The Heart of God for IsraelSample

GOD’S NEW COVENANT WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL

God makes the new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. The nations are privileged to be grafted into it, but they were not the initial recipients. They have been joined to a covenant with the sons of Jacob. The new covenant that Jesus mentioned during the Last Supper is not primarily a gift to the Church, but a promise—found in the Old Testament—made to the children of Israel.

The new covenant takes its full meaning when one sees it from the perspective of the Mosaic covenant. God promises to provide a new way to be in a righteous relationship with Him after His people failed to keep the law. God doesn’t abandon His people, nor does He give up on the righteousness of His law. He keeps both. He doesn’t replace His people, nor does He change His desire for righteous living. God does a new thing: He provides more resources to empower His people to walk in the righteousness of the law before Him (Romans 8:4).

God pledges to establish a new relationship based on the foundation of the forgiveness of sins—the work of Jesus. Having taken care of their iniquity and broken the power of sin, He confirms that the house of Israel will know Him from within—the work of the Holy Spirit. He guarantees that He will write His law upon their heart and He will be their God.

PRAYER

Our Father,

We bless Your holy name. We praise You for making a new covenant with the house of Israel. We worship You for Your gentleness in providing all the means for Your people to obey You. We thank you for allowing the believers of the nations to be part of this marvelous covenant.

We praise You for establishing forgiveness as the foundation of our relationship with You. We are not under condemnation. You have given us hope that our relationship with You doesn’t end with our sins. We praise You for the forgiveness of sins through the sacrifice of Your Son.

We thank You for the Holy Spirit, who enables us to live a godly life before Your eyes. Open the eyes of the Jewish people. Let them see that the new covenant belongs to them. Let them discover that the coming of Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins, transforms everything in their relationship with You. Let them hear Jesus’ words: “Come to Me! My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.