The
New Covenant
By Hillel
ben David (Greg Killian)
Shavuot (Pentecost or the Feast of Weeks) is the
festival of the giving of the Torah. The Torah, which is commonly known as the
Pentateuch, consists of the first five books of the Bible: Bereshit (Genesis),
Shemot (Exodus), Vayikra (Leviticus), Bamidbar (Numbers), and Devarim
(Deuteronomy). The Torah is an integral part of the new
covenant. The new covenant will become effective on Shavuot some time in the
future.
Many
Christians talk about the new covenant, or testament. It is often used to refer
to a collection of books written by the Apostles. It is also used when some Christians
participate in a ceremony known as communion. While we all talk `about' this
new covenant, most folks do not know the terms that make up this new covenant.
Since most folks consider the new covenant as an important part of their
religion, it becomes clear that we "ought" to know the terms of this
new covenant. Since this is a legal document and has an impact on our lives, we
certainly should be intimately familiar what the terms of this covenant.
First
let me tell you what the new (renewed) covenant is not. It is not the
collection of books commonly known as the New Testament. How do we know this?
We know this because a covenant, or testament, is a contract between two
parties. Webster's unabridged dictionary puts it this way:
"In law, a writing, under
seal, containing the terms of agreement or contract between parties..."
Since
this collection of books merely quotes the terms, and since most of the
writings do not contain the terms of this covenant, it would be poor
scholarship to refer to this collection of books as the "New
Testament".
The
ceremony commonly known as “communion” is not the new covenant because this ceremony
does not mention the words that make up this agreement. While this ceremony
mentions the seal of the new covenant (the cup of wine which represents Messiah's blood), it is does not mention the actual
words that make up this agreement.
So,
what exactly are the words, or terms, of this new (renewed) covenant? The
words, curiously, are found in the collection of books sometimes referred to as
the old covenant (Messiah called it the Torah, Neviim, and Ketuvim which we
translate in English as: The Law, The Prophets, and The Writinngs. These Hebrew
words are referred to, by Jews, as an acronym: Tanach). The prophet Yirimiyahu (Jeremiah) wrote down the words of
this agreement in:
Yirimiyahu
(Jeremiah) 31:31-34 "The time is coming,"
declares HaShem, "when I will make a new (renewed) covenant with the house of
I
have added, in parenthesis, Strong's definition of some of the words. I would
also like to call your attention to the names of the parties that made this
covenant. The first party is called "the house of
This
covenant, between the house of
If
you carefully read this contract, or if you were to take this contract to your
lawyer, you will learn that this contract has not yet taken effect. This
contract becomes effective when everyone knows HaShem. Until everyone knows HaShem,
we will have to be content with looking forward to the time when this contract
is put into effect.
The
actual terms of this new (renewed) covenant appear to be the same terms of the
covenant that HaShem made with the house of
Devarim
(Deuteronomy) 32:46 He said to them, "Take to
heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may
command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law.
We
should also notice what is being written on the hearts. It is Torah. It is HaShem’s
instructions or laws. The implications of this are staggering! This means, that
when this is done, we will no longer disobey HaShem. We will no longer sin!
There is one further implication that can not be ignored. Since HaShem’s people
were obedient in the Garden of Eden, and we will be
obedient in the
Many
folks believe that HaShem's Torah was abolished. They believe that it was
replaced with something better. The writer to the Bereans (Hebrews) anticipated
this when he commented on this new covenant. If we look carefully, we will find
out that the problem with the old covenant was with the people, not with HaShem's
law:
Bereans
(Hebrews) 8:1-13 The point of what we are saying
is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the
throne of the Majesty in heaven, And who serves in the sanctuary, the true
tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man. Every high priest is appointed to
offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to
have something to offer. If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for
there are already men who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. They serve at
a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses
was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: "See to it that you
make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain." But
the ministry Yeshua has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of
which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better
promises. For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place
would have been sought for another. But
God found fault with the people and said: "The time is coming,
declares HaShem, when I will make a new covenant with the house of
So,
if there is nothing wrong with HaShem's Torah, or law, then there is nothing to
fix in His Torah. Therefore, HaShem will fix that which is broken: the people.
After He fixes His people, He will again give us His Torah on a new heart.
Shavuot,
therefore, is the festival of the giving of the Torah. Thirty-three hundred
years ago, HaShem gave us His Torah written on stone, on Shavuot. Two thousand
years ago, God gave us the Living Torah, Yeshua HaMashiach (Yeshua the Messiah), who taught us great
insights into the written Torah. On a future Shavuot,
HaShem will renew His covenant when He write His Torah on our hearts. When He
does this, we will spend eternity walking with HaShem.
We have the down payment of the Holy Spirit that guarantees it. Lets celebrate
this Shavuot by renewing our commitment to obey HaShem and His Torah.
This study was written by Hillel ben David
(Greg Killian).
Comments may be submitted to:
Greg Killian
227 Millset Chase
Email address: gkilli@aol.com
Web page: http://www.betemunah.org
(210) 277-8649
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Send comments to Greg
Killian at his email address: gkilli@aol.com.