A covenant ordinarily speaking could
mean an agreement between two or more people, equal or unequal. It could be an
agreement for sale of one’s property or for a contract. It could be between two
business men or between a master and his slave. In Biblical usage, the word
covenant rendered in Hebrew (O.T) as b’rit and in Greek (N.T) as diatheke,
refers to the agreement between God and His chosen people, the Israelites.
Sometimes, we wonder why the All Powerful God had to go into an agreement with
mortal men who solely depend on Him? Likening our relationship with God to our
relationship with our possessions (like a pair of shoe), do we need to make an
agreement with our pair of shoe not to discard it when it is no longer needed?
Going into such an agreement means belittling ourselves. However, God had to
make this agreement with man just to go extra miles to convince us of His love
for us, so that being aware of His love for us, we might reciprocate this love
by keeping his commandments.
In the first reading, we see one of
such unmerited agreements God had with humanity through
