ISRAEL, THE CHURCH, AND THE ETERNAL COVENANT •PART I

IsraelThe Gospel of the KingdomCovenant & Controversy
Written By Paulo Maranatha

OLD, NEW, OR ETERNAL COVENANT?

Often, our desire is to analyze and establish a general overview of the relationship between the New and the Old Covenant. Do we really have two covenants in opposition and contrast, or rather one eternal covenant with different facets that progressively unfolds and renews itself in order to fulfill God’s purposes and demonstrate His faithfulness?

We also want to investigate what changed with the advent of the New Covenant. What does it mean for Israel (as a nation) and also for the Church (the people of God on the earth)? Did this New Covenant completely replace the previous covenant?

Before entering into a more detailed analysis, it is important to remember that the Scriptures clearly affirm the establishment of a New Covenant. But what exactly did the prophets mean when they spoke directly or allusively about this new covenant? For example, in the incredible prophecy of Jeremiah:

Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.[1]

The New Testament makes it clear[2] that we are part of this New Covenant. However, we can also observe in the New Testament[3] that there is continuity in the covenant that God made with Israel; that is, it has not yet been fully fulfilled, but it will certainly be fulfilled in its fullness in the future when God restores the fortunes of Israel.[4]

In Romans 11 Paul mentions a covenant being reestablished with the family of Israel. But which covenant is he referring to when he quotes Isaiah?[5]

It is the same covenant prophesied by Jeremiah,[6] Ezekiel,[7] and the other prophets. But more than that, it is the same covenant established with Abraham[8] and the patriarchs,[9] and with David and his dynasty.[10]The same covenant ratified by the Lamb of God who was slain, with effect before the foundation of the world, as the guarantee of the eternal covenant.[11]

However, we will see that this perpetual covenant, established since eternal times through the sacrifice of the Messiah, is not yet complete and fully in force until all Israel is saved.[12]

But if the “New” Covenant (which is the Eternal Covenant) is not yet fully in force, it means that there is an eschatological aspect that we still await, namely the salvation of “all Israel.” This future element of the new covenant stands in contrast to the always-existing remnant, faithful to the covenant, even in the midst of a predominantly apostate nation.

When we speak of the New Covenant, we tend to turn to the New Testament. At most, we remember well-known passages such as Jeremiah 31 or Ezekiel 36. However, we must go further in our analysis and remember that the New Covenant or the new heart were not concepts that began with Jeremiah and Ezekiel. This concept began much earlier with Moses, who, when speaking of the “New Covenant,” preferred the terminology “circumcision of the heart,” or even “seeking and turning to the Lord God with all the heart.”

It is remarkable how, from the very formation of the people of Israel, Moses makes clear this eschatological dimension of the New Covenant and of the salvation of Israel.

Let us look at some passages:

But if their uncircumcised heart is humbled and they make amends for their iniquity, then I will remember my covenant with Jacob, and I will remember my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land… Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not spurn them, neither will I abhor them so as to destroy them utterly and break my covenant with them, for I am the LORD their God. But I will for their sake remember the covenant with their forefathers.[13]

Or in Deuteronomy:

I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will soon utterly perish from the land… The LORD will scatter you among the peoples… But from there you will seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul… When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, you will return to the LORD your God and obey his voice. For the LORD your God is a merciful God.[14]

Also:

Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn.[15]

And, finally:

And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse… and you return to the LORD your God… then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and He will gather you again from all the peoples… And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.[16]

Maranatha.

 

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  1. How should we understand the relationship between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant? Are they separate covenants, or different expressions of one eternal covenant?

  2. What role does the concept of the “circumcision of the heart” play in understanding the promises of the New Covenant?

  3. How do the writings of Moses already anticipate the future restoration and salvation of Israel?

  4. What is the significance of the faithful remnant within Israel throughout history?

 

Paulo Maranatha serves as a pioneer in the Muslim world with his wife and children.

 
Paulo Maranatha

TBD

Next

THE REMNANT NOW, ALL ISRAEL THEN: PAUL’S EXPLANATION OF THE PROPHETS