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the Word of Truth (2 Timothy 2:15)
Established
November 2008 Published weekly on Friday
This is good and
acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men (and women) to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1Timothy 2:3-4)
2 Corinthians (3:6a) (Lesson 08)
Welcome to HBS and
thank you for taking the time to be
here today.
Last week we looked
at the first four of 8 covenants in
Scripture: the Edenic, the Adamic, the
Noahic, and the Abrahamic Covenants. As the
LORD God introduced each one of these covenants,
the majority of them also ushered in a new
dispensation or divine management of human affairs and events in the world.
The first eleven
chapters of Genesis reveal how the LORD God dealt with the entire human race
over a period of two thousand years. Beginning
at or about 2004 BC, the LORD God established the Abrahamic Covenant with Abram
and other covenants would follow and all of these would be with the new race of
people, the Jews.
Please note the
Adamic and the Noahic Covenants were not done away with by the Abrahamic
Covenant. The Abrahamic Covenant and
those that came after it belong to the Hebrew race, while the Adamic and the
Noahic covenants pertain to the entire Gentile world. The dispensations of Conscience (Adamic) and
Human Government (Noahic) still continue as they relate to the Gentiles.
********
If
you’re wondering where we’re at in the Bible, we’re still holding at 2
Corinthians 3:6a because we still have 4 more covenants to look at. The
next one on our list, in sequence, is the Mosaic Covenant.
The
Mosaic Covenant (Exodus 19-31)
This
covenant was given to Moses on Mt
Sinai, shortly after the Exodus from Egypt.
It ushered in the Dispensation of “the Law.” This was a conditional covenant based on
obedience and may be divided into three parts:
1: The Moral Law – (Exodus 20:1-26) – This
consists of the Ten Commandments.
2: The Civil Law – (Exodus 21:24-18) –
3: The Ceremonial Law – (Exodus 25:1-40, 38) –
This includes the Tabernacle, the Priesthood, and the order of service.
Unlike
the previous covenants that had few requirements for both parties, the Mosaic
Covenant is a much larger and complicated covenant with laws, rituals, and a holy
tabernacle that allowed humans to enter the LORD’s presence, if certain
conditions were met. Because of and how
it relates to the Abrahamic Covenant, and its purpose it is also the most
misunderstood covenant.
The
Mosaic Covenant was an extension of the Abrahamic Covenant made with the
descendants of Abraham. The Abrahamic
Covenant was an unconditional covenant into which one entered merely by placing
their faith (or trust) in the LORD
God, thus entering also into a relationship with the LORD. The Mosaic Covenant, on the other hand, was a
conditional covenant that determined what blessings the one who belonged to the
Abrahamic Covenant would receive, based on their obedience. It is similar to a
person receiving salvation by placing their faith in Jesus Christ (Abrahamic
Covenant), but the depth of relationship with Him and whether they receive
discipline or blessing is based on their obedience to Him (Mosaic Covenant). One cannot enter the Mosaic Covenant without first
entering the Abrahamic Covenant.
The
requirements and blessings for the Mosaic Covenant are found in Exodus 19:3-6.
The “if-then” statement in these verses reveals that the Mosaic Covenant the
LORD God was making with Israel was conditional based on their obedience to His requirements in order
to receive blessings. If Israel was
obedient, the LORD promised them three blessings:
First,
they would be “My own possession” belonging
to the LORD God (Exodus 19:5). This
means that Israel would enjoy a unique relationship with the LORD compared with
all other (gentile) nations, due to the unconditional promises of the Abrahamic
Covenant.
Second,
they would be a “kingdom of priests,”
representing the LORD God before the gentile nations (Exodus 19:6). A priest mediates between God and man. Israel would be a holy people who enjoyed
access to the LORD, therefore, one day future, they would go to the other gentile
nations, revealing the one true God to them and bringing them into the nation
of Israel (Deuteronomy 33:9-10). Israel
would not be a kingdom known for its politicians, government, and military
might, but for its faith, righteousness,
testimony, and for its Sovereign God.
Third,
they would be a “holy nation,”
unique from all the other nations (Exodus 19:6). The word “holy” means “separate.” In order to be a kingdom of priests, Israel could not be
like all the other gentile nations in the way that they lived and worshiped
false gods.
Leviticus
18:1-5 gives three more reasons why Israel must obey the LORD’s commands. First,
they were to obey because He was
their God; second, so that they do not become like the surrounding Gentile cultures;
and third, so that they may live.
The
idea of “live” in Leviticus 18:5 means to have physical life, as well as the
LORD’s covenant blessings of eternal life
as defined in Ezekiel 20:11. Ezekiel
describes the rebellion of the Israelites in the wilderness, after which the
LORD God judged them and destroyed them. Because they failed to obey Him, they did not receive His covenant blessings of life. Faithfulness to God’s Law (the Mosaic
Covenant) would result in a full and prosperous life in the Promised Land,
along with the ever-abundant blessings of the LORD God. However, a disobedient life would result in
suffering, death, and exile from the Land.
Circumcision was the sign of
the Abrahamic Covenant, and the Sabbath
was the sign of Mosaic Covenant (Exodus 31:12-18). Because the Abrahamic Covenant is built into
the Mosaic Covenant, circumcision became an individual sign of participation in
the Mosaic Covenant, while keeping the Sabbath was the corporate sign.
The
Sabbath was only for the nation of
Israel neither the gentiles nor the Body of Christ have any part of it. This covenant
is eternal (Ezekiel 44:24, 45:17, 46:1, 3-4, 12) and sovereignly
established. Since it is only for the
nation of Israel and is eternal it is proof positive that the nation of Israel
will exist forever (See Jeremiah 31:35-37).
The
Mosaic Law consisted of three classes:
The
first were those governing the moral life, which would be the Ten
Commandments. The moral law instructed
one on how to live righteously in
relation to the LORD, their neighbor, and to the stranger in the land or the gentile.
The
second were those laws governing the religious life, which would be those in
and about the Tabernacle of the LORD, the sacrificial system, and the
priesthood. These laws instructed one on
how to enter the presence of a righteous and
holy God and what was necessary to atone for sin, having broken the moral
code.
The
third included those laws governing the civil life, which were laws that dealt
with civil law and the punishments given when one violated these laws. It’s important to note that the LORD God gave
the “whole” Law specifically for the nation of Israel and to violate one law
from any of these three classes was to violate the “whole law.” The phrase “Bust one and you’re done”
certainly applies here.
The
Purpose of the Mosaic Covenant
The
purpose of the Law was not to grant the nation of Israel or an individual
salvation; for no one can “earn” salvation through their own works or by trying
to keep any one of these 613 laws (Galatians 2:16, 3:2). The Law was given by the LORD God to His
chosen people in order to pave the way for salvation - to reveal the nation’s need
for the Christ or the promised Redeemer.
First,
the Law was given to the nation of Israel to reveal the righteousness and
holiness of the LORD God (Exodus 19:23; Romans 7:12; 1 Peter 1:15) and His
standard of righteousness for His people (Exodus 19:6, 22:31, 31:13; Psalm
24:3-5). In addition to that, for the
first time in human history God gave mankind His requirements for living a righteous life.
Second,
this righteous standard of God would
reveal the sinfulness of man (Matthew 5:20; Romans 7:7-11; Galatians
3:19). As each person tried to live the
righteous standards of the holy God, they would soon find, time and time again,
that they could not meet the expectations of the Law. In addition, when they discovered what was
expected of them, they would soon learn they desired to do the opposite, even
if there had been no desire to do so before.
This instinct to “rebel” is like the desire to drive faster than the
posted speed limit. The roadway sign may
read speed limit 35mph. But the “rebel”
inside you has no intention of driving at that speed. Besides, no one else is – why should
you? As one continually falls short of
the expectations of the Law (Romans 3:23) and even rebels against it, they are
forced to face the person in the mirror or their own sinfulness. Thus, they bring judgment upon themselves for
they know the Law but do not obey the Law (Galatians 3:9-10).
Third,
this failure on Israel’s part (and ours) to fulfill the righteous requirements
of the Law would point to their need of a Savior (Matthew 5:17; Romans
8:2-4). The Lord Jesus Christ was hidden in the Law, the sacrificial
system, and the Tabernacle, ready to be revealed in His coming (Luke
24:26-27). The dimensions of the
Tabernacle are divisible by the #5. In
Scripture, the #5 symbolizes God’s grace, goodness and favor towards humans and
is mentioned 318 times. For those religious
leaders who were willing to study the
Law, i.e. to see it for what it truly was, they would see the Messiah (Jesus
Christ), and when He came, as promised, they would not only recognize Him as
their Messiah, they would drop everything they were presently doing and run to
greet Him, worshiping Him as their Redeemer and LORD. But, we know that didn’t happen.
The
Land Covenant (Deuteronomy 29; 30:1-10)
The
Land Covenant is also referred to as
the Palestinian Covenant by some people today.
But the Bible does not say or recognize the label of Palestinian
Covenant. It is the territory (and
beyond) covering what is now established as the nation of Israel because of
God’s specific promises to Abraham and his descendants through the line of
Issac and Jacob.
Ishmael,
the half-brother of Issac, was not in line for this covenant, but his
descendants have been relentlessly fighting for the territory ever since. Ishmael (and his offspring) was also to
receive blessings, but they were not to possess the Land (Genesis 17:20). Gradually,
those who do not know the Word of God (and the history of the Land) have been
taken in by the propaganda presented by the enemy of God and His people. Therefore, calling this covenant the
Palestinian Covenant is a misnomer and by design.
The
Land Covenant amplified the land aspect of the Abrahamic Covenant. It was sovereignly established and it is
eternal. That speck of land Israel presently
occupies today, which is roughly the size of New Jersey, is not the nation of
Israel as ordained by the LORD God and promised to His people. The LORD promised the nation of Israel the
land from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates River (Genesis 15:18). The river of Egypt is the Nile or its eastern
branch, according to 2 Chronicles 9:26.
Moses,
speaking prophetically, foretold of Israel’s disobedience and dispersion
throughout the world. The nation was
disobedient throughout its relationship with the LORD God and God disciplined
it often. For example, the nation broke
the Law by refusing to keep the land Sabbaths (Exodus 23:10-11; Leviticus
25:2-7, 18-22). The LORD judged Israel
for this behavioral lapse by bringing in the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar. The nation had disregarded the land Sabbaths
for 490 years. God declared that He would have His Sabbaths
and brought the nation into captivity for 70 years (2 Chronicles 36:16-21;
Jeremiah 25:9-12, 26:6-7, 29:10). Moses
prophesied this would happen (Leviticus 26:32-35). During this time, the land lay fallow and was
desolate (Nehemiah 1:3, 2:13-17). Both
history and your Bible record that when the nation of Israel is out of the
land, it becomes desolate. For instance,
after the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD and the Jews were dispersed the
desolation was recorded by Dio Cassius, a Roman statesman and historian of
Greek origin.
If
you study this passage (Deuteronomy
29:13-15), these points of the amended Land Covenant become clear:
The
Israelites will be dispersed as a consequence of their disobedience
Their
hearts will be circumcised
There
will be a full repentance of the nation in the future
The
LORD God will bring all the Jews back to the Promised Land of Israel
He
will restore the Land and bring about national prosperity
The
LORD will put curses upon Israel’s enemies and they will be judged
The
Land will belong to the Jews forever, unconditionally
The
promises of the Land Covenant are coming to full fruition. In May of 1948 the statehood of the Jewish
Nation of Israel was officially declared.
The displaced people began to return from all over the world as God said
they would. Their Aliyah, which means being
called up to the Torah reading at the Synagogue or moving to the Land of Israel (the immigration process) which is an
ongoing process today (Romans 11:25-26).
The
Davidic Covenant (2 Samuel 7:4-29)
The
Lord gave this covenant to King
David, through Nathan the prophet, at Jerusalem. God promised to establish the throne of David
forever. It too was sovereignly
established and amplified the “seed” aspect of the Abrahamic Covenant. In addition, the Land of Israel (promised in
the Abrahamic Covenant) is also mentioned in verse 10 of 2 Samuel 7 in which
God promised to “plant” Israel permanently in the Land (Jeremiah 24:6,
32:36-41; Amos 9:15).
Backing
up just a bit, you can see the “foreshadow” of the Davidic Covenant in Jacob’s
blessing of his son right before his death.
King David wasn’t identified but his tribe was. Reading the text, we find Jacob recognized
that rulership came from the tribe of Judah:
“Judah, your brothers shall
praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons
shall bow down to you. “Judah is a
lion’s whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He couches, he lies down as a lion, and as a
lion, who dares rouse him up? “The
scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his
feet, until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the
peoples. “He ties his foal to the vine,
and his robes in the blood of grapes.
“His eyes are dull from wine, and his teeth white from milk (Genesis
49:8-12).
The
LORD promised to preserve King David’s throne forever. The king of Israel had to be the firstborn
from the bloodline of David. Some folks
say there was a problem, but there are no problems when God is involved, only
solutions. The LORD God had a “blood
curse” on Coniah or Jeconiah, one of the kings in David’s blood line because of
his wickedness (2 Kings 24:5-15; Jeremiah 22:24-30). Joseph, Mary’s husband, was from this blood
line; the bloodline of King Solomon. If
Jesus had been born the biological offspring of Joseph, he would not have been
qualified for kingship since God had cursed this line. This was the LORD God solution. David had another son, Nathan. This line ended in Heli (Luke 3:23). Heli had no sons, but he had three
daughters. One was named Mary. Now, in this culture daughters were not
normally granted inheritance rights, but here’s the thing. Mary was eligible due to a case brought by
the daughters of Zelophehad to Moses. In
this case, Moses granted inheritance rights if there were NO SONS and the
daughter married within her tribe (Numbers 26:33, 27:1-11, 36:2:12; Joshua
17:3-6; 1 Chronicles 7:15).
I
don’t believe in coincidence – I believe in God who sees the beginning, the
middle, and the end of mankind’s story.
Mary, fit the requirements of the Law perfectly. She was a daughter; she had no brothers, and she
married Joseph, a man from the same tribe as she – the tribe of Judah.
Joseph, legally adopted Jesus, which meant he had the royal right of the
firstborn. The “virgin birth” (a
different subject altogether) was essential to the fulfillment of the Davidic
Covenant for Jesus Christ will fulfill the promise of the covenant as He reigns
as king upon the earth (Zechariah 14:9).
As
we turn our attention to the 8th covenant, I want to point out that the number 7 in Scripture
denotes completion and 8 represents new beginnings and the New Covenant is
most certainly a new beginning.
Two
other things I want to mention are: a) beginning
with the Abrahamic Covenant, and every covenant that followed after it, these covenants are between God and the
nation of Israel. Gentiles are not God’s
covenant people the nation of Israel is.
b) The new covenant does not
become a reality for the nation of Israel until they have realized the King and
the Kingdom on earth. This is based on
what the LORD God said in Jeremiah 31:31-34:
“Behold, days are coming”
declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with (who) the house of Israel and with (who)
the house of Judah (this was
back when the nation of Israel was divided between the northern kingdom and the
southern kingdom), not like the covenant which I made with
their fathers (Abraham, Issac, and Jacob) in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of
Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,
declares the LORD. “But this is the
covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares
the LORD, “I will put My law within them and on their (what) heart I will write it; and I will be
their God, and they shall be My people.
“They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his
brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of
them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their
iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
Now,
if you will, please turn in your Bible to 2 Corinthians 3:6a, which is where we
left our Apostle Paul a couple of weeks ago, we'll pick up our lesson from there.
2 Corinthians 3
6a: who also made
us adequate as servants of a new
covenant (or
the Lord called us to preach the requirements of the New Covenant, i.e. to make
them known to a dying world).
The
New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34)
The
New Covenant is a Sovereign Covenant which guarantees the nation of Israel a
converted heart (Ezekiel 11:16-21,
36:24-38). This covenant replaces the
old, Mosaic Covenant, which Israel failed to keep. Instead of the Law being written on tablets
of stone (as the Mosaic Law was), God’s Law
will be written on the hearts of His
people.
When
will this covenant be
fulfilled? I’m glad you asked. It will be fulfilled when all the sovereignly
established covenants will be fulfilled – in the Millennial or Messianic
kingdom. The Lord Jesus Christ initiated
the New Covenant in the upper room on the evening prior to His arrest, mock
trial, and subsequent crucifixion (Matthew 26:28). While He initiated it, its fulfillment
remains unrealized. Why is that? The generation of Jews Jesus Christ
ministered to rejected Him as their Messiah and King and delayed the
fulfillment of the covenant. A future
generation of Jews will repent and experience its fulfillment. This future generation (Romans 11:26-29) will
experience fulfillment of all the other covenants: Abrahamic, Sabbatic, Land, Davidic covenants
in the future Messianic Kingdom.
Now,
the question at hand is if the New Covenant is between the LORD and the nation
of Israel, it’s waiting to be fulfilled at the coming of the King and His
Kingdom, does God’s Church, the Body of Christ, have a relationship to it? The answer is, Yes. But, we must understand the context of the
Church’s relationship to the New Covenant.
You
can use your Concordance to look up references to the New Covenant in the
N.T. Here are some: Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20, 1 Corinthians 10:
16-17, 11:25; Hebrews 8:8-13, 9:15, 12:24.
The passages we’ve already looked at in Jeremiah and in Ezekiel and in
the N.T. provided above state quite clearly the New Covenant was made with
national Israel, i.e. the Jews. Since
all the other covenants were made with national Israel, it stands to reason
this one belongs to them too. We really
don’t need more proof of this but there is more to be found in Paul’s letter to
the Ephesians where he writes the covenants
were to and for Israel alone (Ephesians 2:11-12).
The
Gentiles and God’s Church had no part of these covenants because the Scriptures
teach us the Body of Christ was a secret entity. God kept it a secret until He revealed it to and through a most unlikely
candidate named Saul of Tarsus – later to be known as Paul a called, apostle of
the Lord. Neither God’s one Church nor the Body of Christ
existed during Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry.
On top of that, Jesus Christ stated He came to the nation of Israel to
present Himself as their King and announce the kingdom of God was at hand (Matthew 3:1-3; Mark
1:14-15; Romans 15:8). Here’s the thing,
even though Israel rejected both Christ Jesus and His message this was a viable
option. If the nation of Israel repented
and accepted Him, the Messianic Kingdom would have been established. But the Sovereign God knew they would not (Psalm
2; Acts 2:22-24).
The
nation of Israel was a new creation that began with one man named Abram and
likewise God’s Church is a new creation that began with one man named
Paul. Each of these entities, Israel and
the Church, has its own destiny and purpose.
A good portion of Christendom has been taught that God’s purpose for
national Israel has come to an abrupt end.
But you won’t find that sentence in your Bible; it’s merely an opinion
of man. The LORD has declared Israel’s
purpose continues according to God’s sovereign plan (Romans 11:1; Psalm 94:14). Israel has a past history and a future
destiny distinct
from
God’s one Church based upon the
promises of YHWH from His sovereignly established covenants.
The
gospel, or the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ for the
forgiveness of sin, is the foundation
and the basis of blessings for both Israel and God’s Church. While Israel and the Church are distinct and
unique creations of God, we do well to remember there was a time when neither
existed (See Genesis 1-11). Jesus’ death
(His payment for sin) provided salvation for all who would
believe. This includes both Jew and
Gentile. Jesus Christ’s death was the defining
moment event of history. In God’s plan,
it was the redemptive event towards which all human history was working. In military terms, the death, burial, and
resurrection of Christ was God’s strategic victory which turned the tide in His
campaign against sin, death, and evil (Genesis 3:15).
When
God called Saul of Tarsus to be His apostle to the Gentiles, he ushered in the
Dispensation of Grace or the Church Age.
God is now calling out a people for Himself as the Body of Christ (the
Church). After the fullness of the gentiles is complete or the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ, God will remove it
from the earth (Rapture it) and sometime later He will pour out His
long-delayed wrath upon this rebellious, Christ-rejecting earth. He will save a repentant Israel and initiate
the long-awaited kingdom which Jesus Christ proclaimed to Israel but was
rejected for doing by His generation. When God ushers in His Kingdom, it will
be to a repentant national Israel which has accepted Jesus as Messiah. The death, burial, and resurrection of Christ
form the basis of blessings for God’s one
Church as well as the covenantal blessings promised to national
Israel. In Ephesians 2:11-12, Paul
stated that Gentiles were strangers to
the promises (covenants of Israel).
Christ’s death ended the conditional covenants, the Mosaic Law
(Colossians 2:13-14). Sin, which
separated man from God, typified by the veil in the Holy of Holies, was removed
(Hebrews 10:19-20).
At
the present time, members of God’s one Church
enjoy the spiritual blessings of the New
Covenant based on Christ’s victory over sin and death. Our Apostle Paul related the New Covenant to
the Church in these words to the Corinthians:
For I received
from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the
night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He
broke it and said,
“This is My body, which if for you; do this in
remembrance of Me.” In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do
this, as often as you drink it, in
remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and
drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes (1 Corinthians
11:23-26).
Two
things are worthy of note from this passage.
One is Paul had a direct
revelation from the risen Lord regarding the events of the last supper; he
definitely was not present. Paul said, “I received from the Lord…” He didn’t get the information from any of
the twelve. The info came directly from the risen,
ascended Lord. The other noteworthy
item is that through Paul we have additional information about the Lord’s
supper to what Jesus’ spoke, i.e. a
memorial to the Lord’s death (note also there is no set time frame for its
observance) and a proclamation of His return.
This
brings me right back to Paul’s statement in 2 Corinthians 3:5-6: Not that we are adequate in ourselves to
consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of
the letter (of the Law) but of the
Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
The
Mosaic Covenant came from the LORD who is holy and perfect in every way, so how
could there be anything wrong with it?
However, it was a covenant of
condemnation by divine design or as Paul put it the letter kills. It could
do nothing else. There was no power in
the Law to save anyone. The power was to
come later in the shed blood of the Messiah (Jesus Christ) to all those who would
believe (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
The
New Covenant not only replaces the Mosaic Covenant it is more glorious in that it brings life, and
liberty. As Paul pointed out the letter of the Law kills… The Law could never give life to
anybody. It couldn’t in the O.T. and it
still doesn’t today. All the Law can do
is show a person their sin and teach them that even on their best day they were
“powerless” to keep it. Thus, there was
no life in the Law. But when we are convicted of our sin by the
Law what does give life? The Holy Spirit (3:6)!
(To
be continued)
©
Copyright 2011
GJ
Heitzman’s Ministry
All
Rights Reserved
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