To whom will the New Covenant be given? Let’s look at our Scripture in Jeremiah again. Jeremiah 31:31 "Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the House of Israel and with the House of Judah…”
This Scripture is very clear about to whom this covenant will be given. If you are not familiar with the terms “House of Israel and House of Judah”, we will go into some Biblical history to explain. When God led His people out of Egypt, there was one house and her name was Israel, which means “God prevails”. She was brought to Mount Sinai in current day Saudi Arabia to be given a betrothal covenant. In Aramaic, this is called a ketubah. There, on a mountain in the wilderness, God offers her a betrothal covenant and outlines for her, the promises of the groom before and after the wedding and what He expects of His bride before and after the wedding. It is a legal binding contract between the bride and the groom. Each time, the bride declared, “I do!” Exodus 19:8(NASB) 'All the people answered together and said, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do!" And Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD.'
In a common Jewish betrothal, once the ketubah is agreed upon, signed and witnessed by two people, the couple is considered married, even though the actual wedding hasn’t taken place yet nor has the marriage been consummated. This is, however, a binding contract. The groom then leaves the bride for a period of time to go and build her a home. This home, in historical times, was usually an addition that was added onto the groom’s father’s house. Later, when the new “house” is completed, he returns along with his groomsmen to fetch his bride and bring her to the location of the actual wedding. Did this indeed happen at Mount Sinai? Our same Scripture in Jeremiah will give us a clue. Jeremiah 31:32(NASB) “...not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them," declares the LORD.” It looks like God certainly believed a betrothal was given when He brought them out of Egypt. He said that He was a husband to them. We can also see that there were two witnesses to this betrothal just as we have witnesses in our current day marriages. Deuteronomy 30:19(NASB) "I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants..” We will see more proof of this betrothal covenant later.
The first covenant presented on Mount Sinai is the ketubah given to all twelve tribes of Israel. However, because of Solomon’s sins, the kingdom was torn into two kingdoms. 1 Kings 11:4, 9-13(NASB) 'For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been. Now the LORD was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not observe what the LORD had commanded. So the LORD said to Solomon, "Because you have done this, and you have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you, and will give it to your servant. Nevertheless I will not do it in your days for the sake of your father David, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen."
God also sends, as a second witness, the prophet Ahijah to Jeroboam, who would become king of the other ten tribes. 1 Kings 11:30-32(NASB) 'Then Ahijah took hold of the new cloak which was on him and tore it into twelve pieces. He said to Jeroboam, "Take for yourself ten pieces; for thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and give you ten tribes (but he will have one tribe, for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel)"' This one tribe was the tribe of Benjamin, in whose land the city of Jerusalem was located. Later, the tribe of Judah joins Benjamin and becomes known as the southern kingdom or the “House of Judah” so named because Judah is, by far, the larger of the two tribes. 1 Kings 12:21a(NASB) "And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the House of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin…” (Wonder if this had anything to do with the covenant that David, from the tribe of Judah made with Jonathan, the son of Saul, who was from the tribe of Benjamin?) The other ten tribes became the northern kingdom and were known as the “House of Israel”. They were also called "Ephraim", since this was the largest tribe of the ten. They were located in the northern part of Israel also called Samaria. The bride, Israel, had been torn into two. Now God had two wives, but not for long.
If you are still doubtful that a betrothal even took place, please keep reading.
Jeremiah 3:6-8(NASB) 'Then the LORD said to me in the days of Josiah the king, "Have you seen what faithless Israel did? She went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and she was a harlot there. "I thought, 'After she has done all these things she will return to Me'; but she did not return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it. And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and given her a writ of divorce, yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear; but she went and was a harlot also.”' God divorces the northern kingdom, the House of Israel. She had broken the ketubah over and over and yet, He still waited for her to come back to Him. When she did not, he gave her a certificate of divorce and allows Assyria to take her into captivity and from there, she is scattered throughout the world. Hosea 11:5(NASB) “They will not return to the land of Egypt; But Assyria—he will be their king because they refused to return to Me.” She loses her identity and becomes part of the Gentiles, taking on their pagan sabbaths, feast days and worshiping their gods. Hosea 2:11(NASB) “I will also put an end to all her gaiety, her feasts, her new moons, her sabbaths and all her festal assemblies.”
We would like to mention here that God couldn’t possibly “divorce” the northern kingdom if He hadn’t first given her a betrothal covenant. This is more proof that God did believe that He had offered for her in marriage at Mt. Sinai. She also would not be considered a “harlot” and accused of adultery if she wasn’t first bound to a husband, which in this case is God. We do realize that this is not a popular teaching in any circle. God is a divorcée?
We have a hard time with that concept, after all, didn’t God Himself say that He hated divorce? Malachi 2:16(NASB) “For I hate divorce,” says the LORD, the God of Israel, “and him who covers his garment with wrong,” says the LORD of hosts. “So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.” Don’t get us wrong, we don’t think God likes divorce, but if we take a closer look at the word “divorce” in this Scripture, we can see that it wasn’t translated properly. The Hebrew word here is shalach, which is Strong’s #H7971. It is a root word and is a verb meaning “to send, to send away, to extend”. It is not the same word that was translated as “divorce” in the Scripture, Jeremiah 3:8 (NASB) “And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and given her a writ of divorce,” The word for “divorce” used in this Scripture is kĕriythuwth Strong’s #H3748, which does mean a divorce and its root verb means “to cut off”. So, what is the difference in sending or putting away and a divorce? I once read a very good paper on this subject by J. Thomas, but I will only paraphrase on a few highlights. It was common practice in Biblical times when a man was not happy with his wife, for any reason, he would take her and “her children” and “put them away” (shalach) somewhere, without giving her a divorce (kĕriythuwth). He would then feel free to marry another, (remember, there is no Mosaic law forbidding more than one wife except for a king, priest or leader). However, this left his first wife destitute, having a difficult time supporting her children. She was forbidden by the Torah (the law) to marry another because she was still legally married. This, in current times, would be compared to a “legal separation”. They are not legally divorced to marry another, but they are not living together as husband and wife. In Biblical times, if she did marry another while she was “put away”, this was committing adultery and she would be stoned to death. However, if he were to hand her a “writ of divorce” or a kĕriythuwth, by Law, he can only do so if she had first committed adultery. God hates the act of “putting or sending away”. He starts off in Malachi 2:13-14(NASB), by saying, “This is another thing you do: you cover the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping and with groaning, because He no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. “Yet you say, ‘For what reason?’ Because the LORD has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant." This is why He describes a man that “sends his wife away” as he “who covers his garment with wrong”. Of course God does not like a certificate of divorce either, as this means the woman has committed adultery, but because He is bound by His own laws, He had to make sure that the House of Israel no longer profaned His name by worshiping other gods. He had to give her a certificate of divorce. Yeshua explains in Mark 10:2-5(NASB) 'Some Pharisees came up to Jesus, testing Him, and began to question Him whether it was lawful for a man to divorce (shalach – put away) a wife. And He answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses permitted a man TO WRITE A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE (kĕriythuwth) AND SEND her AWAY (shalach).” But Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.” (Although this verse was translated from Greek, we have used the Hebrew equivalents of these words, since you already have an understanding of these words.) Moses, in the Law, told them that they must first hand her a certificate of divorce and then they could put her away and he only gave them that law because of the “hardness of their hearts”. Because God, Himself, had to do the same thing. God abides by His laws.
Let’s get back to our two kingdoms. God has divorced the northern kingdom or the House of Israel and just as any ex-husband would do, sent her out of His house. The southern kingdom or the House of Judah is just as bad. In fact, she is worse because she sees what her sister, Israel, has done and does the same things, but gives God lip service instead. Jeremiah 3:10(NASB) "Yet in spite of all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but rather in deception," declares the LORD.
The entire book of Hosea is about these same incidents. We will copy just a few verses here about the divorce from the House of Israel, but the entire book needs to be read to understand God’s heart in all of this. Hosea 2:2, 7-8,11(NASB) "Contend with your mother, contend, for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband; And let her put away her harlotry from her face and her adultery from between her breasts…She will pursue her lovers, but she will not overtake them; And she will seek them, but will not find them. Then she will say, 'I will go back to my first husband, for it was better for me then than now!' For she does not know that it was I who gave her the grain, the new wine and the oil, and lavished on her silver and gold, which they used for Baal…I will also put an end to all her gaiety, Her feasts, her new moons, her sabbaths And all her festal assemblies.” As she was scattered into the nations, she became a part of the Gentiles and no longer remembered her feast days and the day of the Sabbath. She also forgot God’s laws. (Remember, Ephraim is a tribe in the northern kingdom). Hosea 9:3(NASB) "They will not remain in the LORD'S land, But Ephraim will return to Egypt, and in Assyria they will eat unclean food.” (Note- the word “food” was added by the translators. God never calls something unclean such as an animal “food”. That would be like referring to mice as “food”.) She forgot what was clean and what was unclean.
When Yeshua came, he said to His disciples in Matthew 10:5-6(NASB) “Do not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans; but rather go to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.” He knows that the northern kingdom is no longer in Samaria. She first went to Assyria and then has been scattered throughout the world. He also says again in Matthew 15:24(NASB) 'But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.” At the time He spoke this, God is still betrothed to the southern kingdom, the House of Judah.
The House of Israel has been given a divorce because she has turned away from Him completely and has been scattered through the world, but there is hope for her. This is why Yeshua came to look for her. Hosea 2:14-15, 18-20(NASB) "Therefore, behold, I will allure her, bring her into the wilderness and speak kindly to her. Then I will give her her vineyards from there, and the valley of Achor as a door of hope. And she will sing there as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt…In that day I will also make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, the birds of the sky and the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish the bow, the sword and war from the land, and will make them lie down in safety. "I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice, In lovingkindness and in compassion, and I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. Then you will know the LORD.” Notice that the New Covenant will also be for the animals, just as the covenant given to Noah that God would never again flood the earth. This New Covenant will also be a betrothal.
We could not find anywhere in Scripture where God divorces the House of Judah. In fact, in Nahum 1:15(NASB), God cautions Judah and says, “…Celebrate your feasts, O Judah; pay your vows.“ This Scripture was written as an “oracle to Ninevah” when she was destroyed in 612 BC. This was after the divorce from Israel. This was after He had stripped IsraEL of His name and His gifts, such as the feast days. She no longer remembered them. Some use this Scripture to say that the feasts were only given to Judah, but we know this is not true. All of Israel was standing at Mt. Sinai the day that He gave his feast days to His people. We will also see later that the feast days are actually mentioned on the fourth day of creation - before there was an Israel. Instead, this verse was to remind Judah, still as God’s betrothed, to keep the ketubah. The same man that wrote the paper on divorce, J. Thomas, also had a very good point on this subject. God couldn’t divorce Judah as he had Israel. Not then. He needed her for the bloodline of Yeshua. Yeshua could not be born out of wedlock. His mother had to be of the House of Judah, God’s wife. However, upon the death of Yeshua, she is also set free. Romans 7:2-4(NASB) "For the married woman is bound by law to her husband while he is living; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband. So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man. Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God." This is why Yeshua had to come “in His father’s name”. John 5:43 “I have come in My Father’s name…” The House of Judah’s husband died. Judah is a widow. How many stories are there in both the Old Testament and the New Testament that tell of a widow whose one and only son dies, only to be healed and raised from the dead? What a perfect picture of the House of Judah and her only son being Yeshua. Of course, since most people in the House of Judah do not believe that their Messiah has come the first time, they do not believe that they are a widow either. Judah believes that she is still betrothed to her Creator. There is a fantastic book that I would highly recommend about the two houses and that is Who Is Israel? by Batya Wootin.
Another point we would like to make about Yeshua's death is that the northern house, the House of Israel, could never have just come back to her first husband. According to God's laws, in Deuteronomy 24:1-4(NASB) “When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out from his house, and she leaves his house and goes and becomes another man’s wife, turns against her and writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her to be his wife, then her former husband who sent her away is not allowed to take her again to be his wife, since she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before the LORD, and you shall not bring sin on the land which the LORD." No, God could never have just taken the House of Israel back and given her a new betrothal covenant. Instead, out of His great love for her, he sent Yeshua in His name to die. Now, she is free to marry another.
So now, the House of Israel and the House of Judah are not married, but a betrothal will be given again. Do we need to know, then, our genealogy to see if we are a part of either of these “houses”? Paul teaches in 1 Timothy 1:3-4(NASB) "As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith.” No, we do not need to know our family history. Through Yeshua, you have been “grafted into” the main olive tree. Paul further explains in Ephesians 2:11-13(NASB) "Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called "Uncircumcision" by the so-called "Circumcision,"which is performed in the flesh by human hands—remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” When you were a Gentile, you were not entitled to the covenants, but through the blood of Yeshua, you are now a part of Israel and become as native born. You are no longer a Gentile. Ephesians 2:19(NASB) So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household.” You are Israel!
John 3:16(NASB) “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. This is not a new concept. Anyone or, should we say, the “whosoevers” were always permitted to enter the kingdom. Exodus 12:48-49(NASB) “But if a stranger sojourns with you, and celebrates the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near to celebrate it; and he shall be like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person may eat of it. The same law shall apply to the native as to the stranger who sojourns among you.” As long as a Gentile wanted to worship the God of Israel and was willing to abide by the same ketubah, or laws, they were welcome. In fact, they no longer were known as Gentiles and received the same covenants of promise just as Caleb did. He was an Edomite, not a part of the twelve tribes, but he received an inheritance of land because he “believed” in the God of Israel and by his actions, served Him.
This also brings us to the word “church”. There are some people that believe that the “church” replaced Israel. This is commonly referred to as “replacement theology”. However, the Word says, Jeremiah 31:35-36(NASB) Thus says the LORD, Who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar; The LORD of hosts is His name: “If this fixed order departs From before Me,” declares the LORD, “Then the offspring of Israel also will cease from being a nation before Me forever.” Certainly this fixed order has not departed. The sun is still a light by day and the moon and stars by night. Let’s take a look at the word “church” in the New Testament. The Greek word is ekklēsia and is Strong’s #G1577 and means “an assembly or gathering or congregation” and can be traced back to two root words, which together, mean “the called out ones”. The Hebrew counterpart to this word is edah and is Strong’s #H5712 and is first used in Exodus 12:3 (NASB) “Speak to all the congregation (edah) of Israel…” Israel is the congregation or the "church" and she is also the olive tree (see Romans 11). We have been grafted into her through Yeshua, not the other way around.
Now that we know who will be receiving this New Covenant, let’s take a look at the timing. Do we have it now?