The Importance of the Covenant:
The History of God Jehovah’s Redemptive Work Through the Old Testament

God administers His redemptive work for the salvation of humankind. In the Old Testament, God Jehovah laid the cornerstone for this work through His choosing and His covenant. He chose the Israelites, established the Old Covenant with them, and saved those who kept it. Through the Old Testament, we can see the general flow of God’s work of redemption.

History of God Jehovah’s Redemptive Work: Part I. From the Creation to the Patriarchal Age

Adam and Eve’s Expulsion From the Garden of Eden

In the beginning, God Jehovah created the heavens and the earth. He made human beings from the dust of the ground and the breath of life and let them dwell in the Garden of Eden. In the garden, Adam and Eve were able to eat from the Tree of Life, which allowed them to live forever. Due to the deception of the serpent, they sinned and ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Because of this, they were expelled from Eden and no longer had access to the Tree of Life.

God showed Adam the truth that could restore the Tree of Life and Adam testified about it to Cain and Abel. Cain did not accept the truth while Abel received it. While Cain offered agricultural products to God as he pleased, Abel obediently sacrificed a lamb. In the end, God looked with favor on Abel’s offering (Ge 4:1–4). This sacrifice through the shedding of blood was then passed down from generation to generation, even to the time of Moses (Ge 8:20–21; 12:7; 15:9).

Noah Was Chosen by God

While some of Adam’s descendants, like Abel and Enoch, lived according to the will of God, most of them did not. Soon, the world was filled with wickedness and God Jehovah said that He would destroy them. Noah found favor in God’s eyes and received the grace of salvation through the ark; the rest of the world was destroyed by the flood.

After the flood, Noah’s descendants went against the will of God and built the Tower of Babel. As a punishment, God confused their language so that they could not understand each other, and scattered them all over the earth.

The Covenant Established With Abraham

God called Abraham and promised him the land of Canaan and many descendants. Abraham, who was living in Ur of the Chaldeans at the time, obeyed God’s word and headed toward Canaan. When Abraham was ninety-nine years old, God established His covenant with him. God gave him offspring the following year, promised to be their God, and made circumcision the sign of the covenant (Ge 17:1–14).

Isaac, Jacob, and Israel

Abraham was a hundred years old when Isaac was born to him through Sarah according to God’s promise. Isaac became Abraham’s heir and had twin sons, Jacob and Esau. God chose Jacob, the younger son, before his birth to inherit the birthright and blessing. Jacob received the name Israel after enduring all difficulties to receive God’s blessing.

In the land of Canaan, there was a great drought. To save Jacob and his family, God used his eleventh son, Joseph, to move them to Egypt. As time passed, Jacob’s twelve sons formed the twelve tribes of Israel. Israel became a great nation until they were enslaved by Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.

The History of God Jehovah’s Redemptive Work: Part II. From the Exodus to the United Monarchy

The Covenant With Israel and the Journey to Canaan

God Jehovah sent the prophet Moses to free the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. After they were freed from slavery, God proclaimed the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai and established a covenant with them. It was called the “Old Covenant” or the “Law of Moses.” As a result, the law for sacrifice through the shedding of blood, which had been handed down from the time of Adam, was established. God declared that His people are those who keep His covenant and law.

As promised to Abraham, God led the Israelites to Canaan. On the way to Canaan, God taught the Israelites about His covenant and laws so that they could keep them and receive blessings. God tested the Israelite’s faith and obedience during their forty-year journey through the desert (Dt 8:1–16). Most of the first generation did not pass the test and fell along the way. Joshua, Caleb, and the second generation of Israelites were the only ones that entered the land of Canaan and received rest.

The Forgotten Covenant and Idolatry

After the forty-year life in the desert, the Israelites reached Canaan and conquered the land through many battles; however, they forgot the covenant and did not fully obey God’s word, “Drive out all the peoples living in the land.” As a result, they followed the Canaanites and practiced idolatry. The Israelites were abused and oppressed by their enemies due to this sin. Whenever the people asked God to relieve their suffering, He would establish judges to save them from their enemies. Unfortunately, whenever peace came to them, they would forget about the grace of God and sin again. Throughout the ages of the judges, this vicious cycle of sinning was repeated.

At the end of this age, the Israelites asked God to appoint a king like the nations around them. God warned them about the evils of a monarchy, but they refused to listen. God soon appointed Saul as the first king of Israel and the age of the unified kingdom began. Later on, God rejected Saul as king due to his disobedience and appointed David. David conquered Zion and made Jerusalem their new capital, and brought the ark of the covenant there. Since David faithfully followed God’s covenant and decrees, he was acknowledged by God as a man after His own heart. Israel prospered during David’s reign.

History of God Jehovah’s Redemptive Work: Part III. From the Age of Divided Kingdoms to the Return From the Captivity

Solomon’s Idolatry and the Division of Israel

In the time of Solomon, the son of David, the historic work of building the temple in Jerusalem was accomplished and Israel received abundant blessings from God. King Solomon, however, forsook God’s covenant and decrees and started to worship idols, such as Ashtoreth and Molech, toward the end of his reign. As a result, Israel was divided into two kingdoms after Solomon’s death: North Israel and South Judah.

In the beginning, North Israel quickly turned away from God by breaking His covenant and worshiping golden calves. Throughout their history, they continued to practice idolatry and worship foreign gods such as Baal and Asherah that were detestable in God’s sight. Due to their grievous sins, God did not protect them and they were destroyed by the Assyrian Empire in 721 BC.

Sometimes, South Judah served God faithfully and was saved from foreign invasions. For example, Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, followed in David’s footsteps by keeping the law of God and was saved from the invasion of Moab and Ammon. During King Hezekiah’s reign, Judah was saved from the Assyrian invasion by keeping the Passover which that had not been kept for a long time.

The Forsaken Covenant and the Babylonian Captivity

South Judah kept the Passover and received God’s protection until the invasion from Babylon in 586 BC. This tragedy occurred because their descendants forsook God’s covenant; the Israelites were taken captive and Jerusalem became a desolate land (2 Ki 24:14).

Through the prophet Jeremiah, God prophesied that the people of Judah would return to their homeland after seventy years (Jer 25:11). Seventy years later, those who endured, believing in the prophecy, returned to their homeland with joy and delight. Despite many difficulties, including the hindrance of the Samaritans, they made every effort to rebuild the Jerusalem Temple. The people realized that they were attacked by a foreign country and became a stateless people because they forsook God’s covenant. After this, they made earnest efforts to keep the Law of Moses; they continued to keep the law up until Jesus’ first coming.

God Jehovah’s Redemptive Work and the Importance of the Covenant

The essence of the redemptive work led by God Jehovah in the Old Testament was the covenant. God’s people were those that made a covenant with Him by sacrifice (Ps 50:4–5). This shows that God and His people are bound together by the law and the covenant. God always blessed those who kept the covenant and destroyed those who abolished or forsook it (Jer 11:6–11).

For example, King Hezekiah consecrated the temple and kept the Passover during his reign. He sent couriers to North Israel encouraging them to keep the Passover, but the people scorned and ridiculed them (2 Ch 30:1–10). As a result, North Israel was destroyed by the Assyrian army. South Judah, however, was protected by God because the people kept the covenant (2 Ki 18:9–12; 19:30–34).

This history was repeated in the days of King Josiah. King Josiah kept the Passover according to the covenant and was acknowledged by God as the one who obeyed His law with all his heart, soul, and strength (2 Ki 23:21–25). After Josiah’s death, however, Judah forsook God’s covenant and was invaded by Babylon and perished. Through the prophet Jeremiah, God clearly told them why the disaster came upon them.

“When the LORD could no longer endure your wicked actions and the detestable things you did, your land became an object of cursing and a desolate waste without inhabitants, as it is today. Because you have burned incense and have sinned against the LORD and have not obeyed him or followed his law or his decrees or his stipulations, this disaster has come upon you, as you now see.” Jer 44:22–23

God Jehovah Will Establish a New Covenant

God wanted to teach the spiritual Israelites a lesson through the physical Israelites (Ro 15:4). Those who faithfully followed the Old Covenant were blessed. Likewise, those who cherish and keep God’s covenant today will receive the blessing of salvation.

“The time is coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. . . . “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Jer 31:31–33

God Jehovah prophesied that He would establish the new covenant. He also promised that those who keep the law of the new covenant would be His people and that He would be their God. This prophecy was fulfilled in the New Testament when Jesus kept the Passover with His disciples in Mark’s upper room and established the New Covenant (Lk 22:19–20). In the Old Testament, God established the covenant and the law with His chosen people and showed grace to those who obeyed Him. In the New Testament times, He also established the New Covenant and the law of Christ for the elect and gives salvation and eternal life to those who keep it.

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