“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, not 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. For 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. And 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.” (Jeremiah 31:31-34).

For many Christians who observe the church calendar, today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Lent officially begins today, Ash Wednesday, and ends on Easter Sunday, April 9. The culmination of Jesus’ earthly ministry was his crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension to heaven, which we celebrate during Easter. Despite what modern culture might make of Lent, it is intended to be a season of reflection and preparation before Easter, which is the most solemn and significant season of the year.

What does this have to do with our study about the promises of God? Let us review the covenants we have learned about so far:

1. God’s Covenant with Adam – a conditional, or works-based, covenant. Adam broke the covenant and introduced sin into the world.
2. God’s Covenant with Noah – God’s unconditional, or grace-based, covenant with Noah and his descendants (in other words: all of us) whereby he dealt with corruption caused by sin and promised never to destroy the earth by flood again.
3. God’s Covenant with Abraham – God’s gracious covenant with Abraham and his descendants (in other words: all of us) that we would be His people, and that we would have eternal life in His Promised Land.
4. God’s Covenant with Moses – God’s gracious covenant with the people of Israel, through Moses, to consecrate them as a holy nation.
5. God’s Covenant with David – God’s gracious covenant with David to promise that there would always be a King from David’s line on the throne.

I love to see how God’s love for his people shines through the pages of the Bible, every word inspired by God himself. The Bible was written over 1500-year period by 40 authors, by most counts, yet the theme remains consistent. God loved us and created us in His image. We sinned and broke the first covenant. He then continued to seek us and love us and make promises—covenants of grace—for how he would reconcile us back to Himself. As humans, we have not performed so well; but God in his inestimable grace and mercy has been unchangeably consistent in His love for us.

God made his covenant with David when Israel was on the rise as a strong powerful nation. After David, his son Solomon reigned. According to worldhistoryencyclopedia, ”Solomon reigned for 40 years in one of the highest and most prosperous periods in Israel’s history – called by many, ‘The Golden Age’ of Israel.”  However, it did not last. After Solomon died the kingdom divided, and although David’s descendants continued to reign in the smaller kingdom of Judah, there was never the same power as when the kingdom was united. In fact, by 587 BC, both the nation of Israel and the nation of Judah were taken captive by Assyria, then Babylon.

Jeremiah prophesied during this time of exile, and it was during that time God inspired him to write about a new covenant (see the Scripture at the beginning of this devotion). The New Covenant, announced in Jeremiah, began in the first coming of Christ, but it will not be fully fulfilled until Jesus returns. All the earlier covenants point forward to the New Covenant, and Jesus fulfills the promises of these covenants between God and His people. *

1. Covenant of Works: Jesus obeys God perfectly, succeeding where Adam failed and securing the perfect righteousness that enables us to stand before God unafraid (Rom. 5:12-21; 2 Cor. 5:21).

(John 1:14-18); Rom. 1:1-7).

• Noahic Covenant: The work of Jesus removes the curse of sin and will remove its presence, leading finally to a new heaven and earth that will continue forever (Rom. 8:18-25; 2 Peter 3:13; Rev. 21).
• Abrahamic covenant: Jesus is the Seed of Abraham in whom the world is blessed, and those who trust in Him are also Abraham’s children who receive the promise of land (the whole earth), a great name (the name of Christ), and a multitude of fellow divine servants (Gal. 3; Rev. 3:12; 7:9-17).
• Mosaic Covenant: Jesus is the final exodus from sin foreshadowed in the exodus from Egypt, the perfect expositor of God’s law, and the effectual sacrifice (Matt. 5:17-48; Rom. 3:21-26; Heb. 10:1-18).
• Davidic Covenant: Jesus is the Son of David who builds the temple of God by uniting us to one another as a spiritual house, and He is the promised King who governs us righteously forever, mediating between us and the Father (Luke 1:26-80; Heb. 3:1-6; 1 Peter 2:2-8).

This is one in a series on the Promises of God which started on January 4, 2023. In subsequent Chaplain’s Corners, we will continue to look at these promises and with them, the nature of our awesome God.

“For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. The Holy Spirit also assures us of this, for he said: his ‘This the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord:I will put my laws in their hearts and will write them on their minds, and I will never again remember their sins and their lawless deeds.” (Hebrews 10:13-17).

In Christ,

Judy

*Table Talk, October 2020 issue