V. 8.— For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.
In God’ s dispensations towards Israel we perceive the highest wisdom. The misunderstanding of it has been indeed the great means of corrupting the religion of Jesus. The folly and wickedness of man perverts and abuses the goodness of God. "All the words of his mouth are in righteousness, there is nothing perverse or froward in them.” Proverbs 8:8. The Sinai covenant was very glorious, and this was signified by the glory of Moses’ countenance, but this glory not enduring, imported the vanishing away of the glory of the first covenant, when it had answered the purpose of introducing the second. The first covenant fully attained its Divine end, namely that of introducing the second covenant; but it was never intended to give eternal life, and therefore, considered in itself, it was not faultless nor adequate to the exigencies of fallen man. Hence the Lord, finding fault, says to the Israelites, “Behold the days come when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.” [When the Lord promised to make a new covenant, he was not finding fault with Israel.
Jeremiah 31:31. The Apostle had said, if the first covenant had been faultless, then no place should have been found for the second. The promise of a new covenant was virtually finding fault with the old, declaring its insufficiency.] The first covenant was made with Israel after the flesh, the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the new covenant is made with those that are Christ’ s, who are Abraham’ s seed and heirs according to the promise. Galatians 3:29. God adopted Israel after the flesh to be his peculiar people, in virtue of their being the seed of Abraham, and consequently related to Christ; but it was a carnal relation; hence Israel were blessed with all carnal blessings in earthly places, namely, the land flowing with milk and honey. But the true Israel, in virtue of their spiritual relation to Christ, are blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 1:3.
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