The New Covenant, Pt. 1

January 20th, 2026
by Lance Waldie

Jeremiah 31:31 “The time is coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.” (Part 1).

In the Old Testament (OT) there are a number of covenants God made with people. The essential one that He made with Israel was the Abrahamic covenant (Gen. 12, 13, 15, 17, 22)—a divine promise that is being fulfilled in the Mosaic (Exod. 19; Deut. 28), Palestinian (Deut. 30:1-10), Davidic (2 Sam 7:8-17), and New (Jer 31:31-34; Ezek. 36) covenants. All but one of these covenants were unilateral. The Mosaic covenant was the one covenant that was bilateral in that God promised to bless Israel if they promised to obey Him. The others were unilateral in that God promised to do what He was going to do in spite of any disobedience on Israel’s part.

Israel was a covenant nation—a nation under contract with God. They had been given God’s promises. Those promises began with Abraham, then they were specified through Moses with the giving of God’s Law, a covenant which would later be called “old” (Jer. 31:31-34; Heb. 8) to be replaced by the New Covenant (NC). The old, Mosaic covenant was inadequate in that it made no one righteous. The Epistle of Hebrews preached to Jews and used the Jewish Scriptures to show them that Jesus Christ is superior to the old covenant they once adhered to, for He is the one who inaugurated the NC when He died, shedding His own blood to pay sin’s penalty. In fact, the night before Jesus died, He told His disciples during their Passover celebration, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood” (Luke 22:20; cf. 1 Cor. 11:25).

The old covenant as mediated by Moses was basically the Ten Commandments, stone tablets of the Law that were carried inside the ark of the covenant. The ark rested in the holy of holies in the portable tabernacle (and later Solomon’s temple) but was carried into battles where it signified God’s presence. Like a wedding ring, the ark signified God’s covenant bond with Israel. The Israelites promised to keep the Law which they carried in the ark, and if they did so, God promised to bless them abundantly (Deut. 28:1-14). Inherent within the Law was a sacrificial system of animals whose blood would temporarily atone for Israel’s sins. Over time, Israel took God for granted, sinned incessantly, and offered worthless sacrifices. Taking God’s grace for granted, the sacrificial system became their license to sin. Like the stone tablets in the ark, the Israelites had hearts of stone. God’s Law was never on their hearts; it was an outward ritual by which they felt they were made holy. No wonder God promised a new covenant!

God’s covenant with Abraham was a promise of land (Canaan), a nation (Israel), a special Seed from his loins (Christ), and His blessings through Abraham to the entire world. After establishing this covenant as an unconditional promise to Abraham and his descendants (Gen. 17), God began to fulfill it through the other covenants. First, He gave the land of Canaan (modern Palestine) to Abraham’s descendants through Isaac. He did this through Moses who brought Israel out of Egyptian slavery while Joshua brought them into Canaan on the condition that they would obey God or be exiled. Sadly, Israel was exiled from the land 800 years later in 586 BC by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar. God re-established them in 516 BC only to expel them again in AD 70 and more fully in AD 135 by the Romans. Today Israel dwells in a small portion of ancient Canaan via a UN decree in 1948. But full restoration is forthcoming!

Food For Thought
God has miraculously kept Israel together as a people since Abraham. Why? Because He promised to! He promised to bless the world through them, and He’s done that in Christ. But there are many specifics that remain unfulfilled, specifically the land Israel is to possess from Egypt to the Euphrates. God’s plan is in motion, awaiting fulfillment through Christ. Stay tuned!