Deuteronomy 29

“All of you are standing today before the Lord your God – your leaders, tribes, elders, officials, all the men of Israel, your children, your wives, and the foreigners in your camps who cut your wood and draw your water – so that you may enter into the covenant of the Lord your God, which He is making with you today, so that you may enter into His oath and so that He may establish you today as His people and He may be your God as He promised you and as He swore to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I am making this covenant and this oath not only with you, but also with those who are standing here with us today in the presence of the Lord our God and with those who are not here today.” Deuteronomy 29:10-15 (HCSB)

Deuteronomy 27-30 are chapters pertaining to God’s covenant: Blessings for abiding by His commands, Curses for transgressing them, and provisions for Repentance and Returning to the Lord.

Almost hidden in all the verbiage is exactly WHO the covenant was pertaining to. Obviously, God is making His covenant with all Israel, but who were the “foreigners”? “Israel” is commonly (culturally) defined as those whose biological lineage is traced through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But alongside the Israelite is the Foreigner who seeks after the Lord. Whether slaves or members of the “mixed multitude” who left Egypt with the Israelites, the Bible records God’s desire for the foreigner to know and worship Him by including them in His covenant.

Know for sure that God’s covenant with Israel concerning the LAND is very clear. The land is divided among the tribes of Israel, and those of Israel who are scattered (even today) have the right of return. This is not only the position of the modern Israeli government, per se, but it is what’s written in Scripture.

There is an open attitude among Orthodox Jews (through organizations like Chabad) to teach the Torah to Gentiles (non-Jews). But they teach that Gentiles are under the “Noahide covenant.” That is, the general promise God gave to mankind after the great flood. They teach that Gentiles have no “Torah claim” to the covenants beyond the post-flood of Noah’s day.

Deuteronomy 29 is very clear that God spoke not only to those who are “Israel” by blood but also to those who are God’s people by Grace, through Faith (per the covenant of Abraham), when they faithfully follow the Lord. While the two are separate with respect to DNA and the Land, they are alike in terms of God’s blessing to those who, by faith, believe in Messiah Jesus and are counted righteous by His grace.

Revisiting the subject of the LAND of Israel, what benefit do Jewish people have if they return to the land yet refuse to return to the Lord through Messiah Jesus? Ultimately, they are far worse off than the Gentiles, who have no claim to the land yet trust in Messiah and receive atonement and eternal salvation. Remember, followers of Messiah (Jew and Gentile) await a New Jerusalem, so their hope is not in the old one.