Covenants with God

In the creation story of Genesis 1, God created animals in the seas and birds of the air on the fifth day and blessed them (Genesis 1:23). On the sixth, God created animals on land and blessed them as well. Then God created man in His image and likeness, male and female (Genesis 1:26). When God blessed them, He spoke to them לָהֶ֜ם (Genesis 1:28). As for the other animals, God simply spoke. But when it came to men, God spoke to them, showing an intention and a possibility to build up a relation with them. It was the beginning of an ongoing dialogue, interaction and relation between God and man. But what kind of relation was it, an owner and His pets? This was probably true before the Fall. But later, it is one of covenant.
God continues to show his kindness, despite man's rebellion. God forbade man to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, for in the day that they ate of it, they would die (Genesis 2:17). In fact, Adam and Eve did not die the day they ate the fruit. When God drove them out of Eden, God even made garments of skins to clothe them (Genesis 3:21).  Despite God's warning, Cain killed his brother Abel out of jealousy and anger. As a punishment, he became a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth (Genesis 4:12). When Cain complained that the punishment was too severe because whomever he met would slay him, God protected him with a mark אֹ֔ות (Genesis 4:15). God even responded to requests for protection from murderers! His kindness resulted in the spread of sins. When sins and men multiplied on earth, God decided to cut short men's life-span from hundreds of years (Adam 930; Seth 912; Enosh 905; Kenan 910; Mahalalel 895; Jared 962 and Methuelah 969) to 120 in order to contain the damages (Genesis 6:3). As a last resort, He decided to blot out man and beast and creeping things and birds with a flood of waters (Genesis 6:17). Then came the first formal covenant.
The first formal covenant was between God and Noah. After the Deluge, God unilaterally established with Noah and his descendants a covenant in which God promised not to destroy mankind with a flood and He would set the rainbow as a sign of covenant (Genesis 9:9-17). It was unilateral in that man did not have to do anything in return. The second covenant was between God and Abram in which God promised him descendants and land (Genesis 15:18-21). Once more, it was unilateral in that Abram did not have to do anything. He believed the Lord and God counted him righteous (Genesis 15:6).
In today's reading of Genesis 17, God re-established His covenant with Abram when he was 99 years old and Ishmael was born of Hagar 13 years ago. God changed Abraham's name to Abraham (discounting Ishmael?). God would give him descendants and land and the Lord would be their God (Genesis 17:4-8). But this time, Abraham had to do one thing: circumcision (Genesis 17:10). It was a circumcision of the flesh and later in the New Testament, St. Paul extended it to the circumcision of the heart (Romans 2:29).
The Old Testament is a covenant in which our obligation was to listen to God, obey Him and follow the Torah. The New Testament is a covenant in which our obligation is to put our faith in Jesus and abide in him. We are but lowly and unworthy creatures, yet God intends to raise us to the status of adopted children.

My God, we are not worthy to enter into any covenant with You. Let us circumcise not just our skin but our hearts so that we may lead a compatible covenant life in You. In this time of flu alert, I pray for the families of the children who have died. May Your Spirit console them and strengthen them in this time of pain and loss. May we learn another lesson and lead a healthier life. In the days to come, may we continue to praise You and sanctify Your name. Amen.