The Old Testament is full of God's promises to His people Israel. But these were not simply one-sided vows. They were two-sided covenants that required absolute compliance from both parties.

After God helped the Israelites escape from Egypt, He entered into a covenant with them (Exodus 19:1-8). He said that Israel was to become a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. They were to spread God's light to all people on Earth (see Isaiah 60:1-3). But this covenant was conditional to obedience:

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 (Exodus 19:5, emphasis added).

The promise involved an “if.” Later, King David and his son Solomon were told that their family would always be on the throne of Israel, if they would obey:

If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee a man on the throne of Israel (1 Kings 2:4, emphasis added).

This promise was repeated in 1 Kings 9:5-7:

Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man on the throne of Israel. But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statues which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them: Then I will cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, I will cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people.

Forfeiting the Blessing

Deuteronomy 28:1-14 contains a list of blessings God promised to Israel—the most wonderful blessings ever given. Again, these promises were conditional to obedience. Strict warnings were given about the curses that would occur if Israel chose not to obey.

Unfortunately, Israel did not keep God's commands, and became even more corrupt than the nations around them (2 Kings 17:6-23). Disobedience barred Israel from receiving its promised blessings.

In fact, all of Israel's tribes except Judah and Benjamin were carried away into captivity by the king of Assyria and disappear from history. A century and a half later, even Judah was plucked from the Promised Land and scattered in the Neo-Babylonian Empire.

Nevertheless, some remained faithful to God even in exile. Daniel and his friends were willing to face death rather than disobey God.

God gave Israel a second chance. They were to return to their land after 70 years of exile (Jeremiah 31:10-14; Isaiah 43:1-13) and rebuild the temple. They would again have the opportunity to be witnesses to the nations (Micah 4:1-4; 5:2-6; Zechariah 8:20-23). Again, all these promises were conditional to obedience (Zechariah 6:15).

Daniel’s prophecies predicted the coming of the Messiah, but Israel rejected the Messiah, forfeiting its covenant role and the covenant promises:

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord (Matthew 23:37–39).

So who is Israel now?