There are other covenants in the Torah and these are just as important as others but aren’t as significant as these are. The next story of a covenant formed with God is the covenant that God formed with Isaac. In this story God told him that he would be blessed with many nations and that he would see them and ask God to bless them too. This story can be found in Genesis 26:2-4. “the lord appeared to Isaac and said “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. Stay in this land for a while and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath that I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all the nations will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed me and kept all the requirements, my decrees and my laws.” This is a significant story for the Jews because it shows that God cares for his people and recognises the work that they all do for him. This story also tells how Isaac trusted God enough to base where he lived, on what God had told him. This tells the Jews that they should trust God no matter what he might tell them to do for him.
God made another promise like the one that he made to Isaac, but this time he made it with Jacob. In this story Jacob had a dream while on his way to Haran, and in his dream he saw angels of God descending and ascending from earth and heaven. In his dream the Lord appeared to him and told him that he would have many descendants and that they would make a nation. This story can be found in Genesis 28:10-17. ‘God said “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land that you are lying on. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and the east, to the north and the south. All the people on the earth will be blessed by you and your offspring.” This is significant to the Jews for the same reason that the Isaac story was, and that Jacob did not ignore the sign of God, but believed in God and that is why the Jewish religion has so many descendants.
The most important of the covenants after the one with Abraham is the one that God made with Moses. In this covenant God says that Israel is a ‘Chosen people’ and that they serve God as if they were priests or of the highest authority. This story can be found in Exodus (which means ‘Exit’) chapter 19. This is the story set on Mount Sinai and is the story of when Moses received the Ten Commandments from God. The words of this covenant are the Ten Commandments. First God gave the people a set of laws that they must live by in the story of Noah’s Ark (Genesis 9:1-17), and now in the story of Moses the people received another set and laws and also another covenant. Genesis 19:4-6 tells of the part where the covenant was delivered to Moses. ‘You yourself have seen what I have done to Egypt, how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole world is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.” All the covenants are based on the simple rule that if the Jews are good then God will reward them, but if they are bad then God will punish them.
There is another part to the story of Moses and this can be found in Exodus 34:27-8. This is the part when the covenant is confirmed and written down onto stone for everyone to see. After this Moses then goes down the mountain and tells everyone what has just happened and what he had heard God say to him. Genesis 34:27 tells us what God had said to Moses on Mount Sinai. ‘The Lord said to Moses, “Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” Later on Moses is involved in another covenant when in Exodus he takes the slaves out of Egypt and delivers them to Israel. This story is well known because God parts the sea, but it has more significance than this. It is significant because God carries out his promise that he will deliver his people out of slavery and to the Promised Land. This is important to the Jews because it shows that God is doing his work. This also shows how the Jews trusted God enough to turn around when they were threatened with death and persecution. Moses is now a great icon in the Jewish religion because he trusted God and believed in him.
All covenants are based on a simple rule and they also show that God cares about his people and what they do. After God had made the above covenants all the people had a greater respect for God and obeyed even more.
In all the above covenants God promises the same thing. He promises that the different people will have countless numbers of descendants and that they will bless the rest of the world. At the end of each covenant he promises that all the descendants will receive a holy and Promised Land for them to worship in. In the story of Moses God tells Moses what his descendants are going to be like and how they will be set up. In all covenants made by God he always gives the Jewish people a set of rules that they must live by and obey. This again fits in with God’s first rule that if the Jews are good God will reward them but if they sin he will punish them.
The above covenants that have been described are all from the Torah, the Jewish Holy Book. Later on in the Torah there are the comments of the Prophets and these tell the Jews God’s reasons for making covenants and they say what God will do if they obey God. There are many different Prophets that tell us about God but only some of them mention the covenants God has made.
The Prophet Amos tells us all the rules that God has set. He also says that God has cared especially for Israel compared with other nations, and that because of this Israel’s sins are more terrible than other nations and that this makes punishment from God more necessary. All of Chapter 3 is about how God has witnessed good things and bad things in Israel. Amos then gives his own views on Israel and of the covenants that God has set up with Israel.
The next prophet that did this was Hosea. In Hosea 11, Hosea tells of God’s love for Israel and how God will not abandon Israel or destroy her in his anger. In Hosea Chapter 11:9 it says “I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I turn and devastate Emphraim. For I am God, and not man-the Holy One among us. I will not come in wrath.” This means that God cares about Israel and that just because he says this it doesn’t mean he will not punish people for their sins.
There are other prophets that have done this like Isaiah. In Isaiah it tells how Israel is the servant nation of God because the people of Israel worship and praise God. It says how God will restore Israel to glory one day and will make it a good place. In Isaiah Chapter 49 Isaiah says that God told him that Israel will be a great place. He said “Israel will be a light to the nations-so that all the world will be saved”
God promises a lot of things to the Jews but only if they obey a few rules along the way. God promised not to flood the world again in the story of Noah’s Ark, but all the people knew it might happen if the world sinned again. All the way through the Torah there are examples of how God has tried to prevent the world from sinning so he doesn’t have to flood the world again. This shows that God cares about them and the Jews know that their relationship with God is good. They know if that they obey God rules and keep the agreement that they have with God, then he will not do any wrong towards the world and it’s people.