A major difference is that a Covenant is an agreement made by a greater power with a lesser power, usually a king with his subjects.
A contract is an agreement between parties while a covenant is a pledge. A contract is an agreement you can break while a covenant is a perpetual promise. You seal a covenant while you sign a contract. A contract is a mutually beneficial relationship while a covenant is something you fulfill.
A covenant is different than a contract, it's the mutual binding of lives together. Rather than something that protects its own interest from the other, it builds a new thing alongside one another.
Whereas two parties sign a contract, with covenants, two parties exchange promises. The big difference is even though a commitment is asked of the other party, their fulfillment of this commitment does not affect the covenant.
Covenants are agreements between multiple parties that create a legally binding agreement on how each party is to perform. Covenants can either promote activity to occur (positive covenant) or disallow an event or condition (negative covenant).
God's covenant with Noah was a commitment to maintain the inherent relationship between Creator and creation; his relationship with the natural order – implicit in the act of creation – whereby he promised never again to destroy the earth with a flood.
God promises that David's throne will be established forever. God had a special plan for David and his descendants. From the line of David, the one who would be King of Kings and Lord of Lords would come. Jesus was the fulfillment of that promise made to David!
The covenant is a promise that God made with Abraham. ing to the covenant, God would offer protection and land to Abraham and his descendants, but they must follow the path of God. God then commanded Abraham and his future generations to perform the ritual of circumcision (brit milah) as a symbol of the covenant.
They're like the backbone of the Bible. From Genesis on, God enters into one formal relationship after another (i.e., covenants) with various humans in order to rescue his world. These divine-human relationships push that narrative forward until it reaches its in Jesus.
The Word of God is clear that agreement is when we think and believe the same way. “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.” In this verse, the Greek word that's translated, agree, is sumphoneo.