P5: Old & New Covenants

If you have not done so already, go read my former posts as they lay the foundation for this post and posts to come.

Now we know that God has/is using this exact covenant framework or model for both the old and the new covenants. For the old, the betrothal was the contract God gave Abraham (Genesis 15:18), the gift/promise was the promise land (Genesis 15:18). The giving of the law (Exodus~Deuteronomy) was the wedding/confirmation of the contract. The 40 years in the wilderness was the honeymoon, and we know from Hosea (Hosea married a unfaithful woman as a example to Israel) that God refused to divorce His unfaithful bride, (Israel) instead, He died (Romans 7:1~3) to fulfill the covenant so He could setup His new covenant (the church, Matthew 16:18). His death/resurrection marked the betrothal, the gift/price was eternal life (John 3:5) and the promise/confirmation was the Holy Spirit (John 14:16). We are now waiting for the wedding (Second coming), and the millennial kingdom will be the honeymoon. At some point afterwards, we will be adopted as sons (Ephesians 1:5) and the framework of marriage will cease, as outlined by Christ where He said there will be no marriage in heaven (Matthew 22:30).

It is extremely important to understand there are major differences between the two covenants. The first one was a material covenant, it was based upon blessings and curses, you do this and you get these earthly material blessings. God never promised eternal life to Israel, actually a lot of the Jews did not even believe there was an after life. (Acts 23:8) Jesus said, old out, new in, and the new was completely different. (Matthew 9:16~17, Jeremiah 31:33), that means all of the old covenant blessings and curses do not apply, neither does the law, because God is writing the law into their hearts (The Holy Spirit) so a written law is not applicable. Paul explained that in 1 Corinthians 3, he call them “babies” in Christ because they still needed written carnal instructions instead of following the Holy Spirit. Those that believed that any part of the old covenant applied where referred to as false teachers, judaizers, false circumcision, and other names. Paul spent the better part of Romans clarifying that the old covenant does not apply to a believer and why. Also Acts 15 the council ruled the old covenant did not apply. The new covenant’s promise was the Holy Spirit and eternal life , not earthly blessings. According to Jesus, life would be hard, but we would find joy in the Spirit, not in any earthy things. John 15:19, Romans 12:2. And the new covenant was a personal one on one, not a covenant to a specific biological group of people like the old one was to the Jews and the Jews only.

This completely fits God’s character and intensions for a relationship with His people. It agrees with the canon and the complete story from start to finish, God wants a relationship, just like the relationship in the garden with Adam and Eve. The first covenant did not give Him the relationship he was wanting, giving things to your children does not help them establish a good relationship (parents take note) although the giving of material blessings is great for a short term, the lasting relationship comes from spending time together. In the old covenant God just laid out a bunch of rules, but did not require them to know Him, in the new covenant we are to know Him at the deepest level we can, and sometimes there are material blessings that come from it, but that is not what a relationship is about.