Israel Explained

God's covenant with Israel

What the Bible says about God's covenant with Abraham and his descendants, and why most Christians today believe it has not been revoked.

What is established

The promise to Abraham

Genesis 12, 15 and 17 describe God calling Abram, promising him descendants, a land and blessing for all nations through him. Genesis 17 calls it an 'everlasting covenant'. The promise is repeated to Isaac and Jacob.

Sinai and the new covenant

At Sinai God gives Israel the Torah (Exodus 19–24). The prophet Jeremiah later promises a 'new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah' (Jeremiah 31:31–37), explicitly tied to the permanence of sun, moon and stars.

Church teaching after 1945

After the Holocaust many churches revisited their teaching. The Catholic declaration Nostra Aetate (1965) and statements from Protestant churches affirm, with Paul in Romans 11:29, that God's gifts and calling to the Jewish people are irrevocable.

Where people differ

  • Most evangelical and many mainline Christians see the covenant, including the land promise, as still in force.
  • Others affirm God's ongoing faithfulness to the Jewish people but read the land promises as fulfilled or widened in Christ, without drawing political conclusions.
  • Jewish tradition understands the covenant primarily through Torah and does not accept a Christian reading of the new covenant.

Biblical reflection

God's faithfulness to Israel is the ground of our own hope: if He could abandon His first-called people, what would His promises to us be worth? The covenant calls the church to humility, gratitude and love — not to pride over or against anyone.

Scripture: Genesis 12:1–3; 15; 17:7–8; Jeremiah 31:31–37; Romans 11:28–29

Questions readers ask

Is God's covenant with Israel still valid?

Paul writes that God's gifts and calling are irrevocable (Romans 11:29). Most churches today affirm that God has not rejected the Jewish people.

Does the covenant justify any political policy?

No. The covenant speaks of God's faithfulness; it does not place any government above justice, mercy or criticism. The prophets themselves held Israel's kings to account.

Sources

Related explainers

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