First of all, we must recognize that God has a special place in His heart for Israel and Jerusalem. In Deuteronomy 7:6 we read, “For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.” God calls Jerusalem the “apple of His eye” in Zechariah 2:8. For a reason only known unto God, He chose Israel to be His people, to reflect His glory and to receive His blessing, and He chose Jerusalem as His dwelling place. It was God’s eternal plan that Israel would be the conduit for His blessing and grace to spread to the entire world.

God’s relationship with Israel is based on covenants. The Old Testament speaks of several covenants that God made with His people, Israel. The foundation of all these covenants is the one made with Abraham, called the Abrahamic Covenant. Genesis 12:1-3 gives us the first encounter with the covenant:

Was Genesis 12:1-3 a temporary covenant that that one day would be set aside? NO! The Scriptures clearly states that this covenant (promise) from God is “everlasting” (Genesis 17: 7-8). The Abrahamic Covenants involves three elements: a land, a Nation and a Blessing. These three aspects of this covenant are enlarged in subsequent covenants, called the Palestinian (or land) covenant, the Davidic covenant and the New Covenant. These covenants are also stated to be eternal covenants.

Over and over, God promised to give the Promised Land to Israel “forever” (Genesis 13:15; Exodus 32:13; Isaiah 60:21; Ezekiel 37:25). God promised David that one of his descendants would sit on his throne. God says that this throne will be established “forever” (2 Samuel 7:12-16; 1 Chronicles 17:11-14; Psalm 89:35-37; Isaiah 9:6, 7; Luke 1:32, 33). And the new Covenant is called an “everlasting covenant” (Hebrews 13:20). God has made it very clear what He intends to do.

All of God’s promises to Israel, which began with the Abrahamic Covenant, will finally be fulfilled in a future kingdom as God states through the Prophet Ezekiel in Ezekiel 37:24-28.

We must note that all of these covenants were with the nation of Israel. Even the New Covenant is specifically stated to be “...with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah” (Jeremiah 31:31). God never made a covenant with the church. Rather, the church now shares in the New Covenant. The New Covenant inaugurated by Jesus in the upper room with His disciples, is the same New Covenant spoken of in the book of Jeremiah, and the Holy Covenant mentioned by the New Testament.

Paul, when speaking of the Church’s relationship to Israel, never says that the church has usurped Israel’s place, or replaced Israel as the covenant people of God. Rather, Paul speaks of the church as being “grafted in” (Romans 11:17), “brought near” (Ephesians 2:13), “descendants of Abraham” by faith (Romans 4:16), “heirs” of Abraham’s promise (Galatians 3:29), and as “sharing" in Israel’s blessing (Romans 15:27). Because of God’s grace and His plan to extend His blessing to all people, we, the church, have been included with the Jews into the New Covenant.