The New Covenant
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TH401 Theology V
5 September 2012
The New Covenant
Passage # 1 Jeremiah 30:23-31:40
Step # 1 In the end of Jeremiah 30, this prophet speaks about the coming wrath of the Lord. Jeremiah warns the people that the Lord’s wrath will come upon those who are wicked. This wrath is intended to accomplish His goals. Jeremiah also informs the reader that this will be better understood in the future. Jeremiah goes on to quote God in Jeremiah 31:1-22. God encourages Israel by reminding them that He has always loved them and has had mercy on them.
He also tells Israel that her mourning will be turned into rejoicing because Israel will be rejoined to herself. This is a promise God has made to Israel. In Jeremiah 31:23-30 God says that Israel’s fortunes will be restored. God also gives a warning that there will be days when He will sow and reap the house of Israel. Everyone will be accountable for himself and everyone will be punished
for his own sins. In the last section, God gives a promise of a day when a new covenant will be made with Israel. He explains that this covenant will ensure that the people know His law. He also said that He would forgive and forget Israel’s sins because He is the one who created everything.
Step # 2
The significance of the phrase “behold, days are coming” is that God gives a clear warning/encouragement to the people of Israel that what He says will come true. The repetition in these parts of Jeremiah add an extra emphasis on the fact that what He says is important and worthy of attention. The significance of this covenant being “new” is that it is unlike any covenant before made to the people of Israel. This covenant will be automatically known by the Israelites unlike the other covenants which were passed down and taught. This covenant is made with the Israelites. It is a covenant known to be directed towards the Israelites because Jeremiah 31:31-33a writes about the “house of Israel” and the “house of Judah” and how they were delivered from Egypt. The provisions that God describes refer to redeeming the people of Israel. First God says that He will give them the ability to understand what is expected as followers of Christ – the law written on their hearts. Second, He will be their God which means that He will be the only one they worship. Lastly, the Israelites will be restored to God again which means that they will be the ones who belong to Him and have a relationship with Him once again.
Interaction: The peace that comes from the Priestly Covenant, the Davidic Covenant where David’s name would be great and his kingdom would be established forever, and the New Covenant are all parts of God’s Covenant of Grace because the people of Israel are involved in each covenant. Also, each covenant includes God’s guidance and forgiveness from iniquities. All
three covenants are unconditional and eternal.
Step # 3
Jeremiah 31:35-37 is mainly saying that God is the one who created everything and He has total control of the world. Since He has all of the control, no one else is able to destroy the universe or know everything about it. God says that if all of creation can be destroyed then Israel’s offspring will end. He says this to emphasize the fact it is impossible for Israel’s offspring to stop being a nation due to their sin. God’s grace is prominent in this passage as it relates to what He said previously in verses 31-34 about Israel’s sin being forgotten.
Step # 4
In chapter 31:38-40, the significance of the phrase “behold, days are coming” is that it is repeated to restate the fact that God is promising these events. This passage occurs before verses 31-34. There is the idea of the city being rebuilt and after it is rebuilt, God’s law will be written on the hearts of His people. In Jeremiah 31:38-40, the prophecy of Israel being restored comes to
fruition. Passage # 2 Ezekiel 36:22-37:28
Step # 1
In Ezekiel 36:22-24, the Lord speaks to the house of Israel to tell them that they will be gathered together again. This is a promise that He makes to them with the purpose of making His
name great once again. Israel had sinned so God needed to make His name holy. In verses 25-27 He tells Israel that He will purify their hearts and cleanse them. God tells them He will do this because it is necessary so they can get rid of the idols in their lives. The restoration of Israel is promised in these verses. The next passage, chapter 36:28-31, God explains that He is going to cleanse Israel and restore their land with benefits. He goes on to give detail of multiplied amounts of fresh fruit and produce. In the Bible, famine usually symbolized national disobedience but God promised no more famine. In the last verses of chapter 36, God makes it clear that it is He who will cause amazing things to happen to Israel. The land would be restored and everything would be anew. God promises this to happen just so He can have the praise. None of this restoration could happen unless it was by the work of God. Chapter 37 begins with Ezekiel having a vision of dry, dead bones coming to life and having breath in them. God had shown Ezekiel what the promised future of Israel was according to the New Covenant. There would be real life for God’s glory through Israel. In the last section of Ezekiel 37, God elaborates
more on how Israel will be restored to her land. The Davidic Covenant is mentioned in this passage and God will dwell with the people in the land promised. This will happen so everyone knows that God set Israel apart as His chosen people. Step # 2
God promises to bring Israel back together with all of her people so they can all be in their promised land. He also promises to cleanse them from their sinful and idolatrous ways in order to bring Israel back to Himself. God said he would give them a “new heart” which means that they would live with motivations of glorifying God alone. He will also give them His Spirit so they can be equipped to obey God. This passage of Ezekiel is directly parallel to Jeremiah 31:31-34, especially when God speaks about giving them a new heart and restoration to their land.
God promises in Ezekiel 36:28-36 that He will restore Israel to her land. There will be no more famine or other signs of shame as a result of disobedience to God. This passage is chronologically earlier than the previous verses about God giving Israel a new heart. The entire purpose of God accomplishing these promises is so He can be glorified. Everyone will know how impossible it will be to restore Israel, but all of the nations will know that it is God who will
restore Israel’s heart and her land. Step # 3
The prophetic significance of the “dry bones” is that bones are a sign of death. The fact that the bones are dry means that there has been death for a long time. There is not supposed to be another physical life after one has died, but in this vision God is the only one who is able to cause life to come back to dry bones. This is a symbolism of the restoration of Israel after many
years of death. God promised a restoration of the land and the heart of Israel. The only possible way that this can happen is through an act of God, just like the dry bones coming back to life again. God’s goal for this promise is to show the nations that He is the one in control and that His promises will come true to prove or just reinforce the fact that He is who He says He is. In Ezekiel 37:15-28 there are two sticks which are meant to be held together as one. The significance of these two sticks is the symbolism of Judah and Israel being restored as one. They will have one king and they will be one in heart. The Lord is teaching His people that they are supposed to have unity in mind and spirit. His promises about the future prove that oneness with God means oneness with each other as well. The future of the nation is promised to be restored as one with one king and one capital city ruled by God. Interaction:
The most important part of the perspective of Covenant Theology is that the spiritual realm of the prophecy is what should be most emphasized. All of the prophecies are fulfilled by Christ. He is the reason why Israel is going to be able to have oneness. This is based upon faith in the redeeming work of Christ on the cross and no longer upon strict faith in the pure obedience of old ways. The main point in all of the oneness that is to come from Israel is that oneness is to be strived towards as believers today. Jesus’ work on the cross is what unifies us today because He was the ultimate sacrifice to atone for our brokenness.
This interpretation fits along with the unity of the passages for this paper, but the main focus is meant to be about the restoration of Israel, not of the Church. Unity is to be achieved throughout every follower of God’s life, and it is true that this unity has been achieved because of Christ’s redeeming work on the cross, but the interpretation for these passages are meant to be
about the literal Israel – God’s chosen people.
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