❖ If God broke His covenants with Israel, can He be trusted at all?
Picture Abraham beneath a sky crowded with stars. No nation. No land. No child. Just a pagan wanderer called by grace. God does not negotiate. He promises. And the prophetic storyline of Scripture begins with an unconditional oath, a בְּרִית (berit) sealed by God Himself.
❖ The Abrahamic Covenant. Everlasting, unilateral, eternal.
“The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Go from your country… to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you.’”
Genesis 12:1–2
This is not a contract. It is a divine pledge. God initiates. God defines. God guarantees. Land. Nation. Blessing.
Later, God formalizes the covenant in blood.
“On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, ‘To your descendants I give this land.’”
Genesis 15:18
Abram contributes nothing but faith. God alone passes through the sacrifice. The covenant rests on divine faithfulness, not human performance. אֶרֶץ (eretz) promised. גּוֹי (goy) promised. Blessing promised. And then God names its duration.
“I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you.”
Genesis 17:7
Everlasting means עוֹלָם (olam). Not temporary. Not symbolic. Not revocable.
The prophets understood this permanence.
“He remembers his covenant forever, the promise he made for a thousand generations.”
Psalm 105:8
Paul confirms the covenant remains intact even in Israel’s unbelief.
“The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”
Romans 11:29
Remove the Abrahamic Covenant and the prophetic structure collapses. Every later covenant builds on this one. Land guarantee. Nation guarantee. Blessing guarantee. This is the root. הַשֹּׁרֶשׁ (ha-shoresh) still stands.
❖ The Mosaic Covenant. A conditional covenant of law
At Sinai, Israel receives instruction for holy life in the promised land.
“Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession.”
Exodus 19:5
This covenant governs blessing and discipline. It never replaces the Abrahamic oath. It regulates life within it. When Israel fails, they are scattered. But the land promise remains anchored to God’s earlier vow. תּוֹרָה (Torah) was never the replacement. It was the rulebook inside the promise.
❖ The Davidic Covenant. A throne that cannot die
God then binds Himself to David with no conditions attached.
“Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me. Your throne will be established forever.”
2 Samuel 7:16
A Son of David will reign forever. The prophets look forward, not backward.
“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse.”
Isaiah 11:1
Jesus is that Son. Yet the throne is earthly. The Kingdom is global. The reign is still future in manifestation. מֶלֶךְ (Melekh) will rule from צִיּוֹן (Tzion).
❖ The New Covenant. Israel renewed from within
Through Jeremiah, God announces the final covenant.
“The days are coming when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.”
Jeremiah 31:31
This covenant does not replace Israel. It restores her.
“I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.”
Jeremiah 31:33
Then God stakes His own cosmic order on Israel’s permanence.
“Only if these decrees vanish from my sight will Israel ever cease being a nation before me.”
Jeremiah 31:36
Sun. Moon. Stars. If they remain, so does Israel. עוֹלָם (olam) again. God chose His words carefully.
❖ God does not collapse covenants. He layers them
Many today flatten Scripture into simply “Old” and “New,” as if the New erased what came before. But God never speaks that way. The Abrahamic, Davidic, and New Covenants are everlasting בְּרִית עוֹלָם (berit olam). The Mosaic Covenant was temporary and conditional. Remove one layer and prophecy collapses. God builds promise upon promise until His plan stands complete.
❖ The New Covenant belongs to Israel first
Gentile believers share in its blessings, but the covenant itself is legally made with Israel.
“I am talking to you Gentiles… you share in the nourishing sap from the olive root.”
Romans 11:17
Sharing blessing is not replacing the tree. Salvation flows outward, never backward. The covenants remain Jewish. The root remains Jewish.
❖ The first shall be last. The last shall be first
Jesus revealed the timing key of history.
“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
Matthew 20:16
Israel was first in covenant calling. Israel became last in national belief during the present age. Gentiles, once last, became first in gospel reception. But the order will reverse again.
“Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved.”
Romans 11:25–26
This is Kingdom reversal. The Church age is the mercy window. The Kingdom age is Israel restored. The covenants guarantee it. מַלְכוּת (Malkhut) is coming.
❖ A trusted voice
Chuck Missler said it well.
“The Church does not replace Israel any more than Monday replaces Sunday. God keeps His appointments.”
The covenants are those appointments. They anchor prophecy. They secure the Kingdom. They guarantee that when the Son of David returns, He will reign from Zion over a renewed Israel and a restored world.
“The Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion from that day and forever.”
Micah 4:7
God does not abandon His promises. He fulfills them precisely. And if He keeps covenant with Israel, every believer has unshakable assurance that He will keep covenant with us.
Because covenant faithfulness is not about human consistency.
It is about God’s unchanging character.
@ChristyBrinker1@BethelRedding I don't understand why the contemporary prophets believe that the Lord would give them peoples' addresses, birthdays, data like that, as Bolz said he got in the Winger "Skeletons..." video. I could understand if they prophesied vss like Gal 6:9 to not grow weary in doing good.
I wrote a fairly lengthy article over the past few months reflecting on church structure and how some good desires related to the Gospel can get muddled in our minds, which ultimately conflicts with the way of Jesus. These are some fairly existential ponderings, but I would appreciate any feedback:
https://t.co/OmzGv4pO0r
In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said, "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy." Every follower of Jesus reads that and thinks, "I want mercy, so I too should be merciful."
The challenge comes when a church leader encounters an abuser in the church and thinks, "I have my own junk too. I want to be gentle and not expose this person. I don't want to trash their name, their family name, their ministry. Imagine if someone were to do that to me. I will err on the side of mercy."
They are right that they shouldn't be too quick to judge. But when the evidence mounts up and the abuser remains unrepentant, we have misunderstood what it means to be merciful.
Because hiding abuse is actually the antithesis of mercy.
1. It's not merciful to those being abused and those who will certainly be abused if the mess is not sorted.
2. It's not merciful to the congregation: those who know and are shown the repercussions of sin in this congregation (nothing), and those who don't know and remain oblivious to wolves in the midst.
3. It's not merciful to the sinner, who continues to heap up eternal judgment upon himself rather than be confronted by his sin.
4. It's not merciful to the church leader, who by not protecting the flock, a primary responsibility, forfeits his reward.
I'm not saying the dictates of Scripture are a walk in the park. But I too want mercy, so let's deal with the junk.
@rabbriansamuel When I was a young Christian and took everything literally, I thought I should be careful to count the number of times that I'd been forgiven of my sins, so I wouldn't go over the 490 limit. 🙂