New or Renewed, it's a better Covenant

“Here, the days are coming,” says Y’hovah, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Yisrael and with the house of Y’hudah.”
— Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 31:30–34

The Hebrew Meaning of “New”

The phrase “new covenant” (brit chadashah) is often misunderstood. The Hebrew word chadashah (חֲדָשָׁה) is the same term used to describe a new moon (chodesh) or a new year.
When Y’hovah renews the moon or the year, He does not create something entirely different or foreign — He renews what already exists. Likewise, the covenant spoken of in Yirmeyahu is not a brand new covenant that abolishes the previous ones, but rather a renewal that brings them to fulfillment.

The difference lies in where the Torah is written — no longer on tablets of stone, but on the hearts and minds of His people.

“You make it clear that you are a letter from the Messiah… written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on stone tablets but on human hearts.”
— Qorintiyim Bĕt (2 Corinthians) 3:3

Note: This teaching continues from HIS COVENANTS, which explores the foundational covenants Y’hovah made with His creation and His people.

The Covenants that Point to Renewal

Avinu Elohei has always worked through covenant relationship — sacred agreements rooted in faithfulness and purpose.

The Covenant with Noach – Preservation of Creation

Berĕshith (Genesis) 9:8–17
Y’hovah established His covenant with Noach and all living creatures, promising never again to destroy the earth by flood. The sign of this covenant — the rainbow — stands as a witness of divine mercy. This covenant sets the framework of order and preservation for all creation.

The Covenant with Avraham – The People of Promise

Berĕshith (Genesis) 12:1–3; 15:5–18; 17:7–8
Through Avraham, Y’hovah declared that all nations would be blessed. This covenant was one of faith and calling, creating a people set apart to manifest His promises to the world. It remains everlasting — rooted in trust (emunah) and obedience.

The Covenant at Sinai – Torah Given to Yisrael

Shemot (Exodus) 19:3–6; 24:7–8
Y’hovah gave His Torah to the children of Yisrael at Mount Sinai, calling them a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” This covenant defined the nation’s purpose — to reflect His holiness and teach His ways. Yet it was broken through disobedience, revealing humanity’s need for inner renewal.

The Covenant in Mo’av – Reconfirmation and Promise

Devarim (Deuteronomy) 29–30
Before entering the Promised Land, Y’hovah reconfirmed the covenant through Moshe in Mo’av. He promised to circumcise the hearts of His people so they could love Him fully (Devarim 30:6). This foreshadowed the future covenant of inner transformation.

The Covenant with David – The Eternal Kingship

Sh’mu’el Bĕt (2 Samuel) 7:12–16
Through David, Y’hovah swore that his seed would rule forever — pointing to Y’hoshua HaMashiach, the ultimate fulfillment of the royal promise. The Davidic Covenant affirms the Kingdom of Yisrael and the priesthood that will serve in righteousness.

The Renewed Covenant: Fulfillment of All

“It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers… for they broke My covenant, though I was a husband to them,” says Adonai.
“For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Yisrael after those days… I will put My Torah within them and write it on their hearts; I will be their Elohim, and they will be My people.”
— Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 31:31–33, CJB

The Renewed Covenant brings together every covenant that preceded it — not erasing them, but completing them through Y’hoshua HaMashiach. In this covenant, Torah is no longer external instruction but internal transformation by the Spirit of the Living Elohim.

“No longer will any of them teach his brother, saying, ‘Know Y’hovah,’ for all will know Me, from the least to the greatest.”
— Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 31:34

Why a Renewed Covenant Was Needed

The covenant at Sinai was perfect in essence but weakened through the flesh.

“For what the Torah could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, Elohim did by sending His own Son…”
— Romiyim (Romans) 8:3–4, TS2009

Y’hoshua HaMashiach fulfilled what humanity could not. Through His obedience, death, and resurrection, He enabled us to walk in righteousness by the Ruach HaKodesh. The Renewed Covenant is the empowerment to live the Torah in spirit and truth — the restoration of divine fellowship first lost in Gan-Eden (the Garden of Eden).

Eternal Assurance for Yisrael

“If these laws ever leave My presence,” says Adonai,
“then the offspring of Yisrael will cease from being a nation before Me forever.”
— Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 31:35–37, CJB

Avinu Elohei declares His unbreakable bond with Yisrael. This is a perpetual covenant, reaffirmed in Yirmeyahu 33 and echoed by Rabbi Sha’ul (Paul) in Romiyim 11:28–29:

“As regards the Good News, they are enemies for your sake; but as regards being chosen, they are loved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and calling of Elohim are irrevocable.”

There is no replacement theology here — Y’hovah’s covenantal faithfulness to Yisrael remains forever.

Y’hoshua’s Declaration and Fulfillment

“Do not think that I came to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Torah until all is accomplished.”
— Mattityahu (Matthew) 5:17–18, TS2009

Y’hoshua HaMashiach did not replace the Torah — He fulfilled it by revealing its true spiritual purpose. His life demonstrated perfect obedience, modeling the very covenant written on the heart that Y’hovah promised through Yirmeyahu.

The Cup of the Renewed Covenant

At His final Pesach Seder, Y’hoshua took the cup — the Cup of Redemption — and said:

“This cup is the renewed covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you.”
— Luka (Luke) 22:20

Through His blood, the Renewed Covenant was sealed. The restoration of Yisrael was initiated, and the Goyim (nations) were welcomed to share in that redemption — not as a new people, but as those grafted into the same olive tree of Yisrael (Romiyim 11:17–24).

Renewal, Not Replacement

The Renewed Covenant is the culmination of all divine promises. It brings restoration between Y’hovah and His people through the redemptive work of Y’hoshua. It is better, not because it replaces the former, but because it fulfills and perfects them — writing Torah on our hearts, empowering us by the Spirit, and restoring the Kingdom of Y’hovah on earth.

“For from Tziyon will go forth the Torah, and the word of Y’hovah from Yerushalayim.”
— Yesha’yahu (Isaiah) 2:3.

By Rabbi Francisco Arbas
📧 franciscoarbas.yisrael@gmail.com
Following His ‘WAY’ — Netzari Mashiach Judaism