If I had to put together a top 10 list of the most misunderstood topics in the Bible, the new covenant would land in the top 3. I’ve heard it said many times from fellow believers and pastors that many things of the past don’t apply anymore because we are under a NEW covenant.
We use this term quite a bit but do we really understand what it means to be under the new covenant?
What does it mean to be under the “New” covenant?
To understand the new covenant we have to understand the previous one first. Before we dive into understanding the old covenant, I think it is important we understand what a covenant is.
By definition, a covenant is an agreement, usually formal, between two or more people. Other synonymous words are – contract, treaty, promise, vow. So what kind of agreements come into mind? Trade agreements, mortgages, lease agreements, insurance contracts, marriage, etc.
Within such agreements there are certain rules and terms that one must keep for the agreement to stay valid. If the rules and/or terms are broken by one party, the agreement becomes null or void. Many times there are penalties tied to the one who breaks the terms and conditions of an agreement.
These concepts are deeply rooted from God’s holy scriptures.
“Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood. For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, “This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you.” And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship. Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.”
Hebrews 9:18-22
In today’s blog, we are going to pull out the main points of both covenants from the Hebrews scripture listed above:
- Both covenants are dedicated or sealed with blood, water, scarlet, and hyssop. Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
- When every commandment of God’s law is declared to the people it is then dedicated with the blood.
- The book, people, tent and vessels of worship are sprinkled with the blood. Atonement is made to redeem them, to sanctify them as holy. “Be holy for I am holy.” Leviticus 11:45, 1 Peter 1:16
Now that we’ve touched on the macro level or big picture, let’s dive into the details of first covenant and compare it to the details of the “new” covenant. Based on repeated scriptures, God’s covenant is considered to be a marriage contract between Him and His people.
THE OLD COVENANT
WHERE WAS IT GIVEN? – Given and sealed at Mt. Sinai
WHOM WAS IT GIVEN TO? – The first generation didn’t abide in the covenant, instead they rebelled continuously. Because of their continued rebellion, they were banned from entering the promise land and died in wilderness.
The covenant was reinstated and confirmed with the second generation (including gentiles aka sojourners) before going into promise land.
“You are standing today, all of you, before the Lord your God: the heads of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, all the men of Israel, your little ones, your wives, and the sojourner who is in your camp; from the one who chops your wood to the one who draws your water, so that you may enter into the sworn covenant of the Lord your God, which the Lord your God is making with you today, that he may establish you today as his people, and that he may be your God, as he promised you, and as he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. It is not with you alone that I am making this sworn covenant, but with whoever is standing here with us today before the Lord our God, and with whoever is not here with us today.”
Deuteronomy 29:10-15
WHAT WAS GIVEN & HOW WAS IT CONFIRMED?- Leading up to the marriage covenant – Exodus 19 & 20
- Go to the people and consecrate them
- Have them wash their clothes
- Be ready on third day ….in the morning
- God gave them His commandments. His instructions on how to love God and how to love others.
The Morning of…..
- Thunder, lightning, thick cloud on mountain, sound of shofar blast-
- People came out to meet their bridegroom
- YHWH descended with fire
- Mountain quaked greatly, filled with smoke of furnace
The Bride says “I do” – Ex 24
- The Law is given and spoken to the people twice (vs 3 and 7)
- The bride confirms her vows to the bridegroom twice (vs 3 and 7)
How was the covenant sealed?
- An altar is built at the foot of the mountain – with 12 pillars (to seal all the tribes)
- Burnt offerings, peace offerings – blood of the animal was sprinkled on the altar and on the people (vs 5-8)
- You see this same sealing done by Noah after the flood
Once the marriage was sealed there was a marriage supper
- The priests and seventy elders saw the beauty of the bridegroom in His chamber and they ate and drank with Him (vs 9-11)
So what happened to the first marriage covenant?
Ezekiel 16 explains how the beauty of the bride, the wife committed harlotry and kept multiplying the harlotry. God uses other prophets like Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc. to speak God’s truth and to warn Israel of their continued unfaithfulness and rebellion.
- Ezekiel 16:32 “You are an adulterous wife who takes strangers instead of her husband.”
- Jeremiah 3:8 “Israel (House of Israel/10 northern tribes) committed adultery…..with her husband. A certificate of divorce was given. Judah (House of Judah, 2 southern tribes) also played the harlot.”
- Isaiah 50:1 – “Thus says the Lord: Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce with which I sent her away?”
- Ezek 16:60 “Nevertheless, I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.”
As you can see through the examples provided, God’s people kept breaking the terms of the agreement. Over and over they kept breaking the agreement, it became of no value to them. Therefore the covenant was nullified and made void. God was still faithful but it became obsolete because His people did not hold up their end of the bargain.
Again as I mentioned in the beginning, our God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger. For a time His faced has been hidden from the House of Israel and House of Judah. His divorce was final but he would make another way. He decides to draft up another agreement very similar to the previous one.
The terms are the same but it is written and sealed differently this time around.
Yeshua (Jesus) mentions this new covenant only once in the Gospels and it just so happened to be during the last supper.
“This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” Luke 22:20
So what was he referring to? Was this a brand new concept never heard before? Had the prophets spoken about it previously? Where is the definition of this “New” covenant? There is only one definition and it comes from the prophet Jeremiah.
THE NEW COVENANT
Jeremiah 31:31-34 – The days are coming…..I will make a NEW covenant with the HOUSE OF ISRAEL and with the HOUSE OF JUDAH……not according to the covenant I made with THEIR fathers in the day that I took them out of Egypt…..the COVENANT THEY BROKE, though I was HUSBAND to them.
But THIS IS THE COVENANT I will make with THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AFTER those days……..
I will put MY LAW in their MINDS and write it on their HEARTS and I will be their God and they shall be MY people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor and every man his brother, saying, KNOW THE LORD…….for they ALL shall know Me….. I WILL forgive their iniquity and their sin I will remember NO MORE.
The definition of the new covenant given by Jeremiah is also spoken about in Hebrews 8:7-12. Let’s look at the main points of the “New” covenant:
- Jeremiah mentions the previous covenant being broken by God’s people, so God makes a new one. Why because he doesn’t want anyone to perish. He wants everyone to be His people.
- Instead of writing His Laws on the physical stone tablets it is to be written on our minds and hearts. The natural is given first to teach the spiritual which is everlasting. (Paul talks about this to the Corinthians -1 Corin 15:46)
- It has to be sealed with blood. Luke 22:20/Matt 26:28/Mark 14:24 – in Yeshua’s blood, the lamb’s blood. Why blood? Blood represents life.
- As with the first, the new covenant is sprinkled with blood – on the altar and the people. Hebrews 9:12-14; 12:24 It acts as a covering, atonement.
- He is redeeming the transgressions (sins) that were made under the first covenant – Hebrews 9:15
Let’s break down the “New” covenant as we did with the first covenant:
WHERE WAS IT GIVEN – Jerusalem, Mt. Zion
WHOM WAS IT GIVEN TO? – House of Judah and House of Israel
WHAT IS GIVEN & HOW WAS IT CONFIRMED- Leading up to the marriage……..
- Go to the people and consecrate them – Aaron and Moses were the ones to do this with the first covenant, so who were the ones with new covenant?
- Yeshua & John the Baptist were the ones to go before the people to prepare them for consecration.
- Yeshua re-affirmed His Father’s commandments through word and His life. He was the walking example of what it means to live out God’s commandments.
- Have them wash their clothes – This also known as baptism aka immersing oneself. New garments once transformed. Acts 11:16; Rev 19:7-8
- Be ready on third day……….in the morning – Yeshua rose some time in the early morning on the third day
The Day of…..
- Thunder, lightning, thick cloud on mountain, sound of shofar blast, earthquake: Matt 27:51-54; Luke 23:45 Yeshua’s 2nd return 7th Trumpet- Rev 11:19; 16:18
- People came out to meet their bridegroom- Yeshua’s return
- YHWH descended with fire. Luke 12:49
- The mountain quaked greatly, filled with smoke of furnace – Rev 15:8
The Bride says “I do”….
- The bride confirms her vows to the bridegroom – We are called to be the bride, to hearken to His voice and obey His instructions. Rev 12:17
- The sealing of the marriage covenant
How is the covenant sealed?
- On the tree, with the blood of Yeshua, the Lamb (with hyssop).
- Sprinkled by the blood and cleansed with pure water. John 19:34; 1 John 5:6-8; Hebrews 10:22
- As with the first, the new covenant, once sealed, is ended with a wonderful marriage supper:
“Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection……they will be priests of God and Messiah and they will reign with him for a thousand years” Revelation 20:6
“Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage marriage supper of the Lamb” Revelation 19:9
As you can see the parallels between the two covenants are the same. God is a God of patterns. There is nothing new under the sun.
So you might be wondering why is the new covenant only for the House of Judah and the House of Israel. Where do the Gentiles (nations) fit in? After all didn’t Yeshua and his apostles claim salvation was for everyone?
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Romans 1:16
I am not sure if you caught it earlier but go back to the verse I provided at the beginning of the blog. As mentioned in Deuteronomy 29, God’s laws and covenant were ALWAYS for both the native born and the foreigner (the Gentile). They all had the same opportunity of entering in God’s beautiful marriage covenant. Unfortunately, this concept has never been taught in most churches. In fact most of us have been taught the opposite. I’ve heard it said, the Law of God was only meant for Israel, it never applied to the Gentiles so we don’t need to keep them. Or I hear, we only need to keep the law of Messiah (Christ), the Mosaic law no longer applies.
Is this really the case? Is this biblical truth or is it possible error?
We will explore and unpack this topic about the law in the next blog. What does scripture really say?
LIFTING THE VEIL 