The Covenants of God: Who Is Israel? Who Is Chosen?

This study presents a broad biblical investigation into the covenants of God — their recipients, conditions, purpose, fulfillment, and enduring relevance. It traces the covenant framework from Adam through the New Covenant, then examines how Israel, the Church, and the Gentiles relate to God's redemptive plan.

A covenant in Scripture is more than a contract. It is a solemn, binding agreement initiated by God that provides the framework for understanding His relationship with humanity, especially His chosen people. Two fundamental types appear throughout Scripture:

• Conditional covenants — "If you do this, I will do that" (for example, the Mosaic Covenant)
• Unconditional covenants — solemn promises God swears to uphold regardless of human performance (for example, the Abrahamic and Davidic Covenants)

Throughout Scripture, covenants are linked to land, blessing, seed, nations, and worship. To grasp the whole Bible, one must understand its covenants. They are the architecture of God's redemptive plan.

The study also addresses major theological questions: whether Israel broke the covenants, whether the Church replaces Israel, who God's chosen people are today, and how modern Israel fits into prophecy.

The foundational covenantal promise is found in Genesis 12:1-3:

"Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."

The climax of the covenant framework is announced in Jeremiah 31:31-34:

"Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that 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 bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake... But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people."

These two passages bracket the entire covenant structure of Scripture — one inaugurating the redemptive line through Abraham, the other announcing its ultimate fulfillment through a new and better covenant in Christ.

Historical and Canonical Setting

The biblical covenants span from creation to consummation. They are not isolated legal instruments but a progressive unfolding of God's single redemptive purpose — to dwell with humanity in holiness and blessing.

The covenant sequence is:

1. Adamic Covenant — Genesis 1-3, at creation and the fall
2. Noahic Covenant — Genesis 6-9, after the flood
3. Abrahamic Covenant — Genesis 12-17, with the patriarch
4. Mosaic (Sinai) Covenant — Exodus 19-24, with the nation of Israel
5. Levitical (Priestly) Covenant — Numbers 25, with the tribe of Levi
6. Davidic Covenant — 2 Samuel 7, with the royal line
7. New Covenant — Jeremiah 31, fulfilled in Christ

The Ancient Near Eastern Background

Covenants in the biblical world followed recognized patterns of ancient Near Eastern treaty forms. The Mosaic Covenant bears the structure of a suzerainty treaty — a great king binding a vassal people to terms. The Abrahamic Covenant, by contrast, resembles a royal land grant: a superior grants unconditional gifts. These backgrounds illuminate why some covenants are conditional and others are not.

Second Temple Context

By the time of the Second Temple period, Israel had experienced exile for covenant violations and awaited restoration. Prophetic writings from Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel anticipated a new and greater covenant that would accomplish inwardly what the Law could only require outwardly. The New Testament writers, particularly Paul and the author of Hebrews, interpret Christ's work precisely within this framework.

Covenant — Hebrew berit (H1285)

The Hebrew word berit (בְּרִית) is translated "covenant" throughout the Old Testament. Its precise etymology is debated — some derive it from the verb barah ("to cut"), connecting it to the ritual of cutting animals in covenant-making ceremonies (compare Genesis 15). Others derive it from an Akkadian cognate meaning "bond" or "fetter." The dominant sense is a binding, solemn agreement initiated by a superior party.

The phrase "to cut a covenant" (karat berit) reflects the ritual of Genesis 15, in which animals were divided and the covenant parties passed between the pieces — signifying that the covenant-maker called down the fate of the slaughtered animals upon himself if he broke the terms.

Lovingkindness — Hebrew hesed (H2617)

Hesed (חֶסֶד) is the covenant loyalty and steadfast love God maintains toward those in covenant relationship with Him. It is not merely sentiment but covenantal obligation — God's faithful commitment to His own promises. It appears throughout Psalms, Hosea, and Lamentations as the basis for Israel's hope even in the face of judgment.

New Covenant — Greek diatheke (G1242)

The Greek diatheke (διαθήκη) is used in the Septuagint to translate berit and appears in the New Testament for both "covenant" and "testament" (will). The author of Hebrews deliberately exploits this double meaning in Hebrews 9:15-17, showing that the New Covenant required the death of the testator — Christ — to take effect. This is a stronger word than the Greek syntheke (mutual contract), emphasizing that God alone establishes its terms.

Flesh — Greek sarx (G4561)

Paul's use of sarx (σάρξ) in Galatians and Romans is critical to understanding covenant inclusion. Physical descent ("according to the flesh") does not determine covenant standing — faith does (Romans 9:8; Galatians 3:16, 29). The promise to Abraham's "seed" (sperma, G4690) is interpreted by Paul as pointing to Christ singularly (Galatians 3:16) and then collectively to all who are in Christ.

Adamic Covenant

• Genesis 1:26-30 — dominion mandate
• Genesis 2:15-17 — the prohibition
• Genesis 3:14-19 — covenant consequences
• Genesis 3:15 — the protevangelium, first messianic promise
• Romans 5:12-21 — Adam as type of Christ
• 1 Corinthians 15:22, 45 — the last Adam

Noahic Covenant

• Genesis 6:18; 8:20-22; 9:1-17 — covenant terms and sign
• Isaiah 54:9-10 — God recalls the Noahic promise as a pattern of His faithfulness
• 1 Peter 3:20-21 — the ark as a type of baptism and salvation

Abrahamic Covenant

• Genesis 12:1-3; 15; 17 — the covenant given and confirmed
• Genesis 22:16-18 — oath confirmed after the near sacrifice of Isaac
• Galatians 3:6-29 — Paul's exposition of Abraham's faith and the promise
• Romans 4 — Abraham as father of all who believe
• Hebrews 6:13-20 — the oath sworn to Abraham as the believer's anchor

Mosaic Covenant

• Exodus 19-24; 31:13-17; Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28 — covenant terms and sanctions
• Jeremiah 31:32 — Israel's breach of the Mosaic Covenant
• Hebrews 8:7-13 — the Mosaic Covenant declared obsolete
• Romans 7 — the Law exposes sin but cannot save

Levitical Covenant

• Numbers 25:10-13; Malachi 2:4-8 — the covenant with Phinehas
• Hebrews 7:11-28 — Christ as the superior High Priest
• Psalms 110:4 — the Melchizedekian priesthood foreshadowing Christ

Davidic Covenant

• 2 Samuel 7:12-16; Psalms 89; Isaiah 9:6-7 — the covenant promises
• Luke 1:32-33 — the angel announcing Christ as heir to David's throne
• Acts 2:30-36 — Peter's Pentecost sermon connecting David's promise to Christ's resurrection
• Revelation 19:11-16 — Christ returning as King of kings

New Covenant

• Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:24-28 — the Old Testament promise
• Luke 22:20 — instituted at the Last Supper
• Hebrews 8-10 — exposition of the New Covenant's superiority
• Romans 11 — Jew and Gentile together under the New Covenant
• 2 Corinthians 3:6 — Paul as a minister of the New Covenant

Replacement Theology Refutations

• Romans 11:1-2 — "Hath God cast away his people? God forbid."
• Romans 11:17-24 — Gentiles grafted into Israel's root, not the reverse
• Jeremiah 31:36 — Israel's continuity tied to the fixed order of creation
• Romans 11:29 — "the gifts and calling of God are without repentance"

The Adamic Covenant

God made mankind in His image and placed Adam and Eve in Eden with dominion over the earth (Genesis 1:26-30) and a single prohibition — not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17). Obedience meant continued life in God's presence; disobedience meant death.

Adam disobeyed. The consequences were the fall: death, toil, pain, and expulsion from Eden (Genesis 3). Yet within the judgment came the first messianic promise — the seed of the woman would bruise the serpent's head (Genesis 3:15). This protevangelium sets the redemptive trajectory for all subsequent covenants.

Church fathers Irenaeus and Tertullian both saw Adam as a type of Christ. The first Adam disobeyed and brought death; the last Adam obeyed unto death and brought life (Romans 5:12-21).

The Noahic Covenant

After the flood, God made a universal covenant with Noah, his descendants, and all living creatures — promising never again to destroy all life with a flood (Genesis 9:11). The rainbow was given as its sign. Humanity was commanded to be fruitful, multiply, and exercise governance (Genesis 9:1-6). This covenant is still in effect and applies to all humanity, not only Israel. Justin Martyr saw the ark as a type of the Church; Clement of Rome pointed to Noah's faith as an example for believers.

The Abrahamic Covenant

The Abrahamic covenant is the cornerstone of redemptive history. God promised Abraham a great nation, a specific land from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates (Genesis 15:18), and that all nations would be blessed through his seed. Circumcision was given as the covenant sign (Genesis 17:10).

Critically, in Genesis 15 God alone passed between the covenant pieces while Abraham slept — meaning God unilaterally bound Himself to the promise. The covenant is therefore unconditional. It has been partially fulfilled in the formation of the nation and the entry into the land; it is spiritually fulfilled through Christ (Galatians 3:16); and its final fulfillment in the Messianic reign remains future.

Paul's argument in Galatians 3 and Romans 4 is that the promise of blessing to Abraham's seed extends to all who share Abraham's faith, both Jew and Gentile. The promise is not voided but expanded through Christ.

The Mosaic (Sinai) Covenant

God made the Mosaic covenant with the nation of Israel at Sinai (Exodus 19-24). It is explicitly conditional — "If you obey... then I will..." (Exodus 19:5). Obedience meant blessing; disobedience meant curse and exile (Deuteronomy 28). The sign was the Sabbath (Exodus 31:13-17).

Israel repeatedly broke this covenant (Jeremiah 31:32; 11:10). The consequences were severe: Assyrian exile in 722 BC for the Northern Kingdom, Babylonian exile in 586 BC for the Southern Kingdom, and the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD. The Mosaic covenant served to reveal God's holiness and man's sinfulness, preparing the way for a better covenant (Hebrews 8:7-13).

The Levitical (Priestly) Covenant

God granted a covenant of peace and perpetual priesthood to Phinehas and his descendants (Numbers 25:10-13), emphasizing zeal for holiness, faithful mediation, and atonement. The Levitical system functioned through the tabernacle and temple until 70 AD. Christ fulfilled and surpassed it as eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 7:11-28), rendering the Levitical priesthood a shadow of the substance found in Him.

The Davidic Covenant

God promised David an eternal kingdom through his lineage — that the Messiah would sit on David's throne forever (2 Samuel 7:12-16). The covenant is unconditional with respect to the coming of Messiah, though individual kings could be judged for disobedience (Psalms 89:30-32).

The covenant was partially fulfilled through David's dynasty. Its ultimate fulfillment is in Jesus, whom the angel announced as the one who "shall reign over the house of Jacob forever" (Luke 1:32-33), and whom Peter declared to be enthroned at the Father's right hand (Acts 2:30-36). The Davidic covenant provides the basis for the hope of a future kingdom.

The New Covenant

The New Covenant, announced by Jeremiah (31:31-34) and Ezekiel (36:24-28), promised inward transformation — God's law written on the heart, direct knowledge of God, and complete forgiveness of sin. It is unconditional in origin, upheld by God through Christ, though participation requires faith.

Christ inaugurated it at the Last Supper (Luke 22:20). It is applied through His death and resurrection and fully realized in the age to come (Hebrews 8-10). It replaces the broken Mosaic covenant (Hebrews 8:13) and applies to both Israel and Gentiles (Romans 11; Galatians 3). It does not abolish the earlier unconditional covenants — the Abrahamic and Davidic — but fulfills their deepest intentions.

Conditionality and Permanence

God's covenants differ in their conditions, but His faithfulness never wavers:

• Conditional covenants (Mosaic) may be broken by man and carry consequences
• Unconditional covenants (Abrahamic, Davidic, New) are maintained by God's own oath and character
• Human unfaithfulness cannot nullify God's unconditional promises (Romans 11:29)
• The Mosaic Covenant is declared obsolete (Hebrews 8:13), but other covenants continue through Christ

Replacement Theology Evaluated

Replacement Theology (Supersessionism) holds that the Church has replaced Israel in God's redemptive plan, so that God's promises to Israel now apply solely to the Church. The study rejects this on scriptural grounds:

• Romans 11:1-2 explicitly denies that God has cast away His people
• Romans 11:17-24 presents Gentiles as grafted into Israel's root — not the other way around
• Jeremiah 31:36 ties Israel's continuity to the permanence of the created order
• The Old Testament prophets (Ezekiel 36-37; Zechariah 12) foretell Israel's future national restoration

The Church does not replace Israel. It is grafted in. Israel and the Church have distinct but complementary roles within God's one redemptive plan.

Who Are God's Chosen People Today?

Scripture presents a layered answer:

• National Israel remains God's elect as a nation, with promises yet to be fulfilled (Romans 11:28)
• The Church — believing Jews and Gentiles — is chosen in Christ and grafted into the same root (Romans 11:17-24; 1 Peter 2:9)
• Not all physical Israelites are considered true Israel (Romans 9:6), for the children of promise — those of faith — are counted as seed (Romans 9:8)
• All who are in Christ are Abraham's seed and heirs of the promise (Galatians 3:29)

God's chosen people today include believing Jews and Gentiles united in one body in Christ, while national Israel retains a prophetic role awaiting future fulfillment without being displaced.

The Geographic and Prophetic Identity of Israel

The land promised to Abraham spans from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates (Genesis 15:18) — boundaries modern Israel does not yet fully occupy. Israel must be back in the land for end-time prophecies to unfold (Ezekiel 36-39). The reestablishment of the modern State of Israel in 1948 is viewed as a remarkable fulfillment of Ezekiel 36:24, paralleling Isaiah 11:11-12.

However, physical regathering is not the final word. National repentance and recognition of Messiah remain future events (Zechariah 12:10). Geography matters, but so does faith. Full restoration includes spiritual renewal through faith in Christ.

Modern Jews and Biblical Israel

Most Jews today identify as descendants of ancient Israelites through tradition, records, and genetics. DNA studies are presented as supporting Middle Eastern ancestry in Ashkenazi, Sephardic, and Mizrahi Jewish groups, and the Khazar theory is noted as having limited evidence and not being widely accepted academically. Rabbinic Judaism continued after 70 AD, preserving Jewish identity without temple worship.

Christian theology affirms continuity for believing Jews but does not tie covenant status to ethnicity alone (Romans 2:28-29). Modern Jews are therefore presented as ethnically and historically linked to ancient Israel, though full covenant restoration depends on recognizing the Messiah.

The Role of the Gentiles

God told Abraham that all families of the earth would be blessed through him (Genesis 12:3), and Isaiah declared Israel's calling to be "a light to the Gentiles" (Isaiah 49:6). Gentiles were always part of God's redemptive plan — not an afterthought.

Romans 11 uses the olive tree metaphor: Gentiles are wild branches grafted into the cultivated root of Israel. Ephesians 2:11-22 speaks of believing Jews and Gentiles united into "one new man" in Christ, with the dividing wall of the Law broken down. Gentiles become heirs of the promises through faith (Galatians 3:29) — full citizens in God's household (Ephesians 2:19). This is not replacement but inclusion.

Final Judgment and Eternal Covenant Fulfillment

The culmination of all covenants results in restoration, judgment, and everlasting peace:

The Return of Christ — Jesus returns visibly to gather His elect and judge the nations (Matthew 24:30-31), coming as conquering King and Judge and fulfilling the Davidic promise of eternal rule (Revelation 19:11-16).

Judgment of the Nations — The nations are judged by their treatment of Christ's people (Matthew 25:31-46) and by how they treated Israel (Joel 3:2), affirming Israel's central role in the end.

Restoration of Israel — A future national turning to Christ is promised (Romans 11:26). Israel will recognize Jesus as Messiah in mourning and repentance (Zechariah 12:10). Unity, cleansing, and covenant renewal will be complete under Messiah (Ezekiel 37:22-28).

New Heavens and New Earth — God renews creation (Isaiah 65:17; Revelation 21:1-4). The eternal city visibly honors both Israel and the Church through its twelve gates and twelve foundations (Revelation 21:12-14). God's everlasting covenant guarantees a permanent relationship with His people (Jeremiah 32:40; Hebrews 13:20; Revelation 21:3).

The biblical covenants form a unified framework for understanding God's dealings with humanity, Israel, the nations, and the Messiah. Some covenants are conditional and were broken by man — especially the Mosaic Covenant — while others are unconditional and remain grounded in God's own faithfulness and oath.

Israel retains a prophetic and covenantal role that is not erased by the calling of the Church. At the same time, Gentiles are fully included through faith in Christ — not as replacements but as fellow heirs. The New Covenant brings the fulfillment of all prior covenant hope through forgiveness, transformation, and union with God in Messiah.

In the end, every covenant finds its fulfillment in the reign of Christ, the restoration of God's people, the judgment of evil, and the everlasting dwelling of God with the redeemed.