“(15) And for this reason He (Christ) is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.” – Hebrews 9:15 NKJV
On the night Jesus was betrayed, in those solemn final hours with His disciples, He fulfilled the promise foretold by the prophet Jeremiah (Jer 31:31-33) of a New Covenant. This promise kept the hope of the Jewish Messianic expectation alive, until one day, after the sun had set on an evening some 600 years later, within the intimate settings of a furnished upper room, Jesus and His twelve disciples shared a final Passover meal. On that grave night after supper, Jesus took the cup and declared, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” (Luke 22:20 ESV)
Biblical covenants provide the legal framework through which a relationship with God is enacted based on the promises and expectations articulated within them. The Old Covenant, initiated with Abraham and formalised through Moses, was given to Israel after their exodus from Egypt. It defined their relationship with God, focusing on their moral and ritual conduct, with the promise of land being a significant aspect. This marriage contract established the foundational principles of God’s relationship with Israel requiring their obedience in exchange for His blessings and protection. The detailed laws, sacrificial systems, and rituals governed every aspect of Israelite life and guided Israel towards holiness. Yet the requirements of the Old Covenant underscored Israel’s (and ultimately humanity’s) inability to fully meet God’s standards thus preparing the way for the New.
The New Covenant, prophesied by Jeremiah and inaugurated by Jesus Christ, represented a significant shift from the Mosaic Covenant. Unlike the continual offering of slaughtered animals, the New Covenant is rooted in the “once for all” sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus and provides the absolute atonement for sin, establishing the basis for a deeper intimacy with God through faith. The New Covenant emphasises internal transformation. It promises the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the writing of God’s laws upon human hearts. It transcends race and extends God’s promises to all who believe in His Son, thereby fulfilling the Abrahamic promise of blessing all nations.
Now why am I sharing this and what does it have to do with understanding the outplay of events in the Middle East?
In short, if God abides by the protocols of righteousness and justice encoded within His laws and precepts, then His interaction with events in the Middle East is an outworking of what has already been legally ratified and expressed within His covenant with Israel.
Consequently, understanding God’s relationship with modern Israel requires a careful exploration of both the Old and New Covenants as described in the Bible. I suggest that God’s relationship with Israel is not exclusively under either the old or new Covenant but their relationship has evolved to encompass both. The New Covenant does not abolish the Old Covenant but fulfils it. Jesus Himself said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them” (Matthew 5:17). The moral and ethical teachings of the Old Covenant are still significant but are now understood through the lens of Christ’s teachings and sacrifice.
The moral and ethical foundations of the Old Covenant remain relevant, but the New Covenant brings a new dimension of relationship based on faith in Jesus Christ.
It is in Christ and through Him, that all the promises made to Israel including the restoration and return to their homeland will be fulfilled. The Old has been fulfilled in the New, and yet as the writer in Hebrews alludes, there is a transition in which the old passes.
When God speaks of “A new covenant,” He makes the first one obsolete. And whatever is becoming obsolete (out of use, annulled) and growing old is ready to disappear. Hebrews 8:13 AMPLIFIED
If the outworking of God’s promises is contingent upon the Covenant in which those promises are made, and in particular the promise to bring Israel back to the land He promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is now fulfilled (or will be fulfilled) in Christ then it raises some important questions concerning the current hostilities in the Middle East. To me, this seems a critical point not easily ignored. If we are to support Israel’s territorial claims, then on what basis? On the basis of God’s promises? As we have seen, if those promises are conditional, and ultimately will not be fulfilled until the Day of the Lord, then perhaps we are not only witnessing the outstretched hand of God but also other agendas in both the seen and unseen realms. And this is the point I’m making here, that we might take that step back and gain a more comprehensive Biblical foundation because when we do that, I believe it enables us to discern with greater clarity in order that we may know how to pray and respond more effectively. If we are to look at the situation in the Middle East concerning Israel and the nations surrounding her, and especially the relationship between Israel and Palestine through the Biblical lens, then we must do so through the relationship between God and Israel as exemplified in the Covenant between them.
This restoration of Israel to their homeland has taken place before:
“(11) For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. (12) Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. (13) And you will seek Me and find [Me], when you search for Me with all your heart. (14) I will be found by you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the LORD, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.” – Jeremiah 29:11-14 NKJV
Though dark days still lie ahead, the Lord will remember His promise spoken over Israel once more.
“(8) He remembers His covenant forever, The word [which] He commanded, for a thousand generations, (9) [The covenant] which He made with Abraham, And His oath to Isaac, (10) And confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, To Israel [as] an everlasting covenant, (11) Saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan As the allotment of your inheritance,”” – Psalm 105:8-11 NKJV
What has been decreed and prophesied concerning the future of Israel and Jerusalem is certain and unchangeable. No matter what juxtaposition and geopolitical uprisings may ensue, the Lord has made known the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10), and His purposes shall always prevail.
“(11) The counsel of the LORD stands forever, The plans of His heart to all generations.” – Psalm 33:11 NKJV
Therefore, what concerns us more at this point in time is not so much the inevitability of future outcomes but how we might partner with the steady progression of God’s Eternal purpose as it unfolds step by step.
A partnership in prayer and action that arises from a sound Biblical interpretation and application is what is called for here. This is why it is crucial to revisit the covenantal framework between God and Israel—because every event, past, present, and future, carries legal and spiritual implications. These events and motivations behind them are being recorded in Heaven, and they will provide the substance for legal accusation and rebuttal as Satan attempts to change times and laws in sway of his own agenda for Jerusalem, Israel and all nations.
Every seeming victory of the enemy in the Middle East will not be because the forces of darkness have overpowered those of light, or because the armies of Heaven have been outwitted by the schemes of the enemy, but because legal arguments have been presented and enforced in the Courts of Heaven.
In the final reckoning, every nation will be judged. Judged not only according to God’s law, but even by their own judicial precedents.
“(15) “For the day of the LORD upon all the nations [is] near; As you have done, it shall be done to you; Your reprisal shall return upon your own head.” – Obadiah 1:15 NKJV
I believe this principle of retributive justice is applicable to all nations and especially to Israel. For example, long before Jesus shed His blood to inaugurate the New Covenant, God’s heart for the “sojourner” living within the borders of Israel was made resoundingly clear through the Law and the Prophets.
“(33) ‘And if a stranger dwells with you in your land, you shall not mistreat him. (34) ‘The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I [am] the LORD your God.” – Leviticus 19:33-34 NKJV
God holds Israel accountable for how they treat those who are not their own. This principle, rooted in Israel’s own experience as aliens in a foreign land, becomes foundational in guiding their love and treatment of strangers. Their life in Egypt was meant to nurture a heart of love and compassion for the displaced within their borders. This concept is reiterated multiple times in God’s instructions to Israel:
“(21) “You shall neither mistreat a stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” – Exodus 22:21 NKJV
“(17) “For the LORD your God [is] God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe. (18) “He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing. (19) “Therefore love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” – Deuteronomy 10:17-19 NKJV
If these scriptures are relevant for the modern-day relationship between Israel and Palestine and how they are to treat each other, then profound spiritual implications may arise. Here are two passages I’d like to finish with. The first passage from Jeremiah makes a direct connection between Israel’s right to occupy the Promised Land with how they treat foreigners living on the land:
“(5) “For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly execute justice one with another, (6) if you do not oppress the sojourner, the fatherless, or the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own harm, (7) then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your fathers forever.” – Jeremiah 7:5-7 ESV
And finally, a passage from Ezekiel concerning the allocation of land to Israel in the restoration.
“(21) “Thus you shall divide this land among yourselves according to the tribes of Israel. (22) “It shall be that you will divide it by lot as an inheritance for yourselves, and for the strangers who dwell among you and who bear children among you. They shall be to you as native-born among the children of Israel; they shall have an inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. (23) “And it shall be [that] in whatever tribe the stranger dwells, there you shall give [him] his inheritance,” says the Lord GOD.” – Ezekiel 47:21-23 NKJV
