The Covenants that God made with Noah, Abraham, Moses and David - Essay Example

?The Covenants that God made with Noah, Abraham, Moses and David At its simplest definition, a covenant is a formal agreement between two entities. The parties involved are usually of equal stature, with the agreement being mutually beneficial. Aside from this, covenant also entails each party to bear the burden of certain responsibilities in order to realize the said mutual benefits. A biblical covenant, however, is not one that is made between two equal parties. After reading the Bible, particularly the Old Testament, one would discover that it was always God who proposes that a covenant be made between Him and man. Apparently, this only proves that God is not one who simply imposes his decisions on man, regardless of the fact that these are always absolutely wise and infallible. The covenants show that He also respects the free will that he gifted man with. He may ask mankind to do things in his favor, but he also grants them privileges in return. Man, for his part, also gets some of his wishes from God, he also has to oblige to certain conditions explicitly stated by the Creator. There were instances though that God unconditionally enters into a covenant with man and this only proves that, unlike man, He can grant favors out of love and not out of the wish for benefits. The first most prominent covenant mentioned in the Bible is that between God and Noah. After the Great Deluge, in which He literally washed the earth to rid it of man’s wickedness, God made a promise to Noah. In Genesis 9:11, He said that he would never punish man by destroying the world with flood. To seal the covenant, God creates the rainbow and makes it the sign of a lasting covenant between Him and man. Along with this promise though, conditions as to how man should behave are laid down. He forbids man to eat meat that is still with blood, He forbids murder, and He explicitly points out that men who commit violence would themselves be victims of it. Man actually gets more than the assurance that the world would no longer be destroyed with flood for complying with the conditions set. Noah was told by God to multiply and re-populate the earth. In Genesis 9:2-3, God gave man dominion or stewardship over the other creations. The Noahic covenant is the obviously a reaffirmation of God’s relationship with man. It basically repeated what God once agreed with Adam. The point here is that “if the relationship with Noah is a new beginning for the human race, picking up where Adam’s seed left off, so to speak, and if it can be explicitly referred to as a covenant, then it should be evident that the relationship with Adam in the garden was also a covenant.” (Smith 36) However, it is clear that the Noahic covenant is a more important indicator of the evolving relationship between God and man. It is in this pact that God manifests His love for mankind by promising not to impose harsh punitive measures. Man, for his part, must not violate the rules established by God. When God placed the rest of His creations under man’s care though, the covenant with Noah clearly governs non-human entities on earth. What is most prominent in the this covenant though is that while God promised never to flood the earth again out of love for his creation, man should also avoid committing actions that are destructive or self-destructive in nature. While God also promised never to destroy the living creatures, He also granted man stewardship over His creation. God’s covenant with Abraham is different in the sense that it is here where the concept of chosen people is first introduced. In the covenant, God promised Abraham that his descendants would be as many as the stars in the sky. God also said that Abraham’s descendants would be his chosen people. He also defined the land which is to be called by His chosen people their own. On Abraham’s part, such favor is returned by simply remaining faithful to God and become a medium through which God’s kindness and generosity would flow to others as explained in Genesis 12:1-3. This covenant with Abraham can be considered as unconditional because God did not stipulate any requirement for Abraham to comply with. In fact, it was God that took the initiative in choosing Abraham from among the many people that already existed at that time. Prior to the covenant, there is absolutely nothing in the Bible that gives a hint as to how and why God chose Abraham to be the father of the chosen people or of the fate. There is no mention of what he did to earn the favor of God. Abraham was simply chosen, a proof of how God’s wisdom is a mystery to man. It is therefore clear that the covenant that God made with him can already be considered as a blessing. This means that the “covenant with Abraham, as with later covenants, election and the gift of the covenant are virtually synonymous.” (Smith 50) However, there was also one covenant that God made with Abraham that is conditional in nature. This was the covenant of circumcision. In this pact, God made a rule that all male descendants of Abraham should be circumcised so that they could be identified as God’s chosen people. With this contention, the Abrahamic covenant is the cornerstone of the concept that God has a chosen people, Israel. All the other covenants that followed after this bears such distinguishing mark. However, the most important point here is the fact that a covenant from God could be unconditional. He could choose to initiate a covenant with anyone whom he thinks is deserving of His graces. Abraham did not ask but he and his descendants got blessings from God. Part of the Abrahamic covenant is the determination of the Promised Land. It was described in detail what territories were covered. It is in the covenant that God made with Moses that the details of the chosen people concept are defined. Abraham’s descendants were enslaved by the Egyptians and were living far from the land that God promised them. After suffering so much oppression and exploitation in the hands of the Egyptians, they finally decided to leave Egypt and find their way back into the land that God had provided them with. Led by Moses, the people of Israel made a journey back to their land of origin. God was definitely at the helm of such developments. He made the plagues possible to punish the Egyptians and he inspired Moses to lead His people into deliverance. It was during the journey to the Promised Land that God made the covenant wit Moses. Essentially, the covenant was the reaffirmation of the belief that the Israelites were God’s chosen people. However, this also laid down the basis for God’s treatment on them as his people. In Exodus 19:5, it is made clear that the children of Israel should obey God and adhere to his covenant if they wish to remain in his good graces. The Ten Commandments is where the terms of the covenant can be found. This set of basic laws is handed down by God through Moses for the people of Israel to follow. Apparently, the covenant that God made with Moses is conditional in nature. It may have granted very big favors to the people, such as making Israel a nation of kings and priests, it also outlines the things that should be done by the Israelites to remain in God’s good graces. It must be pointed out that the Israelites at this had just fled from Egypt and they have yet to establish themselves as a nation, one with a defined territory and a government with laws. The Ten Commandments may be considered as having two purposes. First, it was a covenant meant to ensure that the chosen people would not commit anything that is against the will of God. Second, it was a also covenant that contributed much to efforts at establishing an identity as a nation for it provided the basic laws that that should be observed and it clearly stated the hierarchy of power that should exist in a nation. This goes to show that the Ten Commandments, as a covenant, benefits both God and man. The Bible points out that the sign of the covenant given to God by man was the Sabbath. It was at this point in time the people of Israel became fully aware that they are the chosen people and that they were meant to take possession of the Promised Land to build a nation. It is apparent, therefore, that such covenant resulted into the achievement of a sense of identity based on nationhood and religious faith. From the covenant that defines the Israelites as a chosen people, another was later made which establishes the reign of a particular tribe from which line the Messiah would come from. In 2 Samuel 7:12-13, God made a covenant with King David which clearly states that the latter’s descendants would be the heirs to the throne. In fact, the implication here is that the King of Kings would come from the line of King David. The Davidic covenant actually has five major points that all support the point that King David and his descendants would be the rightful rulers of Israel. It is pointed out that David would have a child who would succeed him and establish the kingdom. It would be this child, Solomon, who would build the temple. From Solomon’s reign onwards, it would be David’s descendants that will succeed the throne. It is this covenant with David that the idea of the coming of the Messiah is based from. The people of Israel since then had held on the belief that the one who can save them from sin and from earthly forces that trampled their sovereignty as a nation could only come from the line of King David. Jesus comes from such lineage. He is the Son of David, which is why he was the rightful successor to the throne. The people of Israel, however, failed to see this. This is because they expected the Messiah to deliver them not just from sin but from the conquerors. Israel then was under Rome and from their point of view Jesus did not commit Himself to its deliverance. It was therefore at this juncture that the Jews differ with Christians when it comes to the interpretation of the Davidic covenant. In the covenant with Noah, God made a promise to mankind in general. Essentially, the covenant is a reiteration of that between Him and Adam which was soon broken by man’s sinful ways. It was unilateral and unconditional, with God actually promising never to destroy mankind, His creation, again. In the covenant with Abraham, God no longer dealt with mankind in general. The concept of the ‘chosen people’ was introduced. Abraham’s descendants, the Israelites, were made so as stipulated by the covenant. The Mosaic covenant, on the other hand, simply reinforced the ‘chosen people’ concept. The essence of the covenant is that God had shown proof that the Israelites were indeed His people by delivering them from the Egyptians. However, for them to become a nation of priests and kings under Him, they should follow the laws that He made, the Ten Commandments. In the covenant with David, it was no longer just the ‘chosen people’ concept that was dealt with but the tribe from which the succession of kings would originate, including the Messiah. It can be observed that there are differences in the substantial points in the covenants that God made with Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David. The commonality though can be seen in the fact that these covenants are reflective of the relationship that God had with man as represented by the four biblical figures. Since each of them belong to different points in time, it is also clear that there are certain facets in the relationship that evolved through the years. For example, there were certain concerns that were not mentioned or stipulated in the previous covenants which were later dealt with by the next. Despite these changes though, the essential feature remains; that God only wishes man to obey his laws while He guarantees their well-being on earth. Apparently, the concept of eternal salvation had not yet been tackled in the covenants with the four figures in the Bible although Christians believe that the covenant that God made with David already foretold the coming of the Messiah. However, the differences and the evolution of the essential points of the covenants actually imply already the concept of eternal salvation. It was only when Christ was born and walked the earth that the new covenant which emphasized the redemption of man from sin. Work Cited Smith, Ralph Allan. The Eternal Covenant: How the Trinity Reshapes Covenant Theology. Moscow, ID: Canon Press, 2003. Read More