Zechariah 8:7

"Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country; and I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness."

"East country and the west country ..." Such expressions need not be assigned to some particular geographical area, as they are a stereotyped expression meaning, "from all around," or "from everywhere." The meaning here, is "from all over the world," in the times of the Messiah.

"They shall be my people, and I will be their God ..." This is hailed as God's renewal of the covenant with Israel, God's remarriage to the apostate people who had rebelled against him and had suffered such punishment; but it is no such thing. It is a statement of the status pertaining to the children of God in Christ Jesus, in the coming kingdom of Messiah, the church of Jesus Christ. This verse teaches, "That a people will, indeed, be gathered unto God, but they must neither of necessity be of the race of Jews, nor will they all dwell in Jerusalem."[9] Everyone familiar with the sacred New Testament understands this perfectly. The holy apostles of Jesus preempted all of the loving titles that once applied to the secular Israel and applied them to the members of Jesus' church who make up, in its totality, the Israel of God in this dispensation. Christians are called "The Israel of God," the "Chosen People," the "Royal Priesthood," even "The Twelve Tribes of Israel" (James 1:1). The question of race is of no more concern to God than is the question of whether or not one has brown hair or red.

A covenant is surely in view here, but it is the "New Covenant" prophesied in Jeremiah 31:31-35. In this connection, it should always be remembered that no Jew was ever excluded from this covenant on account of his race, any more than he ever qualified for membership in it on account of his race.