Research Paper What is Covenant in the Old Testament Sense?

It is known from the Bible that God directs people to Him. God uses different ways and methods to make people understand the main point of their life. A covenant stands for a contract between two parties which includes some appropriate promises given by each party. The concept of covenant concluded between God and His people is considered to be one of the most significant theological issues in the Bible. Salvation is the main theme of all the covenants in the Bible.(Nicholson 23)
There are covenants in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. In the Old Testament covenants, salvation is promised through the Laws of Moses while in the New Testament covenant, belief in Jesus Christ who is a Savior for all the people gives salvation. Both the Old Testament covenant and the New Testament covenant have the major goal – to forgive people for their sins. (Hahn 8)
My goal in this paper is to explain the term covenant in the Old Testament sense and to discuss different covenants which can be found in the old Testament.
DEFINITION OF COVENANT IN THE BIBLE
It is known that in the Bible, the covenant is a serious agreement of God with his people. God promises people some kind of good if people obey and love Him. However, a covenant in the Bible is not just an agreement. It denotes more than an agreement. It is an arrangement which has no any end date. It is a permanent agreement.(Coogan 19)
The other important feature of the covenant is that it is related to the man’s whole life, his behavior, his ideas and thoughts, his actions and so on. (Hahn 8)
It is also very important to mention that the word covenant has some additional meaning in the Old Testament. This word is taken from Hebrew and means “to cut something”. The following examples taken from the Bible prove the importance of the meaning of this word. Abraham together with his children were told to be circumcised to symbolize their covenant with God. (The International Version Bible. Gen.17:10-11) The other ceremony was to pass through the cut bodies of killed animals after the signing the covenant.(Jer.34:18)
DIFFERENT COVENANTS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
The Covenant of God with Adam
The covenant of God with Adam is the first covenant which was “signed” by God with men. The covenant with Adam in the garden of Eden says: “You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it, you will surely die”. (Gen.2-17)However, Adam and Eve broke the covenant with God. They “realized nakedness and hid from God”.(Gen.3:7-8)They were banished from the garden of Eden because they disobeyed the God’s words.
The Covenant with Noah
The Covenant with a brave man Noah who was saved by God during the flood on the earth includes the following points:
“be fruitful and increased in numbers” (Gen.9:1), “eat meat and fruit of the ground, but not blood” (Gen.9:2-5) and others.
The Covenant with Abraham
The covenant with Abraham is one of the most important covenants in the Old Testament. This covenant established all the people: “And he brought him forth abroad, and said, look now towards heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, so shall thy seed be” (Gen. 15:5) God made Abraham the father of the nation.
The Covenants through Moses
The covenants through Moses include four covenants which play an important role in the Old Testament. One of covenants contains ten different commandment such as “do not murder”, “do not steal”, “honor your father and mother”, “do not take the name of the God in vein”, “do not give false testimony”, and others. (Dt.4-13)
The Covenant to David
The Covenant to David is one of the last covenants in the Old Testament. God promised David a kingdom: “And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee; thy throne shall be established forever”. (2Samuel 7:16) God promised him a spiritual kingdom which will be endless.
God also promised “to make David’s name great” (2Samuel 7:9).
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, it is necessary to say that covenant in the Old Testament is used as a notion to describe the relationships between God and the people. The covenant manifests God’s mercy and grace, His faithfulness and goodness. The covenant is the major issue in the Old Testament.(Coogan 31) God established a so-called covenant bond with humanity. God’s covenants with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David lead all the people to the coming of Christ who comes to establish a new covenant.

Works Cited
Coogan, M. A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament. Oxford University Press. 2008. Print.
Hahn, S. A Father who Keeps His Promises: God’s Covenant Love in Scripture. Servant Publications. 1998. Print.
Nicholson, E.W. God and His People: Covenant and Theology in the Old Testament. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1987. Print.
New International Version Bible. [Colorado Springs]: Biblica. 2011. Biblegateway.com. Web. 4 April 2011.