The Everlasting Covenant - 11.0 The New Covenant

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11.0 The New Covenant in the Old Testament
by Hubert F. Sturges, www.everlastingcovenant.com, March 2009

Topics:
   The Last Days of the Kingdom of Judah
   The New Covenant
   Covenant Made with their Fathers
   I Will Put My Law
What is this “New Covenant”? Is it a new and different covenant? When was the New Covenant effective? When was it given? After Jesus sacrifice on Calvary? Or sometime later? Is the Old Covenant a covenant of law for the Jews? And the New Covenant a covenant of grace for us?

These are all good questions. Please pay attention and find answers in the following discussion. To see the appropriate dates, see References (1-2).

There are real problems in the common interpretations of Jeremiah 31:31-34. In this article is my proposal as to an interpretation that fits my model of truth. There are other interpretations and these will be discussed in the section “References and Notes.”
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The Last Days of the Kingdom of Judah

The final events of the kingdom of Judah before the captivity are made confusing because of repeated military campaigns by Assyria, Egypt, and Babylon and because of deteriorating conditions in Judah. Following good king Josiah, there were five kings in rapid succession: Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, Zedekiah, and Gedaliah. The captivity of Judah occurred in three stages dated at 605, 597, and 586 bc. These were all under Nebuchadnezzar.(1)

The restoration of Israel and the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the Temple were also accomplished under three decrees. The first decree was under Cyrus about 537 bc, the second under Darius I after 520 bc, and the third under Artaxerxes I at 457 bc. The actual expeditions and work were done after each of these decrees. This makes it difficult to pinpoint the exact dates for the 70 years captivity predicted by Jeremiah in Jeremiah 25:1-11, but the usually accepted dates are from 606 bc with the first deportation of Jews to Babylon to 536 bc under Cyrus decree.(2)

Jeremiah’s ministry covered the last forty years of the history of Ancient Judah, ending in 586 bc with the death of Gedaliah. The remnants of the Jews then fled to Egypt, taking Jeremiah with them. At that point he drops from view.(4)

This history is significant in that the promised “New Covenant” written of in Jeremiah 31:13-34   was written several years after the captivity had begun, and sixty plus years before the expected restoration. Chapters thirty and thirty one of Jeremiah are prophesies of the restoration, and the promised “new covenant” is in this setting.(5)

The broken covenant (Jeremiah 11) which led to their captivity, God would renew. This was not the everlasting covenant, which cannot be broken. It was a covenant of obedience. The promise of the people to obey and to accept the everlasting covenant of God. The everlasting covenant of Abraham had been abandoned many times by wicked kings. Under righteous kings they rededicated themselves to God by covenant promises, and accepted the promises under His covenant. This occurred a number of times.  However, with each apostasy there was a downward trend, until there was no remedy.(3)
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The New Covenant

Early in their captivity, Jeremiah prophesied a “new” covenant by God with the people. It was to be a renewal of the everlasting covenant, and a promise of hope for the people in captivity in Babylon. At the end of seventy years they would return to their land and again become the covenant people of God.(6)

    31 “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:
    32 “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:
    33 “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.
    34 “And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jeremiah 31:31-34).

“I will make a new covenant.” The Hebrew word, hadash is translated “new” or “fresh” or “renewed.” The “new-ness” of this covenant is discussed in article #12.0 “Covenants Through History.” Did Jesus institute a new and different covenant at the cross or shortly thereafter? This is a common belief. Much more is said about this in Hebrews 8:8-12; 10:16-17. It is an important passage, and requires that we look at it carefully.

What is the evidence that this was a “renewed” covenant? There are three references where the Hebrew word (hadash) is used as “renew”: King Asa put away the idols and renewed (Hadash) the altar of the Lord (2 Chronicles 15:8). Job, referring to his former prosperity says, “My glory was fresh (hadash) in me, and my bow was renewed (halap) in my hand” (Job 29:20). David praises God with this psalm, “Thy youth is renewed (hadash) like the eagles” (Psalm 103:5).

“Behold the days come” and “after those days” pointed to a future date. There were three dates to consider. The first date was at the end of the 70 years captivity. They would be restored to their land, to Jerusalem, and the temple rebuilt.(7) The history of Israel up to the Captivity was one of repeated apostasy and repeated renewals of the covenant. This coupled with other passages in Jeremiah and Ezekiel suggest “renewal” as the primary meaning.  The covenant would be renewed and a process of true heart religion instituted. Every true-hearted Jew in captivity looked forward to this time.

The second date came 490 years after the restoration from the seventy years captivity. This time period was allotted to fulfill the purpose of God for the Jewish nation (Daniel 9:24). It was God’s design that the whole earth be prepared for the first advent of Christ (10). At that time Messiah would come, confirm the covenant, make ONE efficacious sacrifice for sin and fulfill the ceremonial law.

The wording of Jeremiah 31:33, 34 points to a third date: Jesus Himself would become the glory of the second temple. He would take the throne of David,  inaugurate His glorious reign and sanctify of His people. It was God’s purpose and intention that this coincide with the second date. With the failure of the Jewish nation to accept their Messiah, we must now look forward to His second coming for fulfillment.  See article #13.0, “The Covenant Mandate.”
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The Covenant Made With Their Fathers

Their were two covenants made at Sinai. 1) Exodus 19:4-6 describes “my covenant” offered by God to the people.  It was a covenant of grace, the everlasting covenant also made to Adam and to Abraham. It was God’s intent that they accept “my covenant” where by grace He would make of them “a peculiar treasure,” “a kingdom of priests,” and “an holy nation.” He would fulfill these promises and the promises of the ten commandments by the same power by which He delivered them from Egypt, and the same power that He manifested in smoke and fire on Mt. Sinai.

2) The people’s presumptuous response was “all that the Lord hath spoken we will do” (Exodus 19:8). Hebrews describes a covenant that was faulty (Hebrews 8:7, 8), broken (Hebrews 8:9), old and decayed (Hebrews 8:13).  It depended on the promises of men and was soon broken. This was the historical “old covenant” and was ratified by an animal sacrifice (Exodus 24).

After Moses interceded with God four times, the covenant of grace was renewed (Exodus 34:10). God would “do marvels” through His people. He would do everything that He had promised in Exodus 19 and 20. The sacrifices and rituals of the sanctuary service were set up as an illustration, a teaching device, of how the plan of salvation worked. The focus was on the promises of the ten commandments. The power to do would come by faith in the coming Redeemer, typified in the sacrifices.

The people made no further promises. They enthusiastically gave of their treasure to help build the wilderness sanctuary. This was a high point in their experience.

In time many of the people reverted into a dependence on rote keeping of the law and keeping of the rituals as their method of salvation.  But not everyone. There was always the faithful remnant who looked to the Messiah through the sacrifices, and who accepted God’s grace to change their lives.

Which covenant is spoken of in Jeremiah 31:31, 32?  The “new” covenant we have discussed. But what is the “covenant they brake?” What is the covenant described in Hebrews 8 as faulty, broken, old and decayed? God does not offer a faulty covenant. The covenant of Exodus 19:4-6 was a perfect covenant, the everlasting covenant given to Adam and Eve, Noah, and Abraham. The people responded with human promises which God accepted on a temporary basis allowing the people to learn more about His grace.

The subsequent history of Israel was a dreary recital of apostasy, oppression, repentance, and delivery. At the end of each cycle, the covenant was renewed. It is logical to view the “new covenant” as another renewal of the everlasting covenant.  In this setting, the covenant of grace became a “new” covenant to most people, a renewal of the true everlasting covenant. It was not according to their old covenant of works, but rather emphasized grace and forgiveness of sins. 
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I Will Put My Law

“I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts:” This law is the ten commandment moral code, which is also called “the covenant” and was kept inside the ark. It is this law which gives the principles of holiness that God desires in His people. Before the captivity, Israel had failed repeatedly by taking part in the idolatry of the surrounding nations. They had broken the Sabbath. The poor had been oppressed by violence and extortion. Military alliances had been made with heathen nations against the explicit command of God.

In their apostasy and rejections of the covenant and the ten commandments, Israel had rejected the very means by which God would make of them “a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: ... a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation” (Exodus 19:5).

But this law is not just to be a document graven on stone, or even just written in a book. It was to be written on the heart. It was to change a person’s life. God has always desired changed lives in His people. He has always desired worship from the heart.(9) Outward forms and ceremonies by themselves are of little value.

“(I) will be their God, and they shall be my people.” This is the covenant promise. The promise and purpose of God is to continually be with His Creation.  He works through natural laws to maintain all life. He created man to offer intelligent love and praise to Him. After sin, God stepped in to offer a plan whereby everything that was lost in Eden would be restored. He is “Emmanuel, God with us!”

Finally, there was to be a time when everyone would “know the Lord” and would not need to “teach every man his brother.” After the restoration Israel was given 490 years to fulfill their purpose as the chosen people. (see “The Covenant Mandate,” article #13.0.) It was God’s design that the whole earth be prepared for the first advent of Christ, even as today the way is preparing for His second coming.(10) There are passages (Isaiah 2:1-4; 25:8,9; 33:14-24; 35:1-10; 55:11-13; 60:18,19; 65:17-25; 66:22-24) that indicate that God had wonderful plans for Israel, if only they should seek Him.

With the new Temple instituted, and with increasing prosperity they again used the blessings of God for themselves, and their worship again became a form. When Jesus, the Messiah, came His presence would have made the second temple even more glorified than the first.  This opportunity was lost as their Messiah was rejected. The time when every man would “know the Lord” was again postponed. This aspect of the "new" covenant could not now be fulfilled until the new earth.

Had God given Israel the “new/renewed” covenant at the restoration? Were the promises fulfilled with the coming of the Messiah? The answer is a muted, Yes! Yes! Israel was given their second chance. The Messiah did come to His temple. The covenant was confirmed, and grace was now a accomplished fact. The Kingdom of God had arrived in the birth of the new Christian Church.

The Jews have always had a special place in the plan of God. As Paul has said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16; 2:9,10). God still has plans for His chosen people.
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