Marriage is a covenant. The wedding cake and champagne are the remaining symbols for the bread and wine used in the ancient blood covenant ritual where two become one. When a man and woman are joined together in marriage they enter the highest order of covenant generally practiced today, at least in Western societies.

At the simplest level, covenant is synonymous with relationship. Therefore, all relationships are covenants. Since we all have numerous relationships, each with differing degrees of commitment, it is safe to conclude that some covenants have higher degrees of commitment than others. The covenant with the highest order of commitment practiced in the modern Western world is the marriage of a man and a woman. However, blood covenant stands head and shoulders above all others as the highest order of all covenants. This covenant is usually referred to simply as the ‘covenant’ in the Bible. Blood covenant is also the eternal covenant as mentioned in the following verses:

“I will make an  everlasting [eternal] covenant with them that I will  not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will  put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me. (Jeremiah 32:40)

 Now  the God of peace, who  brought up from the dead the  great Shepherd of the sheep  through  the blood of the  eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord. (Hebrews 13:20)

The purpose of blood covenant is for two to become one. A married man and women are joined together as one in a covenant of marriage. They vow to stay together until the one of them dies. They are truly joined together. But in blood covenant two partners are more than joined, their lives are inter-mingled to the extent that a single new life is created from the two. This form of covenant relationship cannot be broken and has no end.

Blood covenant in the Bible is a God kind of covenant. It is the means through which God establishes relationships. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are bound by a covenant of blood. That is to say they are eternally joined in the most solemn, completely binding relationship in all of creation. Therefore, they are one person in every way. Their existences are more than joined, they are inter-mingled, they are in fact one life. As such, each is in the others. There is not a hair’s breadth of separation between them. They are the three-in-one Triune God by means of the eternal covenant.

Jesus Christ, the man, being holy, righteous and without sin entered into that covenant and was seated at God’s right hand on His throne in heaven. As a result of this covenant being established, sinful men, women and children can turn from their sinful nature and enter covenant with Jesus Christ through repentance. In this way, each person who repents also enters covenant with all who are in covenant with Jesus. Thus, all believers are in covenant with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and all other people who have also made covenant with Jesus. This is the nature of Biblical blood covenant.

The three articles in this section comprise an introduction to Biblical blood covenant. The remaining sections explore the fascinating topic of Biblical blood covenant more deeply. As you travel through these and the remaining articles you will see your relationship with Jesus Christ in a new, more meaningful way.

May God extend His richest blessings on you,

Peter Giardina