“I will never abandon the descendants of Jacob or David, my servant, or change the plan that David’s descendants will rule the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Instead, I will restore them to their land and have mercy on them.” (Jeremiah 33:26 NLT).

ARE THERE STILL UNFULFILLED PROMISES FOR ISRAEL?

Some believe that the promises given to Israel now belong to the Church, that God is finished with Israel. However, this prophetic promise given through Jeremiah seems to say otherwise. It was easier to believe that God was finished with Israel from the time of 70 AD, when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem, until May 14, 1948, when David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the State of Israel, establishing the first Jewish state in 2,000 years. But this miraculous event makes it look as if there are still unfulfilled promises belonging to Israel.

Although the NLT translates it in the positive, Jeremiah’s prophecy was actually worded as a rhetorical negative, tying it to God’s covenant ruling the heavens and the earth, the day and the night. In other words, “If God doesn’t have laws governing planets and stars, then He will not have a promise concerning Israel.” But since we know that God’s laws concerning the earth and the heavens are still in effect, we must conclude that His promises concerning Israel are still in effect as well. Yet, all these promises are ultimately connected to, and fulfilled by, Jesus the Messiah.