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In this section, we will get just a glimpse of the new covenant to come for the 2 houses. We will see it in more detail later (see Israel’s New Covenant, The Nature of the New Covenant, and Living out the Torah).
Both houses have transgressed God, but we know from the scriptures already examined, that the lost sheep of the two houses from Jer 50:6 and Matt 15:24, who were led astray on their separate mountains, will together seek a 2nd exodus (Is 11:11-16) from the nations, and do so through the establishment of an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten (Jer 50:5). This new covenant is His valley of refuge (Zech 14:4-5) created at the mount of Olives (Acts 1:8-9), which grows as His highway. It is built as the northern and southern mountains reconcile their differences and are brought off their high places to build in the united valley (Is 11:16, 26:1-7, 27:12-13, 35:8-10, 40:1-5, 49:11-12). In Jeremiah 31, we read about the nature of this new covenant, or 2nd exodus/highway, which provides for their return. This new covenant is through David‘s lineage, from one whom God will raise up from the root of Jesse (2 Kings 19:34, Is 11:10-11, Rom 15:12). This King is Christ, who brings together the near and far in quiet and ease (Is 33:13, 45:18-20, 57:18-19, Dan 9:7, Zech 6:12-15, Acts 2:36-39, Eph 2:11-13). We read now Jeremiah 30:
The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you. 3 For behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel and Judah, says the Lord, and I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall take possession of it.” 4 These are the words that the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah: 5 “Thus says the Lord: We have heard a cry of panic, of terror, and no peace. 6 Ask now, and see, can a man bear a child? Why then do I see every man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor? Why has every face turned pale? 7 Alas! That day is so great there is none like it; it is a time of distress for Jacob; yet he shall be saved out of it. 8 “And it shall come to pass in that day, declares the Lord of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off your neck, and I will burst your bonds, and foreigners shall no more make a servant of him. 9 But they shall serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them. 10 “Then fear not, O Jacob my servant, declares the Lord, nor be dismayed, O Israel; for behold, I will save you from far away, and your offspring from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease, and none shall make him afraid. 11 For I am with you to save you, declares the Lord; I will make a full end of all the nations among whom I scattered you, but of you I will not make a full end. I will discipline you in just measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished.
Jeremiah 30:1-11 ESV
Note in Jer 30:3, that God states this New Covenant is something He will do, it is not something that we will do. It states that He will restore the fortunes of both houses, and He will bring them back to Him through the line of David. This New Covenant is NOT with the Gentile Church, it is with Israel’s houses alone. If one believes there is a gentile church that God saves SEPARATELY from Israel, most of OT prophecy and scripture will not apply to them. In fact, much of the New Testament is also not addressed to them, since many books are addressed to the 12 tribes. Some Christian leaders reject the book of Matthew as addressed to them for this reason, as well as James, John, and Peter’s writings and most of Revelation. Alternatively, one can realize that God only has ONE PEOPLE, ISRAEL. So you are either grafted and given spiritually to one of the 12 tribes of Israel, or you are not within God’s vineyard, not of His lost sheep, and not the far off brought near.
Jeremiah 3 gives us further clues as to the nature of the new covenant that will be made with the House of Israel and the House of Judah. Both aspects of Israel will be gathered and will love God the way He intended all along, with their hearts, through faith. It will not be a physical manifestation, but a spiritual one, for we read that they no longer esteem the Ark of the Covenant, where the 10 commandments reside. This is not because the 10 commandments are forgotten, but because they are no longer needed in written form, for they are written on the hearts of God’s people. And Jerusalem will be the throne of God, but it will be as a New Jerusalem (Rev 21), under one head, who is Christ (Hos 1:11, Is 11:1-16). The north will be gathered among all nations if they repent and turn toward the Lord. He will gather them again from all families/cities and through their salvation, those saved from the south will be made jealous and turn toward YHWH and repent of their rejection of Christ (Deut 32:21, Rom 11:11-13). The full culmination of New Jerusalem does not occur until the conclusion of the 1000 year millennial reign of Christ and the white throne judgement (Rev 20-21), but we know that those who enter New Jerusalem are of the 12 tribes, written in the lamb’s book of life (Rev 21:27). Jeremiah 3 starts off addressing the north, who took her adultery and whoredom against God lightly.
9 Because she took her whoredom lightly, she polluted the land, committing adultery with stone and tree. 10 Yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me with her whole heart, but in pretense, declares the Lord. 11 And the Lord said to me, “Faithless Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. 12 Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, “‘Return, faithless Israel, declares the Lord. I will not look on you in anger, for I am merciful, declares the Lord; I will not be angry forever. 13 Only acknowledge your guilt, that you rebelled against the Lord your God and scattered your favors among foreigners under every green tree, and that you have not obeyed my voice, declares the Lord. 14 Return, O faithless children, declares the Lord; for I am your master; I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion. 15 “‘And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. 16 And when you have multiplied and been fruitful in the land, in those days, declares the Lord, they shall no more say, “The ark of the covenant of the Lord.” It shall not come to mind or be remembered or missed; it shall not be made again. 17 At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord, and all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the Lord in Jerusalem, and they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil heart. 18 In those days the house of Judah shall join the house of Israel, and together they shall come from the land of the north to the land that I gave your fathers for a heritage.”
Jeremiah 3:9-18 ESV
The ark of the covenant holds the 10 commandments, but it will be unnecessary in the latter days as God will write His commandments on our hearts, and there shall be no need of a temple. Recall Rev 21:
10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed— 13 on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. 14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25 and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. 26 They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”
Revelation 21:10-14,22-27 ESV
Jerusalem shall be His throne and the nations will gather to it, and the House of Judah and the House of Israel will be joined. It is through Christ that Ephraim (the northern House of Israel) and the House of Judah receive a 2nd path back from the nations and a new marriage covenant. Again note in Jeremiah 30:1-11, 3:9-18, that the new covenant is not with the Christian church and the Jewish nation, or with the 2 houses of Israel and some other 3rd party like the gentiles, but rather it is with the House of Israel (the north) and the House of Judah (the south) ALONE, as the two components of His people, Israel. This is further confirmed in Jeremiah 31:
I have heard Ephraim grieving, ‘You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined, like an untrained calf; bring me back that I may be restored, for you are the Lord my God. 19 For after I had turned away, I relented, and after I was instructed, I struck my thigh; I was ashamed, and I was confounded, because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’ 20 Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he my darling child? For as often as I speak against him, I do remember him still. Therefore my heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him, declares the Lord. 21 “Set up road markers for yourself; make yourself guideposts; consider well the highway, the road by which you went. Return, O virgin Israel, return to these your cities. 22 How long will you waver, O faithless daughter? For the Lord has created a new thing on the earth: a woman encircles a man.” 23 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Once more they shall use these words in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I restore their fortunes: “‘The Lord bless you, O habitation of righteousness, O holy hill!’ 24 And Judah and all its cities shall dwell there together, and the farmers and those who wander with their flocks. 25 For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.” 26 At this I awoke and looked, and my sleep was pleasant to me. 27 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. 28 And it shall come to pass that as I have watched over them to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring harm, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, declares the Lord. 31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
Jeremiah 31:27-28,31-34 ESV
Note again, that this new covenant is something God does, NOT us. He will put His law in our hearts, and we will desire to serve Him the way He intended.
Jeremiah proclaims that the House of Israel and the House of Judah shall unite as they ask for the path to Zion, and join in an everlasting covenant together. For these 2 houses are the lost sheep, turned away on their split mountains and high places (see also Matt 15:24, John 10:14-16,26-27). We again read in Jeremiah:
4 “In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, the people of Israel and the people of Judah shall come together, weeping as they come, and they shall seek the Lord their God. 5 They shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, saying, ‘Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord in an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.’
6 “My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains. From mountain to hill they have gone. They have forgotten their fold. 7 All who found them have devoured them, and their enemies have said, ‘We are not guilty, for they have sinned against the Lord, their habitation of righteousness, the Lord, the hope of their fathers.’
Jeremiah 50:4-7 ESV
Ezekiel is another prophet around the time of Jeremiah, who witnesses the fall of Jerusalem to Babylon. He echoes Jeremiah’s description of the unfaithful wife, and describes the two aspects of Israel (the Mother Harlot from Hosea’s prophecy) as her whoring daughters who go after other gods. So we have two apostate, fallen, idolatrous aspects of Israel described as two sisters (northern kingdom and southern kingdom), the offspring of one mother, apostate Israel, similar to Hosea’s prophecy in Hosea 1:1-11. Yet, despite the adulterous wife and the adulterous daughters, and the scattering judgement upon the northern house of Israel, we see, the repeated promise to re-unify God’s people in the new covenant, which will write His statutes on their hearts. He will remove a heart of stone and replace it with a heart of flesh, and our desires will be to fulfill God’s commands through the help of Christ. We will love God as He intended, through a faithful and contrite heart.
In addition to the writing His laws on their hearts, another key component of the new covenant will involve the gathering of northern tribes of Israel, the lost sheep (Jer 50:6, Matt 15:24). Make note that the new covenant in these prophecies is designed for the gentile House of Israel, as He will call them out of the nations from where He scattered them in a 2nd exodus, and unite them with those near Jerusalem of the House of Judah.
“14 And the word of the Lord came to me: 15 “Son of man, your brothers, even your brothers, your kinsmen, the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘Go far from the Lord; to us this land is given for a possession.’ 16 Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for a while in the countries where they have gone.’ 17 Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.’ 18 And when they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. 19 And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, 20 that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 21 But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord God.”
Ezekiel 11:14-21 ESV
“12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. 13 And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country.”
Ezekiel 34:12-13 ESV
Once again, God will pull the northern house from the nations in a 2nd exodus and the north (Ephraim) and south (Judah) shall unite (through Christ). We read again, Isaiah 11:13,16:
13 The jealousy of Ephraim shall depart, and those who harass Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah, and Judah shall not harass Ephraim. 16 And there will be a highway from Assyria for the remnant that remains of his people, as there was for Israel when they came up from the land of Egypt.
Isaiah 11:13,16 ESV
So this was just a glimpse of what the new covenant entails. Namely, that the north and south are given a new heart, one that desires His commandments. We will examine in detail how to live out the new covenant in the next section, but let us see what befell the southern kingdom first.
Next Section: Judgement on the South