His statement has brought out some very interesting ideas as to what the new covenant is and what it has replaced, or done away with. Needless to say, not all of the ideas that are taught agree with each other. It is easy to think that we can just pick one that sounds most logical (or suits our current thinking), but I am learning that merely choosing a side based on my own wisdom isn’t being a good student of scripture. I need to study for myself (like the Bereans of Acts 17:10, 11) and see what God says about the subject. So I did.
In order to keep this blog from becoming huge (it was a big study), I will share what I have learned over the next few blogs. In this one, I will start where I began with my own study by asking, if there is a new covenant, what was the old covenant?
First, a covenant in the Bible is an agreement between two people. In most cases in the Bible, two individuals are involved with each party having some requirements to hold up their end of the covenant. Once a covenant had been entered into, it could be broken (and often was) but breaking it came with consequences.
Now, of the many covenants of the Bible, not many really impact us today. There are covenants between two humans: Like the one between Laban and Jacob (Genesis 31:44 — however, this one was made based on lack of trust), or the one between Jonathan and David (1 Samuel 18:3).
There are also a few covenants mentioned between God and individuals: God made a covenant with Noah for deliverance from the flood (Genesis 6:18); He made a covenant with Abraham promising to make him a father of nations (Genesis 17:2, 4); and He made a covenant with Phinehas promising a permanent priesthood (Numbers 25:12, 13).
Finally, there are covenants made between God and a group of people (mainly the Israelites – see Exodus 31:16, 19 and 34:10 for examples). He made only two covenants that impacted all of mankind, one of which was promising to not destroy mankind again by a flood (Genesis 9:9–17). Yet, could any of these covenants be made new with Jesus’ sacrifice? How could they? None of these were impacted by the cross (ie: Jesus didn’t die to keep a flood from happening again).
However, the other covenant God made that impacts all of mankind is often missed. At first glance, it appears to be made with an individual, Abraham. However, it is also made with his offspring (some translations say “seed”). It may be easy to assume that Abraham’s offspring simply refers to the Israelites, but we must remember Galatians 3:29 — “And if you are Christ’s then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.” Abraham’s offspring represents all who follow God as Abraham did—in faith. This covenant was not made with a specific nation, or a specific blood-line, but with all who chose to walk with God. In fact, as we read it, we will realize that entering into this covenant is entering into a relationship with God.
The foundation of this covenant is first mentioned in Genesis 17:7 – “And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offsprings after you.”
In this covenant God says, “I will be your God.” It is a covenant of relationship. And this covenant language continues throughout the Bible (here are a few examples):
- Deuteronomy 29:12, 13 – “…that you may enter into the sworn covenant of the Lord your God, which the Lord your God is machine with you today, that He may establish you today as His people, and that He may be your God, as He promised you, and as He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”
- Jeremiah 24:7 – “I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.”
- Ezekiel 37:23, 26, 27 – “… I will save them from all the backsliding in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. … I will make a covenant of peace with them … My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”
- Zechariah 10:6 – “…and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness.”
Why do I believe that this covenant is the covenant that is made new? Besides the frequency of its language (especially when connected to a covenant) throughout scripture, notice what Jeremiah 31:31–33 says: “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 … 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” (emphasis mine).
Here is God’s promise to make a new covenant and notice how the language is very similar. We can already see some differences, yet the underlying relationship language is the same as the covenant made with Abraham. In addition, in Hebrews 8, when talking about the new covenant replacing the old covenant, the writer quotes this very passage!
Finally, this is what the last book in the Bible has to say: Revelation 21:3 – “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘behold the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” When all is said and done—when sin is no more and the earth is made new—this is the relationship God will have with His people. It’s the same relationship spoken of in the original covenant with Abraham and his offspring.