Topical Bible: The Jews: Punished For: Breaking Covenant

◄ The Jews: Punished For: Breaking Covenant ►

Jump to: Torrey's • Library • Subtopics • Terms

Topical Encyclopedia

The concept of covenant is central to the relationship between God and the Jewish people throughout the Bible. A covenant, in biblical terms, is a solemn agreement between God and His people, often accompanied by promises and obligations. The Jewish people, as the chosen nation, were recipients of several covenants with God, including the Abrahamic, Mosaic, and Davidic covenants. However, the breaking of these covenants by the Jews led to divine punishment, as outlined in various scriptural passages.

Breaking the Mosaic Covenant

The Mosaic Covenant, given at Mount Sinai, was a conditional covenant that required the Israelites to obey God's laws. In return, God promised to bless them and make them a holy nation. However, the Israelites frequently broke this covenant through idolatry, disobedience, and moral corruption.

· Idolatry and Disobedience: The Israelites' repeated turning to idolatry is a significant breach of the covenant. In Judges 2:11-15 , it is recorded, "Then the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals. They forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them, and they provoked the LORD to anger."

· Consequences of Disobedience: As a result of their disobedience, God allowed their enemies to oppress them. In Judges 2:14 , it states, "So the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He handed them over to plunderers who raided them; He sold them to their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist."

Prophetic Warnings and Punishments

The prophets consistently warned the Israelites about the consequences of breaking the covenant. Despite these warnings, the people often continued in their sinful ways, leading to further punishment.

· Jeremiah's Warning: The prophet Jeremiah warned of the impending disaster due to the people's unfaithfulness. In Jeremiah 11:10-11 , it is written, "They have returned to the sins of their forefathers, who refused to listen to My words and have followed other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken the covenant I made with their fathers. Therefore, this is what the LORD says: I will bring upon them a disaster from which they cannot escape. They will cry out to Me, but I will not listen to them."

· Exile as Punishment: The ultimate punishment for breaking the covenant was the exile of the Jewish people. In 2 Kings 17:18-20 , it is recorded, "So the LORD was very angry with Israel, and He removed them from His presence. Only the tribe of Judah was left, and even Judah did not keep the commandments of the LORD their God but followed the statutes Israel had introduced. Therefore, the LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel, afflicted them, and handed them over to plunderers, until He had banished them from His presence."

Restoration and Hope

Despite the severe consequences of breaking the covenant, God’s promises of restoration and hope remained. The prophets also spoke of a future time when God would renew His covenant with His people.

· Promise of a New Covenant: In Jeremiah 31:31-33 , God promises a new covenant: "Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt—a covenant they broke, though I was a husband to them, declares the LORD. But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people."

The narrative of the Jews being punished for breaking the covenant serves as a profound reminder of the seriousness of sin and the faithfulness of God to His promises, even in the face of human unfaithfulness.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Isaiah 24:5
The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Jeremiah 11:10
They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

It is a Ground for Thanksgiving that During the Last Three or Four ...
... of Christ, yet, the ones who will be punished the most ... Isa.2 shows us the Jews as
the owners of ... for there we read of the Antichrist breaking his Covenant with ...
//christianbookshelf.org/pink/the antichrist/it is a ground for.htm

The Last King of Judah
... the Babylonian king they should be punished "with the ... had given him words of
encouragement for the Jews. ... seeing he despised the oath by breaking the covenant ...
/.../white/the story of prophets and kings/chapter 36 the last king.htm

Christ the Believer's Husband
... This is what the Jews called betrothing, or espousing ... adultery, among some of them,
is punished with immediate ... hast despised the oath, in breaking the covenant ...
/.../selected sermons of george whitefield/christ the believers husband.htm

Do are Then Make Void the Law through Faith? God Forbid; Yea, we ...
... doctrine so generally entertained by the Jews, that they ... father asked him, Do you
deserve to be punished? ... It gives the most heart-breaking, sin-subduing views ...
/.../finney/lectures to professing christians/do are then make void.htm

Paul's Sermon Before Felix
... him, and he would have been severely punished for his ... how the iniquities of the nation
of the Jews must, in ... them, is enough to keep them from breaking out into ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 4 1858/pauls sermon before felix.htm

Rom. I. 28
... Here then he is first breaking through the partition between the ... the necessity which
he lays upon the Jews of a ... considering they are liable to be punished more ...
/.../chrysostom/homilies on acts and romans/homily v rom i 28.htm

Psalm CVI.
... word "shaking" here is the same as "breaking" before. ... that this wavering of faith
was punished with this ... But when the Jews suppose that that prophecy belongeth ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/augustine/exposition on the book of psalms/psalm cvi.htm

Period ii. The Post-Apostolic Age: AD 100-AD 140
... life; they are assailed by the Jews as foreigners ... is improved; so Christians when
punished increase more ... presbytery with an undivided mind, breaking one bread ...
/.../a source book for ancient church history/period ii the post-apostolic age .htm

The Treasure of Grace
... received as a sinner; Christ has been punished for him. ... See, there stands the
high-priest of the Jews. ... lying, thy theft is gone, thy Sabbath-breaking, thy evil ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 6 1860/the treasure of grace.htm

Faustus Willing to Believe not Only that the Jewish but that all ...
... of repose after toil, and commanded that breaking the Sabbath should be punished
with death. The Jews, in obedience to Moses, insisted strongly on this ...
/.../faustus willing to believe not.htm