The Jacob-Israel Covenant For Today

Bible study presented at BYA Feast of Tabernacles, Tuesday Oct. 7, 2025
by Pastor J. S. Brooks

Lev. 26:42 says, “Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob…” Yes, the covenant Elohim made with Jacob!

I was asked to explain what a biblical covenant is, and how it differs from an ordinary agreement. So let’s begin by answering that question. The Expositor’s Bible gives this explanation: “[Usually] In a covenant the two parties are conceived as equals in point of law, binding themselves by a compact that bears on each alike. Here it is not so. The disposition of affairs is made by Elohim, who in the sovereignty of His grace "hath granted it to Abraham." It was surely a reverent sense of this difference which dictated to the men of the Septuagint the use of διαθηκη/diatheke rather than συνθηκη/suntheke the ordinary term for a compact, in their rendering of the Hebrew berith. This aspect of the covenants now becomes their commanding feature…The Latin translators were guided by a true instinct when in the Scriptures of the New Covenant they wrote testamentum [will] everywhere, not faedus [league] or pactum [agreement], for this word. The testament is a covenant—and something more. The testator designates his heir, and binds himself to grant to him at the predetermined time {Gal. 4:2} the specified boon, which it remains for the beneficiary simply to accept. Such a Divine testament has come down from Abraham to his Gentile [and including Gentilized Israelite!] sons.”

So, in other words, the Abrahamic Covenant is unconditional, dictated by Yah, and not a mutual agreement of Yah and man, in which man must perform some duty to receive it. The Expositor’s Bible adds, “How could such an instrument be set aside? Or what right has any one to limit it by stipulations of a later date? So the Covenant was formed. And so it abides, clear of all legal conditions and claims of human merit, an ‘everlasting covenant.’" [Unquote, The Expositor’s Bible] {Gen. 17:7; Heb. 13:20}

The Abrahamic covenant was ratified by sacrifice, making it inviolable (Gen. 15:9-21). Circumcision was added as the sign and seal of the covenant (Gen. 17:9-14). The covenant was confirmed by Divine Oath in Genesis 22:15-18. Evangelical author Arthur W. Pink said, “Everything that occurred to Abraham…was intended to explain and illustrate the nature of covenants.”

With that in mind, we read a curious statement in Ezekiel 37:25-26, “And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.”

 

            Notice it says, “…the land that I have given unto Jacob.” This is speaking of what we commonly call the Abrahamic Covenant. Abraham is a key figure in the Bible. Abraham is called, “the friend of Elohim.” (James 2:23). He is called “the father of them that believe.” (Rom. 4:11) One of the titles of Yehushua is “Son of Abraham.” (Matt. 1:1) Yet Ezekiel called it a covenant given to Jacob. Interesting!

The Prophet Ezekiel wrote somewhere around 585 B.C., about thirteen centuries after Abraham, and now calls his covenant the promise to Jacob, not Abraham. Why did he say that the land covenant was given to Jacob? What happened to Abraham? What happened to Isaac? Were they now cut out of the covenant? In order to understand what happened, we need to go back and take a look at the Abrahamic Covenant at the time when it was given, and see what later changed, so that it became the covenant “Yah made with Jacob.”

The call of Abraham is recorded in Genesis 12, verses 1 to 3: “Now Elohim 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 [Abraham] shall all families of the earth be blessed.”

Then in Genesis 15, Abraham was given an expanded promise. We read beginning with verse 1, “After these things the word of the YAHUAH came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. 
Gen 15:2  And Abram said, Yahuah ELOHIM, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? 
Gen 15:3  And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. [Ishmael]
Gen 15:4  And, behold, the word of YAHUAH came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. 
Gen 15:5  And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. 
Gen 15:6  And he believed in YAHUAH; and he counted it to him for righteousness. 
Gen 15:7  And he said unto him, I am YAHUAH that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.”
So here we see that the land promise was definitely assigned to Abraham, and in addition, at this time Abraham was also promised a great multiplicity of descendants.

In Genesis 17 the covenant with Abraham was expanded still further. We read beginning in verse 4, “As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. 
Gen 17:5  Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. 
Gen 17:6  And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. 
Gen 17:7  And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be an Elohim unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
Continuing with verse 15, “And Elohim said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. 
Gen 17:16  And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.”
Many nations with kings! It is impossible to see the fulfillment of this in the Jewish people of today. Often today people claim that the land promise of Palestine belongs to the Jews, while nations and kings belong to Christians.

I came across this thinking many years ago when I was in my undergraduate college, Lawrence Technological University, there was a Christian club that met at lunchtime on Thursdays. I became friends with a Sabbatarian fellow who attended services at the Church of God Seventh Day in Oak Park (which is now closed). He got me a subscription to their denominational magazine, The Bible Advocate. Their teachings seemed confusing and sometimes downright contradictory. In some articles certain Abrahamic promises were for the Jews, while others were ascribed to the Church. I wrote to their editor in Denver Colorado, and promptly received a simple postcard reply. He said that “Some Israel promises are for the Jews, some for the Christians, and it is up to our denominational board to decide which is for who!” I think the decision should be up to Yah, not a denominational board! Furthermore, there aren’t two separate covenants made with Abraham: some of his heirs receiving spiritual blessings only and others receiving temporal benefits only, and let’s argue over who gets what!

This kind of thinking is prevalent. When I attended Grace Bible College many years ago, I was very open about my beliefs in classroom comments and term papers. After a conversation with one of my professors, he was the speaker that day at the noon Chapel Hour, and without mentioning my name, he ridiculed people who believe “replacement theology” that “Christians replace the Jews as God’s chosen people.” By a remarkable “Yahsome” coincidence, the Chapel Hour closed with the classic popular old hymn by Oliver Holden: “Ye chosen seed of Israel’s race, ye ransomed from the fall, hail him who saved you by His grace and crown Him Lord of all.” When we were dismissed, I hurried to catch the professor as he walked down the hallway, and I said, “That hymn we sang today, ‘ye chosen seed of Israel’s race, ye ransomed from the fall,’ was speaking of Christians as being Israel, not unbelieving Jews.” “You could be right about that,” he smiled. A few days later I was talking to another professor. He said, “Dr. Decker tends to agree with you, but we can’t teach that because it is not our denominational doctrine.” So again, we have the same old story: a denominational board overrules Scripture.

There are many stories I could tell from my nearly half-century in ministry, but one other in particular bears repeating. At the Bible College, I asked the Bible Doctrines professor who in the world today constitutes the “company of nations” promised to Abraham in Genesis 35:11. He told me that Abraham’s company of nations are the Arab nations of the Mideast. Yet if that is true, then the Promised Land primarily belongs to the Arab Muslims. As of 2023, the global Arab population was estimated to be around 473 million people. This includes citizens of the 22 member states of the Arab League, such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Iraq, and others. Egypt is the most populous Arab country, with over 109 million residents. The Jewish population of the world of about 12 million is only 2.5% as many people as the Arabs. There are almost 40 times the number of Arabs as Jews.

Yet the Evangelical argument seems to make sense to many average Christians, because they seldom think through the implications of these modern Dispensationalist teachings. You might even say that it is only fair that all of Abraham’s descendants should share in the covenantal blessings. After all, they were unconditional, weren’t they? So think about it: if some of these Evangelicals and Dispensationalists are correct, that would mean that the Arab Muslim nations have a much greater claim to the land of Palestine than the Jews do. Should 2% of the supposed Semitic descendants of Abraham control nearly 100% of the land? That battle is going on in the Mideast today!

Just as important, you should see evidence that the Abrahamic Covenant has been fulfilled in the Arab Muslim nations. Have they fulfilled, for example, Genesis 12:3, “…in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” Have the Muslims and their religion been a particular blessing to you? Have they been a blessing to America? I am thinking of the 9-11 anniversary just passed as one example to consider. Have they been a blessing to the whole world? Barnes Notes Bible Commentary says, [and I quote] “The promise made to Abraham in Genesis 22:18, “…in thy seed (Hebrew: זרץ/zera‛), shall all the nations of the earth be blessed,” cannot refer to all the seed or the posterity of Abraham taken collectively. He had two sons, Isaac by Rebecca, and Ishmael by Hagar, besides numerous descendants by Keturah, Genesis 25. Through a large part of these no particular blessings descended on the human family, and there is no sense in which all the families of the earth are particularly blessed in them.” (Unquote from Barnes Notes Bible Commentary)
Is this correct, or has the world been equally blessed by all of the branches of Abraham’s descendants? Let’s take an overview of these offspring of Abraham and see who these people are that at least some Evangelicals think have a share in the Covenant?

The Descendants of Biblical Patriarch Abraham
Abraham’s principal descendants fall into three lineages: [Today: Israel, Jews, Arabs]
Isaac by Sarah, and son Jacob and his 12 sons.
Ishmael by Hagar, and 12 sons.
Keturah six sons born after Sarah’s death.

 

Let’s start with a look at the Ishmael Lineage of Abraham by Hagar:
Twelve sons who were forefathers of various Arabian tribes:
Abraham’s son Ishmael became the eponymous ancestor of various Arab tribes known collectively as the Ishmaelites. Inscriptions from Assyria and Babylonia refer to them as “Sumu’ilu,” a confederation that dominated sections of the incense trade route during the Neo-Assyrian period. They occupied regions spanning northern, western (Hejaz), and central (Najd) Arabia. The Book of Jubilees chapter 17 details Ishmael’s lineage and land assignments.

 

Key Tribes and Their Territories:

• Nebajoth
  • Established the Nabataean civilization, centered at Petra (modern Jordan) and Bostra (modern Syria).
• Kedar
  • Known as the Qedarites; controlled grazing lands north of Medina, clashed with Assyria, and worshipped deities such as Atarsamain and Ruda.
• Adbeel
  • Located in the northwestern Arabian borderlands (Sinai region); some served under Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser II around the 8th century BC.
• Mibsam and Mishma
  • Likely merged with or were absorbed by neighboring Israelite tribes such as the Simeonites, losing distinct tribal identity by the Iron Age.
• Dumah
  • Associated with Dumat el-Jandal oasis in north-central Arabia, a strategic waypoint on the spice and incense routes.
• Massa
  • Linked to the Masanoi of northern Arabia; engaged in regional conflicts against tribes like Dedan and Nebaioth.
• Hadad
  • Possibly evolved into the Hadad or Harar people, later settling in Levantine regions and adopting Christianity in late antiquity. So these descendants of Abraham are Christians today.
• Tema
  • Centered on the oasis of Tayma in northwestern Arabia; flourished under Babylonian king Nabonidus and subsequently fell under Nabataean influence. [Nabonidus spent his last 10 years in Tayma, while the Babylonian kingdom was ruled by his son, Belshazzar. You read about him in the Book of Daniel.]
• Jetur, Naphish, Kedemah
  • Scant historical records exist; likely small southern Arabian clans whose identities faded by the 1st millennium BCE.

            Many scholars identify the Bedouin of the Arabian Peninsula as cultural heirs of Ishmael’s tribes. Genetic studies and Arab oral traditions trace lineage lines back to Nebaioth and Kedar, making Ishmaelites a significant element in the broader Arab ethnogenesis. Galatians chapter 4, verses 22-31 discusses the descendants of Hagar and Ishmael, charging the Jews with being the offspring of Hagar, Ishmael’s wife. Was this only allegory? Typically, Allegory has some literal basis underlying it!

 

Next, the Keturah Lineage of Abraham: Six Sons born to Abraham and Keturah after Sarah’s death: Jokshan, Midian, Shuah, Medan, Zimran, and Ishbak.
Jokshan:  (Sheba and Dedan were grandsons of Jokshan)

• Associated with wealthy caravan towns in southern Arabia, they appear in prophetic books as mercantile peoples trading spices and precious metals (Ezek. 27 & 38). Sheba was grandson of Jokshan. The name Sheba appears 32x in the OT: (but there were at least 3 different people named Sheba.) Most famous was the Queen of Sheba. We read about her in: 1Kings 10:1 “And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of YAHUAH, she came to prove him with hard questions.”
Dedan 10x: in Genesis, 1 Chron., Jeremiah, Ezekiel.
Midian: (was father of the Midianites)
• Moses fled to the Midianites, married Zipporah (daughter of Jethro), and received priestly counsel that shaped Israel’s judicial system (Exodus 2:15–21; 18).
Little is known about the last four descendants of Keturah): Shuah, Medan, Zimran, and Ishbak

            That outlines 2 of the 3 lineages of Abraham, Ishmael and Keturah. The third is Isaac and his descendants. Let’s look at his lineage.
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ISAAC:
We read important information about Abraham’s son Isaac in…
Gen 17:19  And Elohim said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. 
Gen 17:20  And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. 
Gen 17:21  But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year. 
In Gen 21:10, Abraham’s wife Sarah was emphatic: “Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.”  This is quoted in the New Testament in Galatians 4:23-31.

Barnes Notes says, “In Scripture the race of Ishmael ceased to be spoken of as the descendants or the posterity of Abraham. There was a sense in which the posterity of Isaac was regarded as the seed or posterity of Abraham in which the descendants of Ishmael were not; and the term σπέρμα / sperma or “seed” therefore properly designated the posterity of Isaac.” Only!
In the New Testament we read an important statement, “Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.”  (Romans 9:7) So the Covenant promises continued only through the line of Isaac, eliminating all of Abraham’s other descendants. There was a narrowing process, or what I would somewhat poetically call a winnowing taking place. Only Isaac was spared; all of the other descendants of Abraham were eliminated from the covenant promises.

What is the definition of winnowing? The dictionary says, “To remove (chaff) from grain; to blow a current of air through (grain) in order to remove the chaff; to remove (people or things) from a group until only the best ones are left. Farmers use a combine that cuts, threshes, and winnows the grain in one operation." As we are beginning to see unfold, Yah has a principle of winnowing or excision among His chosen people, removing the chaff until only those who are left meet His expectations. Excision means removing or cutting out.

            Barnes Notes adds, “It was the intention of Elohim to confine the blessing to one branch of the family, to Isaac and his descendants. The special promised blessing was to be through him, and not through the family of Ishmael. This intention is often expressed, Gen. 17:19-21; Gen. 21:12; Gen. 25:11; compare Rom. 9:7; Heb. 11:18. Thus, the original promise of a blessing through the posterity of Abraham became somewhat narrowed down, so as to show that there was to be a limitation of the promise to a particular portion of his posterity.” As we will see, this winnowing process, this principle of limitation or excision continued beyond Isaac.

Who are Isaac’s descendants? Two sons were born by Sarah:

• Esau (ancestor of the Edomites)
• Jacob (renamed Israel)

Let’s discuss the elder son Esau first. What do we know of Esau’s progeny? We read in Genesis 36:10-12 NIV,
These are the names of Esau’s two sons: Eliphaz by Adah; Reuel by Basemath; Gen 36:10  
The five sons of Eliphaz: Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam and Kenaz. Gen 36:11
Also, a son of Eliphaz by the concubine Timna, Amalek. Gen 36:12
There’s an important name! You should know the story of Amalek, grandson of Esau: He was the ancestor of the wicked Haman in the Book of Esther. Were Amalek and Haman covenant inheritors?! They were physical descendants of Abraham!

Esau’s three wives were Hittite, Hivite, and Ishmaelite. As Jacob’s twin, Esau founded the nation of Edom, setting the stage for national rivalry. Kinship brought both diplomatic marriages (David’s Edomite officers and royal in-laws) and bitter enmities, including Israel’s denied passage through Edom (Numbers 20:14-21) and frequent border wars throughout biblical history, and conflict right into New Testament times.
Calvin’s Commentary says: “Among Abraham’s own sons a division began, for one of the sons [Ishmael] was cut off from the family. ‘In Isaac shall thy seed be called.’ (Genesis 21:12.) Consequently Ishmael is not included in the reckoning. Let us come a step lower. Do the Jews allow that the posterity of Esau are the blessed seed? Nay, it will be maintained that their father, though the first-born, was struck off. Since the ten tribes were carried away, (Hosea 9:17,) how many thousands have so degenerated that they no longer hold a name among the seed of Abraham? And how many nations have sprung from the stock of Abraham who have no share in this ‘calling’?” (Unquote from John Calvin)

Alternatively, perhaps the Ten Tribes have not all degenerated out of existence, but like the entire tribe of Hadad, most of the Samaritans and the Greek Judeans are now Christians and not found among the Jews today?!
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JACOB: Let’s move on to Jacob. Isaac’s son Esau was cut off, excised, from the Abrahamic Covenant. We read in Genesis chapter 25 how this firstborn son, Esau, lost his family birthright, the right of inheritance.
And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint:  (Gen 25:29)
And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom.  (Gen 25:30)
And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.  (Gen 25:31)
And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.  (Gen 25:33)
Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.  (Gen 25:34) How many people today are either ignorant of their biblical birthright, or outright despise it? Don’t be one of those following Esau’s example! Esau excised himself and his posterity from the covenant inheritance.

Baker’s NT Commentary says, Elohim “made it very clear to Isaac and Rebekah that not in the line of Esau but in that of Jacob the promise would be continued (Gen. 25:23; cf. Gen. 27:27-29)…The covenant which Elohim made with Abraham was repeated and confirmed in identical language in the promise addressed to Isaac and to Jacob. Compare, for example, Gen. 22:18 (to Abraham), Gen. 26:4 (to Isaac), and Gen. 28:14 (to Jacob), in each of which are found the words: ‘And in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.’” Again, we see that there was a narrowing or winnowing process going on among Abraham’s descendants.
Esau lost not only his birthright to Jacob but also his blessing in Genesis chapter 27, verses 26 to 29. I won’t read it to you, but suffice it to say that Elohim preordained all of this to happen, as a part of His Plan and Purposes.

Gen 27:26  And his father Isaac said unto him [to Isaac], Come near now, and kiss me, my son.
Gen 27:27  And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the YAHUAH hath blessed:
Gen 27:28  Therefore Elohim give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:
Gen 27:29  Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be Yahuah over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.

Thomas Scott’s Commentary says, The attentive reader “will readily perceive that …Abraham was as it were the root of the visible Church. Ishmael was broken off, and the tree grew up in Isaac; and when Esau was broken off, it grew up in Jacob and his sons.”

So Esau was cut off, removed, excised, while Jacob and his seed received the entire Abrahamic Covenant. Who are Jacob’s covenant descendants? Barnes Notes Commentary says, “The typical priesthood ceased…The line of Aaron is forgotten, unknown, and cannot be recovered. So hopelessly are their genealogies confused, that they [the Jews] themselves conceive it to be one of the offices of their Messiah to disentangle them.” [Barnes on Hosea 3:4-5] One of the big controversies in Judaism today is the question of “who is a Jew?” Don’t ask the rabbis. The Jews are not really sure! They will leave that up to the Messiah.
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Believers in Christ only!
Well, that does bring us to the Messiah. We see a much misunderstood verse in Galatians 3:16, “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Yahushua.” The confused genealogies of the Jews aside, it seems pretty clear that under the New Covenant, whatever else it means, a true Israelite must be a follower of Yahushua.

Author and theologian Arthur W. Pink stated, “Galatians 3:16 is regarded as one of the most abstruse passages in Scripture, no two commentaries agreeing.” Abstruse means “obscure and difficult to understand.” (The Divine Covenants, p. 116) Matthew Henry said, “The covenant is made with Abraham and his Seed. And he [the Apostle] gives us a very surprising exposition of that,” but then Dr. Henry attempts no detailed interpretation at all! Albert Barnes discussed at great length what he termed “the perplexities of this very difficult passage of Scripture.” Dispensationalist forerunner John Darby attempted to sidestep the issue by limiting it to include only some mere vague blessings for mankind, by changing the Apostle’s “promises” [plural] to “the promise” [one singular], and then restricting the reference to only one verse, Genesis 22:18, “…in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” To him none of the other Abrahamic covenant promises apply! Yet the Greek is in the plural number—promises—and the phrase “430 years after” carries us back to Genesis 12, well before Genesis 22.

However you want to look at it, the fact is that the inheritors of the Abrahamic Covenant must be Christian believers, or they are cut off, excised, winnowed from inheritance in the Covenant.
In the late 1960’s, right after the 1967 Mideast War, I attended a Detroit Bible College evening public lecture on the subject: “Who are the rightful owners of the Promised Land, Jews or Arabs?” There was no consideration or even a mention, of any possible Christian right to the Holy Land! This was a little like the old canard where someone is asked, “have you stopped beating your wife?” Whether you answer yes or no, you are guilty! The true answer would hopefully be, “never!” but that is not one of the options you are given! You are asked to choose between two very wrong answers! So it was at the Detroit Bible College seminar. It is notable that Dr. Henry Alford’s Greek Commentary says, “The Christian is the true seed of Abraham and true heir to the Promise; Christians are the true 'Israel of God'; [referencing] Galatians 6:16 [“the Israel of Elohim].” So the famous Dr. Alford might not have been very well received at the old, now defunct, Detroit Bible College! [It later became Tyndale College before closing some years ago.]

Barnes Notes says, “This promise was subsequently narrowed down …so as to include only one portion of the descendants of Isaac. Thus it was limited to the posterity of Jacob, Esau being excluded; …in subsequent times it was still further narrowed down or limited …until it terminated in the Messiah.”

Since the Abrahamic Covenant was unconditional, and based upon Abraham’s prior faith and obedience, why were so many of his physical descendants excised, completely removed from all inheritance in their ancestor Abraham’s promises? The reason, as Paul attempted to make us understand, is that the actual true inheritor of the Abrahamic Covenant was Yahushua and those who believe in Him.
Does this mean that all physical Israelites are removed from the covenants? No, but it does mean that there is a winnowing taking place, and unless they and you accept Yahushua and become a part of New Covenant Israel, you are outside of the Abrahamic Covenant.

Evangelical author Arthur W. Pink stated, “The unbelieving posterity of Abraham are as much excluded from the covenant as were the offspring of Ishmael and Esau.” (“The Divine Covenants,” p. 126.) He also added, “In John 8:39-44, Christ emphatically denied that Abraham was the father of unbelieving Jews.” (ibid. p. 128)

When I attended Grace Bible College back in the 1970’s, I asked the Bible doctrines professor to comment on these Galatians verses which indicate clearly that only those of faith were Israelites. He replied that Galatians chapter 3 is only relating to the Salvation Covenant, not the Abrahamic Covenant. He said, “Christians are Israel only in regard to salvation, and nothing else.” In fact, the truth is the exact opposite! Neither the word “salvation,” nor its cognate word, “saving,” appear anywhere in Galatians 3, not even once. Paul was speaking in this chapter about the blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant in the Latter Days, not eternal salvation through faith in Yahushua. People, including ministers and even college professors, often confuse the Abrahamic Covenant with salvation. No one is saved by being a descendant of Abraham. The Abrahamic Covenant concerns a specified set of material and spiritual blessings promised to the physical and spiritual Israel people, to be known today as New Covenant Israel. The Apostle Paul was not speaking of eternal life in the world to come. The only similarity is that both the Abrahamic Covenant and salvation are dependent on belief in Yahushua.  I found it interesting that the professor never referred to us as Israel in any sense, not even as including salvation. It was just a convenient false dodge to avoid the Apostle Paul’s clear teaching concerning the Abrahamic Covenant!

In other words, the ultimate inheritor and true recipient of the blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant was Yahushua, not any of the other descendants of Abraham and their branches. This narrowing now meant that the Messiah, Abraham’s heir, and his followers were inheritors of the Covenant. This was reinforced by the Apostle Paul’s words in Galatians 3, verses 7 and 29: “Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham… And if ye be Yahushua's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” If you even mention this verse to some Messianic Jews they will accuse you of Replacement Theology. This is not “replacement theology,” but “augmentation” with necessary winnowing removing the sacrilegious dross. Sacrilegious means committing or showing a lack of respect for a sacred person, namely Yahushua. The real replacement pushers are found in Messianic Judaism, replacing Yahushua and His rightful inheritance with a group of unbelieving covenant impostors.

This does not mean that all of the physical descendants of Israel are completely cut off. In fact, it is numerically provable that many of the physical seed of Abraham have become Christians and are not now known as Jews, such as my own family. My grandparents were Jewish and converted to Christianity as have large numbers of others. One commentary stated that the Grecianized Jews of the first century nearly all converted to Christianity. Greek culture was pervasive: it may have been half of the Palestinian Jews in the first century that became Christians. Another commentary stated that the Samaritan community numbers less than a thousand people today because most Samaritans converted to Christianity. The fact that there are only about 12 million Jews in the world now is because so many Jews converted to Christianity over the past two millennia.

Matthew Henry stated, “The ancient inhabitants of those lands …were carried away into captivity, being lost, and never returning to their estates...Those of Judah, which was the chief of the two returning tribes, shall possess the field of Ephraim and Samaria, which before belonged to the ten tribes; and Benjamin, the other tribe, shall possess Gilead on the other side of Jordan, which had belonged to the two tribes and a half.” So Benjamin and Judah divided up the land of Israel between them after the return from exile. Ezra 2:64 says that only 42,360 Israelites returned from the captivities. How many Israelites were there at the time of the Exodus from Egypt? Around a million? Then about 4% returned!  Where are all the rest? The scattered N, S, E, and W according to the Abrahamic Covenant in Genesis 28:14. Matthew Henry pointed out that there were only two tribes who returned out of the twelve. That is confirmed by Ezra and Nehemiah, the two prophets of the exile. They were there, and they certainly would know! Six times Ezra and Nehemiah said that those who returned from exile were “Benjamin and Judah,”  “Benjamin and Judah,” “Benjamin and Judah.” (Ezra 1:5; 4:1; 10:9; Nehemiah 11:4; 11:36; 12:34) The others spread out throughout the world. This Old Covenant physical dispersion prefigured the spiritual worldwide spread of the Gospel under the New Covenant.

        Yahushua said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27) Yahushua wasn’t telling a lie. Throughout the Old Testament, Israel was called the sheep. So the true New Covenant Israel today is a spiritual-physical people: a combination of physical believing Israelites (such as myself) and a Spiritual Israel called out of all nations. A good explanatory name for that is “Experiential Israel,” or “New Covenant Israel.” That does not include unbelievers no matter who they may think their ancestors were.

Final Thoughts…
I would point out that we have established that there is a principle of excision, or winnowing that is so obviously central to the fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant, and therefore it is most likely that the Apostle Paul in Galatians 3:16 was speaking directly to Jewish Galatians and warning them that unless they believe in the Messiah they would be cut off from all inheritance in the Abrahamic Covenant. You could call this Scripture passage a removal message for Jews. Many standard mainstream Bible commentaries agree!

The Believers Bible Commentary on Rom. 2:28-29 says, “A real Jew is the one who is not only a descendant of Abraham but who also manifests a Godly life…Paul is talking about those who are born of Jewish parentage and is insisting that the mere fact of birth and the ordinance of circumcision are not enough. There must also be inward reality.” In other words, the inheritors of the Abrahamic Covenant are those, including physical Israelites, who believe in Christ and His teachings. Israelites who reject Christ are not inheritors of any of the provisions of the Abrahamic Covenant, including the land promise of Palestine.

 

As we saw, the Prophet Ezekiel in chapter 37, verse 25, said that the covenant was given to Jacob and his descendants. Where are the prophesied many nations (three times promised in Gen. 17:4, 5, & 6), the nation and a company of nations (twice promised: Gen. 35:11; 48:19), the nations with kings (three times promised: Gen. 17:6, 17:16; 35:11)? All of this and more were promised and literally guaranteed to Jacob’s descendants in the covenant that we earlier verified was unconditional. If Elohim’s promises to Israel were not fulfilled, how can we trust Elohim’s promises to us?
Jacob had twelve sons, the progenitors of the Twelve Tribes of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, & Joseph. The book, “Israel’s Tribes Today” by Steven M. Collins tells how the Abrahamic Covenant was divided at the time of Jacob into twelve separate and diverse inheritances for each of Jacob’s sons. Each son founded a tribe, and these tribes were to become “a company of nations.” Genesis chapter 49 details the specific individual promises of the Abrahamic Covenant that each son would inherit, which would be fulfilled “in the latter days” according to Genesis 49 verse 1, even amidst the ongoing principle of winnowing, or removing of the dross.

McGarvey and Pendleton Commentary says, “Only believing physical Israelites are Abraham’s inheritors: …those who follow his spiritual example are his real or spiritual children, to the exclusion even of his fleshly children, made such by birth…”

A century ago, Biblical scholar Dr. Henry Aldersmith co-authored the book, “British-Israel Truth,” and stated, “This company of nations must now be before the world’s eye, developing into ‘a company of nations,’ and the obvious fulfilment of the prophecy is to be found in that Great Union of self-governing communities which has been aptly described as the British ‘Commonwealth of Nations,’ and which we usually now under the title of ‘The British Empire.’ So few are aware of the true meaning of the word ‘Goyim,’ thinking that the term ‘Gentiles’ or, more strictly, ‘nations,’ is used in the Bible only of those who are not of the lineal seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, forgetting that their literal seed were to become ‘a company of nations,’ even the fullness of nations, in the latter days.”

To repeat what I said earlier, the New Covenant is not a matter of salvation, and Hebrews 8:8-11, quoting the Prophet Jeremiah, says that the New Covenant was specifically given to the House of Israel and House of Judah, physical entities, not just spiritual. Dr. Aldersmith also stated, “Christ came to confirm the promise given to the fathers…People will tell you plainly that the New Covenant has not yet been made with the House of Israel, but it distinctly says in Hebrews 8:6, “He is the Mediator of a better covenant which hath been enacted”—not shall be. “This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel”—proved to have been made in the past—“In that He saith a New Covenant, He hath made the first old.” (Heb. 8:13) If the New Covenant was made with the House of Israel nearly two millennia ago, is it likely they are not in it? It is simply absurd. St. Luke says, “Blessed be the Elohim of Israel, for He hath visited and redeemed His people.” (Luke 1:68) Is that true?  If so, the Ten Tribes ought to have come in. It is written, “To remember His holy covenant, the oath which He sware unto Abraham.” (Luke 1:72) This constitutes the covenant—the New Covenant—the Abrahamic covenant accomplished.

So the Abrahamic Covenant was both physical and spiritual, fulfilled in the nations of Christendom. Amen!