15. The New Covenant in the Old Testament
March 2007
Topics:
The New Covenant
The Everlasting Covenant is Forever
Old and New Covenants Contrasted
Old Covenant Thinking
The Promises
References
What is this "New Covenant"? Is this a new and different covenant? When is 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?
The Last Days of the Kingdom of Judah
These are all good questions. Please pay attention and find answers in the following discussion. We’ll start with the dates:
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.
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 was done after each of these decrees. This makes it difficult to pinpoint the exact dates for the 70 years captivity predicted by Jeremiah in Jer. 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.
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.
This history is significant in that the promised "New Covenant" written of in Jeremiah 31:13-34 was written in 586 bc, after about ten years of captivity had passed, and sixty 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.
The broken covenant (Jeremiah 11) which led to their captivity, God would renew. This was not the first time. The everlasting covenant of Abraham had been broken many times by wicked kings. Under righteous kings the covenant was also renewed a number of times, but the trend was downward into deeper and deeper idolatry until there was no remedy.
Early in the captivity, Jeremiah prophesied a "new (renewed)" covenant by God with the people. It was 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.
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).
This passage is used frequently as evidence that God intended to give a new and different covenant to take effect after Jesus’ sacrifice. This passage is also quoted in Hebrews 8:8-12; 10:16-17. It is an important passage, and requires that we look at it carefully:
"New" from the Hebrew word, hadash is translated "new" or "fresh" or "renewed." There is importance in which meaning is chosen. Some have objected to the use of "renew." Here 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 Chron 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).
What were the features of this "new covenant"?
• "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. 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 rejecting 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). God has always desired changed lives in His people. He has always desired worship from the heart. Outward forms and ceremonies by themselves are of little value.
• "(I) will be their God, and they shall be my people." This is the promised continued presence of God that Moses so earnestly sought after Israel had sinned at Sinai. Without this presence, nothing else mattered.
• There would also be a time when everyone will "know the Lord" and will not need to "teach every man his brother." Even in the best of times, that time has not yet come and will not come until Jesus comes again. This statement points to an eventual fulfillment of the covenant in the New Earth.
These are features of the everlasting covenant: renewed frequently, broken often, but always held up by God as His purpose for mankind and what He will eventually accomplish by grace.
The intent of this "new covenant" was to bring Israel into a real life-changing relation with God. Some aspects of this "new" covenant would not be fulfilled until the new earth. Yet 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.
The Everlasting Covenant is Forever
Does God have more than one covenant? Can one covenant come to an end and another take its place? These verses show that the everlasting covenant is forever:
9 "Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations" (Deuteronomy 7:9).
8 "He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations.
9 "Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac;
10 "And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant" (Psalms 105:8-10).
10 "For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee" (Isaiah 54:10).
26 "Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.
27 "My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
28 "And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore" (Ezekiel 37:26-28).
A little thought will show that the covenant was made within the Godhead "before the foundation of the world." The covenant is by the initiative of God. Humans had not yet been created. Since that critical event we have no record of God making another covenant. The covenant has been rejected or ignored a number times. People have removed themselves from under its provisions. But God holds His covenant unbroken. "His mercy endureth forever."
In this same line of thought, the covenant cannot be broken. Since it is God who made the covenant, and God who performs the covenant, what can humans do? We can accept the gracious provisions of the covenant, or reject it, but we cannot break it.
34 "My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips" (Psalms 89:34).
15 "Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto" (Galatians 3:15).
This "new covenant" was not according to a previous covenant. This was a previous covenant made when the Lord delivered them from Egypt and which was shortly broken. That covenant was faulty, broken, abrogated, and not renewed. It depended upon the presumptuous promises of man. See article eight, "The Old Covenant." This does not describe the everlasting covenant made with Abraham. The true everlasting covenant was renewed after the four intercessions of Moses for the people. Unfortunately, even the everlasting covenant was broken (rejected) and renewed on numerous occasions during the history of Israel. It is logical to view the "new covenant" as another renewal of the everlasting covenant.
Old and New Covenants Contrasted
The concept of there being an Old and a New is largely developed in Hebrews. See articles twenty six and twenty seven, "Hebrews Part One" and "Hebrews Part Two." In Old Testament times there was no discussion of an Old and a New covenant, even after the promise of Jeremiah 31:31-34. The terms we use today are sparse in the Bible record (1)
"I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people" is the underlying promise of the everlasting covenant. God has not abandoned His people, He is still our God. By His grace and power He will make of His people to be "an holy nation." His method of doing so is to restore in man the image of God and to write on his heart His law, the ten commandments.
These are new covenant principles. This covenant was ratified, confirmed, and made effectual only by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on Calvary and His resurrection.
The sacrifices and the ceremonies of the Old Testament pointed forward to Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who would make this sacrifice. This "sanctuary service" was not the covenant, but rather an illustration of the covenant, or a visual parable. There was much detail given regarding the ceremonies, given by God, which Moses wrote in a book. This book was put into the side of the ark (Deut 31:26).
The Old Covenant is the attempt of the people at Sinai to take the work of God into their own hands. In their own strength, they would obey all that the Lord had said.
The covenant offered was the everlasting covenant. The ten commandments were "holy, just, and good" (Rom 7:12) and were the promises of how God would make of them "an holy nation." Not understanding themselves or the promises of God, the people enthusiastically and presumptuously promise "all that the Lord hath said, we will do." This was the old covenant.
The promises and power of God (new covenant) are contrasted with the faulty promises and weakness of men (old covenant).
Unfortunately, those who understood this were few. The Old covenant mindset did not die. It continued and even strengthened until it became the dominant belief at the time of Christ. The New covenant of grace existed side by side with the Old covenant mind-set of law and self-righteousness right from the time of Eden.
Some, when they sacrificed a lamb looked forward to a Redeemer. Others in making the same sacrifice did so thinking that God was pleased with sacrifices and that this would in some way "pay" for their sins. People, going through the same rituals, do so, some with New covenant and others with Old covenant thinking. This latter group emphasized Law and Ritual. The former group recognized Jesus when He came to this earth and responded to his emphasis on heart religion, mercy, and justice.
The classic Old covenant of law was made at Sinai. It was also broken and nullified at Sinai, lasting for about six weeks. It was based on the promises of men to do "all that the Lord has spoken." As time went by, this mindset continued in the minds of many. The initial old covenant focused on the ten commandment law. The rituals of their worship increasingly became the substance of their religion, rather than as the promise of a Redeemer. This lead also to a reliance on (outward) keeping of the law as the method of salvation. By the time of Christ, "Old covenant thinking" was predominant.
The promises of the two covenants were the same. It was only in the response of the people that they were different. No longer now did they say, "All that the Lord has spoken we will do." Rather, God repeatedly emphasized what He would do for His people. In Exodus 34:11, God promised to drive out the inhabitants so that Israel could occupy the land—beginning to fulfill the promise given to Abraham.
9 "And he (Moses) said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance.
10 "And he (God) said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the Lord: for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee.
11 "Observe thou that which I command thee this day: behold, I drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite" (Exodus 34:9-11).
It was only after four occasions of earnest intercession by Moses, that God brought Israel back into the everlasting covenant. This gracious action of God was in response to an earnest plea by Moses for God to again go among them. The wording is different but the promises are similar to what had been said before. God will be with them and will do wonderful things through His people. Here is a clearer translation of verse 10:
"Then the Lord said: ‘I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the Lord, will do for you" (Deuteronomy 34:10, NIV).
On the borders of the promised land, Moses referred to the everlasting covenant offered in Exodus 19 and 20, and renewed in Exodus 34. This covenant was the ten commandments, which, by grace, will "establish thee today for a people unto himself, and that he may be unto thee a God." This was the same covenant that "he hath sworn unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob."
"And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone" (Deuteronomy 4:13).
10 "Ye stand this day all of you before the Lord your God; your captains o f your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all the men of Israel,
11 "Your little ones, your wives, and thy stranger that is in thy camp, from the hewer of thy wood unto the drawer of thy water:
12 "That thou shouldest enter into covenant with the Lord thy God, and into his oath, which the Lord thy God maketh with thee this day:
13 "That he may establish thee to day for a people unto himself, and that he may be unto thee a God, as he hath said unto thee, and as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob" (Deuteronomy 29:10-13).
Throughout the Bible, the covenant was frequently repeated. This was for a good reason. Each generation and each person must renew his covenant with God. The relationship between man and God must be personal.
When Christ was on earth, the most profound statement that he made is also very simple, "Follow Me." In these two words is bound up faith, grace, justification, and sanctification. If we truly follow Jesus, by His grace we are changed and made new creatures.
(1) The term "New Covenant" is mentioned just once in the Old Testament in Jeremiah 31:31-34. The word "covenant" is referenced 254 times in the Old Testament, only a portion of these refer to the everlasting covenant. In the New Testament we find "covenant" eighteen times, twelve of these in Hebrews.
The following Terms are used in discussing the covenant but are surprisingly sparse in the Bible:
-
New Covenant – Jeremiah 31:31; Hebrews 8:8, 8:13; 12:24
-
New Testament – Matthew 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20; 1 Corinthians 11:25; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Hebrews 9:15
-
Old Covenant – none
-
Old Testament – 2 Corinthians 3:14
The ten commandment law is declared by God to be the covenant (Ex 34:28; Deut 9:9,11,15). The "Ark of the Covenant" is referenced forty one times in the Old Testament, largely because the ten commandments written on two tables of stone were put inside.
The ten commandments were written on stone to show that they were permanent and unchanging. These tables were put inside the ark beneath the mercy seat (Ex. 25:21; Deut. 10:2, 5). The "book of the law" was put in the side of the ark (Deut. 31:26).
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