Part One On the Mountains of Israel Ezekiel 34 – 39 is bound together by the theme of the return of the presence of God. But one should also note the repeated refrain “the mountains of Israel.” The phrase is a favorite one with Ezekiel, who uses it seventeen times. In fact, it is only found elsewhere in two verses in Joshua (Josh. 11:16, 21). Up until chapter 34 all four times it is been used it has rung a …
Category: Biblical Covenantalism
The Glory of the Lord Ezekiel begins with a vision of what appears to be a moveable throne, with a kind of platform beneath it (Ezek. 1:22-26). At its sides, just below the platform were wheels (Ezek. 1:19-21), and creatures full of life (“living creatures”), who had some sort of symbiotic attachment to each other; the creatures energizing the wheels.[1] These are identified later as cherubim (Ezek. 10:1ff.). The “voice of the Almighty” seemed to be heard in the wings …
Part Four This is the final installment of this short series. What Yahweh Thinks of Covenant-Breakers Having just uttered what is undoubtedly one of the most unambiguous promises in literature, and coming on the back of an entire extended portion on the subject of Israel’s eschatological hope (Jer. 30 – 33), Jeremiah switches gear to relate an incident under the quickly ebbing reign of king Zedekiah. The background to the story is the desperation of the king and his nobles …
Part Three The Abundance of Peace and Truth Jeremiah 33 opens by referencing the destruction that has been made upon Jerusalem (“this city” in v.4), where the inhabitants had to demolish houses to build fortifications (Jer. 33:1-4). Yahweh declares that although He will not save them from the Babylonians, He does intend to heal the city and bring to it “an abundance of peace and truth” (33:6). This will involve a return from captivity (33:7), which to the prophet’s hearers …
Part Two The Guarantee of the Lord of Creation and Providence Returning to where we left off in Jeremiah 31, after Jeremiah has revealed a New covenant to replace the Mosaic covenant, he is given revelation which underlines its validity. Thus says the LORD, Who gives the sun for a light by day, the ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, who disturbs the sea, and its waves roar (The LORD of hosts is His …
Part One The Locus Classicus of the New Covenant Then we arrive at the prophecy about the New covenant (Jer. 31:31-34). The verses are immediately followed by a Divine guarantee of future fulfillment (Jer. 31:35-37). So it behooves us to look at it carefully: Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when 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 …
Excerpts from the book The Words of the Covenant: A Biblical Theology (forthcoming) As far as biblical covenantalism goes, the prophecies in Jeremiah 30 through 33, supported by chapters 34 and 35 are critical.[1] After the prophet is heard in his own right, the covenantal picture that has been forming so far really starts to take shape. When Jeremiah’s historical situation is considered the covenantal picture is only reinforced all the more.[2] The series begins when Jeremiah is commanded to …
I was thinking about how one might visualize “Biblical Covenantalism.” Traditional Dispensationalism has its seven dispensations; Progressive Dispensationalism its four. But BC does not regard dispensations as basic to the system. That is to say, dispensations do not structure BC. I have given my reasons for this before. If I were asked to put my finger on one problem with defining a system by dispensations it would be that they are descriptive, not prescriptive. Because they don’t prescribe anything, Dispensational-ism has …
Another excerpt from The Words of the Covenant: A Biblical Theology A Concern for God’s Covenants The prophet Jeremiah is certainly concerned about covenant. He refers constantly to the Mosaic covenant (e.g. Jer.11:1-12), especially as understood in Deuteronomy. But chapter 3 shows him to be focused also on the Davidic covenant (Jer. 3:17), and the land aspect of the Abrahamic covenant (Jer. 3:18. Cf. 25:5). Having noted this there are still signs of God’s allegiance to Israel, as when in …
This is an older post which I have taken the opportunity to revise and update, hopefully in light of more mature thinking. A Little Back-Story As many of my readers will know, I have spent a lot of time and energy trying to place Dispensational theology on what I believe is a more secure footing. Dispensationalism has not produced many top-line academic works, especially in the last half century, and with only one or two exceptions it presents itself as …
