The New Covenant, Pt. 1

This morning we read Jeremiah 31, which contains the promise of God to the nation of Israel that is commonly known as the New Covenant.  Because of the words of Jesus, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood” (Lk. 21:20), the question has arisen:  “to what extent does the church participate in or receive the blessings of Israel (if at all)?”

A brief overview of the covenants:

To answer that question, we must remember the nature of the covenants God made with Israel.  It is important to remember God made one primary covenant with Israel (the Abrahamic), and a number of subsequent covenants that expanded the meaning of the Abrahamic covenant.

• Abrahamic  (Gen. 12:1-3; ratified in Gen. 15:1-21; reiterated in 22:15-18)

The unconditional covenant that God made with Abraham promised him three things:  a land in which he and his descendents would live, a line of descendents (seed) which would become a special nation to God, and the privilege of being the vehicle by which God would spiritually bless all the other nations in the world.  So the covenant with Abraham included three aspects:  a land, a seed, and a blessing.

• Mosaic  (Ex. 34:27-28) — a.k.a. “the Law”

This covenant with Moses made provision for the generation that would inherit the unconditional covenant with Abraham.  Thus, while Abraham’s covenant was unconditional (it would be fulfilled), it had blessings associated with it that were conditional.  It set the pattern for Dt. 28-29, which invoked the blessing of God for the obedience of Israel and the cursing of God for the disobedience of His covenant nation.

“…the Mosaic Covenant was added alongside the Abrahamic Covenant (Gal. 3:19) in order to define and delineate the obedience that was required in order to obtain the blessings promised by the Abrahamic Covenant.  The Abrahamic Covenant — not the Mosaic Covenant — was the source of blessings, and the Abrahamic Covenant was still unconditional.  It was entirely dependent on God for its eventual fulfillment.  But faith in the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant would produce obedience to the guidelines offered by the Mosaic Covenant.  Conversely, a lack of faith in the covenant promises would produce a lack of obedience.  And though a lack of faith resulting in disobedience would not nullify the Abrahamic Covenant, the covenanted blessings would not be extended to those who lacked faith in the unconditional covenant.” [Pentecost, p. 86.]

Further, Hebrews 8 clarifies that this covenant was temporary, and was supplanted by the New Covenant, which was initiated by Christ.

• Palestinian  (Deut. 30:1-10)

This covenant expanded the understanding of the land portion of the Abrahamic Covenant.  Note particularly that it is God who will establish the nation of Israel in the land — “the Lord your God will restore you from captivity…[and] He will gather you again from all the peoples…He will gather you…He will bring you back…the Lord your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed…He will prosper you” (vv. 3-5).

• Davidic  (2 Sam. 7:8-16)

This covenant expanded the seed portion of the Abrahamic Covenant, making David’s line the one through which the Messiah would arrive.

• New  (Jer. 31:31-34; Ezk. 36:22-28)

This covenant expanded the blessing portion of the Abrahamic Covenant, explaining how it was that Israel itself would be redeemed from sin and how they would be able to bless the other nations of the world spiritually.

All of these covenants repeatedly emphasized that God had established a unique relationship with Abraham and his descendants (Israel) and covenanted with him a literal and physical nation and land, and through that nation also made the promise that every other nation in the world would be blessed.  While portions of these may have been realized, none has been fulfilled in totality:  e.g., the land which Israel currently possesses is far less than what was promised in Gen. 15:18-22, and the Davidic Messiah has yet to assume His throne.

To be continued tomorrow: “How do these covenants relate to the church?”