God's covenant relationship with Israel

This is not quite a comprehensive list, but it covers the bases...

1. Noahic Covenant (Covenant with Noah) - Found in Genesis 9, it contains the biblical authorization for human government and capital punishment, as well as affirming the value of human life (verse 6). Verse 11 contains a promise from God to all the Earth - not just mankind, but to the various critters on the planet as well - that He will never again destroy the Earth with a flood. Verse 13 describes the rainbow as His sign or symbol of this covenant.

2. Abrahamic Covenant (Covenant with Abram/Abraham) - Genesis 12 and 15. Abraham and his descendants were given the land from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates River (chapter 15). This is also where Abram is promised that he will be made a great nation, and that through him all the families of the Earth will be blessed (chapter 12). "And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." (12:3). This covenant is important, as it is the first time that God deals with a specific person in a special relationship. Before this covenant, God had been dealing with the entire human race. Now, He has selected one person to bear His name and to be His people.

Other implications:

A covenant is an agreement between two parties: in the Noahic, it was between God and creation; in the Abrahamic, it is between God and Abraham. Often, covenants have conditions for both parties to meet. In both of these cases, the covenant is unilateral: the conditions are placed only on God - the human party had to do nothing to receive the covenant benefits.

Covenants are binding: it's the strongest type of agreement. Thus, if God is not still keeping these covenants, He is not perfect. However, these covenants are still intact. God has remained faithful.

Special implications of the Abrahamic covenant:

Abraham and his descendants were not exactly the greatest in the trusting department. Abraham thought he and Sarah were unable to have children due to their age. This led to Ishmael and the start of several (most likely) Arabic tribes. Abraham also married again after Sarah’s death (Genesis 25), having another six sons. These were not the “sons of the promise,” but were still blessed because of their relationship to Abraham. Verse 6 states that Abraham sent them east so that they would be away from Isaac. Similar provisions were made for Esau, son of Isaac (Genesis 36).

The covenant with Abraham was extended to Isaac (Genesis 26) and to Jacob (Genesis 28). Esau was able to prosper in what is now southern Jordan, establishing a kingdom for his family around Mount Seir. Ishmael and Abraham’s other sons were sent to the east, possibly to Arabia. Lot, Abraham’s nephew, and his descendents settled in central Jordan. Amman is probably a reminder of Ammon, one of his sons.