Covenants of Israel

A covenant is an agreement or contract between two parties. The Bible describes two types of covenants: conditional and unconditional. A conditional covenant is one which both parties must fulfill their part for the covenant to be valid. An unconditional covenant is one that remains valid even if one party fails to keep his part. In this covenant only one faithful party is necessary to keep the promises of the covenant. God made six covenants with Israel. They are the following:

The Scriptures are clear that these covenants were given to Israel alone (cf. Rom. 9.1-5; Eph. 2.11-12) and that the nation of Israel will exist forever and that God will never forsake Israel ( Is. 14.1; 59.20-21; 61.8-9; Jer. 31-35-37; Ezek. 16.59-63; Hos. 2.16-23). Gentiles were blessed through being united to Israel (e.g. proselytes) or through honoring the Abrahamic Covenant (i.e. Gen. 12.3). The Church, the body of Christ, is a new creation, which was a mystery God revealed to the apostle Paul. The Church is blessed through grace by being identified with Christ in his death and resurrection.

The foundational covenant for Israel's relationship to God is the Abrahamic Covenant. Once established, it formed the groundwork and established the basis for the promises contained in the other covenants.

The Abrahamic Covenant

The elements of the Covenant are that God would make Abraham great, that he and his seed would be a blessing to all mankind, that God would bless those who blessed him and curse those that cursed him, that Abraham would have innumerable offspring (physical and spiritual), and that God would give Abraham and his offspring land--"from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates". Below are the specific provisions and characteristics of the Covenant:

Genesis 15 records how God ratified the covenant. When God told Abram that he would give him the land (v. 7) Abram asked God how he could know this for certain. God's answered by performing a convenantal ratification ceremony. Literally, in Hebrew, to "make" a covenant is to "cut", Heb. trAkf a covenant. We have remnants of this idea even today. The military still uses the expression to "cut orders". In the ancient Near East during the time of Abraham, covenants were made by each party making the covenant passing between the pieces of animals which had they had cut apart. In the biblical account, Abram brought God animals and cut them in two. But in the ratification of this covenant it is highly significant that only God passed through the pieces. God did not permit Abram to take part in the ceremony. To ensure that Abram had no part, God put him to sleep. God alone performed the ceremony of passing between the pieces of the animals. By this action, God declared that he was the sovereign and responsible party to fulfill the covenant. This signified that the fulfillment of the covenant depended upon God, not Abram. It was unconditional. Thus, even if Abram and his descendants failed, God would not; he would keep his promise.

God told Abram that his descendants would be slaves in Egypt for 400 years but that they would return to the land that he had given to Abram (vv. 13-14)--a land which extended from the river of Egypt (Heb. myirac:mi rhfn:) to the Euphrates. This is the first time the boundaries are given for the title deed (v. 18, cf. Exodus 23:31 "I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the River. I will hand over to you the people who live in the land and you will drive them out before you.)" At the present time the Arabs have deep bitterness and conflict over Israel's place in the Middle East and her present borders. Many Arabs refuse to recognize Israel's right to exist in the Middle East and many will not rest until the nation is destroyed. God, however, has declared that this will never happen. Indeed, God has promised that in a future day he will fulfill his covenant to Abraham and establish Israel's borders from Egypt to the Euphrates River. The new boundaries will be much more extensive than Israel's present borders. They will include land from Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and possibly western Iraq, and southern Turkey. These boundaries will be at least as great as those under the reign of David and Solomon and probably greater.

In the Genesis 17 passage, God changed Abram's name to Abraham and Sarai's name to Sarah. The sign of the covenant, circumcision, was established. God gave this sign as a reminder of his promise. God explicitly stated that the land he promised Abraham and his descendants was an everlasting possession (v. 8). God also explicitly stated that the covenant went through Isaac (v. 21) not Ishmael. While several of the Arab peoples descend from Abraham through Ishmael, they are not in the line of promise which is the line of Isaac and Jacob. Therefore, they have no Scriptural claim to the land promised to Abraham and his seed.

The Abrahamic Covenant is unconditional and eternal. God did all the promising. Throughout the passages above, i.e. Gen. 12, 13, 15, 17, 22 God repeatedly said, "I will". God declared that he would sovereignly accomplish the provisions of his covenant. Since God has stated that it was an everlasting covenant, it is impossible, unless the sovereignty of God is abrogated, for it to be nullified. Some maintain that the Abrahamic Covenant is conditional. One can only marvel at how anyone who can read can arrive at such a false conclusion since there is no biblical support for such a position. Only faithful study of the Scriptures will remove this falsehood.

The Mosaic Covenant

Unlike the other covenants God gave Israel, which were unconditional and eternal, the Mosaic Covenant was temporal and conditional. It’s continued validity required obedience. Because God knew that no one could keep its terms, even though the people promised they would (Exodus 19:8), God promised Israel a New Covenant which would replace the Mosaic Covenant. Jesus inaugurated the New Covenant, but the fullness of its fulfillment remains future (see discussion below).

Under the Mosaic Covenant the Law was given. The Law's purpose was not to save but to reveal sin. It's purpose was to condemn not to justify. However, there was also mercy in the Law. This came by means of the Levitical sacrifices. They provided a system whereby sin was temporarily "covered". They were a preview of Christ's atoning sacrifice which permanently removed and atoned for sin (though no Jew understood this until after Jesus was crucified and resurrected, cf. Lk. 18.34). In the future, Israel will enjoy the New Covenant whereby the Law, instead of being written on tablets of stone, will be "written on the heart".

When Moses presented Israel with the requirements of the Covenant the people agreed to keep them. In Exodus 19:8 we read, "The people all responded together, 'We will do everything the LORD has said.'" While the nation agreed to keep the covenant, it was unable to do so. Therefore, God promised another covenant, the New Covenant, for Israel. Under this covenant, Israel will succeed in being a nation of priests (Exodus 19:6) forever and the Law, previously written on tablets of stone will be written on their hearts.

The Mosaic Covenant established the Law for the nation of Israel. The Mosaic Covenant was a temporary covenant (unlike the Abrahamic, Davidic, Sabbatic, Palestinian, and New Covenants), and exercised authority from the time of Moses till the death of Christ. When the Messiah came, the Law came to fulfillment and completion. The following scriptures explain the purpose of the Law, and how it has been superseded by Christ. Paul's epistles and the epistle to the Hebrews explain this clearly and fully. From them we learn the following:

The Sabbatic Covenant

God established the Sabbatic Covenant with the nation of Israel. It is stated in Exodus 31.12-18 (cf. Lev. 24.8). The Sabbatic covenant has the following provisions:

It is clear from the covenant that the Sabbath is only for the nation Israel. Neither Gentiles nor the Church have any part of it. It is also clear that in nature it is both eternal and unconditional. God set forth no conditions with regard to its validity. The covenant cannot be broken because it depends on God's sovereignty. Since it is only for Israel and is eternal it means that the nation of Israel will exist forever. God explicitly declared this fact to Jeremiah,

"Thus says the LORD, Who gives the sun for light by day, And the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar; The LORD of hosts is His name: "If this fixed order departs From before Me," declares the LORD, "Then the offspring of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before Me forever." Thus says the LORD, "If the heavens above can be measured, And the foundations of the earth searched out below, Then I will also cast off all the offspring of Israel For all that they have done," declares the LORD (Jer. 31:35-37).

Therefore, any theology that teaches that Israel has ceased as an entity before God or that the Church has replaced Israel is a theology that violates the Scriptures, God's promise, and God's sovereignty. In other words, it is false theology and false doctrine.

The Palestinian or Land Covenant

The Palestinian² or Land Covenant (Dt. 29.1-29; 30.1-10), like the Abrahamic Covenant, is unconditional and eternal. In it, Moses spoke prophetically of Israel's disobedience and dispersion throughout the world. The nation was disobedient throughout it's relationship with God and God disciplined it. The final great disobedience of the nation was the rejection of its Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus officially presented himself to the nation as the Messiah (cf. Mt. 21.1-9; Mk. 11.1-10; Lk. 19.28-44; Jn. 12:12-19). While many of the Jews hailed Jesus as the Messiah, the leaders of Israel rejected his Messiahship and had him executed. Even after Jesus' resurrection, national Israel was given the opportunity to repent and accept the Messiah and his kingdom (Acts 2-3). The destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 A.D. marked the end of national Israel (until 1948 when it was again re-established). It's destruction was a judgment for rejection of the Messiah. Jesus had prophesied its destruction (cf. Matt. 24.1-2).

In the Palestinian covenant God promised that Israel will return him and that he will restore them to the land and make them more prosperous than they have ever been before (Dt. 30.1-5). Second, God promised to regenerate the Israelites by circumcising their hearts so that they would love Him totally. (Dt. 30.6). Third, God promised to judge Israel's enemies (Dt. 30.7) and lastly, that they would obey God and that God would prosper them in their obedience (Dt. 30.8-9). Numerous passages indicate that God will bring Israel back into the land where they will be faithful to God (Jer. 32.37-41).

The Palestinian covenant amplifies the "land" aspect of the Abrahamic Covenant. God promised to the nation of Israel the land from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates river (Gen. 15.18). God made this unconditional promise to Abraham. The "river of Egypt", according to Easton's Bible Dictionary, is the Nile or its eastern branch (see River of Egypt and Ex. 23.31). So, the land that God has promised Israel stretches all the way from the vicinity of then Nile to the Euphrates. We cannot be certain of the exact borders of this deed but it would seem that the area would encompass the Sinai peninsula, Israel, Lebanon, and parts of Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq.

The Davidic Covenant

The Davidic Covenant (2 Samuel 7 cf. 23.5; 2 Chr. 21.7; Ps. 89.3-4, 34-37; Jer. 33.19-26), like the Abrahamic and New covenants, is unconditional and eternal. In it, God promised to establish the throne of the Davidic kingdom forever. It is an amplification of the "seed" aspect of the Abrahamic Covenant. The land of Israel (promised in the Abrahamic covenant) is also mentioned in verse 10, where God promised to "plant" Israel permanently in the land.

God promised to preserve Solomon's throne forever but not his seed. Mary was the mother of Jesus. Mary's genealogy shows that she was descended from Nathan, another son of David (cf. Luke 3: 23-31). The Messianic bloodline bypassed Solomon. Joseph, Mary's husband was descended from Solomon (cf. Matthew 1:6-16). Through him royal authority (the throne) of the Davidic dynasty legally passed to Jesus Christ. Therefore, the throne but not the offspring came through Solomon as the Davidic Covenant specified. The virgin birth of our Lord was essential to the fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant.

The New Covenant

The New Covenant (Jer. 31.27-34 cf. Ezek. 11.16-20, 36.24-38) was made with Israel. Like the Abrahamic, and Davidic covenants, it is unconditional. It guarantees Israel a converted heart as the foundation for all her blessings. It replaced the Old or Mosaic Covenant which Israel continually failed to keep. Instead of the Law being written on tablets of stone (as was the Mosaic Law), the Law will be written on the hearts of the people.

What is the time of the fulfillment of this covenant? Jesus initiated the new covenant in the upper room on the evening prior to his arrest and crucifixion and the covenant was made with Israel at Calvary (Mt. 26.28). The New Covenant's fulfillment has not yet been realized, however. The generation of Jews to whom Jesus ministered rejected him as Messiah and King. A future, repentant generation of Israel will inagurate and experience the fulfillment of the New Covenant. This future generation (the entire nation) will experience the other unconditional covenants--the Abrahamic and Davidic in the Messianic Kingdom.

If the New Covenant is made with Israel, does the Church, i.e. the Body of Christ have a relationship to it? The following are references to the New Covenant in the New Testament.³

The passages in Jeremiah and the passages in the New Testament clearly indicate that the New Covenant was made with national Israel. The term "Israel" is always used of national Israel. Also, since it is called a "new covenant" there first had to be an old one. The old covenant was the Mosaic Covenant which was made only with Israel. It therefore makes sense that the new covenant is made only with Israel also. Paul stated that the covenants were only to and for Israel (Eph. 2.11-12 ). Gentiles had no part of them.

The Scriptures make it plain that the Church is a new entity. Before Paul, it a "mystery", hidden and unknown in the plan of God. The Church as the body of Christ did not exist during Christ's earthly ministry. Jesus made it clear that his ministry was to Israel, i.e. Jew only (cf. Mt. 10.5; Mt. 15.22-24). He came to the nation of Israel to present himself as King. Had the nation accepted him, the Messianic Kingdom could have been established. When the Scriptures refer to Israel, they always speak of the physical people of Israel--the physical seed of Jacob. Thus, Israel in Scripture is a technical term for the physical offspring of Jacob, i.e. Israel. There is no Scriptural basis that the Church is the new Israel or that the Church has supplanted Israel in God's plan. Those who make this claim wrest the clear meaning of Scripture to fit a false theological system.

The Scriptures are clear that the Church is a new and unique creation which began when God revealed this new truth to the apostle Paul. Israel is also a unique creation by God which began with Abraham. Each entity has its own destiny and purpose. Israel's purpose has not ended. It has a past history and a future destiny distinct from the Church based upon God's promises of his unconditional covenants. Jesus' death and resurrection is the foundation and the basis of blessings for all Israel's covenants as well as all the blessings to the Church. While Israel and the Church are distinct and unique creations by God, it must also be remembered that there was a time when neither existed. Jesus' death, his payment for sin, provided for all mankind. This includes all who believed in YHVH before either Israel or the Church existed. The death of Christ was the watershed event in human and divine history. In God's plan, it was the event towards which all history was working. In military terms, the death and resurrection of Christ was the strategic victory of God in his campaign against sin, death, and evil. God has won the strategic victory. He is now engaged in tactical warfare to complete his eternal plan. We have the privilege of being part of this warfare. In this age God is taking out a people for himself as the body of Christ. This is the Church. After this effort is complete God will remove his Church from the earth and will pour out his wrath upon a rebellious and evil earth. He will save a repentant Israel. Then he will initiate the long awaited kingdom which Jesus proclaimed to Israel but was rejected. When God ushers in his Kingdom, it will be to a repentant Israelite nation which has accepted Jesus as Messiah. The death of Christ forms the basis of blessings for the Church as well as the covenantal blessings promised to Israel. In Eph. 2.11-22, Paul clearly states that Gentiles were separated from the covenants God make with Israel. Christ's death ended the conditional covenant, the Mosaic Law. Sin, which separated man from God, typified by the veil in the Holy of Holies, was removed.

At the present time, the spiritual blessings of the New Covenant which were promised to Israel are being enjoyed by the Church. Paul related the New Covenant to the Church in these words to the Corinthians,

There are a couple things to notice in these verses. One is that Paul had a direct revelation from Jesus regarding the events of the last supper. Paul said, "I received from the Lord...." Paul did not receive this information from Peter or the other apostles but from the resurrected and ascended Christ. The other thing to note is that it is Paul who gives us the meaning of the Lord's supper as a memorial to his death and as a proclamation to his return. This is not found in the Gospels; Peter, James, John and the other apostles never mention it.

What else do we learn from Paul regarding the New Covenant as it relates to the Church? In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul related the spiritual blessing of the New Covenant to these believers. He said,

He went on to say that even though the old covenant was one of condemnation and death it was nevertheless glorious. The New Covenant is even more glorious in that it brings righteousness, life, and liberty. Israel will enjoy one day both the spiritual and physical blessings of the New Covenant in the Messianic Kingdom or Millennium. The spiritual benefits include a new heart on which the Law is written, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the forgiveness of sins, and the full knowledge of the Lord. The physical benefits of the covenants God made with Israel will begin with the repentance of the nation and their residence in the land in belief. The land itself will stretch from the Nile to the Euphrates river (which is much more land than Israel secured under Solomon in the height of its glory). Jerusalem will be the capital city of God and Jesus himself will reign from it in his capacity as David's greater son. These are unfulfilled blessings to the nation of Israel. Therefore, while the New Covenant was made with Israel, the Church (the Body of Christ) enjoys some of the spiritual aspects of the New Covenant due to the death and resurrection of Christ. Both spiritual and physical aspects of the New Covenant will be enjoyed in the future by a repentant and restored Israel.

¹ While Abraham is the father of both Jews and Arabs, the descendents of the covenant are Jews. God clearly stated this in Gen. 17.20-21: "And as for Ishmael [father of the Arabs], I have heard you; behold, I will bless him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. But My covenant I will establish with Isaac [father of Jacob, who became Israel], whom Sarah will bear to you at this season next year." Note that God made this promise before Isaac had been born.

² This covenant has been traditionally called the "Palestinian Covenant. The Jews never referred to it this way, however. They called the land they occupied Israel or Judea. Since the covenant applies to Israel and the Jews never called their land "Palestine" it makes little sense of call this covenant the "Palestinian Covenant". It would be more accurate to call it the "Land Covenant" or "Restoration Covenant" since in it God promised to return the people to the land and give it to them forever. It expands the land promise of the Abrahamic Covenant. The name Palestine refers to a region of the eastern Mediterranean coast from the sea to the Jordan valley and from the southern Negev desert to the Galilee lake region in the north. The word itself derives from "Plesheth", a name that appears frequently in the Bible and has come into English as "Philistine". Plesheth, (root palash) was a general term meaning rolling or migratory. This referred to the Philistine's invasion and conquest of the coast from the sea. The Philistines were not Arabs nor even Semites, they were most closely related to the Greeks originating from Asia Minor and Greek localities. They did not speak Arabic. They had no connection, ethnic, linguistic or historical with Arabia or Arabs. The Philistines reached the southern coast of Israel in several waves. One group arrived in the pre-patriarchal period and settled south of Beersheba in Gerar where they came into conflict with Abraham, Isaac and Ishmael. Another group, coming from Crete after being repulsed from an attempted invasion of Egypt by Rameses III in 1194 BCE, seized the southern coastal area, where they founded five settlements (Gaza, Ascalon, Ashdod, Ekron and Gat). In the Persian and Greek periods, foreign settlers--chiefly from the Mediterranean islands--overran the Philistine districts. From the fifth century BC, following the historian Herodotus, Greeks called the eastern coast of the Mediterranean "the Philistine Syria" using the Greek language form of the name. In AD 135, after putting down the Bar Kochba revolt, the second major Jewish revolt against Rome, the Emperor Hadrian wanted to blot out the name of the Roman "Provincia Judaea" and so renamed it "Provincia Syria Palaestina", the Latin version of the Greek name and the first use of the name as an administrative unit. The name "Provincia Syria Palaestina" was later shortened to Palaestina, from which the modern, anglicized "Palestine" is derived. See Origin of the Name Palestine.

³ What we call the New Testament is the New Covenant. The New Testament technically does not include most of the Gospels since the New Covenant was not inagurated until the Last Supper. Whenever Paul mentioned the New Covenant it was to emphasize the spiritual character of the New Covenant.

tw~| a)gapw~nti h(ma~j kai\ lu/santi h(ma~j e)k tw~n a(martiw~n h(mw~n e)n tw|~ a(i/mati au)tou~.

The Abrahamic Covenant

Abrahamic Covenant Promises and Provisions Based Upon the Character and Sovereignty of God

Scripture

The Mosaic Covenant

The Sabbatic Covenant

The Palestinian or Land Covenant

The Davidic Covenant

The New Covenant

Abrahamic Covenant Promises and Provisions
Based Upon the Character and Sovereignty of God