Bible Study Two Covenants: The Old and New

[ezrider]

If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them: Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear. -- Deuteronomy 21:18-21
He that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death. -- Exodus 21:15
He that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death. -- Exodus 21:17
The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it. -- Proverbs 30:17
And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them. -- 2 Kings 2:23-24

It appears that Jesus says not to do these kind of things:

Matthew 15
1 Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,
2 Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.
3 But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?
4 For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.
5 But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;
6 And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.
7 Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,

Thank you, these are some great passages that help to draw a distinction. The passage from Deut 21:18-21 is perfect, because it answers why they shall be surely put to death: to put away the evil from among you, from among the nation, from among the congregation. Because they did not put away the evil from among them, they break the Lord's Mosaic Covenant. I seem to recall the story of David numbering the peoples, and it displeased the Lord and the nation was punished by a drought if I am not mistaken. So I would ask myself does it seem fair that for the sins of one that the whole of them should suffer? Kind of like by one man sin entered into the world. Yet when we look at what the prophets declared concerning the new covenant:

Jer 31:29-30
In those days they shall say no more,
The fathers have eaten a sour grape,
and the children's teeth are set on edge.
But every one shall die for his own iniquity:
every man that eateth the sour grape,
his teeth shall be set on edge.

The Mosaic Covenant demanded that you separate the evil from among you. The New Covenant asks you to overcome evil with good. Did not the Pharisees condemn Jesus for eating with publicans and sinners?

After the flesh we are governed by the laws of the nations that rule us, and in some places those laws are influenced by the will of the people. But when the church or people within the church vehemently fight against the proposal for homosexual marriage. Which covenant drives their motivations to take up this fight?

 

[ezrider]

The Ecclesia started with Abraham.

Abraham made Covenant with The Lord before He became flesh.

Same Lord.

JLB

Let me ask a question. The Covenant that was made with Abraham and confirmed in Christ was a covenant based upon Faith. The just shall live by Faith. The book of Hebrews talks of the great men of Faith. But Abraham did not carry around a Bible or any other written words of God. Yet Abraham believed. Contrarily, the Mosaic Covenant was a set of written rules that they were to follow.

Do you find that you need to read the scriptures, the written word, in order to maintain and define your relationship with God?
If you did not have the scriptures to read daily, how would the Lord instruct you? Would you have the Faith of Abraham?

 

[JLB]

Let me ask a question. The Covenant that was made with Abraham and confirmed in Christ was a covenant based upon Faith. The just shall live by Faith. The book of Hebrews talks of the great men of Faith. But Abraham did not carry around a Bible or any other written words of God. Yet Abraham believed. Contrarily, the Mosaic Covenant was a set of written rules that they were to follow.

Do you find that you need to read the scriptures, the written word, in order to maintain and define your relationship with God?
If you did not have the scriptures to read daily, how would the Lord instruct you? Would you have the Faith of Abraham?

No

 

[th1b.taylor]

This is getting convoluted. The Church, most certainly is not a replacement for the Jewish Believers. There are two types of Jews, the Completed Jew and the incomplete Jew. the Completed Jewish person is known to many as a Messianic Jewish Believer and the others are not following Jesus, yet. The Messianic Jew is the Chosen people of God and we, Gentile Christians are grafted as the Vine Dresser grafts the new shoots into the Old Root Stock, we are the adopted Children of God.

Now, as I said before, the Mosaic Law is given, not to save, but it is given as the illustration of perfection we are to seek after. The parts of the Law that no longer apply are the sacrificial laws. As far as confessing one's sins, confession alone is useless because we are called to repent and to repent one travels in, exactly, the opposite direction. If a man confesses his sins and walks away to never repent, he was never saved. If any man is not continually working his salvation out, every day, he has not repented and is not saved.

Just like other men, I sin and because I sin I need several times every day to repent, to work my salvation out, daily. A man that confesses his sins at the alter, to the Church, to the people he has sinned against or even, quietly, to the Pastor and never confesses and never repents again, he is in deep manure, as we say in the South. In Romans Paul taught us to confess our sins and as we study the 23 books Paul wrote, at the inspiration of Jesus, teaches us to repent every time we transgress. We earn in Romans three that there are none righteous, not one of us. If we are not righteous, as Jesus is, we need to repent, every time we sin.

 

[JLB]

Let me ask a question. The Covenant that was made with Abraham and confirmed in Christ was a covenant based upon Faith. The just shall live by Faith. The book of Hebrews talks of the great men of Faith. But Abraham did not carry around a Bible or any other written words of God. Yet Abraham believed. Contrarily, the Mosaic Covenant was a set of written rules that they were to follow.

Do you find that you need to read the scriptures, the written word, in order to maintain and define your relationship with God?
If you did not have the scriptures to read daily, how would the Lord instruct you? Would you have the Faith of Abraham?

Faith does not come by reading the scriptures.

Faith comes by hearing God.


JLB

 

[ezrider]

This is getting convoluted. The Church, most certainly is not a replacement for the Jewish Believers. There are two types of Jews, the Completed Jew and the incomplete Jew. the Completed Jewish person is known to many as a Messianic Jewish Believer and the others are not following Jesus, yet. The Messianic Jew is the Chosen people of God and we, Gentile Christians are grafted as the Vine Dresser grafts the new shoots into the Old Root Stock, we are the adopted Children of God.

Now, as I said before, the Mosaic Law is given, not to save, but it is given as the illustration of perfection we are to seek after. The parts of the Law that no longer apply are the sacrificial laws. As far as confessing one's sins, confession alone is useless because we are called to repent and to repent one travels in, exactly, the opposite direction. If a man confesses his sins and walks away to never repent, he was never saved. If any man is not continually working his salvation out, every day, he has not repented and is not saved.

Just like other men, I sin and because I sin I need several times every day to repent, to work my salvation out, daily. A man that confesses his sins at the alter, to the Church, to the people he has sinned against or even, quietly, to the Pastor and never confesses and never repents again, he is in deep manure, as we say in the South. In Romans Paul taught us to confess our sins and as we study the 23 books Paul wrote, at the inspiration of Jesus, teaches us to repent every time we transgress. We earn in Romans three that there are none righteous, not one of us. If we are not righteous, as Jesus is, we need to repent, every time we sin.

Convoluted no. A little confusing, maybe. I sometimes wonder how the disciples felt every time Jesus gave a great sermon, that afterward they would have to come and say master, great speech, but, could you please tell us what you meant;
and even after that, they still couldn't quite grasp it. As I stated before, I do not believe in replacement theology, but I can understand how someone of an old covenant mindset could believe it to be true.

As for for our daily sins: Is the act of repentance precluded from someone living under the new covenant? Absolutely not. Is not the Grace of God sufficient to forgive the error of ones way when they repent? Isn't the act of repentance said to be a change of heart? Is that not what the Spirit of the Lord does when he writes his laws into our mind and hearts. If we are listening to the Spirit, he will create within us a change our heart. But it was the old covenant, the covenant of law after the manner of flesh that demanded a sacrifice to cover your sins. Does the new covenant require such a sacrifice? No it does not. So if someone repents and and then asks to be washed in the blood of the lamb to cleanse them, are they not doing exactly what is written in Hebrews 6?

Hebrews 6:1-6
Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this will we do, if God permit.
For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

Mat 7:21-23 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Who are these people, these workers of iniquity whom the Lord said I never new you? They obviously believed in the Lord. They felt strongly enough about their conviction that they performed many great works, and they have prophesied in his name. But yet they are called workers of iniquity? Why, because they have not let go of the old covenant promises and embraced the promises fulfilled under the new covenant. The works they perform are after the manner of the flesh, and they prophesy of judgement after the flesh. Where did the prophets prophesy of the judgement of the kingdom of Heaven? Or of the destruction of new Jerusalem?

1 Thes 5:9-10 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.

 

[for_his_glory]

Let me take a guess about what you believe about Israel and the New Covenant.

The Church replaced Israel?


The scriptures teach us these 4 foundational truth's:

• The law was added to the Abrahamic Covenant.

• We are grafted in to the natural Olive Tree.

• We are supported by the root.

• We are partakers of the commonwealth of Israel.

JLB

No, the church did not replace Israel, but is grafted into Israel as through the new creation through Spiritual rebirth, John 3:3-7; Gal 6:15, that we being Gentile are also partakers in the covenant God made with Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3. Grace has always been from the beginning and has no ending as it's Gods grace that gives us His power and authority over the enemy.

 

[JLB]

No, the church did not replace Israel, but is grafted into Israel as through the new creation through Spiritual rebirth, John 3:3-7; Gal 6:15, that we being Gentile are also partakers in the covenant God made with Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3. Grace has always been from the beginning and has no ending as it's Gods grace that gives us His power and authority over the enemy.

Like I said, there is one covenant, the Covenant that God made with Abraham, which was renewed when the One who made Covenant with Abraham became flesh.

He is the only One that can renew the covenant.

Behold, He makes all things New!


JLB

 

[ezrider]

Like I said, there is one covenant, the Covenant that God made with Abraham, which was renewed when the One who made Covenant with Abraham became flesh.

He is the only One that can renew the covenant.

Behold, He makes all things New!


JLB

JLB,

I would politely ask you to respect the rules of this forum. This is not a debate forum, this is a Bible study forum. This is my OP and for the purposes of this study there are two separate covenants: The Mosaic Covenant that is commonly referred to as the old covenant and the Abrahamic Covenant that was confirmed in Christ which we commonly refer to as the new Covenant. As I have posted scripture references that identify two different covenants, I would ask that you please stop contradicting these scriptures as far as this study is concerned.

Deut 5:2-3 The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. The Lord made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day.

Jer 31:31-32
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord,
that I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers
in the day that I took them by the hand
to bring them out of the land of Egypt;
which my covenant they brake,
although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord.

Gal 4:22-24 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.

 

[JLB]

JLB,

I would politely ask you to respect the rules of this forum. This is not a debate forum, this is a Bible study forum. This is my OP and for the purposes of this study there are two separate covenants: The Mosaic Covenant that is commonly referred to as the old covenant and the Abrahamic Covenant that was confirmed in Christ which we commonly refer to as the new Covenant. As I have posted scripture references that identify two different covenants, I would ask that you please stop contradicting these scriptures as far as this study is concerned.

Deut 5:2-3 The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. The Lord made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day.

Jer 31:31-32
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord,
that I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers
in the day that I took them by the hand
to bring them out of the land of Egypt;
which my covenant they brake,
although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord.

Gal 4:22-24 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.

There was certainly two Covenants.

The law, which was the covenant at Sinai, was added to the Abrahamic Covenant.

19 What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator.

However, Paul tells us about the arrangement of the covenant at Sinai, in association with The Abrahamic Covenant.

17 And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect.


The law was added to the Abrahamic Covenant, till the Seed should come...


This flows with your study of these two covenants.

I personally see that the law that was added, was added specifically untill the Seed came.

That is why I say there were two covenants.

The one, contained within the other.

The law was a part of the Abrahamic Covenant, for it was the Abrahamic Covenant that promised the land of Israel to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.


JLB

 

[ezrider]

I have quoted the following passage from the book of Jeremiah a number of times, but no one has made any comments about it; So I wonder if anybody understands it. Maybe you think it holds no real significance, or maybe you really don't care.

Jer 31:29-30
In those days they shall say no more,
The fathers have eaten a sour grape,
and the children's teeth are set on edge.
But every one shall die for his own iniquity:
every man that eateth the sour grape,
his teeth shall be set on edge.

Does anyone know what the saying "The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge" is referring to? You should because this chapter was a prophecy of the new covenant that was confirmed in Christ, and you should hope to understand what the new covenant is all about.

Let me give you a hint: "The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge" is actually a phrase that is characterized within the first commandment. Yet under the new covenant as prophesied by Jeremiah, the first commandment has now been changed.

 

[JLB]

I have quoted the following passage from the book of Jeremiah a number of times, but no one has made any comments about it; So I wonder if anybody understands it. Maybe you think it holds no real significance, or maybe you really don't care.

Jer 31:29-30
In those days they shall say no more,
The fathers have eaten a sour grape,
and the children's teeth are set on edge.
But every one shall die for his own iniquity:
every man that eateth the sour grape,
his teeth shall be set on edge.

Does anyone know what the saying "The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge" is referring to? You should because this chapter was a prophecy of the new covenant that was confirmed in Christ, and you should hope to understand what the new covenant is all about.

Let me give you a hint: "The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge" is actually a phrase that is characterized within the first commandment. Yet under the new covenant as prophesied by Jeremiah, the first commandment has now been changed.

This more proof that the law has vanished away, and the Abrahamic Covenant has returned to normal, with better promises.

The law was added to the Abrahamic Covenant until the Seed should come.

The law of Moses has nothing to do with the new Covenant.


JLB

 

[ezrider]

This more proof that the law has vanished away, and the Abrahamic Covenant has returned to normal, with better promises.

The law was added to the Abrahamic Covenant until the Seed should come.

The law of Moses has nothing to do with the new Covenant.


JLB

JLB,

I think we agree here more than we disagree, but I do not agree that the old covenant, the covenant of Law was added to the Covenant made with Abraham. They are and always have been two distinct covenants. I can understand how you might see the law as being added to the Abrahamic Covenant, because throughout the Law and the Prophets the promises of the Covenant made with Abraham continued to be declared. The Covenant of the Law was not added to the Abrahamic Covenant; But instead the Abrahamic Covenant remained hidden within the Covenant of Law.

Rom 9:6-9 Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara shall have a son.

Galatians 4:21-31
Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not:for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

The Abrahamic Covenant has always been a Covenant after the Spirit; It was never of the flesh. The Mosaic Covenant on the other hand was a Covenant of Law after the flesh. Living after the Spirit Requires Faith; something that David did when he stepped forth in the name of the Lord and slew Goliath with a stone. David was a man who committed adultery with his neighbors wife. When she was found with child, David plotted to have her husband killed. Yet it is said of David that he was a man after God's own heart. I recall a story of one of the servants of the temple reaching up to steady the ark of the covenant and was immediately smote down. Yet when David touched the arc of the covenant nothing happened to him. Is that because David was of the Abrahamic Covenant, and lived by Faith and the Grace of the Lord? If you have read any of the Psalms you would understand that David lived according to the Spirit and not the flesh.

 

[ezrider]

The ark of the covenant. Now there is something we should consider.

Under the old covenant, the priest carried around the ark of the Covenant. The ark contained the Law and the power of God. They carried around God in a box when they went to war. They worshiped before the ark, but the Lord was something that was external to them, contained within their box; And because the Lord was something external to them, they would try to make there outward man appear to obedient. When the Babylonians sacked Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple, the ark of the Covenant became no more. When they children of Israel returned to the land and built the second temple in Jerusalem, the ark was not with them. In its place they took to worshiping the Books of the Law. It is no different today the way many people look at their Bible.

Thinking of the Ark of the Covenant made me think of Noah's Ark. In an earlier post I had said that I see the Noahide Covenant as a covenant between God and the earth, and you see this in that two pair of every living creature was in the ark.

The Ark of the Covenant, the Covenant of Law is gone. God is no longer external to us. We are now the Ark of the New Covenant.

1 Cor 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you.

2 Cor 3:2-3 Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.

Luke 17:20-21 And being asked by the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God cometh, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: neither shall they say, Lo, here! or, There! for lo, the kingdom of God is within you.

 

[JLB]

JLB,

I think we agree here more than we disagree, but I do not agree that the old covenant, the covenant of Law was added to the Covenant made with Abraham. They are and always have been two distinct covenants. I can understand how you might see the law as being added to the Abrahamic Covenant, because throughout the Law and the Prophets the promises of the Covenant made with Abraham continued to be declared. The Covenant of the Law was not added to the Abrahamic Covenant; But instead the Abrahamic Covenant remained hidden within the Covenant of Law.

Rom 9:6-9 Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara shall have a son.

Galatians 4:21-31
Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not:for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

The Abrahamic Covenant has always been a Covenant after the Spirit; It was never of the flesh. The Mosaic Covenant on the other hand was a Covenant of Law after the flesh. Living after the Spirit Requires Faith; something that David did when he stepped forth in the name of the Lord and slew Goliath with a stone. David was a man who committed adultery with his neighbors wife. When she was found with child, David plotted to have her husband killed. Yet it is said of David that he was a man after God's own heart. I recall a story of one of the servants of the temple reaching up to steady the ark of the covenant and was immediately smote down. Yet when David touched the arc of the covenant nothing happened to him. Is that because David was of the Abrahamic Covenant, and lived by Faith and the Grace of the Lord? If you have read any of the Psalms you would understand that David lived according to the Spirit and not the flesh.

They have indeed been two distinct Covenants.

The Abrahamic Covenant was to Abraham and his natural descendants through Isaac.

The law was added because of transgressions to this Covenant.

The law became a fence around this Covenant.

Specific guidelines that Abraham didn't need because he obeyed the primary command from God that enabled him to learn directly from God.

Learning directly from God is what God instructed Adam.

He is the tree of Life. Man shall not live [have life] by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, the very tree or source of LIFE.

Walk before Me and be perfect.

Walk before Me and be Blameless.

Walk in My Presence...

Walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

When this command to walk with God is obeyed, then all the others will fall in to place.

Look at the result, from God's perspective, about Abraham obeying this primary command.

. 4 And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; 5 because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws." Genesis 26:4-5

Faith comes by hearing the word [Rhema Voice] of God. Faith does not come by reading the rules and commands of God.

The law is not of faith.

Walk before Me and be blameless. Thats the primary command.

The Abrahamic Covenant is the covenant that the law was added to temporarily until the Seed, the One who made Covenant with Abraham, should come.

The Lord Himself had to become flesh to have blood in order to fulfill His part of blood letting, of the Abrahamic Covenant.

The shadows and types in the law pointed to this very thing.


JLB



19 What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator.

 

[ezrider]

In Jeremiah 31, he prophecies of the new covenant that he will write his laws in their hearts and in their minds

Jer 31:33-34
But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel;
After those days, saith the Lord,
I will put my law in their inward parts,
and write it in their hearts;
and will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying,
Know the Lord:for they shall all know me,
from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord:
for I will forgive their iniquity,
and I will remember their sin no more.

This is the covenant made with Abraham: That he would write his laws in our hearts and in our minds. This same covenant was first offered to the children of Israel when they were delivered out of Egypt, but it was a covenant that they rejected for fear of being too close to God and instead made a covenant with God in which Moses would speak for God, and the people would do all that Moses commanded them to do.

Exodus 19:4-6 Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles 'wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. (See also 1 Peter 2:9-10)

Deut 5:1-5 And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them. The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. The Lord made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day. The Lord talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire, (I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to shew you the word of the Lord:for ye were afraid by reason of the fire, and went not up into the mount;) saying

Deut 5:22-29 These words the Lord spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice:and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me. And it came to pass, when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, (for the mountain did burn with fire,) that ye came near unto me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders; And ye said, Behold, the Lord our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire:we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth. Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us: if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more, then we shall die. For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? Go thou near, and hear all that the Lord our God shall say:and speak thou unto us all that the Lord our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it. And the Lord heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and the Lord said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee:they have well said all that they have spoken. O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever.

Deut 18:15-19 The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; According to all that thou desiredst of the Lord thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not. And the Lord said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken. I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. (See also Acts 3:22-23 and Acts 7:37-39)

 

[ezrider]

They have indeed been two distinct Covenants.

The Abrahamic Covenant was to Abraham and his natural descendants through Isaac.

The law was added because of transgressions to this Covenant.

The law became a fence around this Covenant.

Specific guidelines that Abraham didn't need because he obeyed the primary command from God that enabled him to learn directly from God.

Learning directly from God is what God instructed Adam.

He is the tree of Life. Man shall not live [have life] by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, the very tree or source of LIFE.

Walk before Me and be perfect.

Walk before Me and be Blameless.

Walk in My Presence...

Walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

When this command to walk with God is obeyed, then all the others will fall in to place.

Look at the result, from God's perspective, about Abraham obeying this primary command.

. 4 And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; 5 because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws." Genesis 26:4-5

Faith comes by hearing the word [Rhema Voice] of God. Faith does not come by reading the rules and commands of God.

The law is not of faith.

Walk before Me and be blameless. Thats the primary command.

The Abrahamic Covenant is the covenant that the law was added to temporarily until the Seed, the One who made Covenant with Abraham, should come.

The Lord Himself had to become flesh to have blood in order to fulfill His part of blood letting, of the Abrahamic Covenant.

The shadows and types in the law pointed to this very thing.


JLB



19 What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator.

As long as we acknowledge that they are at least two distinct Covenants, then can we try an move forward by highlighting some of the things that characterize these two covenants?

Acts 7:37-39 This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear. This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers:who received the lively oracles to give unto us: To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt.

Even though they were delivered from the yoke of bondage under the Egyptians, in their hearts they turned back again into Egypt. Under the new covenant we have been delivered from the yoke of oppression that was obedience to the law in the flesh to enjoy the liberty we find in Christ so that we are free to walk in obedience to Faith. But many do not trust the Lord in true Faith, and they turn their hearts again back to Egypt, and serve the law after the manner of the flesh because they find comfort in that which they can see before them. But the Just shall live by FAITH.

 

[ezrider]

Luke 1:65-75
And fear came on all that dwelt round about them:and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea. And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him. And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel;
for he hath visited and redeemed his people,
And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David;
As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets,
which have been since the world began:
That we should be saved from our enemies,
and from the hand of all that hate us;
To perform the mercy promised to our fathers,
and to remember his holy covenant;
The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,
That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies
might serve him without fear,
In holiness and righteousness before him,
all the days of our life.

 

[Timf]

Covenants

Israel was offered a covenant with God at Mt. Sinai;

Exodus 19:7-8 And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him. And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.

This covenant had two parts, the offer and the acceptance.

God promised Israel an new covenant;

Jeremiah 31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Jesus offered this new covenant;

Luke 22:20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.

Paul revealed the mystery that gentiles would be brought into this new covenant;

Ephesians 3:3-6 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:

Israel failed to accept the new covenant but a faithful remnant will accept it in the future;

Revelation 12:14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

The Bible gives us little glimpses of what the kingdom looks like when it will be on earth such as no war, people living much longer, and a reduction in the hostility of nature.

Romans 11:15 For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?

I see the new covenant as something offered to Israel, immanently expected by Paul, and will be finally made with a faithful Israel;

 

[ezrider]

I see the new covenant as something offered to Israel, immanently expected by Paul, and will be finally made with a faithful Israel;

The new covenant is not something that was immanently expected, it is a covenant that was made with Abraham, and the promise of that covenant was sufficient for the children of Faith that grew up within the Nation of Israel. The new Covenant was confirmed in the blood of Christ, and the promises of that covenant can be realized today through the active Faith that comes from the Lord.

Moses spoke in the law about the prophet who would come to be the voice of the Lord to extend the promises of the covenant made with Abraham. Deut 18:15:19
Jeremiah spoke of the new covenant that the Lord would make with Israel, and with the Gentiles. Jer 31:27-34
Daniel spoke of the spoke of the of the works the Lord would accomplish through the Messiah, and the timing that the promise of the new covenant should come. Dan 9:27
And as I posted before the priest Zacharias prophesied that the Lord has visited and redeemed his people, and has remembered his covenant, to perform the mercy promised to the fathers. Luke 1:65-75