Outline Jewish ideas about the covenant relationship between God and his people? With particular reference to the Hebrew Scriptures.

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Louise Blacklock 10V3

Outline Jewish ideas about the covenant relationship between God and his people?

With particular reference to the Hebrew Scriptures.

     The word covenant means an agreement based upon a promise or understanding, which is entered into freely and binding. The covenant between Jews and God is that if they are good and do not sin God will reward them, but if they are bad God will punish them.

     The first sign of a covenant relationship in the Torah is in the story of Noah’s Ark. In this story the world is full of sinners so God floods the earth to punish them. At the end of the story God promises that he will never flood the earth again, this can be found in Genesis 9:1-17: ‘Then God said to Noah “I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.” The symbol of this covenant was a rainbow. There are many examples of different covenants all the way through the Torah. There is another side to the story and that is that God set rules for the Jews to obey. Near the end of the story the Jews were given rules about their diet, this is also thought to be part of the covenant because if they obey the rules then God will reward them but if they don’t God will punish them. The rules can be found in Genesis 9:3-4. ‘Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. But you must not eat meat that has lifeblood still in it.”

     The most significant of all the covenants formed between God and his people for the Jews, was the one made by God and Abraham. The story of Abraham can be found in Genesis 12. This is about the promise made by God, that Abraham will be the ancestor of many nations, he will have many descendants and will also receive a Promised Land. Genesis 12:1-4: ‘The Lord said to Abram, “Leave your country, your relatives and your father’s home…I will give you many descendants, and they will become a nation. I will bless you and make your name famous so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you. But I will curse those who curse you. And through you I will bless all the nations.” The significance of this is that God chose Abraham to set up the Jewish religion.  

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     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 ...

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