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Essay / The importance of agreements as written in the Bible
Many people today ask the question of what is the relationship between God and man. Scripture responds to this scripture by showing us that the relationship between God and man is based on an agreement called a covenant. Covenants are a common theme throughout the Old and New Testaments. We can even see that the name “Old and New Testaments” evokes this idea of covenant since the word “testament” is Latin for the word covenant. A covenant is a contract or agreement between two or more parties. The covenant was the way God chose to communicate to his people, to redeem them and guarantee them eternal life in Jesus. This idea of a covenant relationship between God and man is so fundamental and predominant throughout all of Scripture. We will look at three key biblical covenants and how they were fulfilled in the New Testament scriptures. Although not all of the covenants of Scripture, these key covenants will provide a more complete understanding of the unity of Scripture and the history of man's salvation. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay In Scripture we can see two different types of covenants, overlord/vassal treaties and unconditional covenants. Suzerain/vassal treaties involved some form of sort, a suzerain and a vassal state. It was often a relationship in which the king was obeyed and loved and the vassal was expected to work for the king, in turn receiving protection. The Sinaitic or Mosaic covenant are excellent examples of what an example suzerainty treaty would look like. At Sinai, the people of Israel told God that they agreed to keep the law that God had given them, or else suffer the consequences. This type of treaty was common in ancient politics during this time, so it is not surprising that God used this type of treaty to establish relationships with His people. We will first discover the Abrahamic Covenant in Genesis 12. This convent is the springboard towards the entire development of the great nation of Israel and even the book of Revelation; it is the story of the development and fulfillment of this promise to Abraham. This covenant was a contract between God and Abraham, whereby they became his people and he became their God. We can see the following promise in Genesis 12:1-3: “The LORD said to Abram, “Go out from your country, from your family, and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse whoever curses you; and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.' » (Genesis 12:1-3) The Abrahamic Covenant can be seen as in part a suzerain-vassal alliance, for God first required that Abraham get up and leave his house. and his family, and follow God in the land. However, the main focus of this covenant is an unconditional covenant as God's promise to bless Abraham and bless the entire nation through his lineage (Pieters 30). We can even see that God promises this covenant, and then Abraham asks God to perform a “cutting ceremony.” This was a common practice in the culture of the time. Additionally, it is important to note that this covenant is also a literal covenant in which the promises are to be understood literally. Furthermore, this promised earthly convent must be understood in its literal interpretation and must not be understood as a figure of heaven. Finally, it is important to observe that this is also an everlasting covenant. The promisesthat God has done to Israel are eternal. Additionally, it is interesting to note that this one-sided covenant is because God is gracious in His dealings with men and requires no oaths from us. Abraham's role was to embrace God's covenant. The Abrahamic promise is even referred to in the New Testament as “the promise” (Acts 2:39; 26:6; Romans 4:13; Ephesians 2:12). God's way of fulfilling the Abrahamic Covenant was God's blessing of Abraham with land in Genesis 13:14-17. Additionally, God blessed him spiritually in Genesis 13:8, 18; 14:22, 23; 9:22 p.m. God also gave Abraham many descendants in Genesis 22:17; 49:3-28. The most important element of this covenant, however, is the future fulfillment with the reign of Messiah's kingdom (Peter 45). It should be emphasized that part of the Abrahamic Covenant has not yet been fulfilled. For example, Israel as a nation will own its land in the future. Scriptures such as Ezekiel 20:33-37 predict Israel's future blessing upon their land. The book of Ezekiel speaks of a future day when Israel will be restored to its land. Some say this could be fulfilled in a future millennial Kingdom of God. The Abrahamic Covenant finds its ultimate fulfillment in the result of the Messiah's return to save and bless his people, Israel. It was through the nation of Israel that God promised to bless all the nations of the world. This ultimate blessing will be the forgiveness of sins and the reign of Messiah's kingdom on earth. In addition to this nunnery, we see another major covenant fulfilled in the New Testament is the Davidic Covenant in 2 Samuel 7. The establishment of the Davidic Covenant in the Old Testament represented a supreme point of the the story of redemption before the actual coming of Christ. God promised David that his descendants would have an everlasting kingdom and would be known as his sons. We can observe that this is an unconditional covenant made between God and David. We can also see how God promised David and Israel that the Messiah (Jesus Christ) would come from the line of David and the tribe of Judah and establish a kingdom that would last forever. Scholars such as Michael A. Grisanti state that although the Hebrew term for "covenant" is not used in the passage, it is clear that it provides the initial picture of the Davidic Covenant. The Davidic Covenant highlights several key promises made to David and his departed ones. First, God reaffirms the promise of the land that He made in the Abrahamic and Mosaic Covenants. As stated previously, these objectives have not yet been achieved today. We can see this very fact when we read this promise in 2 Samuel 7:10: “I will provide a place for my people Israel and plant them so that they may have their own home and no longer be disturbed. The wicked will no longer oppress them. Then God promises that David's son will succeed him as king of Israel. This son we know as Solomon would build the temple. This promise can be seen in 2 Samuel 7:12-13 when the Lord says, “I will raise up your descendants to succeed you, your flesh and your blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house in my name. Solomon would assure the rest of David's descendants and build the Temple (7:13). Yahweh also guarantees that the Davidic descendant would always be available to sit on the royal throne. We see this promise when it is written, “I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Samuel 7:13), and “Your house and your kingdom shall stand before me forever; your throne will be established forever” (2 Samuel 7:16). We could see that there is now a huge change in thispromise. God speaks of an everlasting kingdom that another Son of David would rule forever and build a lasting House. This is a clear reference to Jesus the Messiah called the Son of David in Matthew 21:9. As with Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3, it could be seen that Yahweh had promised David eternal offspring and possession of the country. If David's descendants chose to be loyal and live according to the terms of the Mosaic Covenant, they would enjoy the full enjoyment of the provisions offered to them by the covenant. However, we find that they have not kept this promise. But although David's deceased did not follow the Mosaic law and had to give up the promised divine protection and right to the land, the house of David will still reign on the throne forever. As Michael A. Grisanti further elaborates, stating: "Even though Yahweh promises to cause disloyal sons to lose the opportunity to enjoy the provisions of this covenant, he affirms that the Davidic house and throne will endure forever, giving the hope that Yahweh would one day raise up a faithful son who would meet Yahweh's requirements for covenant conformity. (Grisanti 243) Thus, it helps us better understand how this covenant is fulfilled today and still needs to be fulfilled. We can see this convent come to fruition in Scripture with the birth of Jesus. When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary in Luke 1:31-33, he said, “Behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High; and the LORD God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end. » We see in this passage that David's promise that his descendant would reign over the house of Jacob forever is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. As Son of David (Romans 1:3) and Lord of David (Matthew 22:45; Psalm 110:1). Jesus now reigns as king in heaven over the true and blameless house of Israel. David functions as mediator of the New Covenant. More broadly, the New Alliance appears as the alliance that brings to fruition all previous alliances (Grisanti 249). Finally, the last covenant we will observe is the New Covenant. This covenant was announced by the prophet Jeremiah shortly before the dissolution of the nation that had been established on the basis of the Old Covenant of Sinai (Grisanti 250). Despite the failure of God's people to keep the covenants made with previous generations, God has graciously decided to adopt what is called the "New Covenant" with His people. We see this New Covenant established in Jeremiah 31:31-34 when the author writes: “Behold, the days come, declares the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, while I was their husband, declares the 'Eternal. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law among them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be my people… For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more. (Jeremiah 31:31-34) This important passage of Scripture seems to bring together a number of prophetic passages in which this New Covenant has been mentioned and alluded to as well (Isaiah 42:6; 49:8; 54:10; 55: 4; 61:8 Ezekiel 37;26). This new covenant was different from the covenant the Lord had made with the ancestors of Israel and Judah since the generation of the exodus. This new alliance.