A covenant is what it means? History of the Old Testament

Anyone who considers himself a Christian should constantly be educated in a religious way, make pilgrimage trips, read spiritual books and study the Bible. This book consists of 2 parts - this is the Old and New Testament (Gospel). They united in themselves a whole history of events beginning with the creation of the world by the Lord and ending with the spread of the Christian faith throughout the earth by the apostles of the Son of God after His Ascension to Heaven.

Two Values of the Old Testament

The Old Testament is part of the Bible that describes the life of the Jewish people. That is why this book is considered common for representatives of Christianity and Judaism. Collected literally by particles and from different sources, the Old Testament is a unique work of its kind, created in the period from XIII to I century BC.

For the first time the word "testament" was heard from the mouth of the prophet Moses, through which the Lord granted the people 10 commandments on the mountain, inscribed on the tablets. Thus, God made a covenant (covenant) with his people, according to which, in observance of his command, they receive mercy and love from Him.

Summarizing the above, we note that the expression "Old Testament" is a term that can be interpreted both as part of the Bible and as an agreement between the Lord and his people.

What is the difference between the Covenants

Those who are just beginning to be interested in Christianity and begin to study the Bible, often the question arises about the principle by which it was divided into two parts. First of all, it is necessary to know that the Old Testament is the biography of the Jewish people and the ways of its salvation through the numerous prophets until the coming of the Son of God to the earth.

The events of the first part of the Bible seem rather cruel, and the actions of some of its heroes are unworthy, contrary to the modern foundations of Christianity. Numerous sacrifices, fratricide, the most terrible fall of Sodom and Gomorrah are the incomplete list of what we can find in the Old Testament.

People, once renouncing the paradisiacal life of disobedience, themselves earned their punishment in the form of deaths, diseases and hardness of heart. But, despite the sins of mankind, God the Father is very merciful and sincerely loves his children. That is why He sends to the Earth his Son - Jesus Christ, who will then atone for human sins and open the gates of Eden.

The Lord's coming to earth is the conclusion of the New Testament between Him and people, according to which those who lead a pious lifestyle, corresponding to Christian morality, enter paradise after their death. The laws of the Christian life are significantly softened, the main principle is love for one's neighbor.

As the Bible says, Jesus Christ opened the gates of heaven for people. In the Old Testament times, even righteous and pious people after death were in hell because of the sin of the forefathers - Adam and Eve. Therefore, we can say that the New Testament is the key to eternal salvation.

Structure of the Old Testament

The first part, called Torah, consists of several books written by the prophet Moses. These include Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

In addition to the Torah, the Old Testament includes the Book of Prophets, which contains historical and prophetic narratives.

In the Scriptures there are 13 books, among which there are philosophical reflections (for example, the Book of Job), and poems about love and others.

All of the above components of the Old Testament are called canonical. The rest of the books of the first part of the Bible Orthodoxy considers useful, but not recognized canon.

Torah. Value

As already mentioned, the Torah is the Old Testament, or rather, the Pentateuch from the prophet Moses, which is a manuscript scrolls. In addition, in the Bible, the Torah refers to separate God's laws. The information given by the Lord himself to the prophet was not only written on scrolls, but was also transmitted verbally. Thus, there is not only a written, but an oral Torah, which has influenced the moral foundations of mankind.

The first pages of the Old Testament

"In the beginning there was a word, and the word was with God, and the word was God" ... This is how the history of the Old Testament opens. From the first pages we can learn about the creation by the Lord of the world around us - heaven and earth, moon, sun and stars, oceans and seas, animals, birds and man in six days.

Having created Adam in the image and likeness of his, God also creates a woman and calls her Eve. "Be fruitful and multiply," the Lord will command his children. By giving people everything they need for eternal bliss, God forbids them to approach the Tree of Knowledge and has its fruits. Seduction of the forbidden apple cost Adam and Eve a paradisiacal life. The first people became accessible to sin and death. This is told in the first three chapters of Genesis.

Life on Earth: Cain and Abel

When Adam and Eve were on the ground, they began to have children, the first of which were Cain and Abel. The first brother was engaged in land, while the second herd pass. Abel was more meek and believing, often in prayer and hoping for the mercy of God.

Cain had a hardened and cruel heart, not having fear of God. The Lord accepted the offering of Abel, but rejected the lamb of his second brother. Cain, embittered, held his resentment. He called Abel in the field and killed him there. The Lord, seeing not only actions, but also knowing human thoughts, warned Cain of a possible misfortune, urged him to overcome the evil designs that were the germ of an indelible sin of blood. But the elder brother, blinded by envy and hatred, committed the sin of fratricide. For this the Lord cursed Cain.

New foundation

After the murder of Abel and the expulsion of Cain, the history of the Old Testament continues. God granted Adam and Eve another son - Seth, from whom the good and pious descendants came. His name in translation means "foundation", which can be interpreted as the foundation of a new humanity. After all, it was from this kind that the sons of God happened, as the scripture says, and the sons of man are from the "wicked" kind. After the descendants of Cain and Abel began to marry among themselves, people on earth became more and more depraved. This continued until there was only one righteous Noah with his family. The Lord, unable to tolerate grave human sins, decides to cleanse the land and sends a flood. God warns Noah of his intention and commands him to build an ark in which the righteous should take a pair of animals that can not exist in the water.

The flood lasted for a hundred and fifty days, after which the water began to gradually enter its course. On the newfound place, Noah brings God a sacrifice for his salvation. In response, the Lord gives him the promise never again to arrange a World Flood and points to a rainbow, which to this day symbolizes the vow given by God Himself.

Noah's family. Babel

Noah had three sons who, after the flood, along with their wives, stayed with him. Together with their father, they began to cultivate the land and began to build vineyards. Once Noah tried the wine and fell asleep naked, first learning the intoxicating power of the intoxicating drink. In this form, he was found by the son of Ham, who told him about what his brothers saw, thereby showing disrespect to his father. Sim and Japheth, on the contrary, hurried to cover the body of his naked parent. When Noah woke up and found out what had happened, he cursed Ham and his entire family, condemning them to eternal submission to the descendants of the brothers.

So there were three tribes - the Simites, the Iafites and the Hamites. The latter decided in any way to resolve themselves from the burden of submission and planned to build a tower high up to the very heavens, in order to themselves to rise. The Lord, having learned about this idea, divided the Hamites, giving them different languages. Thus, people could not agree among themselves and implement their plan. The place of the unfinished tower was called Babylon.

The type of Christ

Among the many stories of the Old Testament, the story of the sacrifice of Abraham stands out . He was a pious descendant of Sim, believing in God. At that time, idolatry spread throughout the whole earth, and people forgot the fear of God. For the righteous life of Abraham and his wife Sarah, long despaired of having children, the Holy Trinity visited their tent. At that time, the righteous were at a very old age. But since everything pleases the Lord, a year later, Isaac's son was born to Abraham's family. They loved their child immensely. And God, seeing the attitude of parents to his son, decided to make sure of the true faith and love of the righteous. The Lord asked Abraham to bring Isaac to him as a sacrifice. The righteous knew that God always wished only good, so he went to the mountain, taking logs for the campfire and his young son. The Lord, seeing the devotion of Abraham, asked him to slay the sheep entangled in the bushes instead of the only beloved child. So the righteous showed his fear of the Lord, for which he was rewarded with numerous offspring, from which later the Savior himself came out.

This biblical story precedes the story of the great sacrifice of the Son of God for the sins of men. Like Abraham, the Lord did not spare his son for the redemption of the human race. This story also describes the Bible (New Testament). This coming of Christ essentially changes the life and consciousness of people, their relation to each other.

Moses. The Commandments of God

The famous biblical prophet Moses, who saved the Jewish people from Egyptian oppression, became a mediator between the people of the whole world and the Lord, who gave the 10 commandments. Written on two tables, they expressed the relation of man to God and neighbor. These commandments are to be observed by those who want to be closer to the Lord.

Before taking these sacred tablets, Moses fasted for 40 days and nights while on the Sinai mountain. Having received the commandments, the people of Israel concluded a covenant with God, according to which people should live in accordance with God's Law.

The Ark of Revelation

For the storage of stone tablets, God commanded Moses to create the Ark of the Covenant. What it is and how it looks, is of interest to many. First of all, it is a symbol of the union of the Lord with the Jews. The casket was made of acacia wood and overlaid with gold. In Old Testament times it was kept in the tabernacle (portable temple), which God commanded to build his people. At present, the location of the ark is unknown. According to one version, the casket was lost during the reign of the impious king Manasseh. The priests, wishing to save the great shrine from the desecration of the sovereign, took her from the tabernacle and sent to one of the Egyptian temples. Since that moment the Ark of the Covenant has traveled many times, becoming even the subject of Jewish cults. It is believed that the last refuge of the casket was one of the temples of Ethiopia.

New Testament. Changes

With the birth of Jesus Christ , new pages of the Bible are opened. The Gospel is the New Testament of God. The Lord, having come to earth as a simple poor man, performs unprecedented miracles - heals lepers, resurrects the dead. For all the benefits that Christ gives to people, they cruelly crucify Him on the Cross, ridiculously calling the King of the Jews. But the Lord came to earth to resurrect and atone for man's sins, to give people a new law, the main principles of which are mercy and compassion.

Thus, the Old and New Testaments are united by one main idea: despite all the misdeeds, the Lord is able to forgive a person if he brings a sincere repentance, as did the robber hanged on the cross next to the Son of God.