A Study of The Covenant Between God and His People as Depicted in The Old Testament of The Bible

Introduction

Jewish scripture has been preserved for over 3,000 years, primarily in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. The Old Testament is not just a theological canon of scripture but also the history of Judaism and the Jewish people. Scripture arises in a community of believers as a result of positive and/or negative pressures. Often, old cultures were pressured to solidify their oral stories and traditions into writing because of internal or external pressures. In Judaism, several factors led to the creation of their sacred scripture, the Tanakh, which eventually became the Old Testament. The formation of the nation of Israel acted as a positive internal pressure, as people wanted to celebrate and remember their heritage, and it fulfilled the practical use of court records. The Greeks eventually took over, followed by the Romans, and the destruction of the temple during the failure of the First Revolt acted as a negative external pressure on the Jews to write down what they had before their memories were lost. The death of the first generation of disciples added to the urgency to solidify their tradition into writing. The events in the Old Testament explain God's relationship with the people through many Covenants that provide authority; they are the relationships of communication between God and his people (Coogan, 2008).

The Concept of Covenant

A covenant is an agreement of promises and obligations. However, it does not have to be referred to explicitly as a covenant. God did not call his first covenant one by name. He created a perfect relationship with Adam and Eve that revolved around obedience. In return, they were promised everything they would need to live in the Garden of Eden. Unfortunately, temptation got the best of Adam and Eve, and they ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, breaking the covenant. Their perfect relationship with God was fractured because they turned away from Him, and disorder overtook the world.

Noah and the Covenant with Humankind

God next makes a covenant with the people of the world through Noah after He floods the Earth. However, again the people turned away from God in a breakdown of communication, and disorder enters the world again. The people attempt to mend the relationship at the Tower of Babel, but this fails, and God scatters and confuses the people; He will not work in a covenant with all of humankind again (Sarna, 1989).

The Abrahamic Covenant

Instead, around 1800 BCE, God makes a covenant with Abraham and his descendants. They are his chosen people, and God promises them blessings, a promised land, and many descendants if they follow His word. Abraham becomes the Father of Judaism and a model of faith and obedience. Twelve tribes of Israel develop, and they move to Egypt, where a Pharaoh began to use them as forced labor.

The Mosaic Covenant

Around 1280 BCE was the time of Moses, who was called to leadership and became known as one of the greatest prophets. He delivered the 10 Commandments to the people from Mount Sinai, the first time God offered His side of a covenant, rather than just telling the people what to do. After Moses died, Joshua took over and guided Israel through times of fighting with Moabites and Ammonites, where eventually the fractured community called for a King (Friedman, 2001).

The Davidic Covenant

David united the tribes in a Monarchy and was a good ruler; God made a covenant with him that one of his descendants would always be King, known as the House of David. God also promised that if his people couldn’t defend themselves and needed a savior, he would send the Messiah. This became known as Messianic Expectation. Over the next 900 years, the tribes of Israel fell apart and were subject to many empires. Even though they built a second temple and redirected themselves to the Sinai Covenant, they were unable to overcome the Diaspora and eventually the Roman rule; the time had come for their Messiah to be delivered.

Conclusion

All in all, these covenants are the guideline for the relationship between people and God. They revolve around communication, and Jesus Christ is the embodiment of that when he is sent into the world. The five covenants of the Old Testament aren’t lost, but transformed into the promise of Eternal Life as a New Covenant as Christianity develops from Judaism. The people of Israel are brought together as a community of believers through communication that is dictated by covenant through Jesus Christ, who was sent to fulfill a covenant and create a new one (Wright, 2005).

References

• Coogan, M. D. (2008). The Old Testament: A Historical and Literary Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures. Oxford University Press.
• Friedman, R. E. (2001). Who Wrote the Bible? HarperOne.
• Sarna, N. M. (1989). Understanding Genesis. Schocken Books.
• Wright, N. T. (2005). The Last Word: Beyond the Bible Wars to a New Understanding of the Authority of Scripture. HarperOne.