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God promised
Israel they would be a great nation and He
would bring the other nations to
faith in Him, “if” they obeyed Him and kept
His covenant.
Exodus 19:5-6
says, “Now therefore, if you will indeed
obey my voice and keep my covenant, you
shall be my treasured possession among all
peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you
shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a
holy nation. These are the words that you
shall speak to the people of Israel.”
The Old, Mosaic Covenant had three main
parts: the Ten Commandments, the ordinances,
and the elaborate system of worship that
included the Levitical priesthood,
tabernacle, offerings, festivals, new moons,
and Sabbath days (Exod. 19-40; Lev. 1-7; 23;
Rom. 9:4). All of the festivals and Holy
days were symbolic of God’s actions
regarding the nation of Israel, and His plan
of salvation. The Apostle Paul told us the
ceremonial feasts and holy days that God
gave to Israel were simply shadows pointing
forward to the work Christ would accomplish
for those of us who believe in Him (Col.
2:17; cf. Heb. 8:5; 9:9; 10:1).
During the
time of the Old Covenant, each feast, or
festival was meant to remind Israel of God’s
saving acts for His people in the past, and
His ongoing providence for them in the
present. But they also pointed forward to
the one who would come to be the ultimate
expression of God’s goodness and grace, and
God’s ultimate revelation of Himself, Jesus
Christ, His one and only Son (Heb. 1; 10:1;
John 3:16-18).
The Ten Commandments
formed the basis for the rest of the laws in
the Old Covenant (Exod. 34:28; Deut. 4:13).
They were the broad categories upon which
the other laws were based. As part of the
Old Covenant, the people agreed to obey all
of the laws given in Exodus 20-24. God also
gave Israel additional laws and regulations
in the books of Leviticus and Numbers, and
special laws regarding how they should
conduct themselves in the Promised land in
the book of Deuteronomy, but those laws were
still considered part of the same covenantal
agreement God made with Israel on Mount
Sinai. The book of Deuteronomy stresses the
fact that its laws are not a new law, but
the original law given to Israel at Mount
Sinai (Deut. 4:44-49; 5:1-5; 6:20-25).
The Book of the Law was placed beside
the Ark of the covenant so it could be read
regularly. No one was allowed to open the
Ark in which was the actual covenant
containing the “words of the covenant”, the
Ten Commandments. Some theologians believe
the Book of the Law was just the book of
Deuteronomy but it was most likely all five
books of Moses and had two written copies of
the Ten Commandments (Exod. 20:2-17; Deut.
5:6-21), alone with all of the rest of the
613 Laws of Moses to be read publicly every
seven years (Deut. 31:9-15). All
five books of Moses must have been included because
the Book of the Law was one of the titles
given to the Pentateuch in the rest of the
Old Testament (Deut. 31:24-26; Josh. 1:8; 8:34).
The Sabbath was meant for Israel
alone because it served as a ceremonial sign
of the Mosaic Covenant (Exod. 31:16-17; Ne.
9:13-14; Ezek. 20:12, 20).
The
Sabbath could only serve as a sign of the
Mosaic Covenant if it was unique to Israel.
It had to distinguish Israel from all the
other nations. The Sabbath could not
function as a visible sign of God’s covenant
with Israel if everyone else was expected to
keep it. A sign sets something apart from
the rest. In fact, one of the main reasons
God gave Israel for keeping the Sabbath was
to remind them of how He delivered them from
Egyptian bondage (Exod. 16:23, 29; 31:13-18;
Deut. 5:12-15).
As Christians, we
live under a totally different covenant than
Israel did and are not required to observe
any of the ceremonial requirements from the
Old Covenant Law (Matt. 11:28-30; 12:1-8; Acts 15:1-20;
Col. 2:14-17; Gal. 4:10-11; Rom. 14:5-12;
Eph. 2:11-18; 2 Cor. 3:3-11; Heb. 3:7-4:13; 8:6-9:4; 10:23-25).
The Mosaic Covenant was based on the conditional
Hittite, suzerain-vassal covenant treaties
from 1400 - 1300 B.C., and was designed to
bring about the promises God made to Abraham
in the Abrahamic Covenant. Conditional
covenants were commonly used between nations
in the middle east at the time of the exodus. The
covenant had very specific, blessings and
curses based upon Israel’s faithfulness to
the covenant regulations given in Leviticus
26 and Deuteronomy 28-30.
During the time of the Old Covenant, the
foreigner visiting in Jerusalem was expected to
keep the Sabbath.
A foreigner
could choose to live in Israel but just like
here, they had to keep the laws of the land.
If they were trying to buy and sell in
the city, they would be tempting God’s
people to sin by breaking the Sabbath (Ne.
13:15-21).
God always intended for
Israel to be a light to the Gentiles to show
them that the God of Israel was the
only true God and they too could be
blessed if they served Him.
God loved
the Gentiles and provided for them (Deut.
10:18), and instructed the Israelites to
love foreigners as themselves, particularly
because they had been foreigners in Egypt
(Lev. 19:33-34; Deut. 10:19). This included
providing for needy immigrants (Lev. 23:22;
Deut. 24:19-22), and not mistreating or
oppressing them (Exod. 23:9; Deut. 24:14-18; 27:19)
but treating them equally under the
law (Num. 15:15-16; Lev. 24:22). Those who
became followers of Yahweh would be
Israelites in God’s view and
could participate in the Passover and the
other Jewish feasts (Jer. 12:16; Exod. 12:48-49).
If a Gentile wanted to keep the
Passover and the other Jewish Feasts they
had to be circumcised and become a Jew.
Exodus 12:43-49 says, “And the LORD said
to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of
the Passover: no foreigner shall eat of it,
44 but every slave that is bought for money
may eat of it after you have circumcised
him. 45 No foreigner or hired worker may eat
of it. 46 It shall be eaten in one house;
you shall not take any of the flesh outside
the house, and you shall not break any of
its bones. 47 All the congregation of Israel
shall keep it. 48 If a stranger shall
sojourn with you and would keep the Passover
to the LORD, let all his males be
circumcised. Then he may come near and keep
it; he shall be as a native of the land. But
no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. 49
There shall be one law for the native and
for the stranger who sojourns among you.”
God wanted Israel to be a living
example and witness to the whole world.
The world would see the infinite
superiority of the worship and service of
Yahweh, the one true God (Deut. 4:6-9; 7:12-15; 28:1-13;
Isa. 49:3-7; 61:9; 62:1-2).
One by one the nations would unite with
Israel in serving the only true God (Isa. 2:2-3; 11:10; 14:1; 19:18-22;
Isa. 45:14; 55:5; 56:3-8; 60:1-12; Jer. 3:17; 16:19; 33:9;
Zech. 2:11; 8:20-23).
Sadly,
Israel failed to keep God’s covenant and never
received all the blessings promised to them if they
had been faithful.
Israel understood the
conditional nature of the Old Covenant:
Jeremiah 18:5-11 says, “Then the word of
the LORD came to me: 6 “O house of Israel,
can I not do with you as this potter has
done? declares the LORD. Behold, like the
clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my
hand, O house of Israel. 7 If at any time I
declare concerning a nation or a kingdom,
that I will pluck up and break down and
destroy it, 8 and if that nation, concerning
which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I
will relent of the disaster that I intended
to do to it. 9 And if at any time I declare
concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will
build and plant it, 10 and if it does evil
in my sight, not listening to my voice, then
I will relent of the good that I had
intended to do to it. 11 Now, therefore, say
to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of
Jerusalem: ‘Thus says the LORD, Behold, I am
shaping disaster against you and devising a
plan against you. Return, every one from his
evil way, and amend your ways and your
deeds.’” (Jer. 12:14-17; 26:1-6; Lev. 26;
Deut. 28-29).
Throughout their
history, Israel had
rebelled against God and His covenant
repeatedly because of unbelief (Num. 14:11;
Deut. 1:32; 9:23; 2 Kings 17:14; Ps. 78:22, 32; 106:24).
God used the illustration of
the potter and the clay in Jeremiah 18 to
represent the connection He had with His
people. God said He has the right to tear
down any nation, or build them up as He sees
fit. He had promised blessings to His people
if they were faithful to Him (Deut. 28:1-14),
but since they persisted in doing
evil, He said He would rethink the good He
had planned for them and bring judgment on
them instead (Deut. 28:15-29:29). God also
promised not to bring the disaster on them
if they would repent of their wickedness and
return to Him (Deut. 30:1-3).
Finally, God
sent His people into captivity as a
punishment for their disobedience. First,
the ten northern tribes were taken into
captivity by the Assyrians in 720 B.C., and
then the two southern tribes were taken
captive in 586 B.C. by the Babylonians. God
allowed Israel to return to their homeland
70 years after their Babylonian captivity
when the Persian King Cyrus allowed
Jerusalem and the temple to be rebuilt (Ezra 1:1-4;
Dan. 9:1-2). It was God’s
desire that the people of Israel would
finally learn to be faithful to Him and His
covenant.
Zechariah
6:15 says, “And those who are far off shall
come and help to build the temple of the
LORD. And you shall know that the LORD of
hosts has sent me to you. And this shall
come to pass, if you will diligently obey
the voice of the LORD your God.”
God
was patient with Israel and gave them every
opportunity to come back to Him and be
restored. Psalm 103:8 says, “The LORD is
merciful and gracious, slow to anger and
abounding in steadfast love.” But when
Israel rejected Jesus of Nazareth as their
Messiah and King, God brought the Old
Covenant to an end.
Jesus own
people did not accept Him as the promised
Messiah.
Jesus became a man in order to reveal God’s
truth to Israel and the rest of the world.
John 1:9-13 says, “The true light, which
gives light to everyone, was coming into the
world. 10 He was in the world, and the world
was made through him, yet the world did not
know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own
people did not receive him. 12 But to all
who did receive him, who believed in his
name, he gave the right to become children
of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor
of the will of the flesh nor of the will of
man, but of God.”
And Isaiah 53:3
says, “He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces he
was despised, and we esteemed him not.”
Israel forfeited the kingdom
because of unbelief.
A few days before his crucifixion, Jesus
pronounced Heaven’s verdict on the Jewish
nation and it’s soon coming destruction
along with it’s temple services.
Matthew 21:43-45 says, “Therefore I tell
you, the kingdom of God will be taken away
from you and given to a people producing its
fruits. 44 And the one who falls on this
stone will be broken to pieces; and when it
falls on anyone, it will crush him.” 45 When
the chief priests and the Pharisees heard
his parables, they perceived that he was
speaking about them.”
And Matthew 23:37-39 says, “O Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets
and stones those who are sent to it! How
often would I have gathered your children
together as a hen gathers her brood under
her wings, and you were not willing! 38 See,
your house is left to you desolate. 39 For I
tell you, you will not see me again, until
you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the
name of the Lord.’” (Luke 21:1-28; cf. Matt.
24).
Because Israel failed to
keep the Old Covenant by faith, God made a
new covenant that would freely include the
Gentiles without them having to become Jews
first (Heb. 8:6-13; cf. Gen. 17:9-14;
Exod. 12:13-14; Lev. 12:1-3). The New Covenant
does not have all of the ceremonial
requirements that were in the Old Covenant
that God used to keep Israel separate from the
other nations (Eph. 2:11-16;
Acts 15:1-29).
Galatians 3:28 says, “There
is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither
slave nor free, there is no male and female,
for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Jesus introduced the New
Covenant to his disciples the night before
he died.
Luke 22:19-20 says,
“And he took bread, and when he had given
thanks, he broke it and gave it to them,
saying, “This is my body, which is given for
you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 And
likewise the cup after they had eaten,
saying, “This cup that is poured out for you
is the new covenant in my blood.”(cf. Jer.
31:31; Matt. 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20;
Rom. 11:27; 1 Cor. 11:25; 2 Cor. 3:6-11;
Heb. 7:22; 8:8-10; 9:15; Heb. 10:16; 12:24; 13:20).
Then Jesus brought the New Covenant
into effect the next day when He died on the cross for
our redemption (Heb. 9:12-17;
1 Pet. 1:19; 1 Jn. 1:7; Heb. 8-10).
Jesus understood that His death was
the fulfillment of the Old Testament promise
of a new covenant. Christ’s covenant is
“new” because it is a covenant of
forgiveness and grace based on the shed
blood of Christ Jesus, and not on the Old
Covenant Law (Luke 16:16-17; Jer. 31:31-34).
Jesus made a complete remission of
sins for all those who believe in Him.
He paid the price for our redemption
with His own blood (1 Pet. 1:18-19). Jesus
freed us from sin’s curse and the demands of
the Old Covenant Law to become God’s
children when we accept Him as our Lord and
Savior (Gal. 3:13; 4:5). The Old Covenant
sacrifices were never able to atone for our
sin; but the sacrifice Jesus made fulfilled
all of the Old Covenant practices and
secured our total forgiveness and
our eternal redemption when we trust in Him
(Heb. 10:1-18).
The New Covenant is superior
to the Old Covenant in every way. The book of Hebrews
says that the New Covenant is a better
covenant. It has a better priesthood, a
better sacrifice, and a better rest. It is
better because it provides the complete
atonement for our sins when we trust in
Christ alone for our salvation!
Jesus fulfilled the Old Covenant Law
for us!
Jesus
fulfilled the Old Covenant Law by offering His perfect life, death and
resurrection for all those who believe in
him. Christ kept the Law perfectly so that
we could be made righteous in God’s eyes (Gal. 4:4;
John 8:46; 1 Pet. 2:22).
Romans 5:19
says, “For as by the one man’s disobedience
the many were made sinners, so by the one
man’s obedience the many will be made
righteous.”
Jesus accomplished
all that the Law and the
Prophets said that he would do in his first
coming (Luke 24:44-47; 18:31; John 17:4).
Christ has taken away our bondage to the Law
and given us freedom in place of slavery
(John 8:32, 36; Acts 15:10; Rom. 8:15;
Gal. 2:4; 3:25; 5:1).
Romans 8:1-4
says, “There is therefore now no
condemnation for those who are in Christ
Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life
has set you free in Christ Jesus from the
law of sin and death. 3 For God has done
what the law, weakened by the flesh, could
not do. By sending his own Son in the
likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he
condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that
the righteous requirement of the law might
be fulfilled in us, who walk not according
to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
Christ did away with the
Old Covenant Law by fulfilling it and
removing the law’s condemnation for those
who believe in Him (Eph. 2:13-16; Matt. 5:17;
Rom. 8:1; 2 Cor. 3:6-11; Heb. 9:11-14; 10:1-10).
This is the reason for Jesus keeping the Sabbath
days and the other Old Covenant requirements
that Christians are not required to keep under
the terms of the New Covenant (Matt. 26:17-26). No one is
expected to keep the laws of the Mosaic
Covenant anymore, Jesus Christ fulfilled
them all for us (Matt. 11:28-30; 12:1-8;
Acts 15:1-28; Col. 2:13-17; Gal. 4:10-11;
Rom. 14:5-12; Eph. 2:11-18; Heb. 3:7-4:13; 8:13-9:4; 10:23-25).
The New Testament writers point out repeatedly that
the New Covenant has fulfilled the Old
Covenant.
By this they mean
that God brought to completion the plan of
salvation he had been working out for the
human race through the nation of Israel. The
plan of redemption that God promised through
Israel was brought about through Jesus
Christ, Israel’s promised Messiah (Deut. 4:25-31;
Judg. 2:13-16; 1 Kings 8:33-34; Ps. 81:7-10; 89:29-37;
Isa. 1:16-20; Acts 2:36-39; Rom. 3:21-26). All of the Old
Testament promises of God are fulfilled through
him (2 Cor. 1:20), and the blessings promised to Israel find their
ultimate fulfillment in the Church; the New Covenant,
body of Christ (Deut. 7:6-8;
1 Pet. 2:9-10; cf. Acts 3:25-26; 13:32-39;
Rom. 15:8-9; Gal. 3:16-22; Heb. 7:6; 9:15; 11:13).
The New Covenant is the
promised everlasting covenant that was
established by Jesus Christ Himself.
Hebrews 13:20 says, “Now may the God of
peace who brought again from the dead our
Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep,
by the blood of the eternal covenant” (cf.
Isa. 42:6; 49:8; Dan. 9:26-27; Heb. 9:20; 10:22; 13:20;
Luke 22:20).
The New Covenant is the fulfillment
of all of the preceding covenants; it is a
covenant in which all believers have the
full forgiveness of sins (Jer. 31:34; Heb. 8:12; 10:17);
are sealed and permanently indwelt by the Holy Spirit; and are
empowered by the Spirit to live their lives
in a way that is truly pleasing to God (Ezek. 36:25-27;
Eph. 1:13-14; 4:30; 1 Cor. 12:13; 2 Cor. 1:22;
Jer. 31:31-33; Phil. 2:12-13).
The New Covenant people of God are the redeemed from all
ages, consisting of both believing Jews and
Gentiles that was first formed as the Church
of Jesus Christ on the day of
Pentecost (Eph. 2:15; Acts 1:4-5; 2:1-10; 2:11-41;
cf. John 7:39; 17:21; Col. 1:26-27;
Heb. 11:39-40).
Christians are under what the New
Testament calls the law of Christ, and the
law of the Spirit of life. It is the only
law that is binding for the New Covenant Church
(Gal. 6:2; 1 Cor. 9:20-21; Rom. 6:14; 8:1, 2, 10, 11).
It is made up of Christ’s law of
love (John 13:34-35; Matt. 5:44; Gal. 6:2;
Rom. 13:8-10; James 2:8; 1 Jn. 4:7-8; 5:3),
Christ’s commands and teachings (John 13:34;
Phil. 2:4-12; Matt. 28:20; 2 Pet. 3:2); and
the commands and teachings of the New
Testament epistles (Acts 1:1-2; 15:1-28;
2 Pet. 3:2; Rom. 8:1-4; Eph. 2:20; Jude 1:17;
1 Jn. 5:3).
Jesus Christ is God’s greatest revelation to
the human race. He is the Word of God
in human flesh (John 1:14),
and the pinnacle of divine revelation
(Matt. 17:1-8; Heb. 1:1-3). Jesus said all of
the scriptures pointed forward to Him and
the work that He would do for us. That means
the Old Testament scriptures need to be interpreted
in light of the work that He has accomplish
for us (Matt. 5:17-18; Luke 24:27, 44;
John 1:1-3; 5:39, 46; 2 Tim. 3:16-17).
The Law of
Christ, and the Old Covenant Law of Moses, have similar
commands.
But just because nine of the
Ten Commandments can be found in the New
Testament, that does not mean the Law of
Moses is still in effect. If a Christian
steals something, they break the law of Christ, not
the Law of Moses. If we choose to keep part
of the Old Covenant law, such as the Sabbath
or the dietary restrictions, we are free to
do so, but keeping the Law of Moses out of
obligation denies the perfect and finished work of Jesus
Christ.
The only laws Christians are
expected to keep are the laws given in the
New Covenant. The New Covenant is the
promise that God will forgive all of our
sins and give us eternal life when we put
our trust in Jesus Christ alone for our
salvation. The Old Covenant has served its
purpose, and has been replaced by “a better
covenant” (Heb. 7:22; 8:6-13).
Christians need to understand that they have
been set free from trying to keep the Old
Covenant Law to live God-honoring lives by
walking in His Spirit. When we do that—we
are fulfilling the law of Christ
(Mark 12:28-31; Gal. 6:2; 1 Cor. 9:21; Rom. 8:1-11).
All we need to do is put our
faith in Jesus Christ alone for our
salvation, the one who fulfilled
the Law on our behalf through His death
on the cross. When we are in Christ Jesus, we
share in His inheritance and can enjoy a
permanent, unbroken relationship with God
through the life-giving Spirit who indwells
us (Heb. 9:15; Rom. 8:9-11; Eph. 1:3-14).
Something that was impossible to do under
the Old Covenant Law.
Why would anyone want to go back and
live under the Law of Moses when Christ
has given us His new covenant of grace and
love to live by in its place?
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