Thedoctrineof“thecovenantofworks“arosetoprominenceinthelatesixteenthcenturyandquicklybecamearegularfeatureinReformedthought.TheologiansbelievedthatwhenGodfirstcreatedmanhemadeacovenantwithhim:allAdamhadtodowasobeyGod’scommandtonoteatfromthetreeofknowledgeandobeyGod’scommandtobefruitful,multiply,andsubduetheearth.TherewardforAdam’sobediencewasprofound:eternallifeforhimandhisoffspring.Theconsequencesofhisdisobedienceweredire:GodwouldvisitdeathuponAdamandhisdescendants.Inthecovenantofworks,Adamwasnotmerelyanindividualbutservedasapublicperson,thefederalheadofthehumanrace.TheCovenantofWorksexplorestheoriginsofthedoctrineofGod’scovenantwithAdamandtracesitbacktotheinter-testamentalperiod,throughthepatristicandmiddleages,andtotheReformation.ThedoctrinehasanancientpedigreeandwasnotsolelyadvocatedbyReformedtheologians.Thebooktracesthedoctrine’sdevelopmentintheseventeenthcenturyanditsreceptionintheeighteenth,nineteenth,andtwentiethcenturies.Feskoexploresthereasonswhythedoctrinecametoberejectedbysome,evenintheReformedtradition,arguingthatinterpretivemethodsinfluencedbyEnlightenmentthoughtcausedtheologianstoquestionthedoctrine’sscripturallegitimacy.
