The Unquenchable Lamp of the Covenant. Abraham Park

son,” the son of David (2 Sam 7:12–14; 1 Chr 22:9–12; Ps 89:28–29). The son that God promised to give David was a “man of rest,” and he was to build a house for God, and God would establish the throne of the son’s kingdom forever (1 Chr 22:9–10).

      This covenant was first fulfilled when David’s son Solomon built the Temple of Jerusalem and dedicated it to the Lord. However, the promise that a son would come and establish the throne of the kingdom forever is ultimately the promise of the coming Jesus Christ, who would establish the eternal kingdom of heaven.

      The archangel Gabriel said to Mary, “…and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end” (Luke 1:32–33). This message is a reassuring testimony that Jesus Christ came as the One to fulfill the Davidic covenant (Ps 2:7, 12; Acts 13:33–34).

      5. The New Covenant of Jeremiah and Jesus Christ

      God sent the prophet Jeremiah and established a covenant right before Jerusalem perished. The center and the executor of this new covenant was Jesus Christ. Jesus called it “the new covenant in My blood” (Luke 22:20; 1 Cor 11:25) and the author of Hebrews refers to Jesus as “the mediator of a new covenant” (Heb 9:15; 12:24).

      How is Jesus described in the new covenant?

      First, it foreshadows the changing of the character and hearts of the people through the gospel of Jesus Christ.

      Jeremiah 31:33 “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”

      The Hebrew word for within in this verse is < (qereb), meaning “inward part” or “midst.” It refers to the inner thought, inward feelings, or character of a man. The Hebrew word for heart is , which means “inner man” or “mind.” While the Old Testament law was the covenant that changes the outer aspects of a person, the new covenant is one that changes the character and the inner man of a person (Ps 40:8; Ezek 11:19–20; 2 Cor 3:2–3).

      Jesus woke the people to the essence of sin when He spoke about how adultery stems from a person’s character and heart. Up until Jesus’ teaching, people were condemned only on the basis of their outward behaviors.

      He said in Matthew 5:27–28, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ but I say to you, that everyone who looks on a woman to lust for her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.”

      Until the time of Jesus, the law was not written on the hearts of the people, but the new covenant in Christ is the law that is written upon the heart (Jer 31:33; Heb 8:10). The new law that is written upon the heart is nothing other than the gospel of Jesus Christ.

      The word write is , meaning “to inscribe.” It is in Greek, which also means “to inscribe.” The word is used for something that is carved permanently in stone rather than just written down superficially. When the gospel of Jesus Christ is inscribed on our hearts, we can enter into an eternal relationship with God and thus the promise, “I will be their God, and they shall be My people” (Jer 31:33; Heb 8:10), is fulfilled.

      When God’s law was not inscribed on the Israelites’ hearts, they forsook, betrayed, and rebelled against Him. However, when God’s law is eternally inscribed on their hearts, they will become faithful people who will never forsake God.

      Second, it foreshadows the complete forgiveness that Jesus Christ will give.

      Jeremiah 31:34 “And they shall not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

      The word know used in this verse is in Hebrew, signifying a knowledge attained through one’s whole personality, not merely through the intellect—knowing fully just as we see “face to face” (1 Cor 13:12).

      How is such a phenomenon possible? Jeremiah 31:34 explains that it is possible because God forgives their iniquities and remembers their sins no more. In the Hebrew text of Jeremiah 31:34, there is a subordinating conjunction for , which expresses cause. In other words, people will come to know God personally as a result of His redemptive work (Heb 8:11).

      The work of redemption, which grants forgiveness of all sins, is fulfilled through the cross of Jesus Christ (Eph 1:7; Heb 9:12–13, 28). Hence, the cross of Jesus Christ becomes the foundation upon which people can come to know God personally. For this reason, God says that He will establish a covenant with “those who turn from transgression in Jacob” in Isaiah 59:20–21. Those who repent through God’s sovereign grace and partake in the redeeming work of the cross of Jesus Christ will receive the new covenant. Isaiah 59:21 presents two kinds of phenomena that result from the new covenant.

      Isaiah 59:21 “And as for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the LORD: “My Spirit which is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring’s offspring,” says the LORD, “from now and forever.”

      According to this verse, God’s Spirit and Word will not depart from the mouth of God’s people forever once the new covenant is made. The Hebrew word used for My Spirit in this verse is , referring to the Holy Spirit (Isa 61:1; 1 Jn 2:27). For My words, the Hebrew word is used, referring to “the Word of God.” The Holy Spirit and the Word of God worked together during the time of the early church. When Peter proclaimed the Word, the Holy Spirit came down upon all who were listening to the Word (Acts 10:44). The time of the new covenant has come in Jesus Christ, but the final completion has not yet been achieved. When the new covenant is completely fulfilled through the Second Coming Lord, the Word and the Holy Spirit of God will not depart throughout the generations.

      The focus of all the covenants discussed in this chapter is none other than Jesus Christ Himself; Jesus Christ is the final fulfillment and completion of all the covenants in the Bible. Every covenant testified to Jesus Christ progressively through clear revelations in the flow of redemptive history. The genealogy of Jesus Christ is a synopsis of God’s redemptive administration by which His covenants have manifested throughout history.

      We will be able to understand clearly the essence of the redemptive history in the Bible as we carefully study God’s covenant and its fulfillment in the genealogy of Jesus Christ.

      PART TWO

      God’s Administration in the History of Redemption and the Genealogy of Jesus Christ

      While Genesis—the first book of the Old Testament—opens with the creation account of the heavens and the earth, Matthew—the first book of the New Testament—opens with the genealogy of Jesus Christ who came to this world to save fallen mankind. The first gateway through which the New Testament introduces the coming of Jesus Christ is the “genealogy.”

      Generally speaking, a genealogy