Christianity Versus The Covenant Of Yah With Israel

From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible records one consistent pattern. Yah makes His covenant with Israel. The covenant terms are clear: if Israel obeys His commandments, they will be blessed, protected, and placed above all nations. If they disobey, curses will come, including defeat, famine, disease, and captivity. This is not an occasional theme, but is the foundation of the relationship between Yah and Israel.

Leviticus 26:3-4 - “If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase…”

Leviticus 26:14, 17 - “But if ye will not hearken unto me… I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies…”

Throughout the Old Testament, Israel repeatedly breaks the covenant. Each time, Yah sends prophets to call them back. Each time they ignore Him, captivity follows: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, under Rome, and in the last days, the transatlantic slave trade into America and the final global captivity. None of these judgments were because Yah changed His mind about His commandments. They were because Israel refused to keep these commandments.

The Obligation To Pursue Righteousness

Even though no one keeps the law perfectly, scripture is clear that the goal of the believer is to pursue righteousness, and righteousness is defined by keeping Yah’s commandments. Failure does not cancel the obligation. It is met with repentance and a return to obedience.

• Deuteronomy 6:25 – “And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before Yahuah our Elohim, as he hath commanded us.”

  
  

• 1 John 2:1 – “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Yahusha Messiah the righteous.”

  
  

Yahusha’s role as our advocate does not remove the law. Instead, it ensures that when we stumble, there is a path back to right standing. The believer lives in a continual cycle of striving toward obedience, confessing failure, and being restored, never abandoning the standard.

Christianity’s Break From The Covenant Foundation

When Christianity rose as a religious system centuries after Yahusha’s death and resurrection, it taught that the law, the commandments, had been replaced by “grace” alone. It framed obedience to Yah’s laws as obsolete, claiming Yahusha’s death abolished them. This teaching directly contradicts Yahusha’s own words.

Matthew 5:17-19 – “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil… Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law…”

Christian doctrine shifted the focus from the covenant Yah made with Israel to a universal religion centered on belief without the requirement of obedience. In doing so, it severed the link that the Bible never breaks. Yah’s blessings, mercy, and protection are tied to keeping His commandments.

The Covenant Is With Israel In Both Testaments

Both Old and New Testaments identify the covenant parties as the house of Israel and the house of Judah, never “the church” as a new entity.

Jeremiah 31:31-33 – “Behold, the days come, saith Yahuah, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah… I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts…”

The writer of Hebrews repeats this word for word in Hebrews 8:8-10, confirming that the covenant in the so-called “New Testament” is with the same people. The promise is not to abolish the law but to place it within Israel so that they can finally keep it.

Gentiles In The Scriptures

The Bible does not present the Gentiles as equal covenant partners. Their role appears in specific contexts.

1. Stranger In Israel’s Land – The Torah instructs Israel to treat the stranger with justice, but the stranger must keep certain laws when living among Israel (Exodus 12:48-49, Leviticus 24:22).

2. Learning From Israel – Prophets like Isaiah and Micah foretell nations coming to learn Yah’s ways from Israel, not replacing Israel (Micah 4:1-2).

3. Paul’s Writings – Paul addresses the inclusion of believing Gentiles, but never claims the covenant is with them directly. They are joined to Israel’s promises, not given a separate covenant.

Nowhere does scripture give authority for forming a Gentile-led religion that redefines the covenant, abolishes Yah’s laws, and claims to replace Israel as His chosen nation.

Common Christian Claims And Scriptural Rebuttals

Claim 1: “Jesus Abolished The Law On The Cross”

Rebuttal:Yahusha fulfilled the sacrificial requirements for sin, but He did not abolish the law. Fulfilment means completion of purpose, not destruction.

• Matthew 5:17-19 – Yahusha warns against thinking He came to destroy the law.

  
  

• Luke 16:17 – The law will not fail until heaven and earth pass.

The cross removes the penalty of death for the repentant, not the law itself. The requirement to keep Yah’s commandments stands.

Claim 2: “We Are Under Grace, Not Under Law”

Rebuttal:Grace frees us from the law’s penalty, not its authority. “Under the law” means condemned by it due to sin. Grace pardons but does not erase the commandments.

• Romans 6:15 – “Shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? Yah forbid.”

  
  

• 1 John 3:4 – Sin is breaking the law.

  
  

The law defines righteousness, but it cannot create it in us. Only Messiah can make us righteous by cleansing us from sin and giving us a new heart. Grace restores the repentant person to covenant fellowship so they can walk in righteousness, measured by obedience to Yah’s commandments.

Claim 3: “The Law Was Only For The Old Testament”

Rebuttal:The new covenant keeps the same law but writes it on the hearts of Israel.

• Jeremiah 31:31-33 and Hebrews 8:8-10 – The covenant is with Israel and Judah, and the law is written inwardly.

The “new” is about empowerment to obey, not new terms. The curses for rebellion remain active for all who reject Yah’s law.

Claim 4: “The Church Replaced Israel”

Rebuttal:Paul directly denies this idea.

• Romans 11:1-2 – “Hath Yah cast away his people? Yah forbid.”

  
  

• Romans 11:17-18 – Gentiles are grafted into Israel’s tree, not given a separate one.

Israel remains the covenant nation. The blessings and penalties still apply to them.

Claim 5: “The Law Was A Curse”

Rebuttal:The law is not a curse. The curse is the consequence of breaking it.

• Deuteronomy 27:26 – Curse for not keeping the law.

  
  

• Deuteronomy 28:15-68 – Lists the curses: disease, famine, defeat, captivity, slavery.

Yahusha redeems us from these penalties when we repent and return to obedience.

Claim 6: “Gentiles Have Their Own Covenant”

Rebuttal:There is no second covenant. Gentiles join Israel’s covenant through faith in Yahusha and obedience to the same law.

• Ephesians 2:11-13 – Gentiles are brought near to Israel’s covenants.

  
  

• Romans 11:17-18 – Gentiles partake of Israel’s tree.

Gentiles who reject Israel’s covenant reject Yah’s promises.

Claim 7: “We Cannot Keep The Law Today”

Rebuttal:While temple sacrifices are paused, most laws remain possible and necessary.

• Ezekiel 11:19-20 – Yah will cause His people to walk in His statutes even in exile.

  
  

• Revelation 14:12 – The chosen are those who “keep the commandments of Yah and the faith of Yahusha.”

The absence of the temple is not an excuse for lawlessness.

Claim 8: “Faith Alone Is Enough”

Rebuttal:Faith without obedience is dead. Yah measures love by keeping His commandments.

• James 2:17, 24 – Justification is not by faith alone.

  
  

• 1 John 2:3-4 – If you claim to know Him but do not keep His commandments, you are a liar.

Faith gives access to the covenant. Obedience keeps you in it.