The New Covenant-Part Two

This is a chapter from my book, Creating The Israel of God. Available on Amazon.

35 Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name:
36 If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.
37 Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD. [Jer. 31:35-37]

The above passage is the second part of God’s promise to Israel of the New Covenant. It is a promise that the Seed of Israel should continue before God forever. This Seed of Israel is Christ Jesus Himself. It is the same as it is described in other passages, a singular, masculine seed. This is the basis whereby Paul identifies the seed of Abraham as being Christ [Gal. 3:16]. This promise is based upon the faithfulness and power of the God who orders and maintains creation.

We must not think the placement of the above passage immediately after the promise of the New Covenant is a mere coincidence. It is a part of the promise of the New Covenant, stating that Israel should endure as a nation in the presence of God forever. The implication of the statement made by the God of Israel, is that these cosmic bodies will continue, as will the Seed of Christ.

The New Covenant is unconditional for Israel, because it is based upon the blood of Christ Jesus. This kind of unconditional promise was absent from the Sinai Covenant. Sinai’s conditional aspect was a consistent theme throughout God’s dealing with them. Their ability to remain in the land and reap the covenant blessings was conditioned upon obedience to God’s Word (See chapter Promises Made, Promises Kept). Even Israel continuing as God’s covenant people was dependent upon her obedience.

5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. [Ex. 19:5-6]

Their continuing as His people, described as a peculiar treasure, a kingdom of priests, a holy nation, was contingent upon obeying His voice and keeping His covenant (“which my covenant they brake” [Jer. 31:32]). However, New Covenant Israel’s continuance was conditional also. The only condition given was the continuing of the ordinances of the light-giving bodies God established at creation. These cosmic lights are ordered and continue by the power of God's Word. As the writer of Hebrews notes, "he upholds the universe by the word of his power." [Heb. 1:3]

If you think this promise of continuance is to natural Israel, you are partly correct. This promise of the Seed of Israel continuing before God requires that the New Covenant continue as long as creation exists. Grammatically, this Seed is described the same way that the Abrahamic Seed of Promise is; a single, masculine seed, which is Christ [Gal. 3:16]. Of course, it is correct that Christ came from natural Israel. He is natural Israel’s Righteous Representative.

This promise of continuing before God as long as the order of creation continues, was never part of God’s promise to Israel through the Sinai Covenant.

They, the seed of Israel

Jeremiah 31:37 brings a change of focus. In verse 36, God speaks of the Seed of Israel, as the single, masculine seed, which is Christ. In verse 37, God’s attention turns to his offspring.

37 Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.

This is a conditional impossibility. It is impossible for man to measure the heaven above, or to search out the foundations of the earth. Hence, it is not possible for the offspring of the Seed of Israel, i.e., those who belong to Christ, to be cast away. Here, He refers to those who are born from the single Seed of Israel.

The point made here, is that God would never cast off the Seed of Israel or any of His offspring. The heaven cannot be measured, and the foundations of the earth cannot be searched out. So, He will not cast off any of the Seed of Israel. This is very close to what Paul states in Romans, chapter 11, when he says, “God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew.”

Later in the chapter entitled, Has God Cast Away His People?, we will see that God will not cast away His people, “Whom He foreknew.” 

Another reason for not casting away the seed of Israel is because Christ is the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, as we shall also see later. The New Covenant is based upon the righteousness of Christ, in whom the Father is “well-pleased.” We shall learn later that only God or His Son can break the New Covenant.

Flipping The Covenant

One truth we need to understand, is how God made the change from the Old, to the New. This is one of the key differences between the Old and the New.

The promises made to the Fathers (Abraham, Issac and Jacob) for land and seed, would be fulfilled to their children. In the Old, Jacob (renamed Israel, by God), represented all that God had promised. Just as he represented all the promises made by God, so also, this one man, Christ Jesus, represents the fulfillment of all that God had promised to Israel [Rom. 15:8; 2 Cor. 1:20].

We know that Jacob had twelve sons, who became the twelve tribes of Israel. God would make a covenant with these twelve tribes of Jacob/Israel, in order to bring to pass what He had promised the Fathers. The promises of land and seed, made to the man, Israel, would be fulfilled in his offspring by covenant. God made covenant with these twelve tribes at Mt. Sinai.

However, this Sinai covenant did not work, as will be shown in the chapter, Israel’s Righteous Representative. When God made covenant with the offspring of Israel, they broke the covenant. Because they broke their covenant with God, He was under no legal obligation to keep covenant with them.

However, because of the promises He made to the fathers, He still gave the children of Israel their promised land and made them as the sand of the sea and the stars of heaven [1 Kgs. 4:20; Joshua 21:43]. His giving them the land promised to the fathers, was not based upon them keeping the covenant made at Sinai. He gave them the land because of His promise to the Fathers. He was faithful in keeping His promises, even though they were not.

It was evident that a Sinai type covenant, made with a rebellious and stiff-necked people, would never be able to fully bring about the fulfillment of God’s promises to the Fathers. Because of this failure, God reversed or flipped the covenant.

Instead of making covenant with the whole people, who could never walk in His laws, due to the weakness of their sinful flesh [Rom. 8:3], He would make covenant with one Israelite. The only one He could trust and rely upon to fulfill His every word was His own Son. So God sent His Son.

Gal. 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

His Son would be the covenant representative for Israel, in the same way that the high priest stands before God on the Day of Atonement, representing all Israel (explained in fuller detail in the chapter, Jesus, Apostle and High Priest). His Son would be the one He could make covenant with, because in His Son, He was well-pleased.

Some will argue that the promise God made to Israel in Jer. 31:35-37, can only apply to natural Israel. I agree, to a point.

However, I will say again, it cannot be denied that the promise contained in this passage, is part of the New Covenant prophecy. Even dispensationalist Clarence Larkin states that Jeremiah 31:31-37 belongs to the New Covenant prophecy. We have part A, in Jer. 31:31-34; then we have part B, in Jer. 31:35-37. It is one prophecy, meant to be taken as a whole.

It is New Covenant Israel, i.e., the Israel of God, that is to remain a nation, or people, forever before God. It does this because this eternal Seed of Israel is also — the Eternal Davidic King, the Eternal Seed of Abrahamic Promise, and the Ever-living Melchizedek Priest.

How did God “flip the covenant?” Instead of making the New Covenant with the whole congregation of Israel, as He did at Sinai, He found One Righteous Israelite, in whom He was well pleased. He found One Israelite who walked perfectly before Him. That One Israelite was His Son, the Messiah, the Servant of the Lord, and the Messenger of the Covenant, Jesus of Nazareth. The remainder of this thought is explored in the chapter, A New Humanity.

The Continuance of the Ordinances of Creation

Finally, we need to address the statement concerning the continuance of the ordinances of the sun, moon and stars, as the assurance of the continuance of Israel as a nation before God.

What should first be noticed, is that this continuance of the shinning of the sun, the moon and stars giving their light, might appear to be in contradiction to the words of Jesus, which he spoke on the Mount of Olives. He stated,

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” [Matt. 24:29]

If this statement by Jesus is taken in the most wooden, literal sense, you might think that it stands in stark contradiction to the promise of God in Jer. 31:35-37. However, it is actually a fulfillment of this promise.

As I have already shown in the study titled, The Prophet’s Tongue, this language of Jesus is used in the same way as the OT prophets used it. It does not speak of the breakdown of the natural cosmos, but speaks of God’s judgment upon a nation, city or people. It is a prophetic way to say that God is going to turn the lights out on a sinful, rebellious people. This judgment is also referred to as The Day of the Lord. This is exactly what Jesus was saying. He was pronouncing the end of the Israel constituted at Sinai. The lights were to be turned off on the Israel which had rebelled against YHWH, their God. By the destruction of the Jerusalem temple, God was turning out the lights on the Israel that worship in it, closing and locking the door on its repair or reconstitution. Sinai's Israel was done, because God was keeping His promise of giving them a New Covenant. This New Covenant, cut in the Blood of the Lamb of God, was natural Israel's only way to continue in relationship with YHWH.

The only way we can rightly understand the words here in Jeremiah 31:35-37, is in its most natural meaning. This is that the literal sun, moon and stars will continue in their assigned stations given at creation. As long as these continue, Israel will remain a nation before God. Does this mean that these cosmic bodies will continue forever? In a word, yes.

But how can this be, when we are told in the Book of Revelation, describing the New Jerusalem,

And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life. [Rev. 21:22-26]

Doesn’t this tell us that there will be no sun or moon in the New Heaven and New Earth? No, it doesn’t say that at all. Read it carefully. It states that, “there is no need of the sun or moon to shine on it.” The New Jerusalem will not be dependent on these cosmic bodies for its light. It doesn’t say that they have been taken away or that they won’t shine, but only that they are not needed for light. Why? Because the Glory of God is the light of the New Jerusalem, and the Lamb is the lamp, or the source of this light of glory. The glory of God in Christ is the light of the New Creation, not the natural light of the sun or moon.

These cosmic bodies of the sun, moon and stars were not created and set in their place until the fourth day of creation. Yet on the first day, God said, “Let there be light.” What is the source of this light? It cannot be the sun, for it doesn’t come on the scene until the fourth day. It is believed by both Christian and Jewish commentators, that this light was the glory of God.

Remember when Paul was giving his testimony before King Agrippa, he said,

“At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me.” [Acts 26:13]

The glory of the resurrected, and reigning Christ Jesus was brighter than the sun. This is why the light of the sun is not needed, because the light of the glory of the Lamb is far brighter and outshines it.

The original purpose of these heavenly bodies was,

“. . . to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” [Gen. 1:14] The main purpose of these great lights, apart from giving light upon the earth, was to serve the purpose of keeping time. They were,

1. to separate the day from the night
2. for times and seasons (moedim, seasonal feasts)
3. for days and years.

This is another reason the sun and moon are not needed. Besides having the glory of God for its light, the New Heavens and New Earth, will no longer need to keep track of time, “for there shall be no night there.” If there is no night, then there is only perpetual day. There is no need for the sun or moon to keep time. Eternity is just one very, very long day, that never ends. The only way that this long day could end, is if Christ ceased radiating His glory. That is impossible.

It has long been thought by some, that this present earth would be destroyed by fire, and a new earth created. However, there is doubt that this is the case.

As I have noted before, there are two different Greek words which are translated as new. There is naos, which means new in time, and then there is kainos, which is new in quality, with the idea of being better. This is seen quite clearly in the Book of Hebrews, where the New (kainos) Covenant is described as being Better, Stronger and More Excellent in character.

We should view the New Heavens and New Earth, not as new in time (naos), as having never existed before, but being new in quality of character. The only problem with this present Heaven and Earth, is that it is forced to operate under the curse of sin. However, according to the Apostle Peter, ". . . we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.[2 Pet. 3:13]. The promise is a change of living in a heaven and earth under a curse, as opposed to a new heaven and new earth "in which righteousness dwells".

I know what you're thinking. Doesn't Peter also say,

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.[2 Pet. 3:10]

When we read this, we are prone to ignore its context.

Yes, Peter also said that, ""the end of all things is at hand. be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer." [1 Pet. 4:7] Is Peter informing his readers that the end of the world is "at hand". Yes and no. He is telling them the end of the Judaic world is near, or at hand. What does he mean by "all things"? I strongly suggest you consult the study on this site, entitled The Day of the Lord. This is what Peter is speaking of in both of his letters. Here is an explanatory portion from that study.

Many Christians have been taught to think that this day of the Lord, is a singular event at the end of history, when Christ returns. However, the truth is quite different. When you conduct a search in the Old Testament for the phrase, day of the Lord, you will find it is mentioned 18 times. It is characterized, as we see in the opening passage, as a day of judgment against sinful man. Not only is it mentioned 18 times, but it is pronounced against five different people groups. Twelve times it is pronounced against Israel, or Jacob; twice against Egypt, once against Babylon, once against Edom, and twice against the nations in general. All of these are viewed as past events, except for four found in the New Testament.

Romans 8:22-23 gives us this insight into this problem.

For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

The whole creation, the present heaven and earth, are groaning together in the labor pains of birthing something new and fresh, even to this present day. What are they groaning and travailing in pain for? The same thing that we groan and travail for. The hope anticipated by every true believer in Christ, is to be released from the curse of this creation, eagerly waiting for the redemption of our bodies. We long for the day when this mortality puts on immortality, when this corruption puts on incorruption. When we can exchange this natural corrupt body for a spiritual incorruptible body. When we shall “also bear the image of the man of heaven.”

When this event happens, when we are graced with our resurrected bodies, like unto His glorious body, then the whole creation shall be delivered of the curse of its own corruption. Remember, when Adam sinned, the ground was cursed on his account. That curse will be lifted when the Last Adam and His offspring have come into their glorious inheritance.