Our God is a covenant-keeping God. But what do all the covenants in Scripture mean for Christians today?
Having spent several weeks considering the separation of the Christian Church from its Jewish roots, we move on this week to look at the fruitfulness that becomes evident when we recover our rooting. In this study we consider the most important principle, handed down through the nation of Israel: the Covenant with the One True God.
One New Man
When it comes to connecting back into the true roots of our faith and bearing fruit as a consequence, where do we start? One of the starting points, as discussed in a previous study, has to be Romans 11 - the unifying metaphor of the olive tree wherein there is one body of believers - some grafted in, being unnatural branches. That's one starting point. Another is Ephesians 2:12-22:
...at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.
And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
In this brief passage of the Bible many themes intertwine. There is the principle of the one new man, which expresses the unity that God intends among the body of his people. Originally, that body was the nation Israel - called out from the world for God's purposes. Into that covenant body come Gentiles, by faith in Jesus.
This raises many new questions, especially where the passage talks about abolishing an enmity in the flesh of Jesus. What is that enmity? What was it that happened on the cross in order that there could be reconciliation within him of people from all nations? Did it take away the Old Testament and bring in the New? Did it take away teachings that had failed, in order to replace them with teachings that would succeed, or should we look more deeply behind the scenes of these challenging verses to see just what is happening?
Living Temple, United Body
God did not suddenly take away the scriptures of what we call the Old Testament - those precious scriptures that the Hebrew people call the Tanakh, the scriptures of the Covenant Nation even before Jesus came to this earth. He did not take them away but instead made them a foundation for what would follow. He did take away the division that was in the Temple whereby Gentiles could not enter in. He made himself the cornerstone of the new and living Temple – his people.
Jesus did not abolish the Old Testament scriptures but instead made them a foundation for what would follow.
The metaphors merge and interchange as we try to imagine the picture of a united body with Jesus at the centre, bringing in the New Covenant. We must understand what this means. Even though the word 'New' is used, it is still a part of one continuing plan of God. In fulfilment of all the covenant principles he is bringing together one family from all the nations – it is a family and a community. This is the one new man to whom he has given the Holy Spirit so that we might all come into that unity.
Identity Crisis
These are important principles for us to consider carefully, but which also shed light on an identity crisis in the Christian Church. Who are we? We must look beyond both the historical Jewish response and the historical Christian response to reassess this, whilst also restoring our understanding of the relationship between the Church and Israel. There is much to learn and relearn from the life and history of the Jewish people to be put into the context of our scriptures.
The 'New' Covenant is part of God's continuing plan to bring together one unified, Holy Spirit-filled family from all nations.
We are seeking an authentic, biblical response to who we are as the Covenant People of God – one that unites Jews who have accepted Yeshua as Messiah with believers from the Gentile world, into One New Man. Let us look for a biblical response for that unifying purpose of God in our day, and then we can begin perhaps to bear the fruit of which we are talking.
The Covenant Purpose of God
There are at least five main aspects of God's covenant purposes in Scripture. That may seem strange to those who think there is just an old covenant and a new covenant – a two-stage plan. That is a misconception. Indeed, the word covenant is not just used once or twice in Scripture - it is used over and over again. Just as God has many facets to his character, so different aspects of his covenant purposes were given at different times and with different emphases. Within these different emphases, there is one overriding purpose.
United Community
There is a sense in which the covenant purposes of God began before the creation of the world. God had covenant principles in his heart at the time of the creation of the universe, when he created people like you and me. Indeed, before Creation there was a family and a community of angels in heaven. The created order became an extension of God's kingdom, not an entity on its own.
We do not know all there is to know about angels and demons, nor do we know everything about the oneness of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There was a fall of angels – we know that from Scripture. Satan leads a legion of fallen angels – we know that too and feel its impact in the world today. There are also worshipping angels - a community in Heaven. The scriptures begin with what seems to be a plural word for the One God (Elohim is a Hebraic plural). Father, Son and Holy Spirit existed together in community - the most united community possible - before creation.
God's covenant purposes began before the creation of the world – the created order became an extension of his kingdom, not a separate entity.
We see in this sense of united community the deep purpose of God that transcends even the created universe and the time that it will exist. There is a greater purpose here - a greater end God has had in view since before creation – than most of us have realised. It is greater than the 'Old' covenant with Moses and greater than anything that we have experienced on this earth.
Covenant Principle 1: Life and Provision Until the End of Days
The first easily identifiable covenant references in the Bible come at the time of Noah. At the time of Adam and Eve there was a fall but God did not intend this to be permanent. All mankind came into this fallen situation and, indeed, men and women went further and further from God until, at the time of Noah, came the judgment of God. A catastrophic flood shows us what the consequences of sin really are, but all was not lost - even then. God made a covenant with Noah which appears in Genesis 6:18 and 9:9:
But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark - you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you. 19 And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female...
God promised that there would never be a flood of this proportion again. Mankind should have changed after Noah - we might have expected Noah to start a new generation who would no longer sin. That is not the case; the case is that mankind's sins have equaled those of people before the flood, but God had made a covenant promise. He had promised that never again would he wipe out mankind with a flood. So, despite sin, the covenant remains.
Since the flood, mankind's sins have equaled those of people before – but God's covenant promise to never flood the earth again remains.
Perhaps we can begin to feel the sad heart of God as we consider these things. Here is God who is absolutely pure and holy - a holiness we have never experienced in our own lives, absolutely clean and pure - nevertheless, promising that he will overlook sin to a certain degree, preserving the earth, and for a certain purpose, namely to complete the whole covenant plan.
Later he told Noah and his family that there would be seed time and harvest, winter, spring and summer - all the seasons will come and go, and there will be food on the earth for all generations - it will be a place in which you can live until the end of time. There will be an end, and there is coming a new heaven and a new earth, but in the meanwhile - that promise is part of God's overall covenant plan.
Covenant Principle 2: God's Unconditional, Costly Commitment to Us
The next easily identifiable focus on the covenant is at the time of Abraham. In Genesis 17 we read:
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly." Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: "As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.
As we study the covenant made with Abraham, we see cost. There is the cost of the animals - the covenant was cut and blood was shed. It was a great commitment done in a very dramatic way. God overshadowed Abraham who was in a deep sleep - it was an awesome time that we can picture from the description in the scriptures.
Something new happened in the mystery of God's purposes and Abraham became the central father figure for the covenant from then on. This covenant was unconditional. God swore with an oath as he bound himself to the promise to Abraham that he would be the father of many nations - not just of one nation, Israel. He gave a promise to Israel, the physical offspring, including a land promise to them.
God bound himself by costly, unconditional oath to make Abraham father of many nations.
This parallels, to some extent, aspects of the covenant with Noah, where there was to be a practical provision from God – a land to live in. Israel, the physical nation, had God's special call until, later, the call went out to all nations to add to those from Israel who lived by faith, making up one Covenant community in fulfilment of the eternal promise to Abraham.
Covenant Principle 3: Our Response and its Consequences
The covenant with Abraham best summarises God's overall covenant purposes - an unconditional, personal commitment from God. The Abrahamic Covenant came before the time of Moses and was set in place before all those further lessons that God taught through him. What God brought through Moses, therefore, is in the context of what he had already promised to Abraham. In Exodus 34 we read:
And He said: "Behold, I make a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the Lord. For it is an awesome thing that I will do with you. Observe what I command you this day. Behold, I am driving out from before you the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be a snare in your midst.
God was beginning to call for a response from his people. Already he had made an unconditional statement of what he would do, but now he was drawing forth a response from the Nation of Israel. He was to be their God, the one true God, and they were to have no other gods before him. The conditions of blessing and curse in the land of promise were also given. These conditions did not take away from the overall, unconditional promises of God given through Abraham, but there were now to be consequences for obedience and for disobedience for the nation.
The covenant God brought through Moses was in the context of that brought through Abraham. It did not take away from those unconditional promises, but added in consequences for obedience and disobedience.
We are all to learn from this, not just Israel. Through Israel we learn that we cannot achieve righteousness through our own efforts. That is why he called Israel – to be a representative nation, knowing God's righteous laws. Sin still needs a remedy. Laws will not be enough. Israel as a whole failed just as we would fail, but nevertheless, God has made Israel special and will not forsake them even though they failed.
Covenant Principle 4: Salvation from David's Line
A fourth stage in the outworking of the covenant plan comes at the time of David. Psalm 89 is a very relevant passage for this:
I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever; With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations. For I have said, "Mercy shall be built up forever; Your faithfulness You shall establish in the very heavens. I have made a covenant with My chosen, I have sworn to My servant David: 'Your seed I will establish forever, And build up your throne to all generations'.
Here we see the relevance of covenant again, a covenant made with the line of David, promising a future king. We later understand that the seed is the Messiah, Jesus Christ, Yeshua Ha-Mashiach.
It is not the first time we see this prophecy. Jacob prophesied over Judah and foresaw the coming of the Messiah. Other Messianic promises are scattered through Scripture. In fact, as we read Scripture we see that it all ultimately points to Jesus. Nevertheless, here, in very clear detail, a covenant is made with David. There will be a king who will come from the nation of Israel, the tribe of Judah and from the line of David.
Covenant Principle 5: A Covenant by Faith
The need of mankind was shown through Israel's reaction to God's covenant through Moses. The heart of mankind was shown - the heart of fallen man, studied through the history of this small nation Israel. God's purposes are stated clearly through Moses in the laws and principles by which a people should live.
Another way had to be revealed, because even when they know right from wrong, people will fail because of their sinful nature. Therefore, with the covenant promise to Abraham in mind, a better provision was made. It was promised through Jeremiah - in Jeremiah 31:
Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord.
But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.
The term 'new covenant' is first written here, as a promise to Israel and Judah. The context of Ephesians 2 is Jeremiah 31. God centred the New Covenant on Israel, sealing his family as those who will live by faith in Jesus the Messiah. Those who came to faith from the Gentile world join an already-existing community of faith going back to Abraham. The word 'new' refers to a new way that God will make sure that he has a people according to the promise he made with Abraham and according to the provision for the ongoing lifespan of this earth he made through Noah.
The context of the 'New' Covenant is the fulfilment of the 'Old' Covenant: God is providing a new way to bring together his covenant people according to the promise made to Abraham.
One Overarching Plan
God is calling one people out. He did not give up on mankind when Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden, but kept going with what he purposed - and because he purposes it he sealed it with a covenant and an oath made most profoundly to Abraham, which then overarches all of history, so that all who will can be gathered into this one covenant family.
In our day we need to look at this and rediscover who we are as we look back to where we separated from our roots – and as we look forward to the repair work to be done, as well as to our witness to a world that needs to know who God's people are.
We do not join the covenant family through the rituals of Judaism, but by faith. Indeed, the rituals of religion in and of themselves do not ensure membership of the community of God. Nevertheless, the root of our faith was manifest first in the faithful of Israel and we receive their heritage when we join the one family. In Isaiah 66 we read:
I will set a sign among them; and those among them who escape I will send to the nations: to Tarshish and Pul and Lud, who draw the bow, and Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands afar off who have not heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles. Then they shall bring all your brethren for an offering to the Lord out of all nations, on horses and in chariots and in litters, on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem," says the Lord, "as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord. And I will also take some of them for priests and Levites," says the Lord.
Surely the sign referred to in this passage was the sign of Messiah's coming. After that came the gathering from all nations. Israel was still in the heart of God, central to the covenant community - without compromise to his principles - together with those from the nations who would come in by faith.
Every Tribe and Tongue
The final picture of the covenant is in Revelation 7 where we see some from every tribe and tongue - among them some from every tribe of Israel, and then some from all the tribes of the world. That is the end point of the covenant promise, when all are gathered into that one family.
All are gathered around the throne worshipping the Saviour, Jesus the Christ, Yeshua Ha-Mashiach. Through our studies we must understand that only in him is the unity that identifies who we are, the covenant people of God.
The final picture of covenant is the whole family of God, gathered around the throne worshipping the Saviour. Only in Jesus is true covenant unity to be found.
For Reflection and Comment
How is God's covenant with Abraham to be seen as one integrated whole into which Gentiles can also be called by faith?
How are we to see God's covenant with Israel in the light of his overarching covenant purposes that pre-date creation itself?
Next time: Torah Foundations
Series note: 'CIJ' (Christianity, Israel and the Jews) is a study series about the relationship between the Church and its Hebraic heritage.
