Jeremiah had predicted that the New Covenant would be “not like” the Old (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 8:8-13). Of all the differences, one of the greatest has to with nationality.
- The Old Covenant was made with a physical nation, fleshly Israel.
- The New Covenant is made with a nation of faith, spiritual Israel.
- The First Covenant was entered by physical birth into a Jewish family. All so born made up the First Covenant nation.
- The Second Covenant is entered by the new, spiritual birth (John 3:1-16). All believers “born of water and Spirit” make up the Second Covenant nation. Though they come from many nations, they share citizenship in heaven (Acts 10:34-35; 1 Peter 1:23; 2:9; Philippians 3:20).
A fundamental truth of the Bible is that the covenant given through Moses was made with a specific nation on earth.
The LORD said to Moses, “Write these words [the Ten Commandments], for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” (Exodus 34:27)
God made a covenant with Israel. Despite His plain words, some today take that covenant as the universal rule for all nations, especially those they call “Christian nations.” They impose that covenant on themselves and other non-Jews, thus ignoring God’s own choice to covenant “with Israel” (Exodus 34:27). The national focus of Exodus 34 shapes the very nature of the Old Covenant. That covenant was their Bible, their Declaration of Independence, their Constitution, their Bill of Rights, their Health Plan, their Census, and much more—all wrapped together into one integrated whole. The covenant regulated both…
Worship and Welfare / Sacrifices and Sanitation
Music and Morality / Incense recipes and Interest rates
Census and Calendar / Tithes and Taxes
Priesthood and Kingship / Marriage and Military service
Vows and Valuations / Business and Borders
Slaves and Salvation / Temple and Treaties
Inheritance and Holiness / Property and Promises
This covenant made Israel a unique theocracy. (“Theo” means God, “cracy” means rule.) Some nations are democracies, meaning rule by the voters (“demo” means people). Some nations are autocracies, meaning rule by one person. But Israel was a theocracy in which every law, whether seemingly civil or social or spiritual, came directly from God’s representative. The government and the religion were the same thing. Those today who want to revive an earthly theocracy try to impose a similar combination.