4 characteristics of the New Covenant

 Read Hebrews 8.

The Bible is absolutely clear on all that God wants us to know and believe.  With the first coming of Christ, the Old Covenant of Law given at Mt. Sinai to Moses is "obsolete" and its authority has vanished away (v.13)!  This fact should have come as no surprise to those who knew the prophecy of Jeremiah.  Indeed, the second half of this chapter is from Jeremiah 31.

There are four characteristics and effects of the New Covenant for Israel and Judah.
1. The law of God (His expectations) will be in their minds.
2. His law will be written on their hearts, not tablets of stone.
3. Everyone will know the Lord.
4. "I will remember their sins no more."

So, then the obvious question is: Since the time of Jesus has this ever been true of the Jews as a whole?  No.  Like many prophecies, much more detail is revealed as they are fulfilled.  The Apostle Paul explains this is Romans 9-11.

"Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers; a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.  And in this way all Israel will be saved..." (Romans 11:25-26

Two things, then, are at work.
There is future news for the Jews.   
Though individuals may certainly respond to the Gospel, nationally there is a "partial hardening," or spiritual blindness, concerning Jesus being the promised Messiah.  There is coming a day when all the Jews will recognize Jesus for who He is and worship Him as a nation.  Those who believe God has no future for Israel must disregard God's promises to Abraham in Genesis 12, 15 and 17.  Then, they must dismiss all the prophecies that remain unfulfilled describing such a national revival and earthly kingdom.  And, finally, they must discredit the validity of the plain statements in the New Testament.

There is good news for the Gentiles.

Individual non-Jews have always been welcomed to the faith of Israel.  But with the first coming of Jesus, God's plans aggressively moved into what Jesus called "the times of the Gentiles" (Luke 21:24).  This change is seen in Acts 10 and in Paul's calling to be the Apostle to the Gentiles.  God's intent is that the entire world would hear and believe in Jesus (Acts 1:8).  As a result, non-Jews may enjoy the blessings under the promises made to Abraham.  "And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham offspring, heirs according to the promise." (Galatians 4:29)  That does not turn a Gentile into a Jew, nor does it change God's promises for the future of Israel.  This is a time period "until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in."  At that God-appointed time, He will reveal the next step in the prophecies.  

 

Our focus is live as a committed follower of Christ today.  "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts..." (Hebrews 3:15)