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Covenant: God's Purpose, God's Plan
As one of the most prominent themes in Scripture, the covenant is crucial to all Christian theological systems, from dispensationalism to covenant theology to theonomy to liberation theology. One would think that by now all controversies have been exhausted, but an issue of this magnitude can never finally be laid to rest. Because disagreements persist, there is room for yet another attempt to study the covenant and improve our understanding of it. This book proposes that the path toward an evangelical consensus is not to be found in building another modified systematic theology, but in a biblical theology approach. Grounded in this approach, John Walton's perspective is that while the covenant is characteristically redemptive, formulated along the lines of ancient treaties, and ultimately soteric, it is essentially revelatory. This view in turn has implications regarding the continuity or discontinuity of the covenant phases, the conditionality of the covenant, and our understanding of the people of God. And this ultimately affects the way the Old Testament is preached and taught. Walton's thesis is an important contribution to the discussion of the covenant and the attempts to find common ground among evangelicals of diverse theological traditions.
428 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 26, 1994
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67 people want to read
About the author
John H. Walton
121 books329 followersJohn H. Walton (PhD, Hebrew Union College) is professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College Graduate School. He is the author or coauthor of several books, including Chronological and Background Charts of the Old Testament; Ancient Israelite Literature in Its Cultural Context; Covenant: God’s Purpose, God’s Plan; The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament; and A Survey of the Old Testament.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See:
John H. Walton, Agriculture
John H. Walton, ceramics.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See:
John H. Walton, Agriculture
John H. Walton, ceramics.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 3, 2019
Walton attempts to find a via media between dispensationalism and covenant theology. I can't say I'm impressed. He believes the goal of the covenants in Scripture is revelation, not redemption. But revelation leads to condemnation just as much as to salvation, and Walton never says why redemption should prevail among God's people apart from that which is given by means of covenant. In fact, he is fuzzy in general on OT salvation. He says Jews must "cross over" to become part of the people of God--so were there two peoples of God in the OT? He doesn't explain.
Yet, parts are helpful. He speaks of the law of Christ being "superimposed" on the OT law, language which I find to be more helpful than "supersede" or "replace." His discussion of conditionality/unconditionality is also very good. The covenants are essentially the latter, even if people must respond in order to remain/enter in the covenant community.
I should mention that this work was written 25 years ago and so is not current with the strengths of biblical theology vis-a-vis the topic of covenant. And yet it is still a pertinent discussion, even if I reject his framework and basic understanding.
Yet, parts are helpful. He speaks of the law of Christ being "superimposed" on the OT law, language which I find to be more helpful than "supersede" or "replace." His discussion of conditionality/unconditionality is also very good. The covenants are essentially the latter, even if people must respond in order to remain/enter in the covenant community.
I should mention that this work was written 25 years ago and so is not current with the strengths of biblical theology vis-a-vis the topic of covenant. And yet it is still a pertinent discussion, even if I reject his framework and basic understanding.
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October 18, 2025Covenant: God’ Purpose, God’s Plan
By John H. Walton
Book is one resource sited in my church’s sermon series on Covenant.
Reading Kindle version.
A tough read with a valid thesis.
The author provides very useful description of classical Covenant and Dispensation theology, including numerous comparative tables, in his attempt to prove his thesis - my take: The purpose of God’s promises in the Bible being primarily to revelation of Himself to us.
Authors thesis: p. 26 “In my proposal both salvation and kingdom are important aspects of the covenant-revelation program, but neither is the primary focus. They are both subsumed under the aegis of an overarching plan of God's revealing his character, his will, and his plan. In so doing, God provides a foundation for relationship with him (knowing God and being like him, a means by which that relationship might be achieved (salvation), and the structure that will define that relationship (kingdom).”
Summary at end of chapter 3 The Number of the Covenants - “…there is one covenant in two major stages, Old and New... The purpose of this one covenant is to serve as a mechanism for God's self-revelation... That blessing was identified as God's revelation of himself and his plan, especially (eventually) his plan of salvation which made relationship with him possible.”
Book closes on p. 195 with the following: “…We need to turn our attention again to the revelation that the Bible offers us of God…Old Testament accounts seek to reveal what God is like so we may enter into relationship with him.”
By John H. Walton
Book is one resource sited in my church’s sermon series on Covenant.
Reading Kindle version.
A tough read with a valid thesis.
The author provides very useful description of classical Covenant and Dispensation theology, including numerous comparative tables, in his attempt to prove his thesis - my take: The purpose of God’s promises in the Bible being primarily to revelation of Himself to us.
Authors thesis: p. 26 “In my proposal both salvation and kingdom are important aspects of the covenant-revelation program, but neither is the primary focus. They are both subsumed under the aegis of an overarching plan of God's revealing his character, his will, and his plan. In so doing, God provides a foundation for relationship with him (knowing God and being like him, a means by which that relationship might be achieved (salvation), and the structure that will define that relationship (kingdom).”
Summary at end of chapter 3 The Number of the Covenants - “…there is one covenant in two major stages, Old and New... The purpose of this one covenant is to serve as a mechanism for God's self-revelation... That blessing was identified as God's revelation of himself and his plan, especially (eventually) his plan of salvation which made relationship with him possible.”
Book closes on p. 195 with the following: “…We need to turn our attention again to the revelation that the Bible offers us of God…Old Testament accounts seek to reveal what God is like so we may enter into relationship with him.”
March 8, 2021
A look at how covenants hold the story of the Bible together and how the main purpose is that covenants reveal God and his character. There wasn't much new or unique to this discussion but was still a solid read.
February 16, 2022
Unique but Useful
While I do not agree with Walton’s concept of “covenant” being reduced to a revelatory purpose, he offers some helpful ideas for dealing with a biblical theology of the storyline of Scripture.
1. He honestly struggles with the textual realities that point to a future for Israel that is ethnic, national, and territorial within the one people of God (122-47).
2. He offers two significant reasons why God chose a covenantal framework: (1) to reassure the confidence of God’s people and (2) to reveal the character of God (19).
3. He is helpful on the aspects of election related to covenants and their continuity with one another (49-52).
4. He offers several exceptional insights into how Esther fits into the story line that also illustrate how the 400 years of silence relate to the storyline of the Bible (52-54).
5. He points out how God initiated a self-imposed exile of the Ark prior to the Davidic covenant (65-66).
6. He is very good on the role of the king as Covenant Administrator with regards to the Kingdom of God (66-77).
7. His excursus on a Theology of Exaltation is significant due to the emphasis in Isaiah on the humiliation and eventual exaltation of the Suffering Servant (77-79).
8. His chapter on the Motif of Covenant Jeopardy is worthy of reflection and is an unmistakable theme in the story line of the Bible (94-107).
Overall, there are good reasons for reading this book but Walton’s overall approach to covenants (revelatory) is far too limited and cannot be reconciled with the emphasis of the Scriptures. Like others, he tries to find a mediating position between covenant theology and traditional dispensationalism. He would have been better off simply presenting Progressive Dispensationalism or Historic Premillenialism. In the end, Walton’s view of the covenants is rather quirky as are his more recent books on the Old Testament, especially his approach to Genesis. But for the reasons enumerated above I would still recommend perusing this book prior to teaching on the storyline of the Bible.
While I do not agree with Walton’s concept of “covenant” being reduced to a revelatory purpose, he offers some helpful ideas for dealing with a biblical theology of the storyline of Scripture.
1. He honestly struggles with the textual realities that point to a future for Israel that is ethnic, national, and territorial within the one people of God (122-47).
2. He offers two significant reasons why God chose a covenantal framework: (1) to reassure the confidence of God’s people and (2) to reveal the character of God (19).
3. He is helpful on the aspects of election related to covenants and their continuity with one another (49-52).
4. He offers several exceptional insights into how Esther fits into the story line that also illustrate how the 400 years of silence relate to the storyline of the Bible (52-54).
5. He points out how God initiated a self-imposed exile of the Ark prior to the Davidic covenant (65-66).
6. He is very good on the role of the king as Covenant Administrator with regards to the Kingdom of God (66-77).
7. His excursus on a Theology of Exaltation is significant due to the emphasis in Isaiah on the humiliation and eventual exaltation of the Suffering Servant (77-79).
8. His chapter on the Motif of Covenant Jeopardy is worthy of reflection and is an unmistakable theme in the story line of the Bible (94-107).
Overall, there are good reasons for reading this book but Walton’s overall approach to covenants (revelatory) is far too limited and cannot be reconciled with the emphasis of the Scriptures. Like others, he tries to find a mediating position between covenant theology and traditional dispensationalism. He would have been better off simply presenting Progressive Dispensationalism or Historic Premillenialism. In the end, Walton’s view of the covenants is rather quirky as are his more recent books on the Old Testament, especially his approach to Genesis. But for the reasons enumerated above I would still recommend perusing this book prior to teaching on the storyline of the Bible.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews