The Theme of Covenant

Covenant between God and human beings is one of the major themes that are evident in the Old Testament. Covenant simply refers to an agreement to do or not to do something made between two or more parties. Among other great covenants, God made covenants with Noah, Abraham and Moses. Every time God made a covenant with human beings, He established a new relationship with them.

The key aspect of the covenant between God and Noah was that God would never destroy human beings with water again. Noah lived during a time when corruption and violence were rampant. Through Noah, God informed people to stop engaging in the vices but they did not. As a result, God instructed Noah to make an ark that would enable him and his family to survive God’s destruction with water. Noah took 40 years to build it. During the period, Noah constantly asked people to stop engaging in the vices that annoyed God and gave them warnings about the planned destruction by God if they did not repent. Also, Noah pleaded with God constantly to have mercy on the people. Despite this, God eventually destroyed humans with flood, and only Noah, his family and different kinds of animals were saved from the destruction. After the destruction, God promised Noah that He would never do such destruction to him and his descendants. A significant sign of the covenant is the rainbow.

God’s covenant with Abraham was sealed after Abraham moved with his family to Haran, hundred miles away from the place where he used to live in Babylonia. After arriving in Haran, God guided Abraham to move to Canaan. God informed Abraham that He would make him and his descendants fruitful, bless them, make them kings and give them the land of Canaan. Also, God promised to provide Abraham and his descendants with protection. In turn, God required Abraham and his descendants to be faithful to Him. God asked Abraham to circumcise all members of his family, which would act as a sign of the covenant. Since then, circumcision became a custom among the descendants of Abraham.

The covenant between God and Moses was sealed after Israelites successfully moved out of Israel. Israelites had been living as slaves in Egypt for many years. They persistently asked God to rescue them. Upon giving consideration to the covenant He made with Abraham, God provided assistance to the Israelites through Moses. God performed ten miracles, after which Pharaoh, the then Egyptian leader, agreed to release them. Three months after successfully moving out of Egypt, God made a covenant with Israelites that was founded on ten conditions, which are also known as Ten Commandments. God gave the task of writing the commandments and explaining them to Israelites to Moses at Mount Sinai. God required the Israelites to follow the commandments, even though He explained that He would renew the covenant later.

In short, the biblical covenants presented in the Old Testament indicate that God did not make just simple agreements with humans; rather, the covenants represented renewed passionate relationships between God and the Israelites. Another important aspect of the covenants is that they acted as a unifying factor between God and human beings. In all cases, God established a new plan on how He would relate with human beings. In the same vein, any covenant made between human beings and God today represents God’s plan to establish a new passionate relationship with human beings, and He expects his people to adhere to the conditions that are involved in the covenants.