The New Covenant, Pt. 2

January 21st, 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 2)

The first provision of God’s promise to Abraham was the land of Canaan. The second part of God’s promise to Abraham was the special “seed” that would come from him and form a great nation. Abraham had children, but only one, Isaac, was the child of God’s promise (Rom. 9:7). Isaac then beget Jacob who had 12 sons—the tribes of Israel, a people as numerous as the stars in the heavens (Gen. 15:5). Abraham also had other sons by other wives, but they were all natural children by natural means. Abraham bore Isaac when he was 99 years old and when his wife Sarah was 90! God did this to show how special Isaac was, and it is his line that beget the Christ.

So, even Isaac was merely the precursor to the promised Seed that would come 2,000 years later, Jesus of Nazareth. The Apostle Paul clearly stated that the Seed promised to Abraham is in fact Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:16, 29) who descended from Isaac, and the great nation that came forth from Abraham was not only the Jewish nation through Isaac but the Christian nation as well who descends from Christ, the ultimate promised Seed. Christians take part in God’s promise to Abraham through faith in Christ, the very virtue that was credited to Abraham as righteousness when he simply expressed faith in God after God promised him a son (Gen. 15:1-6).

The third part of the Abrahamic covenant was “blessing”—land, seed, and blessing (Gen. 12:1-3, 7). This portion of the Abrahamic promise would have its fulfillment through the New Covenant (NC) that God foretold through the prophets Jeremiah (31:31-34) and Ezekiel (36:22-32). Jeremiah looked into the future and assured the Jews of their future restoration with God in Canaan. This was a timely prophecy because Jeremiah gave it during a time when God had already promised to remove Israel from their land in light of their continued rebellion against Him. It assured future Israel that God would be true to His promise to Abraham in that though He was judging them, He was also promising restoration for them in a future generation.

Why a new covenant? Simply put, the old one was “weak and useless” (Heb. 7:19). The nation of Israel at Sinai had promised God: “All the words which the Lord has said we will do” (Exod. 24:3). But they didn’t! They couldn’t! The Law merely exposed their sins; it could not save them. So God instituted the NC which would not depend on man’s faithfulness to Him but on God’s faithful promise to Abraham. The old covenant was mediated by Moses and was inferior. But the NC is superior, being mediated by the great High Priest, Jesus Christ. The NC does not depend on man’s faithfulness but on God’s. On six occasions in Jeremiah 31:31-34 God says, “I will!” And in Ezekiel 36:22-32 God says “I will” 11 times! In other words, the NC is about God and what He will do. The weakness of the old covenant was that it depended on man’s obedience. The superiority of the NC is that it depends on God who is fully dependable.

Food For Thought
Of course the New Covenant is being fulfilled today, inaugurated by Jesus the night before He was crucified. It is not yet fulfilled, but it is in process. At His final Passover, instituting the Lord’s Supper, Jesus took the cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you” (Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:20; cf. 1 Cor. 11:25). The Apostle Paul quoted these words and applied them to the Church in 1 Corinthians 11:23-27, and the author of Hebrews states in no uncertain terms that Jesus Christ is now “the Mediator of the New Covenant” (Heb. 9:15; 12:24). Today, mostly Gentiles believe this. But when the Jews trust in Jesus as their Christ in the future Millennial reign of Christ on earth, the NC will be complete. Until that time, it continues being fulfilled until God’s plan is ultimately fulfilled.