No disagreement the New Covenant (NC) was established with the promised blood line of Abraham, for they were under the Old Covenant (OC) when God declared the New one. The Gentiles were under no such covenants with God, but as the Apostle Paul taught us Gentiles throughout his letters, the Gentiles and promised blood line of Abraham have been reconciled in the body of Jesus Christ.
Neither the Abraham Covenant nor especially the Mosaic Covenant includes non-Hebrew Gentiles. As we look back through history, we see God dealing first with one person, Abraham, and He makes promises spread out through three chapters in Genesis - 12, 15, and 17. Abraham is promised an heir, land, making Abraham's name great, and prospering him among others. This covenant is also to be passed on to his seed, whom we know is Isaac - born of two Hebrew parents, and Jacob, also born of two Hebrew parents. The 12 sons of Jacob were born of parents within the Hebrew ancestral line.
Moses was sent by God who was of the tribe/son of Levi to deliver the Hebrew people from Egyptian bondage and slavery as prophesied by God in Genesis 15. It is at Mount Sinai that God enjoins the children of Jacob/Israel into a new covenant which bears the name of Moses - Mosaic Covenant. Through this covenant the people of Israel become a nation with Laws given to them by God - Social, Moral, and Ceremonial Law. There are no non-Hebrew Gentiles in this covenant for the covenant is already established by God in Genesis 17 as also including Abraham's direct descendants and seed.
Through Moses God commands instruction for the high priest in prayers and sacrifices to and for the children of Israel. These instructions are precise and mandated. The high priest under the Ceremonial Law is commanded to pray for the children of Israel and offer sacrifices for the children of Israel and he does these things as directed by God. The high priest does not perform his duties for Gentiles. One of the doctrines in true, biblical Christianity is the holding that Jesus Christ as the lamb of God and as High Priest before His crucifixion prays for the children of Israel and offers sacrifice - Himself - to and for the children of Israel. So, if the high priest performed these two things for God and for the children of Israel, and Jesus Christ as High Priest does these very things as commanded in the Law of Moses, then Jesus' prayers and sacrifice of Himself is solely to and for the children of Israel. There can be no departure from these commands of the high priest.
The promise of God to Abraham was binding and took precedence over the OC that came afterwards. The sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on a cross bought them out from under the curse of the OC they were under, so that they and we Gentiles would receive the promised Holy Spirit by faith. The Apostle Paul lays this out to the Galatians in chapter 3 of his letter to them.
The Law of Moses was not a curse to the children of Israel. Not exactly. It was a curse because the Law is spiritual and as applied to men and women of flesh did kill the flesh. But there was a change in the Law from the standpoint of fleshly men and women when they became born-again of the Spirit beginning of the Jewish Feast of Harvest also known as Pentecost (ca. AD 32.) The Law remained the same, but it was the conversion - or should I say, the addition of a human spirit created anew for everyone who became born-again and thus became a spiritual person through the change occurring through the Holy Spirit. In this state the Law was no longer a curse for now as spiritual people God commanded obedience to the Law, specifically for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteous that the people were to obey in their new birth condition. The born-again people were also justified by God and declared "Not Guilty!" of transgressing His Law because of the eternal atonement God placed upon everyone born from above.
Saul's letter to Jewish Christians in the Galatian region was addressed to Jews and Jewish Christians for in chapter 3 Saul identifies to whom he is writing to when he says, "
But before faith came, we [JEWS]
were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our [JEWS]
schoolmaster to bring us [JEWS]
unto Christ, that we [JEWS]
might be justified by faith." Gentiles were never "under the Law" nor were they under a schoolmaster which Saul again identifies as the Law. Thus, Saul is writing to Jews. It is the Jews who are "heirs according to the promise."
Mixed heritage Jews were called "Gentile" the same that "Samaritans" were called "Samaritan" and not Jew. Since there were no Gentiles in the Abraham or Mosaic Covenant, there are no Gentiles in the New Covenant for Jeremiah prophesied the New Covenant is declared by God to be with the House of Israel and the House of Judah - no Gentiles are mentioned or named in Jeremiah 31:31-34. Do you see Gentiles in this prophecy?
Paul begins chapter 3:6-9 explaining to the Gentile believers of Jesus Christ they received the Holy Spirit by faith not works. He then teaches them "just as Abraham "believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness." Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, "In you all the nations shall be blessed." So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham."
The ten northern kingdom tribes were conquered and exiled and taken captive by Assyria in 722 BC. Later, Babylon defeated the Assyrians, took their spoils which included people of the ten northern kingdom tribes.
In 586 BC Babylon conquered the two southern kingdom tribes (Judah) and took captives and exiled them back to Babylon. It was here where without their Temple centered their religion around the Feasts and calendar observances in order to maintain their "Judaism" among themselves.
The gospels, especially John 4, records Jesus interacting with a "Samaritan" which implies the woman was a daughter of Jacob/Israel and form one of the ten northern kingdom tribes by reference to being called "Samaritan", who was a mixed heritage Hebrew of one of the ten tribes and a Gentile (non-Hebrew.) You must understand that from 722 BC to Jesus' appearing was about 25-30 generations of Jews born during this time - some having a Gentile parent, others having a Hebrew parent. It was a time of great disarray among the Jews and Gentile born Jews. That's 722 years from the Assyrian conquest of Israel to the birth of Jesus. How committed do you think the Jews were in maintaining the purity of their respective tribes? But here is something to consider: Samaria was the capital of the ten northern kingdom tribes. There were good kings but mostly evil kings that led the people into idolatry and intermarriages, rapes, concubinage, and slavery of the Jewish people when Assyria conquered them. The woman at the well was clearly "of Samaria" indicating a daughter of Abraham but also having in her ancestry of 722 years a Gentile parent. They were called "Samaritan."
But what about the two southern kingdom tribes of Judah and Benjamin? In at least 586 years they were conquered by Babylon and taken back to Babylon. How many intermarriages, rapes, concubinage, and slavery did the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin intermingle with Gentiles? These mixed heritage Jew/Gentile most assuredly did exist. But what were they called? Let's attempt to do some math:
For the sake of argument let's say there were one million Jews that were displaced by both the Assyrian and Babylonian effect. If we conclude a "remnant" is 10% of all living Jews that returned with Nehemiah in 522 BC that would leave about 900,000 Jews remaining in Gentile lands and influenced by some Assyrian and Babylonian culture - not to mention Greek culture for there were Hellenists among the people. Without a Temple and through intermingling with Gentiles (25-30 generations) how many remained true to their Hebrew heritage? Now it gets convoluted. So, if the woman at the well was a "Samaritan" referencing her "mixed heritage" descent of the ten northern tribes and Gentile, what about mixed heritage Jews of the two southern tribes and Gentile. Where are they mentioned in the gospels? They as a conquered people intermingled with Assyrian and Babylonian peoples through rape, marriage, concubinage, and slavery - where are they mentioned in the gospels? I'm sure that of the "remnant" or 100,000 Jews that returned with Nehemiah back to the Holy Land there were mixed heritage Jews and Gentile among that number. But then again, 900,000 Jews remained in and around Assyria and Babylon and Gentile lands in-between. Were there 100,000 Jews and mixed heritage Jews that returned with Nehemiah? Less? More? Think about it.
Paul then informs them in 3:10-14 "that one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith". Paul then teaches them that our Lord redeemed us (those who are under the OC) from the curse of the Law, "so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith."
These Gentiles you think were Gentile are really mixed heritage Jews. God promised Abraham and his seed many things. God, through Moses promised many great things. But nowhere in Scripture has God made covenant with or promised anything to Gentiles.
Consider:
17 All nations [Gentiles] before him are as nothing;
And they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.
Isaiah 40:17.
This cannot refer to Jews who as seed of Abraham are heirs of God's promises.
And then in 3:25-29, Paul summarizes by stating, "But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise."
Notice Saul is referring to Hellenized Jews when he writes "Greek" and NOT "Gentile." In Scripture God calls Israel and Olive tree. There is also disobedient or "wild" Olive tree among the people of Israel. Never does God call Gentiles an Olive tree let alone a "wild" Olive tree. Therefore, those being "grafted BACK IN" can only mean disobedient or "wild" Jews.
And in 4:4-7, Paul states that those under the OC were redeemed and given the Spirit of Adoption, and because the Gentiles are also sons, God sent His Spirit into the hearts of both Jew and Gentile "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God." (Gal 4:4-7)
Your translation does great damage of the truth. Saul's Galatian letter is addressed to Jews and Jewish Christians of Jew-Jew heritage and Jew-Gentile heritage for no matter the DNA dilution through intermarriage with Gentile, the Lord knows them that are His, and these Jew-Gentile offspring are still Abraham's seed are they not? How can you interpret Gentiles as being part of the Abraham and Mosaic and New Covenants when there are no promises made by God to non-Hebrew Gentiles, that there were never any Gentiles included in any of the three Hebrew covenants (Abraham, Mosaic, and New.)
In Ephesians 2:12-14, the Apostle Paul teaches the circumcised physical descendants of Abraham (circumcision of the flesh denoted the children of promise) and the Gentiles who, "were at that time of circumcision separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility".
Again, Saul is writing to Jews and Jewish Christians. It is the mixed heritage Jews that were "
at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: Eph 2:12.
They grew up in Gentile lands (Ephesus) heavily influenced by GREEK culture (Hellenized) and most might have been uncircumcised which makes sense when the Judaizers believed that to truly be "saved" must be circumcised. No Judaizer or Jewish Christian nor anyone of Jewry would ever seek to circumcise a non-Hebrew Gentile because Jews know that the Abraham Covenant was to Abe and his seed, NOT with non-Hebrew Gentiles. It again makes sense when the issue of circumcising Gentile-influenced Jews of mixed heritage was called on by Judaizers in order to be "saved." No Jew would ever seek to circumcise a non-Hebrew Gentile in order to place them in the Abraham or Mosaic covenants because as all Jews know and were taught their own history, they KNOW God never included non-Hebrew Gentiles into the covenants.
In Ephesians 3:5-6, the Apostle Paul states God made known a mystery, "which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel".
And while the Gentiles were not under covenant, the blessings of the NC are in effect for all peoples who believe in Jesus Christ. "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." (Eph 4:4-6)
The New Covenant that God promised is true for every believer of Jesus Christ, regardless if Jew or Gentile. The benefits are the same for both, since there is no longer Jew and Gentile but one new man in Jesus Christ.
God Bless
Show me in the Old Testament where and when the Abraham and Mosaic Covenants were made that God mentioned, named, or included non-Hebrew Gentiles. AND if there are NO non-Hebrew Gentiles in any of the two covenants, then there can be no non-Hebrew Gentiles in the New Covenant prophesied by Jeremiah 31:31-34.
Post your evidenced from the Old Testament where and when the covenants were made by God that non-Hebrew Gentiles are included.
