Covenants and the nation of Israel

Here is another word from my friend who lives and studies in Israel and works with Jewish people. Obviously, the nation of Israel is near and dear to him and what he has to say here can help us understand a subject that has been often misunderstood.

Covenants

A friend of mine recently posted the following statement on his blog regarding covenants. His statement is in italics. My response follows.

· This was an interesting quote: " The basic premise of a covenant is that, while it can be broken, it cannot be altered. The terms of the relationship remain unalterable. Applying this to the marriage covenant, for example, we can see what this means. The marriage covenant can be broken by a variety of offenses, and hence God, who ordains marriage, provides for divorce whereby the brokenness is publicly declared. At the same time, the covenant requirements for marriage cannot be altered: they are always the same." -- by R.J. Rushdoony in his commentary on Deuteronomy.
This helps in understanding how God could make an everlasting covenant with the nation of Israel , and yet still "divorce" them when they broke the terms of the covenant by, among other things, crucifying Christ.

Not all covenants are conditional (ie. if you do this then I will do this). God made an unconditional everlasting covenant with Abraham, a promise that depended on God's faithfulness, not Abraham's actions (see Gen. 12:2-3; 15:4-6; 17:19). God made a conditional covenant 430 years later with Moses when He gave the law. The purpose of the law was to show the inability of man to keep the covenant because of sin and thus point him to a mediator (Gal. 3:24) who could fulfill the requirements of the covenant--Jesus Christ. God’s covenant to Abraham was not made null and void when the covenant of the law was given (see Galatians 3:15-25). God did not divorce Israel when they broke the Mosaic covenant. Was Israel obstinate and disobedient? Of course! Paul, a Jew, states emphatically that God did not reject his people whom he foreknew ( Rom. 11:1-2). Did they stumble beyond recovery? Not at all! (Rom. 11:11). The Jews were broken off from the root so that the branches from the wild olive tree could be grafted in--ie. the Gentiles. This is a warning to the Gentiles not to become arrogant and to accept the grace of God which has nothing to do with their own merit or the stumbling of the Jews. If the Jews (as a people) do not persist in their unbelief, God will graft them in again into their own olive tree (Rom. 11:17-24). God still has a plan for Israel and for his chosen people. His unconditional promise of land and descendants made to Abraham will still be fulfilled. We, as Gentiles, have to be careful not to think that we have replaced Israel and will now reap the blessings and benefits that were promised to Israel. We are, however, a part of God's plan to restore Israel to her Messiah by making her envious so that one day the inhabitants of Jerusalem will look on the one whom they have pierced (Zechariah 12:10).

Dave in Israel