Covenant Essay Bible

The main Biblical idea behind a covenant means a coming together of two or more parties. Our text, Dictionary of the Old Testament Pentateuch, defines the term as “a solemn commitment guaranteeing promises or obligations, undertaken by one or both covenanting parties” (139). The modern world equivalent is called a contract, which typically outlines promises that the parties are agreeing on. In the Bible the word covenant is used in many different contexts. Specifically in Genesis, these are promises that God made through creation and with Noah, and Abraham. These covenants show God’s unmerited, generous love to humans. They show His commitment to us, even when man’s free will causes trouble. We see that “faith is never in a state of equilibrium but is always developing, sometimes accepting divine initiatives, sometimes questioning and occasionally straining to understand what that might be” (358). God would be just to annihilate and destroy his creation, but instead he desires to save and …show more content…
He brings order to the world and some theologians believe that this is “an all embracing covenant established between God and his creations” (140). If this is indeed the case, then the flood account could be acknowledged as a continuing developing of themes that propels and drives the book. Further, the book of Genesis records the history of the development of the covenant and is “intended to reveal the character of God” (323). Next, the covenant with Abraham in Genesis 12 describes a renewal of the original creation intention in a local setting after muddling human speech and dispersing people throughout the world. This covenant had a more narrow focus than the Noahic covenant, and God promises that the Redeemer will progress by means of Abraham’s descendents and the nation of Israel. Additionally, just like the flood covenant, this covenant is introduced by a sacrifice