Grace means that we receive that which we don’t deserve, and at the same time give to the Lord that which we do deserve. We receive His righteousness or right standing with God the Father and give to Jesus the punishment we deserve. The scripture tells us that none of us are righteous in our own merit or behavior, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”! (Romans 3:23)

Exchange

This is where the idea of exchange takes place. By our faith in Jesus, we receive all the blessings and pass on to Jesus all of our sins and the consequences of our sin. Now what is important to understand is that we are talking about spiritual things, not necessarily natural things. The spiritual realm is much more important than the physical because the spiritual is eternal, the physical is temporal or temporary (2 Cor 4:18). 

The Spiritual Kingdom

As Christians, we live in the Kingdom of God while still here on earth. Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus in John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Then in John 3:5, “Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

His Kingdom is in us. 

In Luke 17:20 Jesus said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; 21 nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”

Jesus took our sins and gave us His forgiveness

As we mentioned in the last post the first exchange of grace that we receive by faith, was that; Jesus took our sin and gave us forgiveness. The Apostle Paul states the following fact in 2 Cor 5:20-21, “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. 21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him”.

1. Sin vs. sin? – the symptom of sin vs. the root cause of sin! Instead of covering over sin as in the Old Covenant, Jesus took our sins and replaced our sin nature with the Holy Spirit who is righteous!

An Exchange; Life for Death

Today we will look at the second example of the gift of grace that we receive by faith and that is, Jesus took our death that we might have His life; “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” (Rom 5:10; see also Heb 2:9).

You see because we have been forgiven, we are reconciled with God. God’s intent is that we live forever with Him. That was His intention at the beginning with Adam and Eve. Remember Genesis 2:16 “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’” What did God mean when He said, “you shall surely die”?

We are Spiritual Beings

When God created mankind, He created them as triune beings- spirit, soul and body (Genesis 2:7, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, Hebrews 4:12). In the Garden of Eden before sin, mankind was to live in fellowship with God for eternity, but when Adam and Eve sinned death crept in. Normally when we think of death we think of physical death, separation from the body, but Adam and Eve continued to live until they were 930 years old, (Genesis 5:5). So, what did God mean “you shall surely die? I believe God was speaking of spiritual death or separation from God! After all, doesn’t sin separate us from God? We learn that from Adam and Eve’s behavior after they recognized their disobedience, they separated or hid from God.

When we say that Jesus took our death and gave us life, we really mean that, spiritually, we are restored or reconciled with God and will live eternally with Him in heaven.

Now, why does Jesus make this gift of grace available to us? It is because we agree with Him when He said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me”. There is no other way. Others may claim they know the way, but you have decided and accept by faith that Jesus is the only way to the Father.

Because of our faith in Jesus and what He did for us, we can release the “fear of death” because it has been swallowed up by life in Christ which is eternal.

The Amplified Bible put it this way in 1 Corinthians 15: 

“53 For this perishable [part of us] must put on the imperishable [nature], and this mortal [part of us, this nature that is capable of dying] must put on immortality (freedom from death).

54 And when this perishable puts on the imperishable and this that was capable of dying puts on freedom from death, then shall be fulfilled the Scripture that says, Death is swallowed up (utterly vanquished forever) in and unto victory.

55 O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?

56 Now sin is the sting of death, and sin exercises its power [upon the soul] through [the abuse of] the Law.

57 But thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory [making us conquerors] through our Lord Jesus Christ”.

Conclusion:

Our trust is in one who is alive, for Jesus rose again! Because He lives, we can be confident that we will live too. 

Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me”.

The Lord chose and made a promise to Abram or Abraham, to be the father of the Hebrews known as the Israelites. Remember, Abraham had two sons, Ishmael and Isaac. Isaac also had two sons, Jacob and Esau. It is Jacob who is significant in God’s plan to fulfill the Covenant of Law. You may also recall that God changed Jacob’s name to Israel. This is where the term “Israelites” comes from. Israel had 12 sons and they became known as the sons or tribes of Israel. The book of Genesis gives an account of all of this.

Several generations later a child is born called Moses. He is the descendant of the third son of Jacob or Israel named Levi therefore, Moses was a Levite. It is Moses whom God fulfills the covenant of Law, which was promised to Abraham.

“The Pentateuch is the first five books of the Bible, called “Torah” in the Hebrew Scriptures. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

Though we often call these books “The Law,” Torah does not mean “law,” but “teaching.” Basic to the Torah is the idea of the covenant. A covenant is an agreement. In the Bible, covenants are special, because God is one of the parties to the covenant. Biblical covenants have three parts:

1. A statement about God’s saving act (what God brings to the agreement); (To make Abraham’s descendants a great nation called Israel.)
2. A statement about what God expects from humanity in response; (Obedience to the Laws or teachings that would produce blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience.)
3. A sign or symbol as a reminder of the covenant. (The sign of Circumcision.)” 

The Covenant of Grace

Biblical history shows that God fulfilled His promise to the people of Israel to make them a great nation. The Lord did this under the rule of King David. Despite God keeping His promise, the nation of Israel utterly failed at keeping the Lord Jehovah at the center of life, and government. 

This is an important lesson for us to understand. No one is able to keep the “Law” perfectly or completely. Because God knew in advance that mankind would fail and that they would see that they needed, not a system of rules and regulations to please God, but a Savior!

The Lord promised a New Covenant in Jeremiah 31:31. What God promises He fulfills. He will always keep His promises.

1. Numbers 23:19 “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good”?
2. Titus 1:2 “in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began”.
3. Hebrews 6:13-20 makes the case for God’s infallible purpose in Christ, “For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, 14 saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” 15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. 16 For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. 17 Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, 18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. 19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, 20 where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek”.
   1. Two unchangeable things – God’s promise (covenant) and His oath. In other words, what God promised and what he vowed cannot change and thus will most surely happen.

The Better Covenant

Earlier I said that Bible covenants are special because God is one of the parties to the covenant. Biblical covenants have three parts: 

1. a statement about God’s saving act (what God brings to the agreement); (Salvation comes to those who put their faith in Jesus Christ)
2. a statement about what God expects from humanity in response; (To walk in and by the Holy Spirit in every area of life)
3. and a sign or symbol as a reminder of the covenant. (The sign of Baptism, which represents a circumcised heart.) 

In the words of the Book of Hebrews, the New Covenant is better than the Old Covenant because it is based upon better promises!

Looking at the first item in the Great Exchange we will look at the fact that Jesus took our sins and gave us His forgiveness! Jesus’s forgiveness is what should make us so grateful that we would not want to abuse His grace. It is this important truth that makes us want to change.

In all covenants with God, an exchange takes place. As covenants are made and kept, God, as the stronger party, gives blessing, provision, protection, wisdom and more to the weaker party, which is mankind. 

In our look at covenants, there is no better example of this exchange than the New Covenant. The exchange is so clear, and what we receive is so glorious and abundant, that it is known by some Bible teachers as “The Great Exchange.” 

Let’s look at the first example of the exchange provided by the New Covenant:

1. Jesus took our sin and gave us forgiveness; “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. 21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Cor 5:20-21).
   1. Sin vs. sin nature – the symptom of sin vs. the root cause of sin! Instead of covering over sin as in the Old Covenant, Jesus took our sin away and replaced our sin nature with the Holy Spirit who is righteous!

Of all the exchanges and agreements that have taken place since the beginning of time, the most important exchanges by far are those we have received from Jesus. He truly provided us with The Great Exchange!

As believers, we gave Jesus our sins, failures, guilt, shame, and past. In return, Jesus: 

1. Extends His friendship to us (John 15:14); 
2. Makes us joint-heirs with Him (Rom 8:17); 
3. Wipes away our sins and our past (2 Cor 5:17); 
4. Gives us a hope and a future for this life and eternity (John 14:1-3; Col 1:27; 1 Pet 1:3). 

Let us thank God for Jesus and the New Covenant which is far better than any prior covenant!

Marriage, Covenant or Contract

Some look at marriage as a contract, but that isn’t how the Bible looks at marriage. The Bible looks at marriage as a covenant. The difference between contract and covenant is dramatic. 

Marriage is not a business agreement, in a business contract both parties in the contract agree to fulfill certain responsibilities. In a contract, if one party does not live up to the terms of the contract the contract becomes void. Divorce in modern society is so common because so many couples look at marriage as a contract.

Marriage is a covenant between the bride and the groom. The marriage covenant is an example of two becoming one. In marriage, the two parties become one, one flesh (Gen 2:24; Matt 19:5,6; Eph 5:31). In the marriage vows you are saying that you are taking your spouse as your flesh, to love your spouse even as Christ loves the Church, to protect your spouse and care for your spouse for the rest of your lives. There is no way to void a covenant! Our confidence in Jesus is because we are in a covenant relationship with Him.

In addition, in a marriage covenant there is an exchange, all that belongs to the bride including possessions, debts, and future potential – now belongs to the bridegroom. All that belongs to the bridegroom – possessions, debts, and future potential – now belongs to the bride. All the resources, power, and authority are now shared between the covenant-heads, in this case, the bride and bridegroom.

Covenants cannot be broken for any reason. A covenant implies faithfulness, loyalty, and commitment. If one side of a covenant does not fulfill its obligations, that doesn’t void the covenant. 

David and Jonathan

In a biblical covenant, one covenant-head is generally weaker in power, authority, or wealth. The weaker party would usually covenant with a stronger covenant-head. For instance, Jonathan, a prince and the son of King Saul, was a stronger party who formed a covenant with young David (1 Sam 18:1-4). At that time, David was just a common man from a small family of shepherds.

Just after David killed Goliath a conversation between Jonathan and David is revealed in 1 Samuel 18:1-4, “Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 2 Saul took him that day, and would not let him go home to his father’s house anymore. 3 Then Jonathan and David made a covenant because he loved him as his own soul. 4 And Jonathan took off the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, even to his sword and his bow and his belt”. 

You see the more powerful Prince Jonathan gave to David, the emblems of his authority and power- the robe and his weapons. David had nothing to give except his loyalty. Doesn’t that sound like our covenant relationship with Jesus? 

David and Mephibosheth

Let’s go further to look at the relationship between David the King and Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth. After both King Saul and Jonathan were dead and David was now King of Israel, David remembered the covenant he had made with Jonathan. Here is an important point about Covenants, the terms of a covenant apply to all members associated with the Covenant Heads (Jonathan’s family and David’s family).

For the details please read 2 Samuel chapter 9.  Mephibosheth was crippled in his feet and living in exile outside of Jerusalem. King David was reminded of his covenant with Jonathan and wanted to bless the family of Jonathan, even though he, Jonathan, was dead. David finds out that Mephibosheth is alive. David immediately sends for Mephibosheth. When Mephibosheth arrives in King David’s court, he comes as a pauper and slave, because that was how he saw himself. The King, on the other hand, sees Mephibosheth through the “eyes” of the covenant. David sees him as a prince in his court.

David restores all that was rightfully his as the heir of Jonathan, all the land and possessions. Then, listen to this, and I quote, “As for Mephibosheth,” said the king, “he shall eat at my table like one of the king’s sons.” This is the same promise Jesus makes to those who follow Him (Luke 14:12, Revelation 19:9)!

Abram and Lot

Another example in the Bible of a powerful person coming to the aid of a weaker one because of the covenant principle. This principle gives the weaker person the authority to call upon and receive the power of the stronger one because of the promises made in the covenant agreement. We find in Genesis 14, Lot, Abram’s nephew who is also called brother, chose to leave the physical protection and covering of Abram and move to the region of Sodom. Sometime later, a war broke out (v8, 9). The region in which Lot lived was conquered and of course “to the victor goes the spoils.” The cities, including Lot’s, were plundered of all their wealth (v11).

In this case, the conquering kings made a fatal mistake; they took Lot captive (v12). Abramdiscovered what had happened: “Now when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan” (v14). Because Lot was of Abram’s clan, Lot’s captivity caused the entire clan of Abram to unite and fight against their now common enemy. “So he brought back all the goods and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people” (v16). 

The weaker (Lot) received the power of the stronger (Abram) because Lot was covered as part of the body of people (covenant-body) under the covenant relationship.

This is a very important covenant principle for us as Christians. Because of the New Covenant we have with Christ, which was established by His own blood, we have the power and authority of Jesus released to us! All because, as believers, we are part of the Body of Christ! 

The Great Exchange

In all covenants with God, an exchange takes place. As covenants are made and kept, God, as the stronger party, gives blessing, provision, protection, wisdom and more to the weaker party, which is mankind. 

In our look at covenants, there is no better example of this exchange than the New Covenant. The exchange is so clear, and what we receive is so glorious and abundant, that it is known by some Bible teachers as “The Great Exchange.” 

I promise that in my next post we will look at some of the provisions provided by the New Covenant!

Remember, the Book of Hebrews clearly shows that the New Covenant initiated by the two covenant heads, Jehovah and Jesus (God and God) was better or stronger than the Old Covenant initiated by Jehovah and Moses (God and man). The New replaced the old because the new was better or stronger.

Keep in mind that the Old Testament is God-breathed and is available for our instruction, in 2 Timothy 3:16 the Apostle Paul says, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine (truths), for reproof (chastisement), for correction (improvement), for instruction (direction) in righteousness (right living before God), that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good (God-directed) work”.

I would encourage you to read all of 1 Corinthians 10, paying special attention to verses 1-11. There is so much we can learn about righteousness, unrighteousness (sin), the character of Jehovah God, and what He will bless and what He will not bless in the Old Testament. 

1 Corinthians 10:6-11 states, “Now these things (found in the Old Testament) became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. 7 And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” 8 Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; 9 nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; 10 nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition (warning), upon whom the ends of the ages have come”.

It has been said many times and in many ways, “Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it”. By studying the Old Testament and the Covenant of the Law, we learn from Biblical history that we need more than rules, regulations, rituals, and traditions to keep us in a right relationship with God! We need Jesus!

The Old Testament is valuable, but it does not contain the covenant purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ.

The Significance of Blood in Covenants

Which brings us to the point of the Blood of Jesus. It wasn’t until about 1615 that William Harvey, an English physician, first described correctly and in detail the circulatory system and the properties of blood being pumped to the body by the heart.

 Before the discovery of the true nature of blood, there was always a mysterious and spiritual significance to blood among primitive people. Ceremonies involving blood or blood rituals were common to almost all primitive tribes. Before scientific understanding, blood has always had associated with it the idea of a primary life principle. As a result of this association with life, there has always been a reverence for the shedding of blood. Many primitive groups practiced the cutting and mixing of blood and the creation of scars to show blood-brotherhood or blood-friendship. 

It would be a mistake to associate the importance of blood to primitive peoples only. Blood is important to God, as well. For example, we see imagery of the blood in the following two Scriptures, one from the Old Covenant and the other from the New Covenant: 

1. “Come now, and let us reason together, Says the Lord, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson (blood), they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18).
2. “And I said to him, ‘Sir, you know.’ So he said to me, ‘These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb’” (Revelation 7:14).

Examples of  Blood in Covenants 

The importance of blood to covenants is obvious, especially as we examine the covenants between God and man. Look at the following examples where blood is shed concerning covenants:

1. Blood of animals was shed in the Garden of Eden when God provided clothing for Adam and Eve after they disobeyed God and ate the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, “Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21).
2. Blood of animals was shed when animals became available for food through Noah, “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood” (Genesis 9:3-4).
3. Blood of man was shed in circumcision through Abraham, “This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you” (Genesis 17:10-11).
4. Blood of animals was shed in the sacrificial system of the Law through Moses; some examples can be found in Leviticus 14 and Numbers 19.
5. Blood of the Lamb of God. This is the shedding of blood by a perfect sacrifice, our Lord and Savior Jesus. 
   1. “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29)!
   2. “But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13).

What makes blood so important?

What makes blood so important? It is because life is in the blood and blood requires a life. Now we see how profoundly God regards His covenants. 

1. “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul” (Leviticus 17:11). 
2. “And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood, there is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22).

That is all we have time for today. Next time we will be examining the idea of exchange that takes place in Covenants.

The keyword in the Book of Hebrews is faith, but the second keyword is the word, better. The New Testament (Grace) is better than the Old Testament (Law). The word better is more properly understood as stronger and is used 12 times in Hebrews: Heb 1:4, Heb 6:9, Heb 7:7, Heb 7:19, Heb 7:22, Heb 8:6, Heb 9:23, Heb 10:34, Heb 11:16, Heb 11:35, Heb 11:40, and Heb 12:24.

The Covenants of Life and Death

The Old Covenant of Law was important and significant, but it was a covenant that could result only in death and not life (Rom 8:2). Remember, the Old Covenant proved this, the Law was impossible for man to keep. While the commands of God are righteous and true (Matt 5:19; Gal 3:19-21), the Law did not give man the power to obey! Rather, it only revealed how desperately we needed a Savior (Gal 3:22-25). The Law, with its rituals, rules, and sacrifices for sin, was not sufficient to deal with the source of man’s problem – sin (Heb 10:1-10).

The New Covenant is a Better Covenant, it is a covenant of life! “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Gal 3:13, 14).

The Promises

The promises in the Old Covenant were primarily about the present life and material blessings. They were promises that included: long life; increase in numbers; seedtime and harvest; national privileges; and extraordinary peace, abundance, and prosperity.

In the New Covenant, however, the promise of spiritual blessings becomes the central benefit of our faith in Christ. Those spiritual blessings are available because of the free gift of the Holy Spirit living in us (1 Cor 6:19), who will teach us and lead us (John 16:13) in an overcoming life on earth (Rom 8:37).

In the New Covenant, our Lord does promise to provide for our needs (Matt 6:25-34), but our hearts are also directed toward Heaven. We are reminded of the temporary nature of this life, and that this is not our eternal home. Our souls are at peace with the assurance of eternal life, the favor (grace) of God and the anticipation of Heaven.

People are generally comfortable with the old.

People, in their natural way of thinking, often cling to old ways of doing things because those ways are familiar and comfortable. The same can be true of learned traditions or religious beliefs that are not rooted in the New Covenant. The old is familiar, so it can be difficult to change them to fit the requirements of the New Covenant. If we are not careful, we can develop strong convictions based on false or erroneous teachings!

The New Covenant requires a radical change in thinking about life in God and salvation; which is very different from the Law of the Old Covenant and the religious traditions of that day. Jesus often addressed this issue with the Pharisees. In one encounter, Jesus confronted the religious leaders, the Pharisees, regarding their love of rituals and traditions as opposed to the truth (Luke 5:33-39). Sadly, many of the practices and beliefs of the Pharisees were not based on the Law as given by God but were based on traditions developed over many years and considered equal to God’s laws (Mk 7:1-8).

Today, as in Jesus’ day, preferring the old rituals can keep people from embracing the New Covenant promises and the free salvation Jesus gives to us. Jesus understood that the old can often seem good enough because it is familiar: “And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, ‘The old is better’” (Luke 5:39). The familiar can make one reluctant to let go of old ideas, traditions or beliefs.

Free or in bondage?

Beliefs that are based on the traditions of men and not on the Word of God become like chains of bondage. Trying to serve the terms of the Old Covenant today can also be like chains of bondage, especially in light of the freedom Jesus purchased for us: “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free’” (John 8:31, 32). Jesus came “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14) to set His people free!

Grace is not an excuse to sin!

There are some who are suspicious of the message of grace. They see grace as a weakness, or as “permission” to sin. Nothing could be further from the truth! “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” (Rom 6:1, 2). Grace is not a license, or liberty, or an excuse to sin. As a matter of fact, Jesus makes clear that grace demands even more of us than did the Law (Matthew 5:20-48). For instance, the Law says to not murder; grace says to not even get angry at someone. The Law says to not commit adultery; grace says to not even look at another with lust in your heart.

Grace requires more because Jesus seeks to transform our hearts, to change us from the inside out (Matt 15:1-20; 23:25-28). We are not to be “actors” who know how to go through outward religious motions or just follow rules. We are to be Christians, those who follow Christ and His ways, who from our hearts do what He would do and say what He would say!

Your Father in Heaven promised something better than the Law, in the Old Testament.

As I said in my last message; Six hundred years before Jesus the prophet Jeremiah said in 31:31 “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: 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. 34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

In my last message, I said that it is impossible to understand “grace” without understanding the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament. Let’s take a closer look at the Old Testament which is all about the Covenant of Law.

The Old Covenant

The Old Testament represents a “covenant” known as the covenant of the Law. Every Covenant has two parties called covenant heads. God is one covenant head, and the other covenant head is a person called out by God to represent a group of people. In the case of the Old Testament Covenant of the Law, the two covenant heads were God or Jehovah and Moses. Moses represented a group of people known as the Hebrews or Israelites. What is true of all covenants is that there is an exchange between the two parties. What belongs to one now belongs to the other. God, clearly the stronger party, made His power and authority available to the weaker party, Moses and the people of Israel. 

The Israelites

Where did the Israelites come from? Let me take a brief moment to take a look at the genealogy of the Israelites. God created Adam and Eve then after many generations came Noah, a descendant of Adam and Eve. After more generations, a descendant named Abram was chosen by God to be the one whom God would use to receive the promise that his descendants would be God’s chosen people. 

God changed Abram’s name to Abraham. Abraham had a son, Isaac. Isaac had a son named Jacob. God changed Jacob’s name God to Israel. Jacob now known as Israel had twelve sons and they eventually became the twelve tribes of Israel. The sons were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin. The point is that these twelve tribes of people became known as the Israelites, or the children of Israel (Jacob). Just as a side note Jesus is a descendant of Judah. 

As a result of a famine in the land, these tribes found themselves in Egypt. In the beginning, they were treated very well, but over a period of 430 years, they became slave laborers. All of this is described in beautiful detail in the Book of Genesis. I would encourage you to read or re-read this book of “beginnings”. The book of Genesis shows that in the midst of life, God has a plan and that His plan will come to pass. God never fails.

So far, with many gaps in between, the genealogy goes like this; Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (Israel) and the twelve tribes of Israel.

In the Book of Exodus, we pick up the story of the Israelites in Egypt. God heard their cries of hardship and raised up a Hebrew leader named Moses. It is with Moses that Jehovah God establishes the Covenant of Law. The Covenant of Law was the fulfillment of the promise God made to Abraham that his offspring would become a great nation. Moses is the Covenant Head representing the people of Israel. This is a key point; God deals with the people of Israel through the Covenant Head Moses. 

On Mount Sinai, God gave Moses the tablets of stone containing the Ten Commandments as well as orally giving Moses commandments about worship, religious practice, and expected behavior. There are about 613 commandments or “mitzvot” that a religious Jew had to obey. The books of Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy describes these details. Remember the first five books of the Bible are the “Torah” or the “Law”.

A Conditional Covenant.

The bottom line of the Covenant of the Law is that it is a “conditional covenant”, that is if the people obey the Law they will be blessed. On the other hand, if they disobey the Law they will be cursed. A person’s “righteousness” was determined by how well they kept the Law. 

When a person under the Law broke the Law (sin or unrighteousness) the only way they could be restored to a right relationship with God was to repent and provide a sacrifice. That is why the Old Testament concerned itself with sacrifices, feasts, and traditions. Even the Old Testament Jews recognized that it was impossible to keep the Law perfectly.

Don’t despair because during the Old Covenant of Law, Six hundred years before Jesus Christ, the prophet Jeremiah said in 31:31, “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: 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. 34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” 

The Prophet Jeremiah could see that something new was coming… see you the next time.