What are Covenants?
If you’ve been a Christian for any length of time, you no doubt know about the Old and New Covenants. But what you may not know is that these covenants represent marriage covenants; namely, God’s marriage covenants with his people. The Old Covenant was God’s marriage covenant with Israel (mostly Jews); and the New Covenant is God’s marriage to his “new” people, Christians (Jews and Gentiles alike).
The Old Covenant Marriage Agreement
The Old Covenant was a marriage agreement between God and his people Israel. In Ezekiel, God said:
“When I passed by you again and looked upon you, indeed your time was the time of love; so I spread My wing over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you, and you became Mine” (Ezek. 16:8).
God said He passed over Israel and spread His skirt over them, which is an expression and sign of marriage (see Ruth 3:8-11). God entered into a marriage covenant with Israel.[1]
In Jeremiah, God said of Israel, “I am married to you” (Jer. 3:14). By agreeing to the covenant, Israel was bound to her husband God, and she was forbidden to commit adultery by worshiping the gods of other nations. “Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be a snare in your midst…for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (Ex. 34:12, 14).
In turn, God promised to bless Israel immensely with such things as plenty of rain, crops, food, peace in the land, and safety (Lev. 26:4–13). And God promised to set his tabernacle amongst them (v. 11).
Israel agreed to the terms of the covenant. “And all the people answered together, and said, ‘All that the Lord has spoken we will do.’ And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord” (Exod. 19:8).
Israel Broke the Covenant…so God Divorced Her
However, it did not take very long for Israel to fall back into the evil ways of the world. So God reminded them what would happen if they refused to obey; namely, he would set his face against them (Lev. 26:14-39).
Yet Israel refused to repent; so God said: “Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am married to you…” (Jer. 3:14). God pleaded with Israel for over 700 years to turn from their wicked ways. But all to no avail.”[2]
“Israel failed. They broke the covenant. So God divorced them! Because of their disobedience, God withdrew the many promises associated with the first covenant. Instead of obtaining great material prosperity, Israel went into Assyrian captivity in 721-718 b.c. (Ezek. 20:23-24). The nation of Judah…also went into captivity. They were overthrown by the Babylonians from 604-585 b.c. (2 Kings 23:27)”[3] and walloped by the Romans in AD 70 (Luke 21:5-32).
Keep in mind, God broke his covenant because Israel disobeyed him—not because the law was bad (Rom. 7:7, Deut. 30:8-9) or too harsh (Deut. 30:11-14).
God Promises to Marry a New People With a New Name
In the midst of all this rebellion, God had said he’d one day establish another covenant: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord” (Jer. 31:31-32).
“You [Israel] shall no longer be termed Forsaken, nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate…for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married. For as a young man marries a virgin, so shall your sons marry you. And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you” (Isa. 62:4–5).
And when would this wedding happen? Isaiah said it would be when (1) salvation came, (2) the Gentiles saw the Lord’s righteousness, and (3) Israel was called by new name:
“For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness and her salvation as a lamp that burns. The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, and all kings your glory. You shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord will name” (Isa. 62:1–2).
This came to pass in the first century! Jesus brought salvation (Rom. 10:9); the Gentiles saw God’s righteousness (Rom. 15:9–12); and Israel was called by a new name (Acts 11:26)—just like Isaiah 62 said would happen at the time of the marriage.
Notice, also, what Isaiah said next: “Surely your salvation is coming; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him” (Isa. 62:11). Sound familiar? Jesus alluded to this very passage during his earthly ministry: “For the Son of Man will come…and reward each according to his works” (Matt. 16:27). And when did Jesus say this would happen? “Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here [in AD 30] who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom” (Matt. 16:28). This would happen within the lifetimes of Jesus’s first-century audience!
On the eve of the fulfillment, Jesus said in approximately AD 65 (through an angel): “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work” (Rev. 22:12). Same coming. Same rewards. Same timing. The angel of Revelation went on to say: “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand” (Rev. 22:10, italics mine).
The wedding is tied to Jesus’s second coming, which happened in AD 70!
Revelation affirms this elsewhere, too:
(AD 65) “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife [the church] has made herself ready” (Rev. 19:7, italics mine). The passage continues: “Then I, John, saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem [the church, see Heb. 12:22–24], coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Rev. 21:2, italics mine). This is the marriage of Jesus to his church! Revelation adds: “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand” (Rev. 22:10, italics mine).
This wedding happened in AD 70 (see also 2 Cor. 11:2, Eph. 5:21–27, Matt. 22:1-14, and Matt. 25:1–13). God married a new people—Christians—under a New Covenant.
Today, people can enter into this marital relationship with God through faith/belief in Jesus. In turn, God promises eternal life! “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
For more about this issue, see The End Is Here: How the New Testament’s Prophecies Were Fulfilled, available Summer 2024.
By Alex Polyak, Director of The Bible Fulfilled, 8/31/24
[1] Stephen Flurry, “The Old Covenant: A Marriage Agreement,” March 1995
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
