The New Covenant in context: What do the prophets say?

The book  of Hebrews chapter 8 makes a brief appeal to a verse in Jeremiah 31, regarding God’s plan for the arrival of a New Covenant with Israel:

For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. Because finding fault with them, He says:
“Behold, the days are coming, says 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 did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” [Jeremiah 31] In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. – Hebrews 8:7-13

Question: Can you recall at least one time when your pastor addressed the entire context of Jeremiah 31 when conducting a teaching on Hebrews chapter 8? When I reflect on my Christian life, I cannot recall even one single time.

In order to read and intuit the chapter the way the author intended, it’s first necessary to possess an understanding of the prophecy quoted. If we lack the context that the author assumed his audience would have, we are made vulnerable to erroneous conclusions.

When the context is restored, elements completely foreign to our paradigm begin to surface. I believe this is why many Christian leaders and pastors seem to neglect an in-depth study of the Old Testament references to the New Covenant. Since the content proves difficult to understand through their paradigm, it’s far easier to ignore the content.

This is what I would like to cover: the entire context of the New Covenant. 

The Biblical narrative gives us an interesting symmetry of two main covenants made with Israel: The Mosaic Covenant (the Old Covenant) and the New Covenant. Remarkably, this pattern is apparent in the Mosaic Covenant itself. The Mosaic Covenant is actually a composite of two sub-covenants:

Deuteronomy 29:1

“These are the terms of the covenant the Lord commanded Moses to make with the Israelites in Moab, in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Horeb (Mount Sinai).

The Covenant made at Moab is a foreshadow of the New Covenant, while the Covenant made at Mount Sinai represents the Old Covenant and God’s provision for the Jews under that Covenant.

The Covenant made at Mount Sinai (representing the Old Covenant)

The terms for the Covenant at Mount Sinai are the most well known. In Leviticus 26, God lists the many consequences of disobedience; the ultimate consequence is exile. Yet God offers hope, they will not be in exile for long, but after a period of tribulation, he will bring them back.

Leviticus 26:40-42

“But if they will confess their sins and the sins of their ancestors—their unfaithfulness and their hostility toward me, which made me hostile toward them so that I sent them into the land of their enemies—then when their uncircumcised hearts are humbled and they pay for their sin, I will remember my covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land.”

Hebrews 8 states that “God found fault with them” – meaning with Israel. In an ultimate sense, this is inclusive of all humanity. We are all spiritually defective and inclined towards sin. God brings this into consideration while Israel is suffering in exile. The key point made, is that God will regather Israel even though their hearts are “uncircumcised” – even when they don’t deserve it, he will deliver them for the sake of the patriarchs and the Abrahamic Covenant. This happened again in 1948, when the modern state of Israel was formed and the Jewish people were allowed to return and settle in the land. Even in their rebellion against God and in their rejection of his son, God remembered the Abrahamic Covenant and brought them back.

The Covenant made at Moab (A foreshadowing of the New Covenant)

In the Covenant made at Moab, the many consequences for sin are listed once again. However, the event of the regathering is recounted in a completely different light. The description depicts a people who have been refined by the fire of exile, and have returned to God with all their heart and soul:

Deuteronomy 30:1-5

When all these blessings and curses I have set before you come on you and you take them to heart wherever the Lord your God disperses you among the nations, and when you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you. Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back. He will bring you to the land that belonged to your ancestors, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors.

Why is Israel suddenly wanting to obey while in exile, when God couldn’t get them to relent when they were in the comfort of their own land?

Deuteronomy 30:6

The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.

God will circumcise their hearts. Since circumcision was such a painful procedure, circumcision became a symbol for self-negation and submission to God to the highest degree. This verse indicates that God himself will inspire Israel to obey. By what method does God accomplish this?

Paul writes that the New Covenant circumcises our hearts.

Colossians 2:11

In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ…

Through the New Covenant, God circumcises their hearts and inspires Israel to obey.

Deuteronomy 30 yields three main elements:

1. Israel suffers Exile
2. God circumcises their hearts, and therefore they are inspired to obey
3. As a result of obedience, God regathers them

This sets the foundation for all the New Covenant references found in the prophets. Every New Covenant prophecy adheres to this pattern or expounds on these three themes.

Ezekiel 36 and Jeremiah 31 are the two most referenced chapters regarding the New Covenant. Let’s start with a thorough examination of Ezekiel 36.

Ezekiel 36 and the New Covenant

And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say: O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD. This is what the Lord GOD says: Because the enemy has said of you, ‘Aha! The ancient heights have become our possession,’ therefore prophesy and declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: Because they have made you desolate and have trampled you on every side, so that you became a possession of the rest of the nations and were taken up in slander by the lips of their talkers, therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD. – Ezekiel 36:1-4

According to this prophecy, the nations will covet the land of Israel and seek to take possession of it. It will be made desolate and trampled on every side. It will be a subject of great discussion, and the target of slander. This is incredibly applicable even in our day. The dispute over land in Israel is constantly showcased in headline News. Trump just recently revealed his Israeli-Palestinian peace plan: “The deal of the century”. Public sympathies have settled in favor of the Palestinian Arab Muslims – to the point where it is now politically incorrect to stand in defense of Israel. Even many Christians now hold theological views that so obscure their ability to see the situation clearly, that they not only side with the Palestinians but also publicly condemn the Jewish people and the Christians that side with them from their pulpits.

Ezekiel 36:5-7

Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Surely in My burning zeal I have spoken against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, who took My land as their own possession with wholehearted joy and utter contempt, so that its pastureland became plunder. Therefore, prophecy concerning the land of Israel and tell the mountains and hills, the ravines and valleys, that this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I have spoken in My burning zeal because you have endured the reproach of the nations. Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I have sworn with an uplifted hand that surely the nations around you will endure reproach of their own.

God warns the nations of the consequences of seeking take the land away from Israel. As Israel has been made a reproach by the nations who covet their land, God declares he will make these nations endure a reproach of their own. Notice that special mention is made of the people of Edom. Edom is frequently the target of God’s wrath in scripture. A prophecy in the book of Joel reveals why:

Joel 3:19

Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land [Judah’s land].

The sovereign God of the universe, creator of heaven and earth settles the dispute:

Ezekiel 36:8-12

But you, O mountains of Israel, will produce branches and bear fruit for My people Israel, for they will soon come home. For behold, I am on your side; I will turn toward you, and you will be tilled and sown. I will multiply the people upon you—the house of Israel in its entirety. The cities will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. I will fill you with people and animals, and they will multiply and be fruitful. I will make you as inhabited as you once were, and I will make you prosper more than before. Then you will know that I am the LORD.Yes, I will cause My people Israel to walk upon you; they will possess you, and you will be their inheritance, and you will no longer deprive them of their children.

God intends for the land of Israel, to belong exclusively to Israel as an everlasting inheritance. Exile is only for a short time. God not only plans to bring them back, but he plans to never send them into exile again.

Ezekiel 36:22-24

Therefore tell the house of Israel that this is what the Lord GOD says: It is not for your sake that I will act, O house of Israel, but for My holy name, which you profaned among the nations to which you went. I will show the holiness of My great name, which has been profaned among the nations—the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when I show My holiness in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the nations and gather you out of all the countries, and I will bring you back into your own land.

The Lord’s prayer begins with: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name”. This is the 1611 old english version, but it doesn’t quite express exactly what Jesus was saying. In Hebrew, the phrase would be: “may your name be sanctified”. It’s not just a static recognition of the Holiness of God, but an affirmation, a call. It is a process that we participate in. Israel sanctifies God’s name by obeying him and conducting themselves in a righteous way to be an example to the nations. We sanctify God when we live in such a way that the people around us are inspired to worship the God that we stand for. In Ezekiel 36 verse 23, God himself will sanctify his name. He does so by the regathering. This is the culmination of the New Covenant process. God causes Israel to obey, so that he may bring them back to the land – all this is a demonstration of his compassion and longsuffering, and that he is a faithful God who keeps his promises.

In verses 26 through 28, we finally arrive at the familiar New Covenant passage of Ezekiel.

Ezekiel 36:26-28

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to carefully observe My ordinances. Then you will live in the land that I gave your forefathers; you will be My people, and I will be your God.

God changes Israel from within. They are transformed so that they are made worthy of the inheritance of the land. Now, what exactly are the statutes and ordinances that God causes them to obey? Most Christians would respond without hesitance and in complete confidence: “The law of Christ”. In English, “statutes” and “ordinances” really don’t carry any specific meaning, and the distinction between them isn’t significant either. The vagueness of the text does allow for us to insert our own interpretation. However, in the Hebrew source text, the Hebrew words for “statutes” and “ordinances” are very significant. The Hebrew word translated into English as “statutes” is “Chukkim”, and the Hebrew word for “ordinances” is “Mishpatim”. The Chukkim are associated with the laws known to Christianity as the “Ceremonial laws” – laws that apply only to Israel, such as the temple-related activities, sacrifice, and Dietary laws. The Mishpatim are associated with “Civil” law, and the Moral elements that can be found tied to it, such as the prohibition against murder and adultery.

For a more in-depth analysis of Mishpatim and Chukkim, click this link: The Ceremonial and Moral aspects of the law.

God requires both of Israel for the inheritance of the land:

Now, therefore, hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes (Chukkim) and unto the judgments (Mishpatim), which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers giveth you. – Deut 4:1

Behold, I have taught you statutes (Chukkim) and judgments (Mishpatim), even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. – Deut 4:5

Contrary to conventional Christian teaching, the New Covenant leads Israel to obey both:

And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes (Chukkim) and to carefully observe My ordinances (Mishpatim).

When they are obeying both, God will regather them. In Ezekiel 36 the pattern set in Deuteronomy 30, although not in order, is indeed found in the prophecy. The prominent themes are there:

Exile – Exodus 36:1-7, 13-23,
Repentance – Exodus 36:25-32
Regathering – Exodus 36:8-12,22-24,33-37

Jeremiah 31 and the New Covenant

“Sing with joy for Jacob; shout for the foremost of the nations. Make your praises heard, and say, ‘Lord, save your people, the remnant of Israel.’ See, I will bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the ends of the earth. Among them will be the blind and the lame, expectant mothers and women in labor; a great throng will return. They will come with weeping; they will pray as I bring them back. I will lead them beside streams of water on a level path where they will not stumble, because I am Israel’s father, and Ephraim is my firstborn son.” – Jeremiah 31:7-8

This chapter begins with a call for the Lord to gather his people. A picture is painted of an epic gathering of Israel from the ends of the earth, finding safe passage and being led by the father to the land. Their journey is of such great significance that even the blind, the lame and pregnant women are carried with them; no one is left behind as they travel great distances to receive the inheritance that God has waiting for them.

Jeremiah 31:10

“Hear the word of the Lord, you nations; proclaim it in distant coastlands: ‘He who scattered Israel will gather them and will watch over his flock like a shepherd.’”

Jeremiah addresses the nations of the world. “Hear the word of the Lord” he exhorts, the nations are instructed to “Proclaim it” – the awesome conclusion to prophecy, that “he who gathered Israel will gather them…” Why should gentiles have any care? Again, through this event, God is bringing glory to his name. He proves his cause true, and his people blessed when they have been considered a reproach to the nations.

Isaiah 43:8-9

Bring out a people who have eyes but are blind, and who have ears but are deaf. All the nations gather together and the peoples assemble. Who among them can declare this, and proclaim to us the former things? Let them present their witnesses to vindicate them, so that others may hear and say, “It is true.”

The Lord inquires, who could have known beforehand that world events would unfold in this manner? To those who dare answer, God responds: bring forth your witnesses so that they may confirm your claim. For God will present his witnesses, the Jewish people and his word preserved in scripture:

Isaiah 43:10

“You are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may consider and believe Me and understand that I am He.

God uses the gathering and the fact that he alone declared it before it happened, as proof that he exists.

Jeremiah 31:18-19

“I have surely heard Ephraim’s moaning: ‘You disciplined me like an unruly calf, and I have been disciplined. Restore me, and I will return, because you are the Lord my God. After I strayed, I repented; after I came to understand, I beat my breast. I was ashamed and humiliated because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’

Often when God is addressing Israel he will refer to them collectively by the name of the tribe of Ephraim, because Ephraim was the most populous tribe. Israel recognizes that they have been punished because of their behavior; they have behaved “like an unruly calf”. Now that they have learned their lesson they are pleading for God to restore them to the land.

Jeremiah 31:20

Is not Ephraim my dear son, the child in whom I delight? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore my heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him,” declares the Lord.

God responds by affirming that he loves Ephraim like a father, and that he will have compassion on them. In perfect adherence to the pattern in Deut 30, after repentance, God triggers regathering.

Jeremiah 31:21-22

“Set up road signs; put up guideposts. Take note of the highway, the road that you take. Return, Virgin Israel, return to your towns. How long will you wander, unfaithful Daughter Israel? The Lord will create a new thing on earth – the woman will return to the man.”

The sentiment is, your return will be so swift, it will be like a cruise down a highway. “Set up road signs” – set the path, and the guideposts so that everyone has a clear and easy path home.

Finally we arrive at Jeremiah 31 verses 31 through 34, the passages that were quoted in the book of Hebrews:

“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,”declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

Once again, the pattern of Deuteronomy 30 also applies to Jeremiah 31:

Exile

Jeremiah 31:2,7-8,11,15,17-18,23,

Repentance

Jeremiah 31:18-20,33-34,

Regathering

Jeremiah 31:2-17,21-28,38-40

In summary, the New Covenant is intimately tied to the events outlined in Deuteronomy 30. The New Covenant leads Israel to repent while in exile. They repent because God transforms them from within; he gives them a new heart and spirit leading them to desire to obey what God requires of them, which is obedience to the Torah. Once they begin to obey with a heart of repentance, God will regather them to the land for the Messianic age.