Over two hundred times throughout the Bible the word covenant occurs. Occasionally it refers to a covenant between individuals, as for instance the covenant between David and Jonathan and the covenant between Joshua and the children of Israel; but usually it refers to God's covenant with man, God's sacred pledge of love and care for His children.
This covenant is not confined to a certain group of people nor to a certain period of time. The first mention of it is in Genesis in God's pledge to Noah (Gen. 9:9-16): "And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; and with every living creature that is with you...for perpetual generations...And I will remember my covenant...the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth."
In the New Testament a new covenant between God and man is declared, based upon Christ Jesus' ministry. Paul writes in the epistle to the Hebrews (10:16), "This is the covenant that I will make with them ...,saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them."
