By Pastor Dave McGarrah
What does it take for a holy, infinite God and a flawed, finite people to walk together? Scripture’s answer carries the whole Bible from Genesis to Revelation: covenant. A covenant is God’s binding word, a promise with structure, sealed and kept by the One who makes it. Yet, a widespread teaching known as replacement theology claims that because Israel broke the covenant and largely did not receive Jesus as Messiah, God has set the Jewish people aside and transferred their promises to the Church. This teaching strikes at the character of God Himself; if God would break His word to Israel, no believer has any real assurance that He will keep His word to us. But the God who swore to Abraham is the God who keeps His word.
Promise Versus Covenant
We often use promise and covenant interchangeably, but they are fundamentally different. A promise is a declaration of intent resting on personal character. A covenant (Hebrew berit) is a promise raised to a binding, formal relationship sworn by oath, witnessed, and sealed in blood. Covenants are either conditional, placing obligations on both parties (like Sinai), or unconditional, resting entirely on the One who swears them.
The clearest picture of an unconditional covenant is found in Genesis 15, where God commands Abraham to cut animals in two. In ancient custom, both parties walked between the pieces, invoking self-malediction if they broke the oath. But Abraham was put into a deep sleep, and only a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch — the presence of God — passed between the pieces. God took the whole oath on Himself, swearing by His own name because there was no one greater.
The Covenant at Work in History
The Abrahamic covenant is the thread God has run through the entire story of Israel. It was passed down by oath to Isaac and Jacob, it was the reason for the Exodus from Egypt when God heard their groaning, and it saved Israel after the golden calf when Moses appealed to the oath rather than Israel’s merit. It set Israel’s election on God’s love rather than its greatness, restrained judgment during the divided kingdom, and promised return even before the exile. When the New Testament opens, the covenant with Abraham is treated as the very reason for the Messiah’s coming, celebrated in the songs of Mary and Zechariah. Through two thousand years of dispersion, expulsions, pogroms, and the Holocaust, the Jewish people remained preserved, culminating in the rebirth of the state of Israel in 1948.
Scripture’s Assurance That the Covenant Still Stands
Replacement theology claims that God canceled His covenant with the Jewish people, but Scripture answers directly. Jeremiah records God staking the permanence of Israel on the fixed order of the sun, moon, and stars, declaring that only if this cosmic order departs will the offspring of Israel cease from being a nation before Him forever.
When faced with human unfaithfulness, Paul asks, “Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means!” In Galatians 3, Paul argues that the Law given 430 years later at Sinai could not annul the previously ratified covenant with Abraham. In Romans 9-11, Paul explicitly asks, “Has God rejected his people? By no means!” He reminds Gentile believers that they are wild olive shoots grafted into Israel’s tree and that “the root supports you”. Crucially, Paul concludes that regarding election, Israel is beloved for the sake of their forefathers, because “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable”.
The Anchor of Christian Assurance
This is why replacement theology is not a minor disagreement over prophecy. If God’s election of Israel could be revoked, so could ours. Our assurance rests on the exact same foundation as Israel’s: the unchanging character of God. Hebrews 6 explains that God guaranteed His promise with an oath alongside His word so that believers who have fled for refuge might have a “sure and steadfast anchor of the soul”. The faithfulness God shows to Israel is the absolute proof of the faithfulness He promises to us.
As we look forward, Scripture gives a glorious final chapter for Israel: regathered into their land never to be uprooted, defended by God Himself, brought to spiritual renewal, recognizing their pierced Messiah, and serving as the focal point from which God’s blessing flows to all nations. The God who kept His word to Abraham through slavery, wilderness, exile, dispersion, and the fires of the Holocaust is the same God who promises that He will never leave nor forsake us. We do not trust God’s promises to the Church in spite of what He has done with Israel; we trust them because of what He has done with Israel.
Under the leadership of Dave McGarrah, Master Minded Ministries has spent nearly two decades reconnecting believers with the deep Jewish roots of their faith. Through educational outreach, immersive trips to Israel, and the interfaith radio program The Teacher (Rabbi) and The Preacher, the organization actively bridges the gap between Christian and Jewish communities. Come listen to Pastor Dave at 6:30 p.m. every Tuesday at Nampa Christian High School.
