NOTE: Most of what I’m reading aside from the Bible is from “The Messianic Bible Study Collection” by Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, an in-depth look at Scripture from a well-informed author.
This Land Covenant is related to but not part of the Mosaic Covenant. Other than being unconditional, its blessings depend on the obedience of God’s people. This verse shows it is a separate covenant:
These are the words of the covenant that the Lord commanded Moses to make with the people of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant that he had made with them at Horeb. (Deuteronomy 29:1)
The following shows that God’s blessings depend on Him, not on the people who were ‘on/off’ in their loyalty to Him:
“And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, and return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you. If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there he will take you. And the Lord your God will bring you into the land that your fathers possessed, that you may possess it. And he will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.” (Deuteronomy 30:1–6)
In describing it, the Bible relates Moses prophetically telling the people they would disobey the Law and be scattered over all the world, yet eventually repent and be regathered and possess the land God promised them. They would prosper in that land with changed lives and see the Lord’s curses on their enemies. Theologians differ on how all this will play out but since God promises it, all of it will happen.
Two other issues are notable: One, the conditional Mosaic Covenant did not lay aside the unconditional Abrahamic Covenant because this Land Covenant amplifies the promise of the Land to God’s earthly Jewish people. The Abrahamic Covenant teaches that ownership for the Land is unconditional while the Land Covenant teaches that the enjoyment of the Land is conditioned on obedience.
The NT speaks of those with the faith of Abraham being included as “Israel” and heir to these promises. When the covenant is interpreted that way, then it could be said that the people of God will ‘inherit’ the promised land with its abundant life. Faith in Jesus makes that unconditional even though the enjoyment of the Christian life is conditioned on obedience. While this interpretation is true, the promise of the Land to the Jews will also be fulfilled. Even now, the news out of Israel relates that many are confessing Jesus is their Messiah and are putting their faith in Him.
This Land Covenant does reaffirm that God gave physical real estate to Israel. Although His people would prove unfaithful and disobedient, the right to the Land would never be taken from them. In the same way, the promise to God’s people in Christ is real estate in heaven and even though we often mess up, that destiny will never be taken from us. Jesus said:
“In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” (John 14:2–3)
GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. Even when I sin, His assurance of eternal life remains. This is the marvel of the Gospel. God promised a place for me and will take me there. Even now, He says that I am “raised up and seated with Him in the heavenly places” and that this earth is not my home, I am a citizen of heaven. The Land Covenant is just as unconditional for those who believe in Jesus as it is for the nation of Israel. No wonder that the Bible tells me to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and for justice regarding those who are anti-Israel and who may not realize the peril of trying to overturn the promises of Almighty God.
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