The covenant God made with Israel is the Abrahamic covenant — God's eternal promise to make Israel a great nation in their own land, with God Himself coming one day as their King.
God made this covenant with Abram, promising three things: a great nation, a geographical land, and a government — culminating in God Himself in the person of the Messiah coming to be Israel's King. Les teaches that all the other covenants are wrapped up inside this one, and that the covenant is from God and eternal, so nothing man or Israel can do can destroy it. At the same time, Exodus 19:5 adds a conditional 'if': if Israel obeys God's voice and keeps His covenant, they shall be a peculiar treasure unto Him above all people.
Genesis 12:2 — The foundational promise that Abram would become a great nation — the first element of the covenant God made with Israel.
Genesis 12:3 — The blessing promise through which all families of the earth would be blessed, which Les identifies as the coming Redeemer.
Genesis 13:14 — God's promise of the land — the geographical territory Israel would need to be a nation.
Genesis 15:18 — The covenant chapter in which God deeded the promised land to Abram — the legal basis for Israel's land promise.
Exodus 19:5 — The conditional 'if' — Israel's obedience and covenant-keeping are tied to becoming God's peculiar treasure.
The covenant begins with God's promise to Abram in Genesis 12. Scripture records, '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 shall all families of the earth be blessed' (Genesis 12:2-3, KJV). The Scripture also reveals a second element of the covenant — land. In Genesis 13:14 the LORD tells Abram, 'Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward.' Later, in Genesis 15:18, the LORD makes the covenant with Abram, saying, 'Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates.' Then, after Israel is brought out of Egypt, Exodus 19:5 adds the condition for enjoying the covenant's special favor: 'Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine.' The verse's opening word, 'if,' sets obedience and covenant-keeping as the condition for Israel becoming God's peculiar treasure.
Les teaches that the covenant God made with Israel is the Abrahamic covenant, and that all the other covenants are wrapped up inside of it (Clip 1). God's promise to Abram was that he would become a great nation, and Les identifies three component promises in the covenant: a nation of people, a geographical land for them to live in, and a government (Clip 2). The ultimate fulfillment of that government, Les explains, is that after Israel became a nation in that land, God Himself in the person of the Messiah would come to be their King — noting that you cannot have a viable kingdom without a king, and a king is of no earthly use without a kingdom (Clip 1). Les stresses that all of God's Old Testament dealings with Israel were moving toward bringing this covenant to fruition — making Israel a nation unique, separated, and different from all other nations — and that God deeded the promised land to Abram according to the Oriental custom (Clip 4). He also teaches that the covenant is from God and is eternal: man has nothing to do with it, and even if Israel breaks it and does 'all kinds of things' against it, nothing can change the fact that the covenant is forever (Clip 6). On the conditional side, Les points to Exodus 19:5 where God told Israel, 'if you will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, the one that He is about to give, the covenant of Law.' He emphasizes the word 'if,' showing this is conditional — and that this promise lifts Israel out of the mainstream of humanity and puts them into a place of covenant relationship as God's favored, chosen people (Clip 3). Les also teaches that the promise that in Abram all the families of the earth would be blessed is the promise of the coming Redeemer (Clip 5), and that the land promise remains the 'sore spot' of the whole Middle East today (Clip 7).
Les identifies three promises wrapped up in the Abrahamic covenant. First, God promised a nation — 'I will make of thee a great nation' (Genesis 12:2). Second, a nation must have land, so God promised a geographical area of land and later deeded it to Abram in Genesis 15. Third, people in a land need government, so the covenant includes the promise of a government — ultimately fulfilled when God Himself in the person of the Messiah would come to be Israel's King. Les notes that a kingdom cannot be viable without a king, and a king is of no use without a kingdom (Clips 1, 2).
Les teaches both sides. The covenant itself is from God and is eternal — man has nothing to do with it, and even if Israel breaks it, nothing can change that the covenant is forever (Clip 6). But in Exodus 19:5 God also told Israel, 'if you will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant' — the covenant of Law He was about to give — 'then you shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people.' Les emphasizes the word 'if,' showing that the covenant relationship in which Israel becomes God's peculiar treasure is conditioned on obedience and keeping the covenant (Clip 3).
According to Les, Exodus 19:5 lifts the nation of Israel out of the mainstream of humanity and puts them into a place of covenant relationship as God's favored, chosen people. God told Israel that if they obeyed His voice and kept His covenant, they would be a peculiar treasure unto Him above all people (Clip 3).
Les teaches that a nation of people must have a geographical area to live in, so the covenant includes the promise of land (Clip 2). God pointed Abram to the land in Genesis 13:14 and deeded it to him in Genesis 15 (Clips 4, 5). Les notes that this land promise is the 'sore spot' of the whole Middle East today, which is why studying the covenant is appropriate in light of prophecy as well as current events (Clip 7).
Les teaches that the covenant is from God and is eternal — nothing man or the nation of Israel can do can change it (Clip 6). Les also looks to the prophetic future in the book of Revelation, where God again intervenes for Israel: when the Antichrist sends an armed force after the escaping Jews, the earth opens up and swallows the force, because the earth is under the control of the sovereign God (Clip 0).
God's Sovereign Protection of Israel
In the Tribulation, when the Antichrist sends an armed force to destroy the escaping Jews, God intervenes by making the earth swallow them — showing that God still sovereignly deals with and protects Israel.
The Abrahamic Covenant and Israel's King
Les explains that the Abrahamic covenant — into which all other covenants are wrapped — culminates in God Himself in the person of the Messiah coming to be Israel's King, and that a kingdom without a king is impossible and a king without a kingdom is useless.
Three Parts: Nation, Land, Government
Les breaks the covenant into its three promised elements: a nation of people, a geographical land, and a government.
The Conditional 'If' of Exodus 19:5
Les shows that Israel's status as God's peculiar treasure was conditioned on obedience — 'if you will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant' — lifting Israel out of the mainstream of humanity as God's favored, chosen people.
The Covenant's Fruition in the Old Testament
Les explains that all of God's Old Testament dealings with Israel moved toward bringing this covenant to fruition: a unique nation in a land God deeded to Abram.
The Promises of Nationhood and Land
Les ties Genesis 12:2-3 to the promise of a great nation and the coming Redeemer, and Genesis 13:14 to the land promise, noting Israel was the largest nation in the area at 5 to 6 million people.
The Covenant Is Eternal and Unbreakable
Les emphasizes that man has nothing to do with making the covenant — it is from God and eternal, and even if Israel breaks it, nothing can change that it is forever.
The Land as Modern Middle East Sore Spot
Les shows that the land promise of Genesis 15 is why the land is the sore spot of the Middle East today, making the covenant relevant prophetically and presently.
Genesis 12:2: 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:
The foundational promise that Abram's descendants would become a great nation — the first element of the covenant.
Genesis 12:3: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
The promise that through Israel all families of the earth would be blessed — which Les identifies as the coming Redeemer.
Genesis 13:14: And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:
The land promise, which Les points to as the geographical part of the covenant.
Genesis 15:18: In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
God deeding the promised land to Abram, which Les references as the Oriental custom of deeding land.
Exodus 19:5: Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
The conditional 'if' — Israel's obedience is tied to becoming God's peculiar treasure above all people.
Les teaches that the covenant itself is from God and is eternal — man has nothing to do with it, and even if Israel breaks it, nothing can change that it is forever (Clip 6). However, in Exodus 19:5 God says 'if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant,' and Les emphasizes that 'if' — the covenant of Law that God was about to give Israel came with a condition of obedience. Israel's becoming God's peculiar treasure is tied to keeping that covenant (Clip 3).
Les identifies three promises in the Abrahamic covenant: God would make of Abram a great nation, give that nation a geographical land, and provide a government — culminating in God Himself in the person of the Messiah coming to be Israel's King (Clips 1, 2).
According to Les, when God told Israel in Exodus 19:5 that they would be a peculiar treasure unto Him above all people if they obeyed and kept His covenant, it lifted them out of the mainstream of humanity and put them into a place of covenant relationship as God's favored, chosen people (Clip 3).
Watch the Teaching: The Abomination of Desolation: Why Israel Must Flee (Matthew 24)