A New Covenant: God Is Faithful to His Promise

Shared on March 20, 2024

When God makes a promise, you better believe God is faithful to His promise. This week, on our journey to the cross, God speaks to Jeremiah about needing to make a new covenant. Why did God need to make a new covenant? Join Pastor McCrary in this week’s bible study as study Mosaic Covenant and the Davidic Covenant. You will see proof that God is faithful to what He promises.

Introduction

The journey to the cross will now take us hundreds and hundreds of years after the days of Noah and Abraham. In our study this week, we are going to take a look at pivotal moments during the days of Moses and David.

A New Covenant was Needed

Jeremiah 31:31-40 will serve as our jumping off point in this week’s study. When we read this passage of scripture, what immediately jumps out to us is the need for a new covenant. Jeremiah 31:31 says, “Behold, the days are coming, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.”

The new covenant would not be according to the covenant made with those who were brought out of Egypt (Jer. 31:32). So, this is not a reference to the covenants that God made with Noah and Abraham. This was the covenant between God and the children of Israel at Mount Sinai— we call it the Mosaic Covenant. So, why was a new covenant needed? Was there something wrong with the Mosaic Covenant?

What happened to the old covenant?

Let’s first consider the covenants God made with Noah and Abraham. To Noah, God promised that He would not to destroy every living thing due to mankind’s sin. To Abraham, God promised Him many blessings for himself and for all the families of the world.

What the Noahic and Abrahamic covenants have in common is that they are contingent solely on God. In His nature, God has proven Himself to be nothing but faithful to mankind. This is proven each and everyday as the Lord causes His sun to rise and His rain to water the earth (Matt 5:45). Since those covenants are contingent on God’s faithfulness, they cannot be broken.

Now, let’s take a look at the covenant God desired to make with the children of Israel at Mount Sinai. In Exodus 19:3-6, God said to the children of Israel, “IF you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me.” This is an “if-then” statement— a conditional statement. This conditional statement was dependent on the children of Israel meeting those conditions. So, the Mosaic covenant is much different from the covenant with Noah and Abraham.

In Exodus 19:7-8, we see a very pivotal moment on the journey to the cross. What does this moment consist of? Moses brought God’s covenant to the children of Israel. He then shared God’s proposal with the children of Israel to see if they would accept God’s offer.

Now, let’s be very clear about this proposal from the Lord. The children of Israel were choosing between living in obedienceor not. The children of Israel were choosing between faithfulness or being unfaithful. Whenever I speak about this moment, I always point out the magnitude of making a promise with God.

You see, promises with the Lord ought not ever be taken lightly. As it’s said in Ecclesiastes 5:4-5, when you make a vow to God, don’t delay to pay it! Why not? Because the Lord has no pleasure in fools. If you are unable to keep a promise to God, it would be better not to make the vow.

The children of Israel, after hearing the words of God said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” So, in this pivotal moment, Israel agreed to keep the covenant with the Lord. What did this mean for them going forward? It meant that they need to be faithful to God and live in obedience to His covenant.

Israel broke the Mosaic Covenant almost immediately when they worshiped the calf of gold (Ex. 32:7-10). Israel’s disobedience was a repeated action. What this moment proved, again, is that God is faithful to us but it is a struggle for us to be faithful to Him!

A New Unbreakable Covenant Promised

The prophesy of Jeremiah came at a time when the twelve tribes of Israel had divided into two kingdoms. Ten tribes lived in the north and were called Israel. Sadly, by this point in history, the northern kingdom had already been conquered by Assyria (2 Kgs. 17:5-6; Jer. 50:17). Due to its sin, the southern kingdom was headed in the same direction (Is. 11:4-15).

So, yes, the Lord said, “I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel.” The Lord said that He would put His law in their minds, written on their hearts (Jer. 31:33). The Mosaic Law was engraved on stone tablets which were thrown to the ground and broken into pieces (Ex. 32:19). The new covenant could not would engraved on hearts (their souls) and could not be broken.

A promise to David

The new covenant spoken of in Jeremiah is the same one that God had shared with David. David was considered to be a man after God’s heart and was anointed as king of Israel (1 Sam. 13:14; Acts 13:22). David led Israel to victory over the Philistines, Israel’s great enemy. David also united all the people together as Israel prospered in ways it had not done before him (2 Sam. 5:1-5).

As David dwelt in his nice home, he considered what he could do for the Lord (2 Sam. 7:1-3). As David considered his plans of building a house for the Lord, God sent word to him through Nathan, the prophet. The Lord said to David, “[I] will make you house (2 Sam. 7:11).” This statement begins another pivotal moment in scripture.

The Lord said to David, “When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom (2 Sam 7:12).” This is God making a promise to David, right? God said what He would do two times in this one verse. So, right away we should note that these promises aren’tconditional.

God continued with David, “[Your seed] shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever (2 Sam. 7:13).” God is making a covenant, again, that is contingent on what He would do. We often think that this scripture is solely focused on Solomon. You see, Solomon did build the first temple, but there is a reason why we call it the “first” temple— it was destroyed.

God continued with David, “your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever (2 Sam. 7:16).” Within these verses, we have seen the word “forever” three times. So, this covenant is an everlasting covenant. Because this covenant was contingent on God’s faithfulness, then its an unbreakable covenant!

I want to repeat to you, just in case you’ve forgotten, this is the same covenant the Lord spoke of with Jeremiah. When the Lord spoke with Jeremiah about this covenant, He was adamant that it would not be broken. To this point, God compared His faithfulness to the covenant with David to how the heavens faithfully obey His ordinances (Jer. 31:35-36).

God is Faithful to His Promise

So far, we have taken a look at four covenants in this series of studies. Out of four of those covenants, three of the covenants cannot be broken. Now, the question that someone may ask is whether or not God has kept His promises. Let’s answer the question whether or not God is faithful to keep what He has promised. To answer this question, we are only going to look at the covenants with Noah, Abraham, and David.

The covenant with Noah

The Noahic Covenant: “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake … nor will I again destroy every living thing. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease (Gen. 8:21-22).”

So far as my eye can see, the earth is still spinning on its axis as it orbits the sun. We still have our seasons along with the day/night cycle. Now, I imagine that someone may say something about global warming and its effects on our world. I do believe that we can and do have an effect on the earth. I do believe that we should do a better job of caring for our environment.

So, I do want to point out that the Lord said in His heart, “while the earth remains.” This covenant, while unbreakable, is not necessarily an everlasting covenant, right? Eventually, this world is going to be destroyed but it won’t be because of man being punished for sin. As with all things in this physical realm, this world is temporary. Yes, this world and all of creation will one day pass away and a new heaven and new earth will come forth (Rev. 21:1).

Do you think God has been faithful to His covenant with Noah? I would say that God has definitely been faithful to this covenant. Sure, we may do everything we can to destroy the world but the world keeps on turning.

The covenant with Abraham

The Abrahamic Covenant consists of three promises that God said He would do. God said to Abraham, “I will show you a land, and give it to you and your descendants (Gen. 12:1; 17:8).” God said to Abraham, “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great (Gen. 12:2).” Lastly, God promised Abraham, “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed (Gen. 12:3).” Has God been faithful to His covenant with Abraham?

As it stands today, I would say that two out of the three promises have been fulfilled. Which of the two promises have been fulfilled? A great nation did come from Abraham. As I mentioned earlier, Israel prospered greatly under the reigns of David and Solomon. Over time most of the tribes were lost, but what remains today is one of the oldest nations to exist.

The second fulfilled promise is that the world has been blessed through Abraham. As I said in last week’s lesson, this promise was fulfilled through the giving of Christ. Christ came through the seed of David, who came through the seed of Judah, the son of Jacob, who was the grandson of Abraham. When Christ was crucified on the cross, He reconciled all things to Himself in heaven and on earth (Col. 1:19-22). Through Christ, there can be harmony and fellowship with the Lord.

As far as the first promise goes about the land, I’d say that promise has yet to be completely fulfilled. Israel has certainly been in the land of Canaan but they never have really possessed the land. Going all the way back to the days after Joshua, Israel never truly took possession of the land (Judg. 1:27-36).

Now, there was a condition on Israel inheriting the land which we don’t see in the promise to Abraham. In Deuteronomy 6:10-25; 28:15-63 the children of Israel were warned against disobeying God in the land. So long as they lived in obedience, the land would be theirs but if they disobeyed, it would be lost. To this day there is fighting over people trying to possess that land, but this promise will not truly be fulfilled until the return of Christ.

Do you believe God has been faithful in His covenant with Abraham? I believe God has been faithful. God is faithful to His promise, but the Mosaic covenant shows man’s faithlessness.

The covenant with David

As we have studied today, the Lord promised David that his kingdom would be everlasting. There would be a seed that came through David who would be an eternal house for the Lord. Did God keep His promise with David?

As I pointed out with the third part of the Abrahamic covenant, God’s covenant with David is fulfilled through Christ. It may have taken several generations to get to Christ, but He was born in our world. To the Jews, Jesus said, “It is My Father who honors Me, of who you say that He is your God (John 8:54).”

When Pilate asked Jesus if He was a king, Jesus responded, “You say rightly that I am a king (John 18:37).” Jesus said to Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here (John 18:36).”

Jesus established Himself as the king of all people. In John 10:16, Jesus said that He would be the shepherd over one flock made up of both Jews and Gentiles. All who believe in Christ will not perish but have everlasting life in His kingdom which Jesus has prepared for us (John 3:16; 14:2-3). God has been faithful to His promise with David but we see that there is a condition on us to be able to enter God’s promise.

All three of these covenants point to God’s desire as well. What is God’s desire? We know that the Lord desires to dwell with mankind for everlasting life. So, all three of these covenants point to Jesus and to the cross. These covenants have to point to Jesus because we need Jesus in order to dwell with the Lord.