Prior to the covenant God made at Sinai in the giving of the law, God made two other significant covenants. The first was with Noah and the second with Abraham (Abram, at the time). Let's unpack the second covenant first by jumping back to Genesis.

And Abram continued (talking to God), Look, You have given me no child; and [a servant] born in my house is my heir. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, This man shall not be your heir, but he who shall come from your own body shall be your heir. And He brought him outside [his tent into the starlight] and said, Look now toward the heavens and count the stars--if you are able to number them. Then He said to him, So shall your descendants be. And he [Abram] believed in (trusted in, relied on, remained steadfast to) the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness (right standing with God). And He said to him, I am the [same] Lord, Who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldees to give you this land as an inheritance. But he [Abram] said, Lord God, by what shall I know that I shall inherit it? And He said to him, Bring to Me a heifer three years old, a she-goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon. And he brought Him all these and cut them down the middle [into halves] and laid each half opposite the other; but the birds he did not divide. And when the birds of prey swooped down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away. When the sun was setting, a deep sleep overcame Abram, and a horror (a terror, a shuddering fear) of great darkness assailed and oppressed him. And [God] said to Abram, Know positively that your descendants will be strangers dwelling as temporary residents in a land that is not theirs [Egypt], and they will be slaves there and will be afflicted and oppressed for 400 years. [Fulfilled in Exo_12:40.] But I will bring judgment on that nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.

(Genesis 15:3-14 AMPC)

On the same day the Lord made a covenant (promise, pledge) with Abram, saying, To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates--…”

(Genesis 15:18 AMPC)

God’s covenant with Abram was different from the covenant He made with Moses and the children of Israel through the law. God’s covenant with Abram was unconditional and was based on God’s ability to keep His word. God’s covenant with Moses and Israel was that He would bless them if they kept the Law. Abram was promised that his descendants would be given a land, and later that they would become a great nation through whom all the nations of the world would be blessed. Moses, figuratively speaking, reminded God of the unconditional promises made to Abraham when the people failed to keep their end of the agreements in the law. The covenant with Abraham was critical because under the law, Israel simply failed to represent God well in the Earth. The next video highlights some of the most significant covenants made through-out the Bible and how this impacts us today.