Covenant Between God and Us

 

Biblical Archaeologists have found evidence of a number of covenants from the ancient world. Why covenants were important to the ancient world, especially to the salvation history and to the Bible?

 

The Bible is not simply a collection of stories, laws, or moral principles. It is a loving story between God and His chosen people and of their salvation. And this loving story unfolds and advances through the covenants that God made with His people. A covenant is an agreement or a bond or a contract between two or more parties. In defining the theological use of covenant, The New Oxford Dictionary of English states covenant as “an agreement, which brings about a relationship of commitment between God and his people.” Then, in the Bible the common term for ‘covenant’, which is berith, implies more of a formal agreement, like commitment to a relationship. Biblically, covenant is a loving agreement between God and the chosen people of Israel. Covenant between God and His chosen people are one of the most fundamental themes of the Hebrew Bible.

 

All of the history of the Bible can be called the theology of the covenant. As it is stated in the Hebrew Scriptures, the covenant that God made with His people goes back to the covenant with Noah after the flood (Gen 9:1-19). Then, a profound event in the plan of God was the covenant with Patriarch Abraham who is the father of faith (Gen 12:1-9, 15:1-21). This covenant was renewed with Isaac (Gen 26: 1-5) and then it was again renewed with Jacob (Gen 28: 10-22). Finally, this covenant got sealed through Moses on Mount Sinai as a covenant between God and His chosen people of Israel. God commanded Moses to speak to the people of Israel, saying, “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God, the Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on earth to be his people, his treasured possession.” (Deut.7; 6)

 

Through the covenant, the actions of God are seen as a series of blessings and promises that led up to the fulfillment at Sinai. Hence, in the salvation history, the covenant between God and His chosen people was one of the most important agreements. This covenant that was initiated by God with Abraham, served as the basis for the faith of the people of Israel. Finally, the covenant on Mount Sinai helped to create the chosen nation of Israel.

 

The reality of God cannot be properly understood until it is viewed within a covenantal frame. It is because God has revealed Himself through the nature of a Trinitarian God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. At the same time, we may not understand properly the Word of God until it is viewed within a framework of the covenant. A covenant also requires that the people of God would remain faithful to God and put their trust in Him. Then, God in return will protect them and will exalt them.

 

— Fr. Niranjan Rodrigo, Ph.D.