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The Old Testament (Old Covenant) reveals four major covenants that were predetermined to benefit the nation of Israel. They include the Abrahamic, Mosaic, Davidic, and New covenants.
In accord with the unconditional Abrahamic Covenant, God promised to form Israel into a great nation with name, citizenry, land, protection and blessing. (Genesis 12:1-3; 7; 13:14-17; 15:1-21; 17:1-8; 18:18; 22:18; cf. Deuteronomy 29:1-30:10) The subsequent, conditional Mosaic Covenant provided constitutional law for the initial formation of the nation (Exodus 20:1-31:18). It prescribed the nature, function, and limitations of both religious and governmental practice. Leadership for the nation of Israel God was initially appointed by God and later guaranteed by the promise of the unconditional Davidic Covenant. (2 Samuel 7:4-17; 1 Chronicles 17:4-15; 2 Chronicles 6:16; Psalm 89:3-4) The unconditional New Covenant will guarantee the fulfillment of the promises and stipulations of the Abrahamic, Mosaic and Davidic covenants. (Isaiah 26:2; 43:25; 60:21; Jeremiah 31:31-34; 32:37, 41; 50:20; Ezekiel 36:24-28; 37:5, 9, 14; Micah 7:18; Romans 11:26-27; Hebrews 10:16-17) It will be initiated by God in the future when Jesus the Messiah establishes His reign on earth during the Millennial Kingdom. The four interrelated covenants for Israel can be summarized as follows: |
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The Abrahamic, Mosaic, Davidic and New covenants ensure that Israel will eventually become a great nation. While it has not yet occurred, its fulfillment is guaranteed to occur in the future by unconditional covenant promise.
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Abrahamic Covenant
(Genesis 12:1-3; 7; 13:14-17; 15:1-21;17:1-8; 18:18; 22:18) Recognizing the unconditional nature of the Abrahamic Covenant is essential for understanding its purpose in the eternal plan of God. When He initiated the covenant with Abram, He did not present him with conditional stipulations. Therefore, the fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant was not dependent on the performance of Abram or his descendants but God alone. According to plan, it was vital for Abram to recognize the solemnity of the occasion and the significance of his covenant with God. Therefore, he was provided with the privileged opportunity to demonstrate his willingness to participate. Abram was living in Ur when God said to him, “Go forth from your country (erets; eh'-rets); i.e., land) and from your relatives and from your father's house to the land which I will show you.” (Genesis 11:31; 12:1) By faith, Abram demonstrated his willingness to covenant with God by obeying the request. (Genesis 12:6-9) Abram and his family made it as far as Haran where he was apparently delayed by reasons not fully understood. However, it was quite possibly related to his father’s advanced age and poor health. Eventually, after his father Terah died, Abram faithfully completed his journey to the land of Canaan. God’s requirement for Abram to leave his country, relatives, and father’s house was not a conditional stipulation of the Abrahamic Covenant. “To safeguard our thinking on this point, we should observe that an unconditional covenant, which binds the one making the covenant to a certain course of action, may have blessings attached to it that are conditioned on the response of the recipient…It is important, therefore, to observe the relationship of obedience to this covenant program. Whether or not God would institute a covenant program with Abram depended on Abram’s act of obedience in leaving the land. Once this act was accomplished, however, and Abram did obey God, God instituted an irrevocable, unconditional program…The fact of the covenant depended on obedience; the kind of covenant inaugurated was totally unrelated to the continuing obedience of either Abram or his seed.”[1] The biblical evidence affirming the unconditional nature of the Abrahamic Covenant is abundant. For example: |
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Through the unconditional Abrahamic Covenant God requested that Abram do two things. Both requests were accompanied by unconditional covenantal promises:
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God’s first request was for Abram to leave his country, relatives and father’s house and go to the land where He would direct him. If Abram obeyed, God promised three things for him:
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Relative to the first covenantal promise, the descendants of Abraham have not yet become a “great nation.” There were certainly periods of time in the Old Testament era when Israel may have appeared to be a “great nation.” Neighboring “nations” often feared the apparent greatness of Israel. However, the biblical record makes it clear that the promise of Israel becoming a great nation will not truly be fulfilled until the Millennial Kingdom of Christ Jesus.
In agreement with the third covenantal promise, God truly made Abram’s name great. He gave Abram a new name. It was changed from Abram (“exalted father”) to Abraham (“father of many”). In name and reputation, Abraham has been globally recognized throughout history as the original patriarch of Israel. The divine fulfillment of the first three promises, “I will make you a great nation,” “I will bless you,” and “make your name great,” would serve as the means by which Abram would fulfill God’s second request to “be a blessing” in the land of promise. By his willingness to obey, God would make him a source of divine blessing and fulfill three more unconditional covenant promises for him: |
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Concordant with the three additional covenant promises above, God would be directly involved in fulfilling His covenant promises to Abraham and therefore, protecting His covenant partner from harm. Demonstrated by His promised blessing and cursing of those who would cooperate or distract, He would safeguard the fulfillment of His calling for Abram.
The third promise would provide the most significant blessing. It would ultimately be fulfilled in Christ Jesus, the greatest means of divine blessing the “families of the earth” could ever receive. (Galatians 3:8, 16) The unconditional nature of the Abrahamic Covenant serves to clarify that the present “partial hardening” of national Israel is only temporary. (cf. Romans 11:25) In agreement with the unconditional promises of the Abrahamic Covenant, national Israel will experience restoration to the covenant plan and family of God in the future. The New Testament reveals that it will occur when the “fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” (Romans 11:25) Serving to vindicate the nature of God, the angelic host will recognize the restoration as an amazing demonstration of selfless love, unfailing mercy, and absolute justice. In light of the unconditional promises of the Abrahamic Covenant, the role of national Israel in the eternal purpose and plan of God has not ceased. It has simply been postponed “until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in.” |
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Mosaic Covenant
(Exodus 20:1-31:18) In contrast to the unconditional Abrahamic Covenant, the Mosaic Covenant was a conditional covenant of law. Rather than eternal, it was temporal in nature. (cf. Galatians 3:19; Hebrews 8:13) Its conditional stipulations were collectively known as the Law of Moses or the Law. (Joshua 8:31-32; 23:6; 1 Kings 2:3; 2 Kings 14:6; 23:25; 2 Chronicles 23:18; 30:16; Ezra 3:2; 7:6; Nehemiah 8:1; Daniel 9:11; 9:13; Malachi 4:4; Luke 2:22; 24:44; John 7:23; Acts 13:39; 15:5; 28:23; 1 Corinthians 9:9; Hebrews 10:28) The Law of Moses served an essential purpose for ancient Israel. Reflecting the righteous character of God, it provided His people on earth with a measurable standard for conduct. (cf. Deuteronomy 10:12-22) Therefore, the Law revealed whether or not Israel was living in conformance with the righteousness of God. Under covenant Law, the ancient Israelites understood there were specific consequences related to their obedience or disobedience to covenant stipulation. Obedience to the law of the Mosaic Covenant would result in divine blessing. (Deuteronomy 28:1-14) Conversely, disobedience would lead to a cursed existence on earth. (Deuteronomy 28:15-68) In a national sense, the law of the Mosaic Covenant functioned as a constitution for ancient Israel. “A whole nation - no longer individuals and their families – now becomes the bearer of the covenant promises. In the past, God had ‘negotiated’ the covenant by speaking directly to the patriarchs. Now, as God’s plan of salvation took on a national scope, it was necessary to speak to and to constitute the bearers of the covenant as a nation. Therefore, the covenant that God made at Sinai has been called appropriately ‘Israel’s constitution.”[1] Consequently, the Mosaic Covenant served to prescribe the nature, function, and limits of the religious and governmental practice of the nation of Israel. The law of the Mosaic Covenant served to facilitate ancient Israel’s transition into one nation under God. It also distinguished them from the long-forgotten Canaanite tribes existing around them. Davidic Covenant (2 Samuel 7:4-17; 1 Chronicles 17:4-15; 2 Chronicles 6:16; Psalm 89:3-4) Like the Abrahamic Covenant, the Davidic Covenant was an unconditional covenant of promise. (2 Samuel 7:8-17; 1 Chronicles 17:11–14; 2 Chronicles 6:16) God initiated it with King David. According to the fundamental promise of the Davidic Covenant, the house, throne, and kingdom of David would never be vacated. Instead, they would be occupied perpetually by his descendants. Ultimately, the house, throne, and kingdom of David will be occupied by Jesus Christ. The Father predestined it to occur during Jesus’ future millennial reign on earth. |
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Departure
(Ezekiel 8-11) By the will and work of God, ancient Israel lived in the Promised Land for 475 years. It was made possible through the direction and support of unconditional covenant promise and conditional covenant law. Despite their longevity in the Promised Land, life for the ancient Israelites was not without complication. The Bible reveals that ancient Israel consistently transgressed covenantal law. (Deuteronomy 31:16-18; Psalm 78:10; Daniel 9:11; Zephaniah 3:1-4; John 7:19; Acts 7:51-53; etc.) As forewarned by God, Israel experienced the consequence of their transgression. (Deuteronomy 28:15-28) It eventually led to the division of their kingdom (931B.C.), their suspension from the covenant plan of God, their exile from the land of promise (722-586B.C.), and the departure of the glory of God from their midst (586B.C.). Due to internal conflict, Israel divided into two separate kingdoms in 931B.C. The northern kingdom continued to be called Israel, while the southern kingdom was referred to as Judah. They remained divided for 200 years. Both northern and southern kingdoms were generally unwilling to repent from their divisiveness. Consequently, they were subjected to divine judgment. Commensurate with their lawlessness, they were eventually exiled to foreign lands. (cf. Deuteronomy 29:22-28; 2 Chronicles 7:19-20) In 722B.C., the northern kingdom of Israel was exiled to Assyria. Then, beginning in 605B.C., the southern kingdom of Judah was exiled in stages to Babylonia. It’s exile was completed in 586 B.C. The forced removal of Judah from the land included the destruction of Jerusalem and Solomon’s Temple. As prophesied beforehand by Ezekiel, the glory of God departed from the once proud nation of Israel. (Ezekiel 8-11) It provided clear evidence that they had been suspended from the covenant plan of God. In 539 B.C. Cyrus the Great of Persia conquered Babylonia. The following year he offered the exiled captives of Judah the opportunity to leave Babylonia and return to their homeland. Nevertheless, while free to return and rebuild, they would continue to remain under the rule of Persia. The Old Testament books of Ezra and Nehemiah detail the return of a remnant of the Jewish people and the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple. According to Ezra, 42,360 Israelites chose to leave Babylonia (Ezra 2:64). As had been prophesied, they returned in 536 B.C., 70 years after the beginning of their captivity. (cf. Jeremiah 25:9-12; 2 Chronicles 36:15-21) For all but a brief period during the several hundred years that followed, the remnant of Israel existing in the Promised Land was subject to rule by foreign nations. After Persian rule, they were ruled by the Greeks (333-164 B.C.). Roman rule commenced in 63 B.C. By the end of the Roman occupation, the Jewish remnant that remained in the promised land were dispersed into the Gentile nations of the world along with the rest of the Jewish people. They remained subject to foreign rule until modern times. In agreement with centuries-old covenant promise, the return of national Israel to the promised land was initiated in the mid-twentieth century A.D. (cf. Leviticus 26:42-45; Isaiah 43:5-6; Jeremiah 31:8-10; Ezekiel 37:1-28; etc.) As prophesied, it occurred precisely 2520 years after the departure of the glory of God and the exile of ancient Israel to ancient Assyria and Babylonia. (cf. Ezekiel 4:4-8 within the context of Genesis 15:13; Exodus 12:40-41; Leviticus 26:18; 26:21, 23-24, 27-28) Despite the departure of the glory of God and consequent adversity, the ancient Israelites remained hopeful. They understood that God was trustworthy and the eventual fulfillment of His unconditional covenant promises was an absolute certainty. © 2023 James Hiatt |
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