The story of the bible relays the depravity of man since the fall, the history of redemption sovereignly ordained by God, and the rule and reign of Christ. The entirety of Scripture is framed by the covenants made with man by God. The narrative of the bible begins in Genesis chapter one, where God is shown to be the sovereign Creator and King over all creation. In Genesis 2, God shares His kingdom with humanity by creating Adam and Eve in His image, that they might rule the creation in His name. This is where the first covenant was made with man, the Covenant of Works, “wherein life was promised to Adam; and in him to his posterity, upon condition of perfect and personal obedience” (Gen. 2:16-17). In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve give their right to rule over to Satan when they obey him rather than God, when they eat of the forbidden fruit. Upon man’s failure to keep the covenant of works, “the Lord was pleased to make a second, commonly called the covenant of grace,” wherein the Lord provides life and salvation through a coming Savior who will bruise the head of the serpent (Gen. 3:15). This covenant is administered differently, however, in the time of the law and in the time of the gospel. In the time of the law, the covenant was administered “by promises, prophecies, sacrifices, circumcision, the paschal lamb, and other types and ordinances delivered to the people of the Jews, all foresignifying Christ to come,” and were sufficient and efficacious for that time until the time of the gospel.

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From the fall on we see that creation is now in constant rebellion against God’s sovereignty and His kingdom. Yet despite their rebellion, Genesis displays God’s continued sovereignty over His creation as He rules and judges man in his rebellion at the time of the flood (Gen. 6), and at the tower of Babel (Gen. 11). In Genesis 12, God begins to restore His kingdom through Abram, promising him a great nation of kings who will rule and reflect His image. He binds this as a covenant with him in Genesis 15, and further provides visible sign and seal of this covenant in Genesis 17. God chooses Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jacob’s twelve sons to produce +a nation that He would bless and that would represent Him. The account of the Patriarchs ends with a prophecy and a promise that one day the ruling scepter would come to the One called Shiloh (Jesus) who would truly represent God’s righteous kingship.

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In Exodus, after the Israelites were enslaved for 400 years in Egypt, God shows His sovereignty over Egypt when He brings the plagues upon them. Egypt’s defeat is finalized with the Exodus of the Israelites (Exo. 12) and their crossing the Red Sea (Exo. 14). After this, God brings them to Mt. Sinai (Exo.19-Num. 10) where He appears to them in holy fire and officially makes them into His nation to bear His name on the earth. He also gives them the righteous Law through Moses (Exo. 20) which they were to obey to reflect His righteousness to the world. Moses was the “definitive prophet through whom God revealed His law at Sinai, and all future generations were to live in light of that covenant.” Failure to do so would result in judgment.

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When the Israelites worshipped the gold calf (Exo. 32), they lost their right to serve as priests, so God appointed only Levites to be priests to guide the holiness of the nation. Laws of offerings and sacrifices are established in Leviticus to atone for the sins of the people. The Day of Atonement (Lev. 16) had to be observed every year to reconcile their relationship to God, foreshadowing the ultimate atonement that would be wrought by Christ in the time to come.

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In Numbers, Israel continues to rebel against their God (demonstrated through their rebellion against Moses and Aaron). Yet God’s sovereignty continues to be demonstrated as He uses an animal—even a donkey—to shame rebellious Balaam. Yet out of His faithfulness and grace, rather than cutting off His people, God has Moses command obedience from the Israelites—commanding them to love God with all their being, to not forget all that He has done for them, and to teach all that He has done, and all His commandments, to their children (Deut. 4-6). Moses warns there will be blessings according to their obedience and curses according to their disobedience (Deut. 28). God then leads Israel into the land of Canaan, which He promised to them, and uses them to punish the Canaanites for their wicked sins, and they take the land as their own (where God would put His name on the land). The entirety of this account is recorded in Joshua.

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In their depravity Israel fails again, and they are seduced by sin into the Canaanite culture and follow after the Baals (Judges 2). Yet throughout Israel’s time in the land, God continues to show Himself greater than Baal with defeat after defeat (i.e. Gideon destroys the altar of Baal in Judges 6; God strikes the Philistines with tumors when they place the ark in the house of Dagon: 1 Sam. 5). Yet Israel still fails to unite as a people under rulers (Judges 17-21) who were to represent God. So God gives them kings from the tribe of Judah through David and his descendants, who would be led by the prophets so that they might be godly examples to the rest of the nation (2 Sam. 7). These kings would be a promise to the people that one day the true King—the Messiah—would come and not only rule over Israel, but over all the nations of the earth. However, these kings also failed and eventually led Israel into greater and greater sin and judgment (2 Kings 17, 25).

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God’s covenant with David becomes the basis of Israel’s life and hope, and serves as the central theme of 1 and 2 Chronicles. The Davidic covenant is expressed in two institutions: the monarchy and the Temple. Together, these institutions represent God’s kingdom. The Davidic covenant does not replace the Mosaic covenant but rather builds on it. The Temple is an expression of God’s covenant with David. Although David provided for the construction of the Temple, God planned for David’s son Solomon, not David, to build it. God promised instead to build “a house” (a dynasty) for David (1 Chron. 17:1-27). 2 Chronicles shows how God’s covenant with David preserves the nation and enables Solomon to build the Temple.

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During this time period many psalms were written, primarily by King David. The book of Psalms is fundamentally the hymnbook of God’s people composed of basic themes of Old Testament theology put into song. The proverbs of Solomon were also written during this time period, which serve as the prime example of wisdom literature in the Old Testament.
Following the history of the reign of David and Solomon are the seventeen prophetic books in the Old Testament. Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel are the three ‘major prophets,’ and the rest are known as ‘minor prophets.’ Each group of prophets portray two dominant themes: judgment and hope, “both of which are based on God’s covenant.” God called the first major prophet, Isaiah, when the people of Judah (the Southern kingdom) were unfaithful to the covenant. The nation’s disobedience meant that they would soon come under God’s judgment. Isaiah denounced the people’s hypocrisy, greed, and idolatry. Yet Isaiah’s vision is ultimately a message of hope for sinners through the coming Messiah, prominently portrayed in Isaiah 53. Isaiah speaks of the Suffering Servant so confidently that he even speaks of what He will do as though it has already been done: “He was pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and by His wounds we are healed” (53:5). Through this Servant, God’s promise to preserve a remnant is fulfilled (Isaiah 10:20-21), as well as His promise to Abraham of blessing to the nations. Through this Servant, “men and women from all peoples will benefit when God acts to save Israel” in the time of the gospel to come (Isaiah 60:1-3).
The second major prophet, Jeremiah, stresses God’s righteous judgment on worldwide sin. However, he prophecies that God will restore an international people to Himself through the establishment of the new covenant (31:31). This new covenant makes it possible for God to keep His promise to bless His people while not overlooking their sin. Their sin would need to be atoned for, and this would be accomplished by the death of Christ. The new covenant, therefore, is inaugurated at Jesus’ death; for when He took the cup at the last supper, He said, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you” (Luke 22:20).

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The prophecy of Ezekiel, the last major prophet, also points to this new covenant, writing of the “new heart” and “new spirit” that the Lord will put within His people (36:26). But what’s more, Ezekiel has a vision of a new temple that symbolizes an entirely new creation (chapters 40-48). This vision shows that God’s plan of salvation is not limited to merely saving the Israelites, but is aimed at completely undoing the effects of the fall and renewing the whole world.
The post-exilic prophets, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, warn of coming judgment just as their predecessors did. Yet they also point to a time in the future when God will act to fulfill His promises so that His people may enjoy all the blessings of the covenant. Until that time, God’s people will spiritually remain in exile, waiting for the Lord to return and fulfill His promises of salvation. They know that “God’s kingdom has not yet come, because God’s King has not yet come,” but Malachi, the last of the prophets, assures that He will come: “See, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to His temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come” (Malachi 3:1). And finally, after about a 400-year waiting period, He comes.

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The New Testament (the testament of the new covenant) recounts the redemption wrought to us by our Savior Jesus Christ. It begins with the gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, relaying to us the fulfillment of all the promises of the kingdom of God in Christ—from His genealogy, all the way through His birth, life, death, and resurrection. These gospels portray the fulfillment of the eternal covenant of redemption, wrought by Christ after His incarnation. They proclaim the glorious good news of our Savior who, by His grace, died for those who would believe in Him (that is, His elect) in their stead (John 3:16). As articulated by John Colquhoun, “This is the sum of all the doctrinal declarations of the glorious gospel: It is a declaration or publication of the free grace of God to sinners of mankind, manifested in His redemption of them by Jesus Christ; and it is the best tidings that ever have reached their ears.” The gospel is so lovely that, as portrayed in the Acts of the Apostles, Jesus’ followers will suffer incredible persecutions and martyrdom in order to stay faithful to Christ’s command to make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:18-20). They are enabled to do so, however, because the Holy Spirit has descended upon them (Acts 2), enabling them to obey Him (Acts 4:8).

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During much of the time period of Acts, the apostle Paul and other disciples write epistles to teach, admonish, and encourage the churches. Through these letters we are provided a great deal of Christian doctrine—from justification by faith to the forensics of penal substitution. Much of these doctrines are found in Paul’s letter to the Romans. John Murray writes that in Romans, we see that “the satisfaction of Christ is the only satisfaction for sin and is so perfect and final that it leaves no penal liability for any sin of the believer.” Similarly, Michael Horton writes that the epistles of the New Testament give profound insight into the Redeemer Jesus Christ: “[the epistles] represent Jesus Christ as the univocal core of God, ‘the exact imprint of God’s very being’ (Heb. 1:3). According to this divine drama, when Jesus acts, God acts. To see Jesus is to see God: ‘God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself’ (2 Cor. 5:19).” The doctrines found in the epistles solidify Christ’s work of redemption (Gal. 4:4-5; Eph. 1:11, 14; Heb. 9:12) and lead up to the revelation given to John by Christ Himself (Rev. 1:1). This revelation not only unveils the spiritual war in which the church is engaged, but reveals the final and eternal victory of Christ (Rev. 19), the final and eternal defeat of Satan (Rev. 20), and the coming of the New Creation (New Jerusalem) of which the prophets had spoken of in the Old Covenant (Rev. 22).

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As we have seen, Adam, the first man, failed to uphold the covenant of works (thus failing to bear the image of God) and was evicted from the garden. God, in His grace, then made a covenant of grace with Adam which would be upheld not by man, but by a Redeemer, as man would inevitably fail due to his depravity. Sure enough, the Israelites who were called to be God’s holy image-bearers and obey His law failed to obey and were sent into exile. But as promised, where Adam and Israel failed, Jesus provided satisfaction: “He is what the people of God were meant to be: the true Adam and the true Israel.” So then, all the promises, types, and sacrifices in the Old Testament wherein Christ was revealed, and signified to be the seed of the woman which should bruise the serpent’s head, were indeed fulfilled in Him, and by Him redemption was wrought for all who are in the covenant; that is, the Covenant of Grace, and ultimately, the eternal Covenant of Redemption.

Bibliography
Colquhoun, John. A Treatise on the Law and the Gospel. Grand Rapids, MI: Soli Deo Gloria P Publications, 1835.
ESV Study Bible. Wheaton, IL: CrossWay Bibles, 2007.

Horton, Michael. Covenant and Eschatology: The Divine Drama. Louisville, KN: Westminster
John Knox Press, 2002.

Murray, John. Redemption Accomplished and Applied. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing
Company, 1955.

Orthodox Presbyterian Church. The Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms. Willow
Grove, PA: The Committee on Christian Education of the OPC, 2005.

Roberts, Vaughan. God’s Big Picture. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002.