Examples Of Covenants In The Old Testament
Maddie Natrop
Throughout the stories in the Old Testament, the reader encounters numerous examples of covenants that God creates between Himself and His people as a way of testing their faith. A covenant is a sacred agreement formed between God and humanity, except unlike other promises, this covenant cannot be broken, or God will reap the consequences among those who disobey.
In Genesis 15, God forms a covenant with Abraham, which is one of the first in the sequence of covenants to be made later in the Old Testament. However instead of appearing face to face with Abram, God appeared in the form of a vision. The sole reason for this is because of the Fall of Adam and Eve. In a perfect world, humans would experience God face to face, and humanity would know what it was like to be in God's presence. However, after the Fall, God no longer made Himself known in a visible way, but rather chose to do so using His voice, visions or dreams, angels or messengers, the Holy Spirit, and various symbolic objects. In addition, when God is speaking to Abraham, He states, "Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield" (Gen. 15:1). God uses these words to describe Himself because Abram had recently defeated an army and may have been fearful of being …show more content…
The fire spot is symbolic of a cloud of smoke in that it foreshadows a cloud of smoke encircling Mount Sinai as Moses receives the Ten Commandments. The torch is symbolic of God's revelation as fire, which appears to Moses later in the form of a burning bush. The significance of the two passing through the sacrifices refers back to ancient sacrifices when members of the covenant would walk through the sacrifice to set an understanding that if the covenant was broken, they would receive the same fate. Through the use of smoke and fire, both symbols of God's revelation, God is agreeing to make true His part of the
Throughout the stories in the Old Testament, the reader encounters numerous examples of covenants that God creates between Himself and His people as a way of testing their faith. A covenant is a sacred agreement formed between God and humanity, except unlike other promises, this covenant cannot be broken, or God will reap the consequences among those who disobey.
In Genesis 15, God forms a covenant with Abraham, which is one of the first in the sequence of covenants to be made later in the Old Testament. However instead of appearing face to face with Abram, God appeared in the form of a vision. The sole reason for this is because of the Fall of Adam and Eve. In a perfect world, humans would experience God face to face, and humanity would know what it was like to be in God's presence. However, after the Fall, God no longer made Himself known in a visible way, but rather chose to do so using His voice, visions or dreams, angels or messengers, the Holy Spirit, and various symbolic objects. In addition, when God is speaking to Abraham, He states, "Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield" (Gen. 15:1). God uses these words to describe Himself because Abram had recently defeated an army and may have been fearful of being …show more content…
The fire spot is symbolic of a cloud of smoke in that it foreshadows a cloud of smoke encircling Mount Sinai as Moses receives the Ten Commandments. The torch is symbolic of God's revelation as fire, which appears to Moses later in the form of a burning bush. The significance of the two passing through the sacrifices refers back to ancient sacrifices when members of the covenant would walk through the sacrifice to set an understanding that if the covenant was broken, they would receive the same fate. Through the use of smoke and fire, both symbols of God's revelation, God is agreeing to make true His part of the