• Covenant
    Insight on the Scriptures, Volume 1

    • Covenant With Noah. Jehovah God made a covenant with Noah, who represented his family, with regard to His purpose to preserve human and animal life while destroying the wicked world of that day. (Ge 6:17-21; 2Pe 3:6) Noah had begun to have sons after he was 500 years old. (Ge 5:32) At the time God revealed this purpose to Noah, his sons were grown and married. Noah, on his part, was to build the ark and take in his wife, his sons, and his sons’ wives, as well as animals and food; Jehovah was to preserve flesh on earth, both of man and animals. Noah’s obediently keeping the terms of the covenant resulted in Jehovah’s preservation of human and animal life. The covenant was completely fulfilled in 2369 B.C.E., after the Flood, when men and animals were again able to live on the ground and to reproduce their kind.​—Ge 8:15-17.

      Rainbow Covenant. The rainbow covenant was made between Jehovah God and all flesh (human and animal), as represented by Noah and his family, in 2369 B.C.E., in the mountains of Ararat. Jehovah stated that he would never again destroy all flesh by means of a flood. The rainbow was then given as a sign of the covenant, which endures as long as mankind lives on earth, that is, forever.​—Ge 9:8-17; Ps 37:29.

      Covenant With Abraham. The covenant with Abraham apparently went into effect when Abram (Abraham) crossed the Euphrates on his way to Canaan. The Law covenant was made 430 years later. (Ga 3:17) Jehovah had spoken to Abraham when he was living in Mesopotamia, in Ur of the Chaldeans, telling him to travel to the country that God would show him. (Ac 7:2, 3; Ge 11:31; 12:1-3) Exodus 12:40, 41 (LXX) tells us that at the end of 430 years of dwelling in Egypt and in the land of Canaan, “on this very day” Israel, who had been in slavery in Egypt, went out. The day they were delivered from Egypt was Nisan 14, 1513 B.C.E., the date of the Passover. (Ex 12:2, 6, 7) This would seem to indicate that Abraham crossed the Euphrates River on his way to Canaan on Nisan 14, 1943 B.C.E., and evidently that is when the Abrahamic covenant took effect. God appeared to Abraham again after he had traveled into Canaan as far as Shechem and enlarged on the promise, saying, “To your seed I am going to give this land,” thereby giving an indication of the connection of this covenant with the promise in Eden, and revealing that the “seed” would take a human course, that is, would run through a human line of descent. (Ge 12:4-7) Other enlargements by Jehovah were later expressed, as recorded at Genesis 13:14-17; 15:18; 17:2-8, 19; 22:15-18.

      The covenant promises were passed on to Abraham’s posterity through Isaac (Ge 26:2-4) and Jacob. (Ge 28:13-15; 35:11, 12) The apostle Paul says that Christ (as primary one) and those in union with Christ are the real “seed.”​—Ga 3:16, 28, 29.

      God revealed the purpose and accomplishments of the Abrahamic covenant, saying that through Abraham the seed of promise would come; this seed would possess the gate of his enemies; Abraham’s seed through Isaac would number many, uncountable to man at that time; Abraham’s name would be made great; the seed would possess the Promised Land; all families of the earth would bless themselves by means of the seed. (See above texts from Genesis.) There was a literal fulfillment of these things, which was typical of the greater fulfillment through Christ. Paul gives additional information as to the symbolic and prophetic nature of the terms of this covenant when he says that Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Hagar, and Ishmael enacted a symbolic drama.​—Ga 4:21-31.

      The Abrahamic covenant is “a covenant to time indefinite.” Its terms require that it extend on until the destruction of all God’s enemies and the blessing of the families of the earth have been accomplished.​—Ge 17:7; 1Co 15:23-26.

      In discussing the Abrahamic and the Law covenants, Paul stated the principle that “there is no mediator where only one person is concerned,” and then he added that “God is only one.” (Ga 3:20; see MEDIATOR.) Jehovah made the covenant with Abraham unilaterally. It was in reality a promise, and Jehovah set forth no conditions that Abraham must meet in order for the promise to be fulfilled. (Ga 3:18) Thus, no mediator was needed. On the other hand, the Law covenant was bilateral. It was made between Jehovah and the nation of Israel, with Moses as mediator. The Israelites agreed to the terms of the covenant, making a sacred promise to obey the Law. (Ex 24:3-8) This latter covenant did not invalidate the Abrahamic covenant.​—Ga 3:17, 19.

      Covenant of Circumcision. The covenant of circumcision was made in 1919 B.C.E., when Abraham was 99 years old. Jehovah made the covenant with Abraham and his natural seed; all males of the household, including slaves, were to be circumcised; anyone refusing was to be cut off from his people. (Ge 17:9-14) Later, God stated that the alien resident who desired to eat the passover (one who wished to become a worshiper of Jehovah with Israel) would have to circumcise the males of his household. (Ex 12:48, 49) Circumcision served as a seal of the righteousness Abraham had by faith while in the uncircumcised state, and it was a physical sign of the covenant relationship of Abraham’s descendants through Jacob, with Jehovah. (Ro 4:11, 12) God recognized circumcision until the ending of the Law covenant, in 33 C.E. (Ro 2:25-28; 1Co 7:19; Ac 15) Even though physical circumcision was carried on under the Law, Jehovah repeatedly showed that he was more concerned with its symbolic significance, counseling Israel to ‘circumcise the foreskin of their hearts.’​—De 10:16; Le 26:41; Jer 9:26; Ac 7:51.