There are a considerable number of covenants in the Old Testament, including covenants between God and people as well as between individual people and groups of people.
  One might include on a list of  important Old Testament covenants the covenant between God and Noah, the covenant between God and Abraham among many others.
  However, two of the covenants in the Old Testament stand out as more important than others and become a much larger part of later religious beliefs.
  These are the covenant between God and the people at Sinai and God's covenant with David.
These two covenants play a significant role in the later religious beliefs of Israel because they result in a certain tension.
  The covenant in the Old Testament that takes place at Sinai with its blessings and curses sounds conditional, whereas the covenant with David sounds unconditional.
  When one reads the prophets it appears as though the people of Israel and Judah place an over emphasis on the unconditional sounding covenant with David resulting in a belief that no harm can come upon them.
  The prophetic message is more in line with the covenant at Sinai that ensured the people that idolatry would lead to certain destruction.
Ultimately, of the covenants in the Old Testament, it is the one that takes place at Sinai that bears out.
   The Biblical authors portray the downfall of both the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah as a result of the failure of the people to keep this covenant, though in a more modern era we may tend to look at these events more in terms of natural historical development rather than a divine punishment.