A review of Josiah D. Boyd, God Under Oath: Reading the Bible Through Its Covenants, Proclamation Press, 2025, 101 pages, paperback.
This little book is an attempt – successful at that – to provide readers of the Bible with a logical, understandable, and relatable study of the biblical covenants. It is not wooden or stolid, but upbeat and geared to pass on important information in an easy to read and pleasing format. A great deal of thought has gone into this book.
Boyd simply does through the six biblical covenants: Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, Priestly, Davidic, and New, in order. Each chapter begins with an anecdote to help the reader – especially the average church goer – to get into the right headspace to understand the particular covenant being discussed. The intros are not cheesy, nor are they dubiously autobiographical, unlike so many one finds with modern Christian authors. The aim is to provide a quick orientation to the lead point. This assists the reader to grasp what Boyd wants to teach. I confess that I’m not good at such things, and I think the author does well with it. One is brought to the subject feeling ready for the Bible’s teaching.
In his discussion of the Noahic covenant we are given a definition of what a covenant is:
“A covenant carries a weight and a formality that a mere promise does not. It is a solemn agreement between two parties, binding them to specific commitments and conditions under oath. Because of that, covenants both declare intention and produce anticipation.” (4).
This definition is better than many I have encountered. I have heard Dispensationalists flippantly say that covenants are just agreements, no big deal. I have also heard Covenant theologians reduce covenants to the level of a mere agreement. Boyd is careful to surround the word “agreement” with words like solemn, specific, and formal. Without qualifiers like this, one can be sure that a writer has not studied covenants. The author also connects covenants to “intention,” that is, to the hermeneutical importance of the words used, and to “anticipation,” which concerns the way the words of that covenant elicit particular hopes for the future.
If I have a slight criticism of the definition it would be that the centrality of the oath is not given prominence – although it is inferred from the illustration of his marriage, and again when discussing the Noahic covenant itself (9). Not forgetting, of course, the book’s title!
I was impressed that Boyd managed to include fairly extended passages of Scripture into his presentation. This is important when teaching on the divine covenants so the impression is not given that they are just inserted in the text without historical context. This in turn helps support assertions such as this:
“If the Noahic covenant lays the foundation for God’s plan to restore what sin destroyed in Genesis 3, the Abrahamic covenant builds upon that foundation. It provides greater clarity about how God intends to bring about that restoration…Think ahead: eventually, God will promise a perfect kingdom. That requires a land. He will promise a righteous King. That assumes a people to rule. And in the fullness of time, God will deal with sin by sending a Redeemer – the Messiah, the Crist – through whom the world will receive reconciliation and forgiveness. But the Redeemer has to come from somewhere, and the Abrahamic covenant tells us where to look.” (21-22).
With admirable economy the New covenant is identified:
“The New covenant is God’s solemn oath to unilaterally provide power for obedience, relationship for rebels, forgiveness for sin, and salvation for the lost.” (76). I think the treatment of the New covenant in this little book is particularly helpful for those readers who may have gotten bamboozled by the limitation of the New covenant to Israel by certain dispensational writers. Pastor Boyd clearly, and cogently argues that the New covenant is also for the Church. There’s no beating about the bush here. The case is well laid out before the book closes (83-86). A short section “For Further Reading” appends the contents.
It would be remiss of me not to say that the author of this book cites yours truly as an influence on his thinking. Naturally, those who agree with me will agree with Josiah Boyd’s presentation. But even those who don’t will find this work to be a good informative read. I certainly could not have produced a better overview of the biblical covenants in such concise terms.
This book is very attractively produced and is ideal for Church bookstores. I strongly recommend God Under Oath, and wish it lots of readers.
