God’s covenant
Covenants are mentioned over two hundred fifty times in the Hebrew Bible. While some texts describe commitments between individuals, the majority pertain to the covenant between God and His people.
God established covenants with Noah, Abram, and David (see Genesis 9:8–17, 15:18, and 17:1–14 and II Samuel 7:8–17). But it was the covenant made with His nation at Mount Sinai—which included the Ten Commandments and the body of laws in Exodus 20–23 known as the Book of the Covenant—that formed the cornerstone of Israel’s relationship with God. It demanded obedience to God’s law and guaranteed His blessing in return.
The prophet Jeremiah promised a new agreement—that knowledge of God would be planted in each heart, not merely made available to a select few. In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul contrasts the covenant laws given to Moses and the new covenant or gospel introduced by Christ Jesus. Where the Sinai covenant was based on obedience to the letter of the law, the Christly covenant emphasizes a spiritual relationship to God as Love.
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