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BibleTruth.cc "Meat of the Word" Series The Covenants of the Promise A Survey of the Contracts Yahuwah Has Made With His People By David M Rogers www.BibleTruth.cc Published: May 2018 Table of Contents
The First
Covenant - The Seventh Day Sabbath
The title to this study is taken from Paul's statement to the Ephesians in chapter two of his letter found in the New Testament. Therefore, remember that formerly
you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by
those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the
body by the hands of men)--remember that at that time you were
separate from Messiah, excluded from citizenship in Yisrael and
foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and
without Elohim in the world. (Ephesians 2:11-12) Paul tells the Ephesian followers of Yahusha that before they came into relationship to Elohim through their knowledge of Yahusha's work of reconciliation, that they were outside the status of citizenship in Israel. As such, they were also outside the benefits of those promises made through covenants. Our goal in this study work is to come to understand what the Covenants are that Yahuwah, Creator of heaven and earth has made with mankind. Over the course of human history as it is recorded in the Biblical writings, we see the development of the plan of redemption as the Almighty has revealed it through his prophets and those who have listened and followed his ways. We should start with a definition of Covenant.
The Hebrew tyrIB. (berith) - agreement, covenant, to come to
an agreement, to accept someone into a formal arrangement, pact,
compact, alliance, treaty, contract, a formal and legally binding
agreement Understanding the Difference Between Covenant,
Promise and Law Covenant – an agreement between 2 parties Promise – something guaranteed either conditionally
or unconditionally Law – a standard of rule concerning behavior Purposes for Covenants Establish conditions and expectations for business
or personal relationship Biblical - Reveal details on how Yah will bring
about the fulfillment of his promises The Covenants Yahuwah makes with his people are
designed to establish relationship between Him and them based upon
proper respect for who He is. These agreements are the legal basis for
determining the rights of each party. The Biblical Covenants have Signs The rainbow – Gen 9:13 The circumcision Gen 17:11 The Sabbath – Ex 31:16-17 Spiritual gifts – Acts 2 dd
The First
Covenant - The Seventh Day Sabbath soemthing The Covenant Promises
to Abraham “Leave your country, your people and your father's
household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will
bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever
curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed
through you.” (Genesis 12:1-3) A Promise to Abraham Avram traveled through the land as far as the site
of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were
in the land. Yahuwah appeared to Avram and said, "To your
offspring I will give this land." So he built an altar there to Yahuwah,
who had appeared to him. (Genesis 12:6-7) Promise of a Seed (singular or plural?) and a Land Yahuwah said to Avram after Lot had parted from
him, "Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south,
east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and
your offspring (singular) forever. I will make your offspring (singular) like the dust
of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your
offspring could be counted. Go, walk through the length and breadth of the
land, for I am giving it to you.“ – (Genesis 13:14-17) Dual Fulfillment of Prophecy (plural) Yahuwah your Elohim has increased your numbers so
that today you are as many as the stars in the sky (Deuteronomy 1:10) Your forefathers who went down into Mitzrayim were
seventy in all, and now Yahuwah your Elohim has made you as numerous as
the stars in the sky. (Deuteronomy 10:22) The Singular is Significant Brothers, let me take an example from everyday
life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has
been duly established, so it is in this case. The promises were spoken to Avraham and to his
seed. The Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people,
but "and to your seed," meaning one person, who is Messiah. (Galatians
3:15-16) The Seed Promise is Also a Plural Seed Understand, then, that those who believe are
children (seed) of Avraham. The Scripture foresaw that Elohim would
justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to
Avraham: "All nations will be blessed through you.“ (Galatians 3:7-8) If you belong to Messiah, then you are Avraham's
seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:29) Covenant with Abraham Who is to be Avraham’s heir? On that day Yahuwah made a covenant with Avram and said, "To your seed I give this land, from the river of Mitzrayim to the great river, the Euphrates” – (Genesis 15:18) What is the Promise? Blessing (honor, respect) A seed An inheritance of land The protection of Yahuwah In a word: “I will be your Elohim and you will be
my people”
When Avram was ninety-nine years old, Yahuwah
appeared to him and said, "I am Elohim Almighty; walk before me and be
blameless. I will confirm my covenant between me and you and
will greatly increase your numbers." Avram fell facedown, and Elohim said to him, "As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will
be the father of many nations.” (Genesis 17:1-4) Has the Covenant of Circumcision Ended? Understand, then, that those who believe are
children of Avraham. The Scripture foresaw that Elohim would justify the
Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Avraham: "All
nations will be blessed through you." So those who have faith are blessed along with Avraham, the man of faith. (Galatians 3:7-9) The Covenant of the Promise Conferred Upon Isaac and Jacob Then Elohim said, "Yes, but your wife Sarah will
bear you a son, and you will call him Yitzchak. I will establish my
covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after
him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely
bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his
numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him
into a great nation. But my covenant I will establish with Yitzchak,
whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.“ (Genesis 17:19-21) Promises Given to Ya’acov Ya'acov left Beersheba and set out for Haran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the
night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it
under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting
on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of Elohim
were ascending and descending on it. (Genesis 28:10-12) There above it stood Yahuwah, and he said: "I am
Yahuwah, the Elohim of your father Avraham and the Elohim of Yitzchak. I
will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the
earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north
and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and
your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you
go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I
have done what I have promised you.“ (Genesis 28:13-15) Covenant with Jacob Elohim heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Avraham, with Yitzchak and with Ya'acov. (Exodus 2:24) The Covenant with the Sons of Israel In the third month after the sons of Yisrael left
Mitzrayim-- on the very day-- they came to the Desert of Sinai. After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the
Desert of Sinai, and Yisrael camped there in the desert in front of the
mountain. Then Mosheh went up to Elohim, and Yahuwah called
to him from the mountain and said, "This is what you are to say to the
house of Ya'acov and what you are to tell the people of Yisrael: (Exodus
19:1-3) What Part Does Obedience Play? 'You yourselves have seen what I did to Mitzrayim,
and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then
out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the
whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy
nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the sons of Yisrael.“
(Exodus 19:4-6)
The Voice of Elohim Spoke to the People The Ten Words (Laws – chukot) – Ex 20:1-17 A Few more laws – Ex 20:18-26 The Right Rulings (mishpatim) –Ex 21-23 Mosheh Tells the People These Laws – Ex 24:3-4 - When Mosheh went and told the people all Yahuwah's words and laws, they responded with one voice, "Everything Yahuwah has said we will do." Mosheh then wrote down everything Yahuwah had said. The Covenant With and Promise to David You said, "I have made a covenant with my chosen
one, I have sworn to David my servant, 'I will establish your line forever and make your
throne firm through all generations.'" Selah (Psalm 89:3-4) The Davidic Covenant Once you spoke in a vision, to your faithful people
you said: "I have bestowed strength on a warrior; I have exalted a young
man from among the people. I have found David my servant; with my set apart
oil I have anointed him. My hand will sustain him; surely my arm will
strengthen him. No enemy will subject him to tribute; no wicked man
will oppress him. I will crush his foes before him and strike down
his adversaries. (Psalm 89:19-23) My faithful love will be with him, and through my
name his horn will be exalted. I will set his hand over the sea, his right hand
over the rivers. He will call out to me, 'You are my Father, my
Elohim, the Rock my Savior.' I will also appoint him my firstborn, the most
exalted of the kings of the earth. I will maintain my love to him forever, and my
covenant with him will never fail. I will establish his line forever, his throne as
long as the heavens endure. (Psalm 89:24-29) S "If his sons forsake my law and do not follow my
statutes, if they violate my decrees and fail to keep my
commands, I will punish their sin with the rod, their
iniquity with flogging; but I will not take my love from him, nor will I
ever betray my faithfulness. I will not violate my covenant or alter what my
lips have uttered. (Psalm 89:30-34) An Unconditional Promise Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness-- and I
will not lie to David-- that his line will continue forever and his throne
endure before me like the sun; it will be established forever like the moon, the faithful witness in the sky." Selah (Psalm 89:35-37) "Indeed, a time is coming," says Yahuwah, "when I
will make a new agreement with the people of Yisrael and Yehudah.
It will not be like the old agreement that I made with their
ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt. For
they violated that agreement, even though I was a faithful husband to
them," says Yahuwah. "But I
will make a new agreement with the whole nation of Yisrael after I plant
them back in the land," says Yahuwah. "I will put my Instruction within
them and write it on their hearts and minds. And I will be their Elohim
and they will be my people. (Yirmyahu 31:31-34) The Covenant in Yeshua’s Blood This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured
out for many for the forgiveness of sins. (Matthew 26:28) Is Obedience Required Under the New Covenant? Yahuwah your Elohim will raise up for you a prophet
like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. For this is what you asked of Yahuwah your Elohim
at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, "Let us not hear the
voice of Yahuwah our Elohim nor see this great fire anymore, or we will
die." Yahuwah said to me: "What they say is good. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from
among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell
them everything I command him. If anyone does not listen to my words that the
prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account.
(Deuteronomy 18:15-19) Under the New Covenant, Is Compliance with his
Commandments Necessary? Once you were alienated from Elohim and were
enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Messiah's physical
body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and
free from accusation-- if you continue in your faith, established and
firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. (Colossians
1:21-23) Eternal Salvation Comes to Those Who Obey During the days of Yahusha's life on earth, he
offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one
who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent
submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he
suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal
salvation for all who obey him and was designated by Elohim to be high
priest in the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 5:7-10) Obedience Under the New Covenant I will give them one heart and I will put a new
Spirit within them; I will remove the heart of stone from their bodies
and I will give them a heart of flesh, so that they may obey my rules
(Hebrew, "chukot") and keep my right-rulings (Hebrew, "mishpatim") and
observe them. Then they will be my people, and I will be their Elohim.
(Yechezqel 11:19-20). "'I will take you from the nations and gather you
from all the countries; then I will bring you to your land.
I will sprinkle you with pure water and you will be clean from
all your impurities. I will purify you from all your idols.
I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within
you. I will remove the heart of stone from your body and give you a
heart of flesh. I will put
my Spirit within you; I will cause you to walk in my rules (Hebrew,
"chukot") and carefully observe my right-rulings (Hebrew, "mishpatim").
Then you will live in the land I gave to your fathers; you will
be my people, and I will be your Elohim.
I will save you from all your uncleanness (Yechezqel 36:24-29). A “New” or a “Renewed” Covenant? Same: Torah, Requirement to Keep Torah – all the
laws and right-rulings of Yahuwah Different: The blood that ratifies it, written on
our hearts End Result: Same – Yahuwah will be our Elohim and
we will be His people. Ephesians 1:9-10 And he made known to us the mystery of his will
according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Messiah, to be put into effect when the times will have
reached their fulfillment-- to bring all things in heaven and on earth
together under one head, even Messiah. The Covenants of the Promise Therefore, remember that formerly you who are
Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call
themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of
men)-- remember that at that time you were separate from
Messiah, excluded from citizenship in Yisrael and foreigners to the
covenants of the promise, without hope and without Elohim in the world.
(Ephesians 2:11-12) No Second Class Citizens Here Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and
aliens, but fellow citizens with Elohim's people and members of Elohim's
household, built on the foundation of the apostles and
prophets, with Messiah Yahusha himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and
rises to become a holy temple in Yahuwah. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which Elohim lives by his Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19-22)
The
Mystery of the Gospel In reading this, then, you will be able to
understand my insight into the mystery of Messiah, which was not made known to men in other
generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to Elohim's holy
apostles and prophets. This mystery is that through the gospel the
Gentiles are heirs together with Yisrael, members together of one body,
and sharers together in the promise in Messiah Yahusha. (Ephesians
3:4-6) The Covenants of Promise Tell of Abba’s Redemption The promises made to Avraham will be fulfilled in
Yeshua in the Messianic Age These were all commended for their faith, yet none
of them received what had been promised. Elohim had planned something
better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
(Hebrews 11:39-40) The Covenants of Promise Provide the Legal
Parameters for Relationship with the Living Elohim These parameters are in the form of laws and
right-rulings We keep the covenant by obeying the laws Ultimately, we are judged by our works Comparisons Between the Sinai Covenant and the New
Covenant Ivrim 9 – The Former Covenant 16 For where there is a will, the death of the one
who made it must be proven. 17 For a will takes effect only at death, since it
carries no force while the one who made it is alive. 18 So even the first covenant was inaugurated with
blood. 19 For when Mosheh had spoken every command to all
the people according to the Instruction, 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, 20 and said, "This is the blood of the covenant
that Elohim has commanded you to keep." 21 And both the tabernacle and all the utensils of
worship he likewise sprinkled with blood. 22 Indeed according to the Instruction almost
everything was purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood
there is no forgiveness. A Covenant Covenant: an agreement between 2 parties There are essentially two elements to every
covenant •Content:
the terms of the covenant – what each party “gets” and what each
gives to the other •Guarantee: that thing which binds the parties to
the agreement – in some cases, this constitutes only a “pledge” –
something given to the other to show good faith The Content of the Former Covenant Terms and Benefits Terms:
Shemot 19:5 And now, if you will diligently obey me and keep my
covenant, Benefits:
then you will be my special possession out of all the nations,
for all the earth is mine. 6
And you will be my kingdom of priests and a set-apart nation.' Where did the Former Covenant Fail? Ivrim 8:7 For if that first one had been faultless,
he would not have looked for a second place. 8 But finding them to blame, He says, "Look, the
days are coming, says Yahuwah, when I will complete a new agreement with
the house of Yisrael and with the house of Yehudah. 9 "It will not be like the agreement that I made
with their fathers, on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them
out of Egypt, because they did not continue in my agreement and I had no
regard for them, says Yahuwah. The people were to blame:
(1) the priests died and could not continue offering sacrifices
for sins, and (2) the people did not continue following the terms
(obeying the commands) The Content of the Former Covenant Terms and Benefits Terms:
Shemot 19:5 And now, if you will diligently obey me and keep my
covenant, Benefits:
then you will be my special possession out of all the nations,
for all the earth is mine. 6
And you will be my kingdom of priests and a set-apart nation.' The Content of the Renewed Covenant Terms and Benefits Terms: I will put my Instruction within them and
write it on their hearts and minds. Benefits:
And I will be their Elohim and they will be my people. The Guarantee of the Renewed Covenant Ivrim 7:19 On the other hand a better hope is
introduced, through which we draw near to Elohim. 20 And since this was not done without a sworn
affirmation--for the others have become priests without a sworn
affirmation, 21 but Yahusha did so with a sworn affirmation by
the one who said to him, “Yahuwah has sworn and will not change his
mind, 'You are a priest forever'"-- 22 accordingly Yahusha has become the guarantee of
a better covenant. 23 And the others who became priests were
numerous, because death prevented them from continuing in office, 24 but he holds his priesthood permanently since
he lives forever. 25 So he is able to save completely those who come
to Elohim through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. The First Shavuot Happened at Sinai Yah enacts the Covenant
1. He delivers the Torah
2. He promises them life, protection, to be his treasure
3. They promise to obey
4. Blood shed Yah provides for forgiveness
1. Levitical priesthood established The Later Shavuot Happens in Yerushalayim Yah enacts the Covenant
1. He delivers the Ruach HaKodesh to be Torah on our hearts
2. He promises them life, protection, to be his treasure
3. Messiah’s blood was shed Yah provides for forgiveness
1. Yahusha’s priesthood established after the order of Melchi
Tsedeck
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