.
†. Jer 31:31-32 . .The time is coming-- declares Yhvh --when I will make a
new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will
not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by
the hand to lead them out of Egypt,
The covenant Yhvh made with the Jews' forefathers is the one commonly
known to Christians as the old covenant and/or the first covenant. The
reason Yhvh gives for introducing a new covenant is that His people are
simply not interested in keeping the old one.
†. Jer 31:32 . . because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to
them-- declares Yhvh.
There are a number of Jews who refuse to believe that the new covenant is a
fresh package. They insist that it's merely an upgrade. In other words: they
insist the information released in Jer 31:32-34 is a codicil. Whatever. But the
codicil-- or the upgrade if that's what they prefer to call it --is amazing.
1• It has a provision for curing the Jews' rather annoying propensity to
disobey their God.
†. Jer 31:33 . .This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after
that time-- declares Yhvh. I will put my law in their minds and write it on
their hearts.
In other words; the provision is miraculous-- it's just as miraculous as any of
Jesus' healing miracles in the New Testament in that the provision makes it
possible for Yhvh's people to please God without even thinking about it. In
other words: just as it's now normal for Yhvh's people to displease God, that
provision in the new covenant makes it normal for them to do just the
opposite.
2• The new covenant has a provision for restoring friendly relations between
Yhvh's people and their God.
†. Jer 31:33-34 . . I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer
will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying: "Know Yhvh"
because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest -
declares Yhvh.
That provision may seem redundant but the truth of the matter is that right
now, Yhvh's people are estranged from God (Hos 1:9-11, Hos 2:23). Fact is:
more than half of all the Jews living in the State of Israel regard themselves
as hiloni (secular) and barely ten percent of the world's Jews are Orthodox.
3• The new covenant has a provision guaranteeing something that God has
never done before. He will forgive and forget sins instead of only forgiving
them.
†. Jer 31:34 . . I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no
more.
Gentiles-- and not a few Jews --are often unaware that none of the Temple
sacrifices permitted God to forgive and forget; not even Yom Kippur. In
other words; under the terms and conditions of the old covenant; God was
at liberty to grant only forgiveness; which in reality was merely a reprieve
seeing as how His people's sins stayed on the books. The new covenant
makes it possible for God to wipe the books clean leaving Yhvh's people
with zero sins on their records. That's quite an improvement.
But there's a rub.
†. Jer 31:30 . . Everyone will die for his own iniquity
†. Rom 6:23 . .The wages of sin is death
Under the terms and conditions of the old covenant; people's death for their
sins could be delayed by means of a Temple sacrifice. But sooner or later,
they have to die. Well; in order for people to avoid their inevitable death as
per Jer 31:30 and Rom 6:23, a better substitute for their own lives than
beasts and birds was necessary.
Some types of covenants have to be sealed with death. Noah sealed his
covenant with death, Abraham sealed his covenant with death, and Moses
sealed his covenant with death. Those covenants were sealed with the death
of beasts and birds. Yhvh's new covenant is sealed with death too; but not
with the death of a critter: with the death of a man.
†. Isa 53:5-6 . . He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for
our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon him, and by his
stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned,
every one, to his own way; and Yhvh has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
The reason the death of a man was required is because justice demands an
eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and a life for a life. Well; beast life and/or
bird life isn't equal in value to human life which is exactly why Yhvh couldn't
forgive and forget the Jews' sins under the terms and conditions of the old
covenant.
Only human life can substitute for human life; hence the necessity of a
human's death to seal the new covenant; which is memorialized by
Conservative Christians in a ritual sometimes called the Lord's Supper.
†. 1Cor 11:25 . . After supper he took the cup, saying: This cup is the new
covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of
me.
The new covenant is a crucial piece of legislation. It is the basis for the
supernatural birth about which Christ spoke with a rabbi at John 3:3-8.
Without the new covenant; nobody would be permitted citizenship in
Messiah's future kingdom.
Though it is a Jewish covenant meant for Yhvh's people; the new covenant
is the very bedrock of Christianity; and according to Eph 2:11-19, trust in
Christ qualifies the Gentiles for access to new covenant benefits.
FYI: For additional information related to the new covenant: see the New
Testament letter to Hebrews.
Buen Camino
/
†. Jer 31:31-32 . .The time is coming-- declares Yhvh --when I will make a
new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will
not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by
the hand to lead them out of Egypt,
The covenant Yhvh made with the Jews' forefathers is the one commonly
known to Christians as the old covenant and/or the first covenant. The
reason Yhvh gives for introducing a new covenant is that His people are
simply not interested in keeping the old one.
†. Jer 31:32 . . because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to
them-- declares Yhvh.
There are a number of Jews who refuse to believe that the new covenant is a
fresh package. They insist that it's merely an upgrade. In other words: they
insist the information released in Jer 31:32-34 is a codicil. Whatever. But the
codicil-- or the upgrade if that's what they prefer to call it --is amazing.
1• It has a provision for curing the Jews' rather annoying propensity to
disobey their God.
†. Jer 31:33 . .This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after
that time-- declares Yhvh. I will put my law in their minds and write it on
their hearts.
In other words; the provision is miraculous-- it's just as miraculous as any of
Jesus' healing miracles in the New Testament in that the provision makes it
possible for Yhvh's people to please God without even thinking about it. In
other words: just as it's now normal for Yhvh's people to displease God, that
provision in the new covenant makes it normal for them to do just the
opposite.
2• The new covenant has a provision for restoring friendly relations between
Yhvh's people and their God.
†. Jer 31:33-34 . . I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer
will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying: "Know Yhvh"
because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest -
declares Yhvh.
That provision may seem redundant but the truth of the matter is that right
now, Yhvh's people are estranged from God (Hos 1:9-11, Hos 2:23). Fact is:
more than half of all the Jews living in the State of Israel regard themselves
as hiloni (secular) and barely ten percent of the world's Jews are Orthodox.
3• The new covenant has a provision guaranteeing something that God has
never done before. He will forgive and forget sins instead of only forgiving
them.
†. Jer 31:34 . . I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no
more.
Gentiles-- and not a few Jews --are often unaware that none of the Temple
sacrifices permitted God to forgive and forget; not even Yom Kippur. In
other words; under the terms and conditions of the old covenant; God was
at liberty to grant only forgiveness; which in reality was merely a reprieve
seeing as how His people's sins stayed on the books. The new covenant
makes it possible for God to wipe the books clean leaving Yhvh's people
with zero sins on their records. That's quite an improvement.
But there's a rub.
†. Jer 31:30 . . Everyone will die for his own iniquity
†. Rom 6:23 . .The wages of sin is death
Under the terms and conditions of the old covenant; people's death for their
sins could be delayed by means of a Temple sacrifice. But sooner or later,
they have to die. Well; in order for people to avoid their inevitable death as
per Jer 31:30 and Rom 6:23, a better substitute for their own lives than
beasts and birds was necessary.
Some types of covenants have to be sealed with death. Noah sealed his
covenant with death, Abraham sealed his covenant with death, and Moses
sealed his covenant with death. Those covenants were sealed with the death
of beasts and birds. Yhvh's new covenant is sealed with death too; but not
with the death of a critter: with the death of a man.
†. Isa 53:5-6 . . He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for
our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon him, and by his
stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned,
every one, to his own way; and Yhvh has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
The reason the death of a man was required is because justice demands an
eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and a life for a life. Well; beast life and/or
bird life isn't equal in value to human life which is exactly why Yhvh couldn't
forgive and forget the Jews' sins under the terms and conditions of the old
covenant.
Only human life can substitute for human life; hence the necessity of a
human's death to seal the new covenant; which is memorialized by
Conservative Christians in a ritual sometimes called the Lord's Supper.
†. 1Cor 11:25 . . After supper he took the cup, saying: This cup is the new
covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of
me.
The new covenant is a crucial piece of legislation. It is the basis for the
supernatural birth about which Christ spoke with a rabbi at John 3:3-8.
Without the new covenant; nobody would be permitted citizenship in
Messiah's future kingdom.
Though it is a Jewish covenant meant for Yhvh's people; the new covenant
is the very bedrock of Christianity; and according to Eph 2:11-19, trust in
Christ qualifies the Gentiles for access to new covenant benefits.
FYI: For additional information related to the new covenant: see the New
Testament letter to Hebrews.
Buen Camino
/
