12. New Covenant Prophecies

In the midst of a failed covenant with Israel, God promises hope for His people through a new covenant that He will make. This new covenant will not be like the old covenant. Rather, it will accomplish the plan and purposes of God and fulfill all the previous covenant promises God has made.

The Story So Far…

• The United Kingdom (Saul, David, Solomon)
• The Divided Kingdom (all the rest of the kings)
  • Israel (northern) and Judah (southern)
• The days of the latter prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve)

The Promise of Restoration

God promised that he would not abandon Israel in exile forever but would redeem her and bring her back into the land that he promised to give to their ancestors.

While Israel is being punished for her transgressions, it is not the end of the story. God’s plan and covenant promises to Abraham and David have not been fulfilled. Therefore, God promises to rescue Israel from exile and bless them and along with them all the nations of the world as well.

Jeremiah 30:3 (cf. vv. 10, 18; 31:7-9)
For behold, days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel and Judah, says the LORD, and I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall take possession of it.”

The Promise of a New Covenant

• “New Covenant” (Jer 31:31-34)
• “Everlasting Covenant” (Jer 32:36-41; 50:2-5; Ezek 37:15-28; Isa 55:1-5; 61:8-9)
• “Covenant of Peace” (Isa 54:1-10; Ezek 34:20-31; 37:15-28)
• Promise of a “new heart” and a “new spirit” (Ezek 11:18-21; 18:30-32; 36:24-32)

Jeremiah 31:31-34

Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, ³²not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. ³³For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ³⁴And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

1. When is God going to make the New Covenant?

“Behold, the days are coming” (v. 31)

This is certainly referring to a time after the 70 years of exile.

• Jer 25:11-12

2. Who will God make the New Covenant with?

“I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah” (v. 31)

3. What does God promise in the New Covenant?

“I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts…. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (vv. 33-34)

• A New Heart/Spirit
  • Ezek 11:19-20; 36:24-28; 37:14; Jer 32:39
• A Regenerate Covenant People
  • Jer 31:34; Isa 54:13
• Complete Forgiveness of Sin
  • Zech 3:9; Jer 31:34
• A New Exodus and a New David
  • Jer 30:8-10; 23:5-6
• A Unified Covenant People
  • Ezek 37:15-28

In What Way is the New Covenant a “New” Covenant? [1]

Similarity of the New Covenant to the Old Covenant

1. Basis is the same (i.e., by God’s grace)
2. Purpose is the same (cf. 1 Pet 2:9-10)
3. Both initiated by blood (Heb 9:6-10:18)
4. Character of divine instruction is the same (Rom 13:8; Gal 5:14)

Dissimilarity of the New Covenant to the Old Covenant

1. Better mediator (Heb 8:6; 9:15; 12:24)
2. Better sacrifice (Isa 42:6; 52:13-53:12; Heb 9:6-10:18)
3. Better provision (Ezek 36:24-28)
4. Better promises (Ezek 36:24-28)

The New Covenant Fulfills All the Former Covenants

• The Covenant of Creation/Adam
• The Covenant with Noah
• The Covenant with Abraham
• The Covenant with Israel
• The Covenant with David

“In the Abrahamic covenant, God promises blessing for Israel and for the nations through Israel. The Israelite covenant is inaugurated to implement the promises to Abraham. The Davidic covenant reveals that the blessing will through the king of Israel (rather than through the nation as a whole) as he administers justice to Israel and to the nations…. The new covenant restores the broken relationship between God and Israel by bringing about the forgiveness of sins. Redemption is the achievement and victory of a Davidic king who then administers righteousness to a restored Israel in which Jew and Gentile are created to be the new humanity.”[2]

 

[1] Adapted from Peter J. Gentry and Stephen J. Wellum, Kingdom through Covenant: A Biblical-Theological Understanding of the Covenants (2^nd ed; Crossway: 2018).

[2] Peter J. Gentry and Stephen J. Wellum, God’s Kingdom through God’s Covenants: A Concise Biblical Theology (Crossway: 2015), 234-35.