COVENANT OF GRACE The New Testament portion of the Bible is widely accepted as the book of hope, grace, love, and forgiveness. But the Old Testament also provides evidence of God's grace and love for his people. Richard Dawkins argues against this view of the God of the Old Testament. Richard Dawkins in his book, The God of Illusion, states that the God of the Old Testament is a God who is unjust, merciless, and vindictive among many other negative attributes of human nature. Richard Dawkins' vision of God in the Old Testament is far from a God of grace and love. The God of the Old Testament is a God who desires to have a relationship with his people. God created covenant relationships throughout the Old Testament, starting with Adam and Eve, then through Noah, Moses, Abraham, and David. According to Eugene Merrill “a covenant is a written agreement or promise usually sealed between two or more parties”. The Hebrew word for covenant appears in the Old Testament 285 times. The Israelites throughout the Old Testament would consistently fail to comply with the covenant regulations agreed upon with God, and God would continue to provide ways to reconcile with Israel. Examples of this are abundant and can be found in every book of the Old Testament. According to Richard Dawkins, the God of the Old Testament is ruthless, unjust and vengeful. However, the Scriptures can demonstrate that through God's covenant agreements, God was a God of grace, love, and a God who has an unsurpassed capacity for forgiveness. God's mercy can be shown through the establishment of covenant agreements between God and Israel. Five different covenants can be distinguished in the Septuagint, however this narrative will focus on the relationship between Abrah (middle of the document, published February 18, 2014). Religion Index HIGH: Title Suggests RelevanceDeffinbaugh, Bob. The call of Abraham. February 2, 2009. https://bible.org/seriespage/call-abram-genesis-1131-199 (accessed February 18, 2014). Old Testament Portal: Title Suggests Relevance Essex, Keith H. "The Abrahamic Covenant." Master's Seminar Diary 10, n. 2 (1 September 1999): 191-212. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials, EBSCOhost (accessed February 18, 2014). Religion Index HIGH: Title Suggests RelevanceFelix Just, SJ, Ph.D. The Family of Abraham. February 12, 2012. http://catholic-resources.org/Bible/History-Abraham.htm (accessed February 18, 2014). Found on Old Testament Gateway: Topic is relevant to topicGentry, Peter J., and Stephen J. Wellum. Kingdom through the Covenant: A biblical theological understanding of the covenants. Crossway, 2012. Google Scholar: Subject Relevance