"The People Whose God Is Jehovah" - A COVENANT PEOPLE

As early as the 20th century B.C.E., Jehovah had a distinct people on earth.  Abraham, called the father of all those having faith," was the head of a household numbering into the hundreds.  (Romans 4:11; Genesis 14:14) Rulers in Canaan considered him to be "a great chieftain" and treated him with respect.  (Genesis 21:22; 23:6) Jehovah made a covenant with Abraham and his descendants. (Genesis 17:1, 2, 19)  God told Abraham: "This is my covenant between me and you, that you and your offspring after you will keep:  Every male among you must get circumcised. . . . And it will serve as a sign of the covenant between me and you." (Genesis 17:10, 11)  Accordingly, Abraham and all of the male members of his household were circumcised.  (Genesis 17:24-27) Circumcision was a physical sign that distinguished Abraham's descendants as the only people who were in a covenant relationship with Jehovah. 

Abraham's grandson Jacob, or Israel, had 12 sons. (Genesis 35:10, 22b-26)  In time, these were to become the patriarchal heads of the 12 tribes of Israel. (Acts 7:8) Because of a famine,  Jacob and his household took refuge in Egypt, where one of Jacob's sons, Joseph become Pharaoh's food administrator and right-hand man.  (Genesis 41:39-41; 42:6) Jacob's descendants became very numerous, "a congregation of peoples." - GENESIS 48:4; read ACTS 7:17. 

Next time: "The People Whose God Is Jehovah" - A REDEEMED PEOPLE

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