of blood. Rejected by God, he killed Abel his brother and was cast out of the presence of God, producing a culture that corrupted his descendants and that was judged by God.]
[After God judged the corrupt generation by the flood and saved Noah’s family of eight out of that generation, He made a covenant with Noah, which was the third covenant He made with man (Gen. 9:1-17). This covenant was made based upon the covenant which God made with Noah before the judgment of the flood. It was also based upon the sweet smell which issued from the burnt offerings presented on the altar built by man in taking God’s way of redemption. The contents of the covenant include the following items: man would be fruitful, multiply, and replenish the earth, have dominion over all living creatures, and be allowed to eat animals for food but not to eat blood; and God would give man the authority over others to maintain the existence and order of the human race, promise to destroy the earth by a flood no more, and use the rainbow as a sign of His faithfulness in keeping the covenant. The result was that the earth was preserved, that all living things were able to grow, and that man was able to multiply endlessly and fill the face of the earth. However, man abused the God-given authority to form nations, exalted himself to oppose God, fell into idolatry, and was scattered abroad by God upon the face of the earth. Eventually, God was forced to give up the descendants of Noah, the created race of Adam.]