Chapter 18 - Renovation Covenant

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(Genesis 1:2-31; Job 38:4-7; Isaiah 24:4-6; Jeremiah 33:19-26)

Bible scholars have often presumed that the first three chapters of the book of Genesis contain evidence of both an “Edenic Covenant” and an “Adamic Covenant.” (Genesis 1:28-30; 2:15-17; 3:14-19) Nevertheless, the early chapters of Genesis do not include the essential elements of either covenant.

Contextually, it is clear that the first three chapters of Genesis contain the essential elements of only one covenant. Some have chosen to call it the Creation Covenant. However, both the context and covenantal elements revealed in Genesis do not support a creation covenant any more than an Edenic or Adamic covenant. Instead, the covenant described in early Genesis should more aptly be called the Renovation Covenant. (Genesis 1:2b-2:25)

Original Creation

“In the beginning,” God created the original, eternal heavens and earth to exist within His kingdom. (Genesis 1:1) It served as a habitat for holy angelic beings. They were provided with the freedom to choose whether to remain in a holy state of submission to His authority. Thus, angelic perseverance on the original, eternal earth was not predicated on fulfilling the commands of law but free choice.

Rebellion and Chaos

Despite their privileged position in the kingdom, a large number of angelic beings chose to rebel against God. His justice demanded judgment. It led to their banishment from His kingdom (the realm of His authority).

The outcome of the angelic rebellion and ensuing judgment was catastrophic. Removed from the presence of the living (zoe) God, the angels were separated from divine life (zoe), the highest form of life (zoe). As a result, they experienced spiritual death and thus, organic degeneration.

The separation of the angels from God and His kingdom affected much more than the rebellious angels. It also had a devastating impact on their habitat. The original heavens and earth were transformed into a chaotic state of ruin, emptiness, and darkness. (Genesis 1:2)

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Renovation Covenant

The renovation of the chaotic heavens and earth was key to God’s eternal plan. (Genesis 1:3-2:3; cf. Isaiah 45:18; Jeremiah 31:35-36; 33:19-26) It was designed to facilitate the vindication of His nature from the angelic rebellion and repopulate His kingdom with willing citizens.

Within the protective framework of covenant stipulation, God renovated the chaotic heavens and earth in spatiotemporal form. He accomplished the renovation in seven days:

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Day	Temporal Renovation	Reference
1	Light.	Genesis 1:3-5
2	Space.	Genesis 1:6-8
3	Land and Vegetation.	Genesis 1:9-10
4	Time.	Genesis 1:14-19
5	Fish and fowl.	Genesis 1:20-23
6	Land animals and mankind.	Genesis 1:24-31
7	Rest.	Genesis 2:1-3

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Essential Elements

It is sometimes believed that the first two chapters of Genesis confirm the existence of an Edenic Covenant. However, they do not include the elements of such a covenant. Rather than an Edenic Covenant, Genesis 1-2 unveil the essential elements of the Renovation Covenant:

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Essential Elements	Definition
Preamble: (identification of the covenant participants)	God: Genesis 1:2b, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 31, 2:2-3. Mankind: Genesis 1:28-30.
Background: (covenant participation clarified)	God: Genesis 1:2b; 26-27. Mankind: Genesis 2:7.
Stipulations: (obligations of covenant participants elucidated)	God: renovate the earth, create mankind to cultivate and keep fellowship with Him (Genesis 2:15-17; willingness to fellowship with mankind implied). Mankind: cultivate and keep fellowship with God by not eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:15-17).
Ratification: (obligation of covenant participants validated by oath and blessing)	God: Oath - “Let there be….” Blessing - “And God blessed….” "God saw that it was good" (Genesis 1:3; 6; 9; 11; 14; 20; 22; 24; 26; 28; 2:3). Man: Oath - promise to value fellowship with God more than eating from the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (cf. Genesis 2:16-17; obedience implied).

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Genesis 1-2 reveal the role of both God and mankind in the satisfaction of the essential elements of the Renovation Covenant. It is inclusive of preamble, background, stipulation, and ratification.

The participants of the Renovation Covenant were God and Adam. They entered into a covenant relationship on the renovated earth in the Garden of Eden.

The Renovation Covenant had only one stipulation. Adam was to value divine enlightenment through the practice of intimate, shared life fellowship with God more than self-enlightenment gained from eating from the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”

The Renovation Covenant was ratified by divine oath and blessing. The covenantal conditions were agreed to by Adam.

Covenantal Condition

“From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”(Genesis 2:16-17)

God provided Adam with a choice. He could willingly choose to guard, cultivate and enjoy fellowship with Him. As a result, Adam would contribute to the vindication of the divine nature. Conversely, Adam could choose not to value his fellowship with God. Like the devil and his angels, he was free to choose the path of “self-enlightenment,” eat from the forbidden tree, and “be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:5) However, his disobedience would constitute a conscious rejection of the stipulation of the Renovation Covenant and, ultimately, another rebellious challenge to the divine nature.

Aware of the strategic opportunity, Satan schemed to deceive Adam. He knew that his desire for Eve made him vulnerable to deception. Therefore, Satan convinced Eve to disobey God and eat from the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” As forewarned, she suffered separation from God, immediate spiritual death, and as a consequence, began the slow decline to physical death.

Eve’s fallen countenance and behavior made the reality of her death painfully obvious to Adam. Consequently, he was forced to make an unenviable choice. He had to choose whether he valued his relationship with Eve more than the privilege of intimate fellowship with God.

Much to the delight of Satan, Adam chose to value Eve more than God and joined his beloved bride in a state of rebellion against God. Therefore, the first man and representative head of the human race became a sinner, outlaw, and criminal.

Satan’s exhilaration was related to the fact that the consequence of Adam’s rebellion was not merely personal. Relative to his position of headship, it was legally imputed to the entire human race.

The legal penalty of Adam’s rebellion was significant. It was separation from the living (zoe) God. Thus, the human race experienced spiritual death and was subjected to the "law of sin and of death." (Genesis 3:14-19; Romans 8:2)

Through his disobedience, Adam willingly abdicated his God-given authority. In reality, he traded it to Satan for a future with Eve. (cf. Luke 4:6) As a result of the abdication and consequent judgment of God, humanity and its habitat, the renovated earth, were subjected to a state of degeneration and darkness. (Genesis 3:17-19; Romans 8:19-21; Colossians 1:13)

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Covenantal Consequence

Some theologians also believe that Genesis 3 reveals the existence of an Adamic Covenant. Rather than descriptive of the essential elements of an Adamic Covenant, however, Genesis chapter three and following simply reveal the consequences of disobedience to the stipulation of the Renovation Covenant. Therefore, they provide the historical account of the fall of mankind and dictate the parameters for fallen life on the degenerated earth apart from God.

In a general sense:

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Parameters	Reference
Fallen human life on earth was separated from divine life (zoe). Therefore, it no longer existed under the gracious rule of divine life (zoe), but the rule of divine law.	Genesis 3:5
Concordant with the rule of law ("law of sin and of death"), fallen human life on earth separated from God could discern between good and evil. Thus, humanity became aware of nakedness and shame.	Genesis 3:7; cf. 5; 22
As a result of shame, fear became a natural characteristic of fallen human life. Consequently, mankind discovered a newfound desire to hide from God and to pass blame.	Genesis 3:8, 10, 12
Fallen life on earth separated from God became characterized by enmity with Satan.	Genesis 3:15

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Beyond the more general consequences related to spiritual death, the human race, represented by Adam and Eve, experienced some specific effects of separation from God:

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Parameters	Reference
Fallen life on earth separated from God became characterized by painful childbirth. *Adam and Eve had been commanded to be fruitful and multiply. However, the joy of procreation would be accompanied by a serious reminder of the pain they had introduced into the world. Evident to all of humanity from generation to generation, life on the degenerated earth would begin with pain and suffering.	Genesis 3:16a
Fallen life on earth separated from God became characterized by rebellion against authority. Adam and Eve had chosen to rebel against the kingdom authority of God. His punishment fit their crime. God established a hierarchy of authority for earthly conduct by which Adam and Eve would learn the consequences of rebellion firsthand. In the hierarchy, Eve was to submit to the leadership of Adam, yet her fallen nature would possess an inherent desire to challenge and reject his leadership. Understanding Genesis 3:16b is aided by recognizing its association with Genesis 4:7. The same Hebrew noun for “desire” (teshuwqah* - tesh-oo-kaw’) is used in both verses. Genesis 4:7 refers to the continued desire of Cain’s fallen nature to control him after killing Abel. Similarly, in Genesis 3:16b, it can be understood to refer to the desire of Eve’s fallen nature to continue to exert control over her husband, Adam.	Genesis 3:16b
Fallen life on earth separated from God became characterized by physical labor. *Not only would Adam have to manage the reality of insubordination by his family, but also the futility of providing sustenance for them. The earth was cursed. Therefore, finding physical sustenance for his family would require Adam to engage in unfulfilling toil and labor. Making it even more challenging, he would gradually experience the loss of physical vitality throughout his days on earth.	Genesis 3:17
Fallen life on earth separated from God became characterized by gradual physical death. (The vitality of the physical body would fade and eventually return to the dust of the ground from which it was taken. Clarified by the end of life, sin causes death).	Genesis 3:19b
Fallen life on earth separated from God would no longer be reproduced in the image and likeness of God, but in the image and likeness of fallen Adam. (However, it would retain the image of God in gradually diminishing capacity).	Genesis 5:3

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Outline of Genesis 1-3

The early chapters of Genesis are not reflective of two different covenants, the Edenic and Adamic, but one, the Renovation Covenant. Rather than related to the creation of the earth, they are descriptive of its renovation. Consequently, the early chapters of Genesis can be outlined as follows:

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Outline	Reference
The divine creation of the original, eternal earth.	1:1
The chaotic condition of the earth after the angelic rebellion and subsequent judgment.	1:2
The divine, covenantal renovation and initial repopulation of the earth.	1:3-2:3
Important historical notes regarding the covenantal renovation.	2:4-25
Narrative of satanic deception, the original sin and the fall of mankind.	3:1-13
Consequences of the original sin and the fall of mankind.	3:14-24

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The renovation of the earth provided the heavenly host with the opportunity to witness a progressive demonstration of the attributes of the divine nature and the gradual repopulation of the kingdom of God. For the holy angels it is nothing less than awe-inspiring. (cf. 1 Peter 1:12) In contrast, the fallen angels view it with burning anger and intense jealousy.

© 2023 James Hiatt

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