UNIT 3 Covenant

Covenant comes from the Latin word, convenire ("to come together" or "to agree"). Today, we use the word "covenant" almost interchangeably with the word "contract."

There are two big differences between our notion of contract and the biblical notion of covenant.

First, contracts involve promises, covenants involve oaths.

“I give you my word"

The "word" you each pledge to the other is your name. You each sign your name on a contract as a "sign" that you'll uphold your end of the bargain or keep your promise.

When you enter into a contract, you make a promise:

In a covenant, you elevate and upgrade your promise. Not only do you give your word, you also give an oath, which involves a higher authority:

THIS HIGHER AUTHORITY IS GOD

When there is a covenant, you give your word to tell the truth or do the right thing. You've also asked God to help you keep your promise. COVENANT

In a covenant, you are more RESPONSIBLE in the asking for God's help: SURRENDER yourself to God's judgment.

In the old days, politicians gave an oath on the Bible.

The Bible would be opened to the 5 TH Book, Chapter 28, where the blessings and the curses are recorded. BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY

Today we make doctors, police officers, military personnel and public officials swear oaths.

The word "oath" translates the Latin word Where Catholics get the word sacraments from

The notion of covenant and oaths is crucial to understanding the sacraments. Triangular relationship with God and others.

The meanings of covenant in the Bible

What is God doing in making the covenants we find in the Bible ?

He is forging sacred kinship bonds. “I will be a Father to you and you shall be sons and daughters to Me" 2 Corinthians 6:18 God is taking the "creatures" He made and raising them to the status of divine children. By His covenants, the Creator is fathering a family.

The human race is being transformed from something physical and natural into something spiritual and supernatural. Humans are being changed from merely a species into a divine brotherhood and sisterhood: A f a m i l y o f G o d.

The Bible begins with God's covenant with Adam and Eve

By the final pages of the Bible, we see that the New Covenant He made in Jesus has embraced the entire world.

God's divine plan - to make all men and women into His sons and daughters through the covenants, are all summed up in the New Testament, where God says “All who are led by the Spirit of God are sons God” Romans 8:14

God makes six major covenants in the Bible:

1. Adam and Eve Genesis

2. Noah and his family (Genesis)

3. Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 12,17,16)

4. Moses and the Israelites (Exodus)

5. David and the Kingdom of Israel (2 Samuel 7)

6. Jesus and the Church Matthew Revelations

The Bible is not simply a collection of words written over the course of centuries. It's one book that tells a single story. The story of God's love for His people. With patience God unfolded his plan for the world and taught His people the reason they were created - to share His life with Him, to be part of His family, to be His children.

If we look at the Bible as the "book of the Covenant" it gives us a whole new perspective

Journal 1.READ DEUTERONOMY CHAPTER 28: COMPLETE A 1 PAGE REFLECTION ON “THE BLESSINGS FOR OBEDIENCE” YOU MUST INCLUDE IN YOUR REFLECTION: 1)SUMMARY OF THE STORY IN YOUR OWN WORDS 2)HOW DOES THIS STORY APPLY TO YOU - Do not write “it doesn’t- use that brain and put some thought into it 3)WHAT IS THE MAIN MESSAGE(S) THAT YOU ARE ABLE TO OBTAIN FROM THIS STORY