Essay On Covenant Within The Context Of The Hebrew Scriptures

The term ‘covenant’ simply means ‘agreement’. In the Hebrew Scriptures, the term covenant appeared several times, but most of the said appearances are in Genesis and Exodus. The connection that God wanted to establish with his people, primarily those who trusted him fully could be seen to have been established on the capacity of the said individuals to respond to the laws and policies that come alongside the desire of gaining his approval. In Genesis, a distinct covenant described in this book was that of God’s covenant with Abraham. This covenant indicates God’s promise of giving Abraham the ‘seed’ that would bring about the emergence of his ‘chosen nation’ (Genesis 15: 18). At his point, God reveals his desire to bring back the connection he had with humans; the kind of relationship and approval that Adam and Eve lost when they committed the sin against God. His desire to allow humans to have close relationship with him has prompted for the creation of several covenants that would serve as the bridge that humans have with him.
Relatively though, the Abrahamic Covenant covers a longer length of application other than just during the time when he was noted by God as the one from whom his nation would come from. God also stipulated in the covenant that the ‘seed’ did not only mean that of the Israelites, but that of a greater individual who would fulfill such agreement. Jesus, the seed, was promised by God to bring about change and salvation to the people. In a way, such covenant remains up to this day as God himself promised to bring about the “destruction of all his enemies’ as the ultimate fulfillment of the covenant. Obviously, with the things happening at present, the crimes, the violence and every sort of wrong doing that humans engage with, it is clear that God’s enemies have not been destroyed yet. With such condition given attention to, the people today who remain to trust in him and follow his commandments are expected to see the greater fulfillment of the said covenant when God’s Kingdom finally takes over the human-define governments.
Overall, it could be understood that God’s covenants with both Abraham and Moses had their own times of being fulfilled and applied for recognition. Nevertheless, although it may seem basically a part of history, learning specific points about these covenants could help the current society understand who God is, what he is like and what his systems and directions actually provide his people with. It will basically allow people today to see what benefits they could get from following points of the Mosaic law that applies to their being. Although different in nature and context, both the covenant of Abraham and Moses provides a distinct presentation of God’s character; he tries to connect with his people in any way he sees is rightful and up to this day, he uses the same process of reaching out to those who are willing to subject themselves under his guidance and protection.