And hath confirmed the same to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant,
The verse confirms to Jacob and Israel as an everlasting covenant the promise sworn to Abraham and Isaac to give Canaan as their inheritance when they were few and strangers in the land. The covenant so confirmed is a law as a rule of action, namely the Ten Commandments spoken by God and written on stone, the moral law that is the basis of all God's covenants and was commanded to a thousand generations, though in another reading that commanded covenant is circumcision rather than the ten commandments. The promise of the land rests on obedience to that law, so keeping God's commandments in uprightness is the condition by which Abraham and his seed obtain it for an everlasting possession. To a thousand generations denotes perpetuity without end, with all His commandments standing fast forever, so the covenant did not end at the cross. It is the gospel promise whose seed is Christ and whose heirs are people of faith, reaching beyond literal Canaan to the resurrection and the new-earth inheritance where Abraham's seed keep the covenant.
Text and Setting
The passage containing the verse is found almost word for word in Psalm 105:1-15, with 1 Chronicles 16:8-22 paralleling Psalm 105:1-6. It preserves psalm material written as prayer and praise to be sung. It is part of the psalm David gave to be sung when the ark was brought to Jerusalem. It was composed to be sung before the ark of the ten commandments after he brought it from the house of Obed-edom and set it in the tent he pitched for it.
It stands in Israel's duty to declare Jehovah's glory among the nations and Gentiles so that the Gentiles might be converted. The truth and law given to Israel were not for Israel alone. Israel was to be God's priest to the world, living the law so other nations would be won and proclaiming Him to them. When people of the nations gave themselves to God, one law was for both Israel and them.
The verse is poetry in Hebrew, the same as Psalm 105, and its language must not be construed literally like prose or pressed to strict literal force. Its terms everlasting, forever, and thousand generations are figurative poetic diction, not exact measures of time. Everlasting and forever cannot be limited to less than one generation, for everlasting in Exodus 21:6 binds not only one man for life but also the generations issuing from him. It does not prove the ten commandments as given in covenant at Sinai were the condition of the promise to Abraham, since its poetic outburst is not to be pressed to contradict that the law came four hundred and thirty years after Abraham and was given by Moses. Abraham had and obeyed commandments, statutes, and laws and was favored for it, but those were not in every respect the same as the law from Sinai, sharing only some common elements which David celebrates, and Abraham never saw the Sabbath.
Covenant as Law
The covenant confirmed to Jacob for a law and to Israel for an everlasting covenant is law in the sense of a rule of action, namely the Ten Commandments spoken by God and written on two stone tablets, the word commanded to a thousand generations. That law is the same covenant Abraham kept, for the promises to Abraham rested on his obedience to God's commandments, statutes and laws, and the promised blessing and inheritance followed, showing his children to be those who do the works of Abraham. Made with Abraham and sworn to Isaac with an oath, it was confirmed to Jacob as a law and to Israel as an everlasting covenant, and confirmed to Jacob at Sinai, so its duration is not limited to a thousand generations and it retains continuing authority.
That law is the moral law, the Ten Commandments, and the basis of all covenants God ever made with man, enduring in force and in the hearts and minds of God's people. It is distinct from the ceremonial law of types and shadows, and distinct from the Sinaitic covenant which was an agreement between God and Israel with promises, conditions, mediators, sacrificial blood, ordinances of divine service and a worldly sanctuary. The ten commandments themselves endure as law and everlasting covenant, commanded to a thousand generations.
The moral law was instituted in the garden before the fall of man and was confirmed amid the thunder of Sinai to Israel for an everlasting covenant. That same covenant law passed down through the Levitical priesthood into the hands of the great High Priest, where it was confirmed again. It is fixed as a nail in a sure place, so that to undertake to remove it is to undertake to overthrow God's government and destroy the plan of salvation, leaving man's whole duty to fear God and keep His commandments because God will bring every work into judgment. The Ten Commandments did not originate at Mount Sinai but existed as law before they were given from Sinai, as shown by comparison with Genesis 26:3-5 and Deuteronomy 4:12-13; they were already known to and kept by Abraham and Isaac and were only confirmed there to the Hebrew people. This is the law sung in the psalm David composed to be sung before the ark of the ten commandments after he brought it from the house of Obed-edom and set it in the tent he pitched for it, and the covenant is made with Abraham in the sense of being the condition of the promise made to him.
The verse says not one word and makes no allusion concerning the covenant of circumcision, for the covenant of circumcision given to Abraham was only the sign or token of the covenant made with him, and therefore cannot be the covenant itself. Those who held otherwise taught that the covenant God commanded to a thousand generations is the covenant of circumcision, not the covenant of the ten commandments. They argued that even if it were the ten commandments, only about 100 generations have passed since creation so 900 generations of observance would still remain, which contradicts the expectation that generations will soon cease by the coming of Christ. In their teaching, to a thousand generations means the same as throughout their generations, signifying the whole of their generations, in which sense all the commandments, statutes, judgments, even the entire law were commanded to a thousand generations.
Promise and Inheritance
The covenant confirmed to Jacob for a law and to Israel for an everlasting covenant is the promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob of the land of Canaan for an inheritance. It recalls the time when they were few in number and strangers in the land. That fewness marks it off from the covenant made at Sinai, which was made when Israel had become numerous.
That Abrahamic covenant holds two closely connected but distinct things, a law and a promise of the land, with the promise resting on obedience to the law. The word commanded to a thousand generations is the law on which the promise to Abraham was based, while the land is the inheritance promised within it. The promise itself is not the command and the command itself is not the promise, though the covenant term can refer to either part, and here promise and condition together make the covenant.
In the strict sense God's covenant is what He commanded, while the Abrahamic covenant also holds mutual considerations including His promise to Abraham and his seed of Canaan for an everlasting possession, with faithful performance of what was commanded as the basis of that promise. That basis appears where the covenant was renewed with Isaac because Abraham obeyed God's voice, charge, commandments, statutes and laws. God did not command that He would give the land, nor did He promise that Israel would keep His law.
The promised inheritance is not exhausted by past fulfillment in literal Canaan but reaches beyond the resurrection to the new-earth state, when it will be realized. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the faithful of the old covenant looked for a better, heavenly country and the city God prepared. That hope is Abraham's inheritance of the world and the heavenly Jerusalem, where he and his seed will keep the covenant, including the Sabbath commandment.
The promise belongs not to Jews by descent alone but to those who are Christ's. The reference to a thousand generations does not put the end of the world far in the future. Nor is the promise fulfilled by all Christ's followers taking possession of literal Canaan.
Those who held for a literal possession for many generations cited the verse as evidence that Israel must possess literal Canaan for many generations. In that connection the covenant promise was taken to require the people to retain literal Canaan for 950 generations, so that the end of the world could not come for more than 40,000 years.
Endurance and Condition
The word commanded to a thousand generations denotes perpetuity, not a limited number, the same as showing mercy to thousands of them that love God and keep His commandments. The covenant confirmed to Jacob for a law and to Israel for an everlasting covenant is unlimited in duration and extends through all time, with all His commandments sure and standing fast forever and ever without end. Identified as the Ten Commandments and as the covenant made with Abraham, it did not end at the cross.
Keeping that law with uprightness and sincerity is the condition by which Abraham and his seed obtain the promised land of Canaan for an everlasting possession. Receiving the covenant blessing and inheritance is conditional on obedience to God's law, connected with the commandments, statutes, and laws which Abraham kept. Israel could have retained its honored place as God's nation by remaining faithful to that covenant and obeying His law, for God keeps covenant with those who love Him and keep His commandments and would not have broken it.
The law of God is called a covenant by metonymy when joined to promises and is the basis and condition of the promise to give the land of Canaan. God gave the promises to Abraham and his seed because Abraham obeyed His voice, charge, commandments, statutes and laws, and the promised blessing and inheritance followed. His children are those who do the works of Abraham, walking in the steps of his faith by keeping that law, which is the only covenant in the Bible that is solely a law, the word commanded to a thousand generations.
The curse of that law stands between the transgressor and the blessing of Abraham, so transgressors under the curse cannot inherit the blessings until the curse is removed. Since all, Jews and Gentiles, have broken it and incurred its penalty and forfeited all right to the blessing, the right can only be restored through Christ redeeming from the curse of the law those who come to Him by faith. Faith does not abolish the law.
Gospel Warning and Mission
The covenant made with Abraham and sworn to Isaac and confirmed to Jacob for a law and to Israel for an everlasting covenant is the gospel promise whose seed is Christ and whose heirs are those of faith. It is fulfilled in Christ and is identical with the blessing of the gospel and with the new and everlasting covenant, embracing all that was lost in the fall of Adam. Believers now stand related to the covenant commanded to a thousand generations just as Abraham did, and those who have faith in Christ are counted as Abraham's seed and heirs of the promise. The word commanded to a thousand generations extends through all time and denotes perpetuity rather than a limited number, like showing mercy to thousands of them that love God and keep His commandments. The promise was not given through the law of Moses, yet the covenant was not apart from obedience to God's law, for the law joined to promises is called a covenant and is the basis and condition of the promise.
The covenant is God's pledge and purpose to save people, first established with Abraham and extending through his seed to Jacob and Israel as an everlasting covenant. The one moral law of God's government called God's holy covenant and the covenant commanded is the Ten Commandments which Abraham obeyed when he kept God's voice, charge, commandments, statutes and laws. As an everlasting covenant, its breaking brings a curse that desolates the inhabitants of the earth and burns them up. Indignation against this holy covenant set up the man of sin, the abomination that makes desolate.
The moral law was instituted in the garden before the fall and was confirmed amid the thunder of Sinai to Israel for an everlasting covenant. That same covenant law passed down through the Levitical priesthood into the hands of the great High Priest, where it was confirmed again. It is fixed as a nail in a sure place, so that to undertake to remove it is to undertake to overthrow God's government and destroy the plan of salvation. Man's whole duty therefore is to fear God and keep His commandments, because God shall bring every work into judgment.
The verse confirms to Jacob and Israel as an everlasting covenant the promise sworn to Abraham and Isaac to give Canaan as their inheritance when they were few and strangers in the land. The covenant so confirmed is a law as a rule of action, namely the Ten Commandments spoken by God and written on stone, the moral law that is the basis of all God's covenants and was commanded to a thousand generations, though in another reading that commanded covenant is circumcision rather than the ten commandments. The promise of the land rests on obedience to that law, so keeping God's commandments in uprightness is the condition by which Abraham and his seed obtain it for an everlasting possession. To a thousand generations denotes perpetuity without end, with all His commandments standing fast forever, so the covenant did not end at the cross. It is the gospel promise whose seed is Christ and whose heirs are people of faith, reaching beyond literal Canaan to the resurrection and the new-earth inheritance where Abraham's seed keep the covenant.
Text and Setting
The passage containing the verse is found almost word for word in Psalm 105:1-15, with 1 Chronicles 16:8-22 paralleling Psalm 105:1-6. It preserves psalm material written as prayer and praise to be sung. It is part of the psalm David gave to be sung when the ark was brought to Jerusalem. It was composed to be sung before the ark of the ten commandments after he brought it from the house of Obed-edom and set it in the tent he pitched for it.
It stands in Israel's duty to declare Jehovah's glory among the nations and Gentiles so that the Gentiles might be converted. The truth and law given to Israel were not for Israel alone. Israel was to be God's priest to the world, living the law so other nations would be won and proclaiming Him to them. When people of the nations gave themselves to God, one law was for both Israel and them.
The verse is poetry in Hebrew, the same as Psalm 105, and its language must not be construed literally like prose or pressed to strict literal force. Its terms everlasting, forever, and thousand generations are figurative poetic diction, not exact measures of time. Everlasting and forever cannot be limited to less than one generation, for everlasting in Exodus 21:6 binds not only one man for life but also the generations issuing from him. It does not prove the ten commandments as given in covenant at Sinai were the condition of the promise to Abraham, since its poetic outburst is not to be pressed to contradict that the law came four hundred and thirty years after Abraham and was given by Moses. Abraham had and obeyed commandments, statutes, and laws and was favored for it, but those were not in every respect the same as the law from Sinai, sharing only some common elements which David celebrates, and Abraham never saw the Sabbath.
Covenant as Law
The covenant confirmed to Jacob for a law and to Israel for an everlasting covenant is law in the sense of a rule of action, namely the Ten Commandments spoken by God and written on two stone tablets, the word commanded to a thousand generations. That law is the same covenant Abraham kept, for the promises to Abraham rested on his obedience to God's commandments, statutes and laws, and the promised blessing and inheritance followed, showing his children to be those who do the works of Abraham. Made with Abraham and sworn to Isaac with an oath, it was confirmed to Jacob as a law and to Israel as an everlasting covenant, and confirmed to Jacob at Sinai, so its duration is not limited to a thousand generations and it retains continuing authority.
That law is the moral law, the Ten Commandments, and the basis of all covenants God ever made with man, enduring in force and in the hearts and minds of God's people. It is distinct from the ceremonial law of types and shadows, and distinct from the Sinaitic covenant which was an agreement between God and Israel with promises, conditions, mediators, sacrificial blood, ordinances of divine service and a worldly sanctuary. The ten commandments themselves endure as law and everlasting covenant, commanded to a thousand generations.
The moral law was instituted in the garden before the fall of man and was confirmed amid the thunder of Sinai to Israel for an everlasting covenant. That same covenant law passed down through the Levitical priesthood into the hands of the great High Priest, where it was confirmed again. It is fixed as a nail in a sure place, so that to undertake to remove it is to undertake to overthrow God's government and destroy the plan of salvation, leaving man's whole duty to fear God and keep His commandments because God will bring every work into judgment. The Ten Commandments did not originate at Mount Sinai but existed as law before they were given from Sinai, as shown by comparison with Genesis 26:3-5 and Deuteronomy 4:12-13; they were already known to and kept by Abraham and Isaac and were only confirmed there to the Hebrew people. This is the law sung in the psalm David composed to be sung before the ark of the ten commandments after he brought it from the house of Obed-edom and set it in the tent he pitched for it, and the covenant is made with Abraham in the sense of being the condition of the promise made to him.
The verse says not one word and makes no allusion concerning the covenant of circumcision, for the covenant of circumcision given to Abraham was only the sign or token of the covenant made with him, and therefore cannot be the covenant itself. Those who held otherwise taught that the covenant God commanded to a thousand generations is the covenant of circumcision, not the covenant of the ten commandments. They argued that even if it were the ten commandments, only about 100 generations have passed since creation so 900 generations of observance would still remain, which contradicts the expectation that generations will soon cease by the coming of Christ. In their teaching, to a thousand generations means the same as throughout their generations, signifying the whole of their generations, in which sense all the commandments, statutes, judgments, even the entire law were commanded to a thousand generations.
Promise and Inheritance
The covenant confirmed to Jacob for a law and to Israel for an everlasting covenant is the promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob of the land of Canaan for an inheritance. It recalls the time when they were few in number and strangers in the land. That fewness marks it off from the covenant made at Sinai, which was made when Israel had become numerous.
That Abrahamic covenant holds two closely connected but distinct things, a law and a promise of the land, with the promise resting on obedience to the law. The word commanded to a thousand generations is the law on which the promise to Abraham was based, while the land is the inheritance promised within it. The promise itself is not the command and the command itself is not the promise, though the covenant term can refer to either part, and here promise and condition together make the covenant.
In the strict sense God's covenant is what He commanded, while the Abrahamic covenant also holds mutual considerations including His promise to Abraham and his seed of Canaan for an everlasting possession, with faithful performance of what was commanded as the basis of that promise. That basis appears where the covenant was renewed with Isaac because Abraham obeyed God's voice, charge, commandments, statutes and laws. God did not command that He would give the land, nor did He promise that Israel would keep His law.
The promised inheritance is not exhausted by past fulfillment in literal Canaan but reaches beyond the resurrection to the new-earth state, when it will be realized. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the faithful of the old covenant looked for a better, heavenly country and the city God prepared. That hope is Abraham's inheritance of the world and the heavenly Jerusalem, where he and his seed will keep the covenant, including the Sabbath commandment.
The promise belongs not to Jews by descent alone but to those who are Christ's. The reference to a thousand generations does not put the end of the world far in the future. Nor is the promise fulfilled by all Christ's followers taking possession of literal Canaan.
Those who held for a literal possession for many generations cited the verse as evidence that Israel must possess literal Canaan for many generations. In that connection the covenant promise was taken to require the people to retain literal Canaan for 950 generations, so that the end of the world could not come for more than 40,000 years.
Endurance and Condition
The word commanded to a thousand generations denotes perpetuity, not a limited number, the same as showing mercy to thousands of them that love God and keep His commandments. The covenant confirmed to Jacob for a law and to Israel for an everlasting covenant is unlimited in duration and extends through all time, with all His commandments sure and standing fast forever and ever without end. Identified as the Ten Commandments and as the covenant made with Abraham, it did not end at the cross.
Keeping that law with uprightness and sincerity is the condition by which Abraham and his seed obtain the promised land of Canaan for an everlasting possession. Receiving the covenant blessing and inheritance is conditional on obedience to God's law, connected with the commandments, statutes, and laws which Abraham kept. Israel could have retained its honored place as God's nation by remaining faithful to that covenant and obeying His law, for God keeps covenant with those who love Him and keep His commandments and would not have broken it.
The law of God is called a covenant by metonymy when joined to promises and is the basis and condition of the promise to give the land of Canaan. God gave the promises to Abraham and his seed because Abraham obeyed His voice, charge, commandments, statutes and laws, and the promised blessing and inheritance followed. His children are those who do the works of Abraham, walking in the steps of his faith by keeping that law, which is the only covenant in the Bible that is solely a law, the word commanded to a thousand generations.
The curse of that law stands between the transgressor and the blessing of Abraham, so transgressors under the curse cannot inherit the blessings until the curse is removed. Since all, Jews and Gentiles, have broken it and incurred its penalty and forfeited all right to the blessing, the right can only be restored through Christ redeeming from the curse of the law those who come to Him by faith. Faith does not abolish the law.
Gospel Warning and Mission
The covenant made with Abraham and sworn to Isaac and confirmed to Jacob for a law and to Israel for an everlasting covenant is the gospel promise whose seed is Christ and whose heirs are those of faith. It is fulfilled in Christ and is identical with the blessing of the gospel and with the new and everlasting covenant, embracing all that was lost in the fall of Adam. Believers now stand related to the covenant commanded to a thousand generations just as Abraham did, and those who have faith in Christ are counted as Abraham's seed and heirs of the promise. The word commanded to a thousand generations extends through all time and denotes perpetuity rather than a limited number, like showing mercy to thousands of them that love God and keep His commandments. The promise was not given through the law of Moses, yet the covenant was not apart from obedience to God's law, for the law joined to promises is called a covenant and is the basis and condition of the promise.
The covenant is God's pledge and purpose to save people, first established with Abraham and extending through his seed to Jacob and Israel as an everlasting covenant. The one moral law of God's government called God's holy covenant and the covenant commanded is the Ten Commandments which Abraham obeyed when he kept God's voice, charge, commandments, statutes and laws. As an everlasting covenant, its breaking brings a curse that desolates the inhabitants of the earth and burns them up. Indignation against this holy covenant set up the man of sin, the abomination that makes desolate.
The moral law was instituted in the garden before the fall and was confirmed amid the thunder of Sinai to Israel for an everlasting covenant. That same covenant law passed down through the Levitical priesthood into the hands of the great High Priest, where it was confirmed again. It is fixed as a nail in a sure place, so that to undertake to remove it is to undertake to overthrow God's government and destroy the plan of salvation. Man's whole duty therefore is to fear God and keep His commandments, because God shall bring every work into judgment.