THE COVENANT STORY (part 3)

Part 6

Exile and the New Covenant

The story of Israel in the promised land is told in the books of Joshua thru 2 Kings. Israel fails to live by the terms of the covenant, and their kings are unfaithful to the covenant made with David.

Israel loses their land and is sent into exile in Babylon.

However, Israel’s prophets looked forward to a day when God would still fulfill all his covenant promises to fulfill the greater goal of blessing and hope for all nations

ISAIAH ...still hoped for a future king from the line of David who would come and establish God’s kingdom over all nations ...and bring God’s new “covenant of peace” ...and become a “light to the nations.”

Isaiah 42:6–7 NLT

“I, the Lord, have called you to demonstrate my righteousness. I will take you by the hand and guard you, and I will give you to my people, Israel, as a symbol of my covenant with them. And you will be a light to guide the nations. You will open the eyes of the blind. You will free the captives from prison, releasing those who sit in dark dungeons.

JEREMIAH ...saw a day coming when God would make a new covenant and all of God’s people would have their hearts transformed and be able to know and obey God from a place of joy and not duty.

Jeremiah 31:33–34 NLT

“But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the Lord. “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”

EZEKIEL ...looked for a day when God would place his own Spirit in the hearts of his people and empower them to love and obey the terms of the new covenant.

Ezekiel 36:25–27 NLT

“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.

Part 7

Jesus and the New Covenant People

Jesus saw himself as fulfilling these prophetic promises and called people to become part of the new covenant people. Jesus said his death would seal the new covenant and inaugurate God’s kingdom and new covenant people.

The Gospels all claim that Jesus is Israel’s God become human to fulfill both God’s part and Israel’s part of the Covenants

COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM ...Jesus lives by trust in the Father and teaches his new family of disciples to do what is just and right, and so becomes a source of blessing for all nations.

Matthew 28:18–20 NLT

Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

COVENANT WITH ISRAEL ...Jesus is the truly obedient Israelite and empowers his followers to become truly obedient by following the lead of his Spirit.

COVENANT WITH DAVID ...Jesus is the king from the line of David

...who inaugurates God’s kingdom in his life, death, and resurrection, and promises that his Spirit will be present with his new covenant people to lead them into obedience.

Jesus’ disciples, now made up of all nations, are the family of Abraham, the new covenant people who follow the Spirit of Jesus into a life of freedom and blessing.

Galatians 3:29 NLT

And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.