Exploring Covenant

Hebrew ‘Berit’

In its native context a covenant was “an agreement enacted between two partiesin which one or both make promises under oath to perform or refrain from certain actions striulated in advance.

The word berit literally means to cut.

levels; individual, tribal, or national

Examples:

Individual

Genesis 24:1–5 “Abraham was now very old, and the Lord had blessed him in every way. He said to the senior servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh. I want you to swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac.” The servant asked him, “What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?””

Tribal

Genesis 26:26–33 “Meanwhile, Abimelek had come to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his personal adviser and Phicol the commander of his forces. Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me, since you were hostile to me and sent me away?” They answered, “We saw clearly that the Lord was with you; so we said, ‘There ought to be a sworn agreement between us’—between us and you. Let us make a treaty with you that you will do us no harm, just as we did not harm you but always treated you well and sent you away peacefully. And now you are blessed by the Lord.” Isaac then made a feast for them, and they ate and drank. Early the next morning the men swore an oath to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they went away peacefully. That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. They said, “We’ve found water!” He called it Shibah, and to this day the name of the town has been Beersheba.”

Genesis 31:43–54 “Laban answered Jacob, “The women are my daughters, the children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks. All you see is mine. Yet what can I do today about these daughters of mine, or about the children they have borne? Come now, let’s make a covenant, you and I, and let it serve as a witness between us.” So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. He said to his relatives, “Gather some stones.” So they took stones and piled them in a heap, and they ate there by the heap. Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, and Jacob called it Galeed. Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me today.” That is why it was called Galeed. It was also called Mizpah, because he said, “May the Lord keep watch between you and me when we are away from each other. If you mistreat my daughters or if you take any wives besides my daughters, even though no one is with us, remember that God is a witness between you and me.” Laban also said to Jacob, “Here is this heap, and here is this pillar I have set up between you and me. This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not go past this heap to your side to harm you and that you will not go past this heap and pillar to my side to harm me. May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” So Jacob took an oath in the name of the Fear of his father Isaac. He offered a sacrifice there in the hill country and invited his relatives to a meal. After they had eaten, they spent the night there.” §

Covenant making in the ancient near east.

in Israel’s day the superpowers were Egypt and Mesopotamia.

Israel’s territory was an area of great political diversity and small land holdings

Israelites, Judahites, Philistines, Phoenicians, Arameans

Amonites, Moabites, Edomites etc

but the territory was an important land bridge between the two superpowers, who vied for control of the region.

It was not uncommon for the smaller kingdoms to unite as allies

or to subjugate themselves to one of the superpowers in order to protect themselves from smaller and larger nations

It was quite common for the superpowers to “invite’ the lesser kingdoms into an alliance to ensure trade routes and regular tribute

two sorts of alliances

1 Parity - equals

2. suserain/ vassal between greater and lesser powers

the parties looked on each other as Father and son or lord and servant

Legally the suserain owned all the vassal’s land and produce.

If the vassal was threatened by domestic rebellion or foreign attack the suserain was expected to step in and defend

A vassal also owed his suserain military assistance.

A vassal could not make a treaty with another suserain

Joshua and the Gibeonites (Josh 9,10)

Joshua had just captured the first two cities, Jericho and Ai. The Gibeonites realise that their city-state lies directly in Joshua’s path.

They have two options:

1 make peace with the Israelites

2. die

so they opt for a ruse.

Joshua 9:1–6 “Now when all the kings west of the Jordan heard about these things—the kings in the hill country, in the western foothills, and along the entire coast of the Mediterranean Sea as far as Lebanon (the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites)— they came together to wage war against Joshua and Israel. However, when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, they resorted to a ruse: They went as a delegation whose donkeys were loaded with worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended. They put worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. All the bread of their food supply was dry and moldy. Then they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the Israelites, “We have come from a distant country; make a treaty with us.””

Joshua 9:8–11 ““We are your servants,” they said to Joshua. But Joshua asked, “Who are you and where do you come from?” They answered: “Your servants have come from a very distant country because of the fame of the Lord your God. For we have heard reports of him: all that he did in Egypt, and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan—Sihon king of Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth. And our elders and all those living in our country said to us, ‘Take provisions for your journey; go and meet them and say to them, “We are your servants; make a treaty with us.” ’”

By claiming to be Joshua’s servants they are inviting Joshua to be their suserain.

Joshua 9:15 “Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath.”

But it turns out that the Gibeonites had lied to Joshua. They did not live far away; they lived nearby,

Joshua 9:19 “but all the leaders answered, “We have given them our oath by the Lord, the God of Israel, and we cannot touch them now.”

On hearing of the Gibeonites new alliance the king of Jerusalem and the others

Joshua 10:4 ““Come up and help me attack Gibeon,” he said, “because it has made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.””

The king of Gibeon did what any vassal would do

Joshua 10:6 “The Gibeonites then sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: “Do not abandon your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us! Help us, because all the Amorite kings from the hill country have joined forces against us.””

Even though the covenant had been secured under false pretenses Joshua did what a faithful suserain should

Joshua 10:7–10 “So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army, including all the best fighting men. The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you.” After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise. The Lord threw them into confusion before Israel, so Joshua and the Israelites defeated them completely at Gibeon. Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon and cut them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah.”

The idea of cutting a berit was well-known in ancient Israel.

The language and features of a covenant

A berit always involved oaths that resulted in obligations being placed on both parties

The oaths were always ratified by the sacrifice of ritually appropriate animals.

Sometimes the berit was actually acted out in the ratification ceremony. the vassal was required to walk between the bloodied parts of the slain animal while he recited his oaths.

i.e “may what happened to these animals happen to me if I fail to keep my oath.

Jeremiah 34:18–22 “Those who have violated my covenant and have not fulfilled the terms of the covenant they made before me, I will treat like the calf they cut in two and then walked between its pieces. The leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the court officials, the priests and all the people of the land who walked between the pieces of the calf, I will deliver into the hands of their enemies who want to kill them. Their dead bodies will become food for the birds and the wild animals. “I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials into the hands of their enemies who want to kill them, to the army of the king of Babylon, which has withdrawn from you. I am going to give the order, declares the Lord, and I will bring them back to this city. They will fight against it, take it and burn it down. And I will lay waste the towns of Judah so no one can live there.””

After the treaty was concluded the sacrificed animals were roasted as a main course in a celebratory meal

The covenant with Abraham

Genesis 12:1–3 “The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.””

God had made that promise to Abraham, but many years later it had not yet been fulfilled and Abraham was struggling with his faith.

Genesis 15:8–15 “But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?”

Yahweh answered in a way that he knew Abraham would understand

So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.

Can you see what is about to happen here. Yahweh is inviting Abraham to confirm the oaths between them by means of a berit or covenant. this was not something completely new that was outside Abraham’s experience.

I suspect that Abraham was expecting that Yahweh would ask him to walk between the two halves of the slaughtered animals, while repeating his oath that he would be faithful to his God.

But that’s not what happened is it?

As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him.

Something momentous was about to happen. The last time a deep sleep came on anyone was

Genesis 2:21 “So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh.”

Yahweh was about to visit Abraham in physical form

Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age.”

Genesis 15:17 “When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces.”

The covenant partners are present, the ritual animals have been slain and laid on the ground.

Genesis 15:18 “On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates—”

Who was it that passed between the sacrificed animals?

who was it that declared by his actions “May what happened to these animals happen to me if I fail to keep my oath.”

Not Abraham, not the weaker party, but the God of the Universe.

God never failed in his promise.

Abraham did not fail because he believed Gid and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.

But the children of Abraham did. They broke the covenant and if the covenant was to have any validity, the penalty for breaking the covenant had to be paid.

“May what happened to these animals happen to me if I fail to keep my oath.”

Who deserved to die. Those who broke the covenant terms

But who did die to pay the price for this broken covenant?

It was the God man Jesus — the representative of humanity and the embodiment of Jahweh.

The terms of a berit

1 The Basis: preamble and Historical prologue

2 The stipulations

3. the blessings

4 the curses

5 witnesses

6 reading of the treaty

The Berit at Mount Sinai

The background

Egypt the most powerful kingdom on earth. They ruled the world

They had made slaves of a people who were not Egyptian. But Yahweh saw their plight.

Exodus 2:24 “God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.”

Yahweh proved to the world that this race of slaves belonged to him and not to Egypt.

Exodus 19:4 “‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.”

This group of people, led by Moses, had come out of Egypt and were no longer governed by Egypt, no longer living under Egyptian laws. But were they a nation? They probably had a collective name - the Israelites. They may have had tribal leaders, but did they have any form of governing structure? probably not. How were they to be governed?

And what about Gods? We get a clue from Ezekiel that many of them still had a yearning for the Egyptian gods. After all that’s what they had experienced for hundreds of years. Even though they had suffered, they had watched the Egyptians, who had prospered, maybe because of the Gods they worshipped.

As for belief in one God, and a God they couldn’t see!

This was what Sinai was about. Having rescued this large group of people, it was God’s intent to transform them into a people that he would call his own, who would belong to him, who would acknowldege his as their God.

1 Peter 2:10 “Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

How was God going to do this? He had a plan, of course.

He was going to cut a berit.

Exodus 19:5–6 “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.””

The Godof the universe would make Israel a nation by making a treaty with them.

He would be their suserain and they would be a vassal nation, owing their allegiance to him and receiving protection and blessings from him.

Let’s look at the covenant God made with his people at Sinai.

Remember the elements of a Berit.

1 The Basis: preamble and Historical prologue

2 The stipulations

3. the blessings

4 the curses

5 witnesses

6 reading of the treaty

Preamble: Exodus 20:1–2 “And God spoke all these words: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”

Deuteronomy 5:6 ““I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”

Stipulations Ex 20:3-17

Exodus 20:3–17 NIV

“You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. “You shall not murder. “You shall not commit adultery. “You shall not steal. “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

Deuteronomy 5:7–21 NIV

“You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day. “Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you. “You shall not murder. “You shall not commit adultery. “You shall not steal. “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor’s house or land, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

Blessings and curses

Deuteronomy 27:11–28:68 NIV

On the same day Moses commanded the people: When you have crossed the Jordan, these tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin. And these tribes shall stand on Mount Ebal to pronounce curses: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali. The Levites shall recite to all the people of Israel in a loud voice: “Cursed is anyone who makes an idol—a thing detestable to the Lord, the work of skilled hands—and sets it up in secret.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!” “Cursed is anyone who dishonors their father or mother.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!” “Cursed is anyone who moves their neighbor’s boundary stone.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!” “Cursed is anyone who leads the blind astray on the road.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!” “Cursed is anyone who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!” “Cursed is anyone who sleeps with his father’s wife, for he dishonors his father’s bed.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!” “Cursed is anyone who has sexual relations with any animal.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!” “Cursed is anyone who sleeps with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!” “Cursed is anyone who sleeps with his mother-in-law.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!” “Cursed is anyone who kills their neighbor secretly.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!” “Cursed is anyone who accepts a bribe to kill an innocent person.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!” “Cursed is anyone who does not uphold the words of this law by carrying them out.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!” If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God: You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven. The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you. The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the Lord your God and walk in obedience to him. Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will fear you. The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you. The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them. However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you: You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country. Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed. The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out. The Lord will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him. The Lord will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess. The Lord will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you perish. The sky over your head will be bronze, the ground beneath you iron. The Lord will turn the rain of your country into dust and powder; it will come down from the skies until you are destroyed. The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will come at them from one direction but flee from them in seven, and you will become a thing of horror to all the kingdoms on earth. Your carcasses will be food for all the birds and the wild animals, and there will be no one to frighten them away. The Lord will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, festering sores and the itch, from which you cannot be cured. The Lord will afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind. At midday you will grope about like a blind person in the dark. You will be unsuccessful in everything you do; day after day you will be oppressed and robbed, with no one to rescue you. You will be pledged to be married to a woman, but another will take her and rape her. You will build a house, but you will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard, but you will not even begin to enjoy its fruit. Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will eat none of it. Your donkey will be forcibly taken from you and will not be returned. Your sheep will be given to your enemies, and no one will rescue them. Your sons and daughters will be given to another nation, and you will wear out your eyes watching for them day after day, powerless to lift a hand. A people that you do not know will eat what your land and labor produce, and you will have nothing but cruel oppression all your days. The sights you see will drive you mad. The Lord will afflict your knees and legs with painful boils that cannot be cured, spreading from the soles of your feet to the top of your head. The Lord will drive you and the king you set over you to a nation unknown to you or your ancestors. There you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone. You will become a thing of horror, a byword and an object of ridicule among all the peoples where the Lord will drive you. You will sow much seed in the field but you will harvest little, because locusts will devour it. You will plant vineyards and cultivate them but you will not drink the wine or gather the grapes, because worms will eat them. You will have olive trees throughout your country but you will not use the oil, because the olives will drop off. You will have sons and daughters but you will not keep them, because they will go into captivity. Swarms of locusts will take over all your trees and the crops of your land. The foreigners who reside among you will rise above you higher and higher, but you will sink lower and lower. They will lend to you, but you will not lend to them. They will be the head, but you will be the tail. All these curses will come on you. They will pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the Lord your God and observe the commands and decrees he gave you. They will be a sign and a wonder to you and your descendants forever. Because you did not serve the Lord your God joyfully and gladly in the time of prosperity, therefore in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and dire poverty, you will serve the enemies the Lord sends against you. He will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you. The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the ends of the earth, like an eagle swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand, a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old or pity for the young. They will devour the young of your livestock and the crops of your land until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain, new wine or olive oil, nor any calves of your herds or lambs of your flocks until you are ruined. They will lay siege to all the cities throughout your land until the high fortified walls in which you trust fall down. They will besiege all the cities throughout the land the Lord your God is giving you. Because of the suffering that your enemy will inflict on you during the siege, you will eat the fruit of the womb, the flesh of the sons and daughters the Lord your God has given you. Even the most gentle and sensitive man among you will have no compassion on his own brother or the wife he loves or his surviving children, and he will not give to one of them any of the flesh of his children that he is eating. It will be all he has left because of the suffering your enemy will inflict on you during the siege of all your cities. The most gentle and sensitive woman among you—so sensitive and gentle that she would not venture to touch the ground with the sole of her foot—will begrudge the husband she loves and her own son or daughter the afterbirth from her womb and the children she bears. For in her dire need she intends to eat them secretly because of the suffering your enemy will inflict on you during the siege of your cities. If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law, which are written in this book, and do not revere this glorious and awesome name—the Lord your God— the Lord will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses. He will bring on you all the diseases of Egypt that you dreaded, and they will cling to you. The Lord will also bring on you every kind of sickness and disaster not recorded in this Book of the Law, until you are destroyed. You who were as numerous as the stars in the sky will be left but few in number, because you did not obey the Lord your God. Just as it pleased the Lord to make you prosper and increase in number, so it will please him to ruin and destroy you. You will be uprooted from the land you are entering to possess. Then the Lord will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship other gods—gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your ancestors have known. Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the Lord will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart. You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life. In the morning you will say, “If only it were evening!” and in the evening, “If only it were morning!”—because of the terror that will fill your hearts and the sights that your eyes will see. The Lord will send you back in ships to Egypt on a journey I said you should never make again. There you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.

Witnesses

Deuteronomy 30:19–20 “This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

written record deposited

Two tablets?

One for each covenant partner?

Reading of the treaty

Deuteronomy 31:11 “when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God at the place he will choose, you shall read this law before them in their hearing.”

Deuteronomy 17:18–19 “When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees”

oath and ratification

Exodus 24:3 “When Moses went and told the people all the Lord’s words and laws, they responded with one voice, “Everything the Lord has said we will do.””

Exodus 24:5–8 “Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the Lord. Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he splashed against the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, “We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey.” Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.””

By oath and sacrifice the children of Abraham had become the nation of Israel