Information Related to "What Is a Biblical Covenant ?"
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Chapter 1 : What is a Biblical Covenant ? |
In
the Old Testament the word covenant comes from the Hebrew berit. It
means "'covenant; league; confederacy.' This word is most probably derived from
an Akkadian root meaning 'to fetter'; it has parallels in Hittite, Egyptian, Assyrian,
and Aramaic. Berit is used over 280 times and in all parts of the Old Testament"
(W.E. Vine, Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words,
1985, "Covenant").
God's covenants contain two especially important components: terms and duration.
Although humans may reach covenants or other agreements through their own devices,
God's covenants with people are usually unilateral. He alone determines the
terms and conditions; humans choose whether to accept them.
For example, after God clearly defined aspects of the covenant He was making with
the nation of Israel, including the blessings for honoring it and the consequences
for ignoring it (Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28-30), both parties-God and the people
of Israel-accepted it. Through this process God and Israel entered into a covenant
relationship, a binding commitment to honor and fulfill their respective roles.
A second important concept for us to understand about God's covenant with Israel
is its continuing relevance to our day. In reaffirming the covenant with the generation
of Israelites who were poised to enter the Promised Land, Moses explained that they
were doing this "that (God) may establish you today as a people for Himself,
and that He may be God to you, just as He has spoken to you, and just as He has sworn
to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I make this covenant and this oath,
not with you alone, but with him who stands here with us today before the
LORD our God, as well as with him who is not here with us today" (Deuteronomy 29:13-15). The covenant clearly applied to Israel's descendants as well.
Understanding the continuing nature of the covenant, King David, on the arrival of
the Ark of the Covenant in Jerusalem, wrote: "Oh, give thanks to the LORD! Call
upon His name; make known His deeds among the peoples! Sing to Him, sing psalms to
Him; talk of all His wondrous works! ... He is the LORD our God; His judgments are
in all the earth. Remember His covenant always, the word which He commanded, for
a thousand generations, the covenant which He made with Abraham, and His oath to
Isaac, and confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, to Israel for an everlasting
covenant" (1Chronicles 16:8-9,14-17).
Covenants are simply binding agreements between two or more parties. God Himself
designed the covenant He made with Abraham and his descendants. When God makes a
covenant, He will always perform what He has bound Himself to do.
(Contents Page)
© 2001-2008
United Church of God, an International Association
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