Can you explain what you mean here?
A "covenant" in the Bible is based on a promise by God to a man or men in general, not requiring ratification by receivers. The rewards of a covenant typically contained a blessing(s) and curse(s). In the beginning there was the blessing of God for man in Gen 1:28-30, and again in 2:21. None of that was of any contract or covenant basis, nor was Adam or Eve required to acknowledge what God did or told them He did. Adam had no need of anything further from God, as all provision was made already for man. Man and woman would simply live a good life since God declared that and everything He did that week was "good". Those were blessings. We have no "deal" between God and mankind, just blessings. There was no alternative action or promise. Only God can truly bless since nothing can be added to God that He already has. Man is the needy party.
Also came commandment #1 in 2:16. That didn't require agreement from man. So we have blessing and commandment. Upon sinning, the grace of God arose for the sake of man. God made a declaration of a curse upon the serpent. The curse didn't require the serpent to receive it willingly, nor the prophetic future action of God through the seed (Jesus) of the woman. Eve had no requirement to agree or perform any direct action since the doing of that promise was all on God's behalf. So that established the fact God could and would exact curses punitively. That was the first covenant, which came upon mankind, entirely of His actions, required due to sin entering the world.
The creation was no longer entirely "good", changing mankind and nature dramatically, and changing man's relationship with God from friendship to adversarial. That sin required major changes in the world, leading to the fulfillment of the greatest covenant, the gospel of Christ. That doesn't require help from man either. Obey or not, the covenant remains a directive from God that is higher than the law of sin and death.
The punishment for their sin was forced upon them in the covenant of 3:16-19 It would have been a contract between God if Adam had come back to God with "My wife and I will agree to your proposal if you will take the part out about the thorns and cursed ground". If God had agreed on that provision, it would have been a contract. A contract requires two or more parties agreeing to terms that each can perform. Otherwise, there is no deal due to lack of agreement.
A perfectly understandable explanation of "covenant" is that given to Noah after the flood. Noah didn't have a commandment to follow, had no responsibility toward the following Covenant with a sign God would never forget.
Genesis 9:8-17 (KJV)
8 And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,
9 And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;
10 And with every living creature that
is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth.
11 And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.
12 And God said, This
is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that
is with you, for perpetual generations:
13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:
15 And I will remember my covenant, which
is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.
16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that
is upon the earth.
17 And God said unto Noah, This
is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that
is upon the earth.
It didn't matter whether Noah acted upon that or not, as that was also between God and all living creatures.
When Moses came down with the Law, we don't find a contract proposal with men saying they will go along with it if the terms of 'death' were removed, to be replaced by a prison sentence or fine.
Covenant: One way directive, all terms imposed upon parties other than God. Men can do that, like in 1 Samuel 20:16 when Jonathan made David swear not to reveal his plan for David to save David from Saul. The plan was all of Jonathan, and David had only to be blessed by it. That foreshadows the gospel of salvation by Christ. David didn't have to supply works to fulfill Jonathan's plan, but to simply submit to it.
A contract always contains terms of works between parties. A life insurance policy promises benefits if and only if the insured keeps the payments up. When the insured commits to the terms, the policy becomes a contract based on works of both parties. If the insurer fails to maintain lawful financial support, the laws of the land can dissolve the contract, and the insured has only to stop payments. I have a $10K life insurance policy based on a promise of the US government to all veterans. It's a covenant, not a contract. One GI might only serve 3 months to a disability and qualify. Another might serve 20-30 years and be eligible for that same policy. It's an award since I have no required action to activate it besides to die. I contract design services for outdoor construction. My plan is present at a price to own, or is credited to another company charge to install items of the plan. That's a contract. If I promised all potential customers a free detailed plan with nothing owed on their part or any other party, that would be a covenant I couldn't afford to maintain.
God uses covenants no mortal man could stand behind forever.
I've been working all day and adding to this post, which I will admit already might not have been thoroughly thought through, but it looks OK to me. If you all would check out some scholarly writings (besides a dictionary) about the difference between covenant and contract, I expect most to understand. There are many other covanants, as with king to king in the OT, or subject to king, or Jesus to apostles I could have referenced. Please add instances that speak to you.