Who is Israel?
The New Covenant
Chapter 2
Jan 21, 2025
God was explaining to His people that after a period of discipline and prayerful contemplation, He was going to give Israel a second chance to accomplish His will. This was such an important juncture in the history of Israel that God also had another prophet explaining the situation that Israel found themselves in. God used Ezekiel to elaborate on what the hope and the future was, that He had planned for Israel:
For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. Eze:24-28.
In other words, the hope and a future that God envisioned for Israel, was that of a converted nation. Whereby the stony hearts of the people would be converted to fleshly hearts and God would then finally be able to put the law in their hearts. [Note: the law outside the heart or inside the heart is referring to the attitude of the people. When the law is written outside the heart the people feel compelled to do it – when it is written in the heart the people want to do it].
God left the people in no doubt that this change in the location of the law would happen. It was prophesied through Jeremiah:
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that 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 bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. Jer. 31:31-33.
This new covenant is the exact same covenant as the old covenant, with only one major difference. At the ratification of the old covenant, the people cried out, “We will do it – we will keep the law” (the conditions of the covenant). However, in the new covenant, God says, “I will do it!”
The Ratification of the New Covenant
The ratification (put into effect), of the old covenant could not occur without blood (see Ex. 24:6-8). This is because God told Adam and Eve, that if they sinned, “they would surely die” (Gen. 2:17). However, after they sinned, they did not die. This means two things, firstly the penalty for sin was not the first death (otherwise they would have died immediately), therefore, the penalty must be the second death (see Rev. 2:11; 20:6, 14; 21:8; Jude 1:12). Secondly, in order to atone for sin and be saved from the second death something else had to pay the penalty - in this case it was a lamb that died (see Gen. 3:21). And this is why Scripture says, “without blood there is no forgiveness for sin” (Heb. 9:22).
Therefore, because the old covenant was ratified with blood, the new covenant, in order to be effective must also be ratified by blood. And it was and still is – Jesus ratified the new covenant with His own blood:
Now as they were eating Jesus took bread, and after blessing it, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” And when He had taken a cup and ]given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the [new and better] covenant, which [ratifies the agreement and] is being poured out for many [as a substitutionary atonement] for the forgiveness of sins. Matt. 26:26-28. Amplified Bible.
[Note: the word for ‘covenant’ in the original Greek is diathēkē - this word can be translated covenant or testament. The translation ‘covenant’ in this case is preferrable, otherwise the type and anti-type symbology is lost. Some modern translations recognize the connection and translate diathēkē as covenant. Christendom would have been a different place, than it is today, if the early translators had translated, “This is My blood of the new covenant”].
Jesus spoke constantly about the new covenant, but He never used the term ‘new covenant.’ He spoke about the new covenant indirectly when He said, - ‘repent and believe the gospel’ - ‘born again’ – ‘born of water and the spirit’ – ‘new wine’ – ‘Thy Kingdom come’ - ‘My Kingdom is not of this world’ – ‘enter in at the strait gate’ – ‘follow Me’ etc. etc. The apostle Paul has told us directly when the new covenant was ratified. In Paul’s letter to the Hebrews, he sets out to prove that with the coming of Jesus there had also come greater and better things:
But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. Heb. 8:6.
In other words, the ministry of Christ has established a better covenant that is founded on better promises. The ‘better promises’ are the promises that God made through Jeremiah, where He said that He would do what the Israelites failed to do. Paul continues by explaining why the first covenant failed:
For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them… Heb. 8:6.
There was nothing wrong with the covenant, but there was something wrong with the people. The fault was with the people, not God’s covenant. The fault with the people was that they would not allow God to address the hard-hearted/stiff-necked spiritual condition they were in. Therefore, the covenant could not be placed in their hearts. The history of the Israelite nation is about many things, but one of the enduring themes is of God trying everything, to convert the nation, so that it would carry out the purpose for its creation. Because of the failure, Paul goes on to explain that the prophecy given to Jeremiah has now been fulfilled:
For finding fault with them he saith, Behold, the days come, saith 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 when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. Heb. 8:6-12.
Paul tells us, that as a consequence of the new covenant, “all shall know me, from the least to the greatest” – this was accomplished when Jesus was crucified. Just before His crucifixion, Jesus stated what would happen, because of being ‘lifted up:’
The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit… Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die. Jn. 23, 24, 32, 33.
The original purpose of Israel was ‘to draw’ all men unto Israel. The original purpose of the old covenant was ‘to draw’ all men to the covenant. This was not accomplished under the old covenant. Jesus and Paul tell us that it will be accomplished under the new covenant. This is how “all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.” This is why Paul pledged himself to preach Jesus and Him crucified, because Paul knew that if Jesus was “lifted up” – Satan would be “cast out” (cast out of heaven and out of people’s hearts) – and draw all men to Jesus and the new covenant:
For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 1 Cor. 2:2.
Paul was God’s greatest evangelist, and he knew from experience, that when he preached “Jesus Christ, and him crucified” that this was what softened people’s hearts – this was what converted people. Paul saw the results of his work - he saw the change in people’s hearts – he saw the change in the Corinthian converts.
In Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, he addressed one of the issues that he was being criticized for – he was being criticized for having no ‘papers’ – he had no credentials or letters of recommendation from headquarters in Jerusalem. This is how he responded to his lack of ‘letters:’
You yourselves are our letter of recommendation (our credentials), written in your hearts, to be known (perceived, recognized) and read by everybody. You show and make obvious that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, not written with ink but with [the] Spirit of [the] living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 2 Cor. 3:2, 3. Amplified Bible.
This is the result of the new covenant, ratified by the blood of Christ and preached with power under the influence of the Holy Spirit. The Gospel softens the hard hearts and turns the stiff necks. God said He would lift the law of the stones and place it in the hearts of the people. And He did it, and He is still doing it – MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.
Conclusion
God’s purpose for Israel was to be a nation of priests that God was going to use to convert the world. However, the people could only fulfil this role if they opened their hearts and turned their necks. God persisted for hundreds of years to convert the nation, but only a few individuals responded. It was not the people’s hearts that were broken it was God’s:
What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? Why, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes. Isa. 5:4.
How can I give you up, O Ephraim! How can I surrender you and cast you off, O Israel! How can I make you as Admah or how can I treat you as Zeboiim [both destroyed with Sodom]! My heart recoils within Me; My compassions are kindled together. Hosea 11:8. Amplified Bible.
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Matt. 23:37.
It was not only because of the scene before Him that Christ wept (the scene at the tomb of Lazarus). The weight of the grief of ages was upon Him. He saw the terrible effects of the transgression of God's law. He saw that in the history of the world, beginning with the death of Abel, the conflict between good and evil had been unceasing. Looking down the years to come, He saw the suffering and sorrow, tears and death, that were to be the lot of men. His heart was pierced with the pain of the human family of all ages and in all lands. The woes of the sinful race were heavy upon His soul, and the fountain of His tears was broken up as He longed to relieve all their distress. Ellen White, The Desire of Ages, p. 534.
Nevertheless, in spite of the setbacks, God promised that He would succeed. God’s plans can be thwarted for a time, they can be delayed because of the spiritual condition of His people, but ultimately God’s will, will prevail:
So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. Isa. 55:11.
God’s plans for the nation of Israel were never realized. Even after the disciplinary time they spent in Babylon, the people were not capable of accomplishing the work of preparing the world for the coming of the Messiah. Now the Messiah is coming back a second time, therefore God is looking again for Israel to prepare the world for the second coming. The question is, who is Israel now? Is Israel the same as the first Israel – the Israel that failed to keep the old covenant? Or did the ratification of the new covenant create a new Israel? - an Israel that lives within the terms and conditions of the new covenant.
…new wine is put into fresh wineskins… Matt. 13:17.
The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. Matt. 21:43.
…and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen… Matt. 21:41.
Jan 21, 2025
He is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. Heb. 8:6.
Introduction
When God entered into the covenant relationship with the Israelites at Mt. Sinai, the Israelites promised to keep the covenant. When Moses finished reading the terms and conditions of the covenant to them – “all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the Lord hath said will we do” (Ex. 24:3). Within days they were having a pagan worship service, dancing around a golden calf, which the newly appointed High Priest said, “it just sprung out of the fire after I threw some gold in it” (see Ex. 32:1-24).
The reason why the Israelites fell so quickly, and fell so far, was because of their spiritual condition. The hard-hearted/stiff-necked condition of the people, was only ever sporadically overcome by individuals, never by the nation as a whole. Therefore, because the nation never fulfilled the purpose for which God created it – He decided to put it back into captivity. God did not send them into slavery without telling the people why He did it. Jeremiah sent a letter to the captives in Babylon. In the letter Jeremiah told them that it was God’s will that they live in Babylon and submit to the authority of Babylon, and this was all for the well-being of Israel, so that Israel might have a hope and a future:
Introduction
When God entered into the covenant relationship with the Israelites at Mt. Sinai, the Israelites promised to keep the covenant. When Moses finished reading the terms and conditions of the covenant to them – “all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the Lord hath said will we do” (Ex. 24:3). Within days they were having a pagan worship service, dancing around a golden calf, which the newly appointed High Priest said, “it just sprung out of the fire after I threw some gold in it” (see Ex. 32:1-24).
The reason why the Israelites fell so quickly, and fell so far, was because of their spiritual condition. The hard-hearted/stiff-necked condition of the people, was only ever sporadically overcome by individuals, never by the nation as a whole. Therefore, because the nation never fulfilled the purpose for which God created it – He decided to put it back into captivity. God did not send them into slavery without telling the people why He did it. Jeremiah sent a letter to the captives in Babylon. In the letter Jeremiah told them that it was God’s will that they live in Babylon and submit to the authority of Babylon, and this was all for the well-being of Israel, so that Israel might have a hope and a future:
For thus says the Lord, When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you and keep My good promise to you, causing you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome. Then you will call upon Me, and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear and heed you. Then you will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me [as a vital necessity] and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will release you from captivity and gather you from all the nations and all the places to which I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I caused you to be carried away captive. Jer. 29:10-14. Amplified Bible.
God was explaining to His people that after a period of discipline and prayerful contemplation, He was going to give Israel a second chance to accomplish His will. This was such an important juncture in the history of Israel that God also had another prophet explaining the situation that Israel found themselves in. God used Ezekiel to elaborate on what the hope and the future was, that He had planned for Israel:
For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. Eze:24-28.
In other words, the hope and a future that God envisioned for Israel, was that of a converted nation. Whereby the stony hearts of the people would be converted to fleshly hearts and God would then finally be able to put the law in their hearts. [Note: the law outside the heart or inside the heart is referring to the attitude of the people. When the law is written outside the heart the people feel compelled to do it – when it is written in the heart the people want to do it].
God left the people in no doubt that this change in the location of the law would happen. It was prophesied through Jeremiah:
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that 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 bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. Jer. 31:31-33.
This new covenant is the exact same covenant as the old covenant, with only one major difference. At the ratification of the old covenant, the people cried out, “We will do it – we will keep the law” (the conditions of the covenant). However, in the new covenant, God says, “I will do it!”
The Ratification of the New Covenant
The ratification (put into effect), of the old covenant could not occur without blood (see Ex. 24:6-8). This is because God told Adam and Eve, that if they sinned, “they would surely die” (Gen. 2:17). However, after they sinned, they did not die. This means two things, firstly the penalty for sin was not the first death (otherwise they would have died immediately), therefore, the penalty must be the second death (see Rev. 2:11; 20:6, 14; 21:8; Jude 1:12). Secondly, in order to atone for sin and be saved from the second death something else had to pay the penalty - in this case it was a lamb that died (see Gen. 3:21). And this is why Scripture says, “without blood there is no forgiveness for sin” (Heb. 9:22).
Therefore, because the old covenant was ratified with blood, the new covenant, in order to be effective must also be ratified by blood. And it was and still is – Jesus ratified the new covenant with His own blood:
Now as they were eating Jesus took bread, and after blessing it, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” And when He had taken a cup and ]given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the [new and better] covenant, which [ratifies the agreement and] is being poured out for many [as a substitutionary atonement] for the forgiveness of sins. Matt. 26:26-28. Amplified Bible.
[Note: the word for ‘covenant’ in the original Greek is diathēkē - this word can be translated covenant or testament. The translation ‘covenant’ in this case is preferrable, otherwise the type and anti-type symbology is lost. Some modern translations recognize the connection and translate diathēkē as covenant. Christendom would have been a different place, than it is today, if the early translators had translated, “This is My blood of the new covenant”].
Jesus spoke constantly about the new covenant, but He never used the term ‘new covenant.’ He spoke about the new covenant indirectly when He said, - ‘repent and believe the gospel’ - ‘born again’ – ‘born of water and the spirit’ – ‘new wine’ – ‘Thy Kingdom come’ - ‘My Kingdom is not of this world’ – ‘enter in at the strait gate’ – ‘follow Me’ etc. etc. The apostle Paul has told us directly when the new covenant was ratified. In Paul’s letter to the Hebrews, he sets out to prove that with the coming of Jesus there had also come greater and better things:
But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. Heb. 8:6.
In other words, the ministry of Christ has established a better covenant that is founded on better promises. The ‘better promises’ are the promises that God made through Jeremiah, where He said that He would do what the Israelites failed to do. Paul continues by explaining why the first covenant failed:
For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them… Heb. 8:6.
There was nothing wrong with the covenant, but there was something wrong with the people. The fault was with the people, not God’s covenant. The fault with the people was that they would not allow God to address the hard-hearted/stiff-necked spiritual condition they were in. Therefore, the covenant could not be placed in their hearts. The history of the Israelite nation is about many things, but one of the enduring themes is of God trying everything, to convert the nation, so that it would carry out the purpose for its creation. Because of the failure, Paul goes on to explain that the prophecy given to Jeremiah has now been fulfilled:
For finding fault with them he saith, Behold, the days come, saith 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 when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. Heb. 8:6-12.
Paul tells us, that as a consequence of the new covenant, “all shall know me, from the least to the greatest” – this was accomplished when Jesus was crucified. Just before His crucifixion, Jesus stated what would happen, because of being ‘lifted up:’
The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit… Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die. Jn. 23, 24, 32, 33.
The original purpose of Israel was ‘to draw’ all men unto Israel. The original purpose of the old covenant was ‘to draw’ all men to the covenant. This was not accomplished under the old covenant. Jesus and Paul tell us that it will be accomplished under the new covenant. This is how “all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.” This is why Paul pledged himself to preach Jesus and Him crucified, because Paul knew that if Jesus was “lifted up” – Satan would be “cast out” (cast out of heaven and out of people’s hearts) – and draw all men to Jesus and the new covenant:
For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 1 Cor. 2:2.
Paul was God’s greatest evangelist, and he knew from experience, that when he preached “Jesus Christ, and him crucified” that this was what softened people’s hearts – this was what converted people. Paul saw the results of his work - he saw the change in people’s hearts – he saw the change in the Corinthian converts.
In Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, he addressed one of the issues that he was being criticized for – he was being criticized for having no ‘papers’ – he had no credentials or letters of recommendation from headquarters in Jerusalem. This is how he responded to his lack of ‘letters:’
You yourselves are our letter of recommendation (our credentials), written in your hearts, to be known (perceived, recognized) and read by everybody. You show and make obvious that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, not written with ink but with [the] Spirit of [the] living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 2 Cor. 3:2, 3. Amplified Bible.
This is the result of the new covenant, ratified by the blood of Christ and preached with power under the influence of the Holy Spirit. The Gospel softens the hard hearts and turns the stiff necks. God said He would lift the law of the stones and place it in the hearts of the people. And He did it, and He is still doing it – MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.
Conclusion
God’s purpose for Israel was to be a nation of priests that God was going to use to convert the world. However, the people could only fulfil this role if they opened their hearts and turned their necks. God persisted for hundreds of years to convert the nation, but only a few individuals responded. It was not the people’s hearts that were broken it was God’s:
What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? Why, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes. Isa. 5:4.
How can I give you up, O Ephraim! How can I surrender you and cast you off, O Israel! How can I make you as Admah or how can I treat you as Zeboiim [both destroyed with Sodom]! My heart recoils within Me; My compassions are kindled together. Hosea 11:8. Amplified Bible.
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Matt. 23:37.
It was not only because of the scene before Him that Christ wept (the scene at the tomb of Lazarus). The weight of the grief of ages was upon Him. He saw the terrible effects of the transgression of God's law. He saw that in the history of the world, beginning with the death of Abel, the conflict between good and evil had been unceasing. Looking down the years to come, He saw the suffering and sorrow, tears and death, that were to be the lot of men. His heart was pierced with the pain of the human family of all ages and in all lands. The woes of the sinful race were heavy upon His soul, and the fountain of His tears was broken up as He longed to relieve all their distress. Ellen White, The Desire of Ages, p. 534.
Nevertheless, in spite of the setbacks, God promised that He would succeed. God’s plans can be thwarted for a time, they can be delayed because of the spiritual condition of His people, but ultimately God’s will, will prevail:
So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. Isa. 55:11.
God’s plans for the nation of Israel were never realized. Even after the disciplinary time they spent in Babylon, the people were not capable of accomplishing the work of preparing the world for the coming of the Messiah. Now the Messiah is coming back a second time, therefore God is looking again for Israel to prepare the world for the second coming. The question is, who is Israel now? Is Israel the same as the first Israel – the Israel that failed to keep the old covenant? Or did the ratification of the new covenant create a new Israel? - an Israel that lives within the terms and conditions of the new covenant.
…new wine is put into fresh wineskins… Matt. 13:17.
The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. Matt. 21:43.
…and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen… Matt. 21:41.
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