No. 774
“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel . . . Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers . . . which my covenant they brake . . . But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel . . . I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (Jer. 31:31-33)
The Bible sets forth a number of covenants which may be broadly classified as either word covenants or blood covenants. There are only two true blood covenants – the ones mentioned in our opening text. These blood covenants are commonly referred to in the Scriptures as the Law Covenant and the New Covenant, and it is these covenants that particularly concern the great majority of the human race, although certain details foundational to them are found in some of the word covenants. While it is the two blood covenants that primarily concern us, we will offer a few brief comments on the word covenants.
THE WORD COVENANTS
The Adamic Covenant: “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Gen. 2:16-17 – the marginal reading is “dying thou shalt die”) This covenant is found in the very beginning of the Bible, during the first days of human history. The man had no choice in the terms of this covenant. He had to accept it and abide by its terms, or he would inevitably experience the dying process until the grave eventually claimed him. Adam experienced 930 years of “dying,” a thousand years being one day with the Lord. (2 Peter 3:8; Psa. 90:4) As the Apostle phrased it, the world is “dead in trespasses and sins” - all are under the death sentence. (Eph. 2:1)
While the Genesis account does not specifically describe this mandate as a covenant, the Prophet Hosea does: “But they [the Jewish nation] like Adam have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me.” (Hos. 6:7, ASV) Adam attempted to use deceit and shallow arguments after violating his covenant, and the Jews did likewise in their attitude toward the Law Covenant. Although there was no written covenant with Adam as there was with the Jews at Sinai, the “treachery” was nevertheless the same in both cases: both covenants were violated by the human parties falling into sin. There was also another difference: Adam was perfect, and had no innate inclination at all toward sin, and thus his transgression was a deliberate act. The Jews had been born in sin and “shapen in iniquity.”
The Rainbow Covenant: “I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth [the human social order]. . . . And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.” (Gen. 9:13, 15) God pledged the rainbow as a sign that He would never again destroy mankind by a flood of waters. Through the Prophet Isaiah, He likens this covenant to the Abrahamic Covenant, by which He promised He would not forsake the antitypical Sarah or her seed, the Christ: “For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.” (Isa. 54:9-10)
The Abrahamic Covenant: “Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee . . . And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” (Gen. 12:1, 3) This word covenant contains the first intimation of the great Plan of the Ages which will restore to mankind what was lost by Father Adam. It was confirmed, after Abraham complied with its requirements, 430 years before the Law (blood) Covenant was given at Sinai. (Gal. 3:17) The promises God made to Abraham in this covenant are the foundation for all the theology of the New Testament, as expressed by the Lord Jesus, St. Paul, St. Stephen, St. Peter and others.
The Oath-Bound Covenant: “By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord . . . That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore . . . And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.” (Gen. 22:16-18) This covenant reaffirms and elaborates on the Abrahamic Covenant. St. Paul refers to this covenant, making clear that it was a one-sided, unconditional promise, needing no mediator: “For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.” (Heb. 6:13-14) This covenant was the result of Abraham’s attempt, at God’s command, to sacrifice his son Isaac on Mount Moriah, with the Angel of the Lord restraining him at the crucial moment. While this may also be defined as a word covenant, the near sacrifice of Isaac, and the actual sacrifice of the ram in the thicket (Gen. 22:13), suggested things to come later in the blood covenants.
The Oath-Bound Covenant also gave the first intimation that Abraham’s seed would be both heavenly (“the stars”) and earthly (“the sand”). It is a very unusual circumstance that the Oath-Bound Covenant was made with Abraham, (referred to by St. Paul as “the father of all them that believe” – Rom. 4:11), yet he himself is not to be of the heavenly seed. After including Abraham by name among the faithful overcomers (Hebrews, Chapter 11), St. Paul summed up the matter thus: “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.” (Heb. 11:39-40) The “us” is the spiritual Isaac: “Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.” (Gal. 4:28) Jesus verified this conclusion when He stated: “For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God [the “us” class] is greater than he.” (Luke 7:28) Thus, Abraham and the other faithful overcomers of the past will eventually be the children of antitypical Isaac.
The Covenant of Sacrifice: “Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.” (Psa. 50:5) While this is a word covenant, it could in a sense be termed a semi-blood covenant because it involves the death of each individual comprising it – the members of the Christ Company “beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God.” (Rev. 20:4) Not all have come to a violent end (as did Jesus, the Apostles, and many others during this Gospel Age), but each one did truly “pour out his soul unto death.” Thus, each one has furnished the blood, his own blood, to seal his part in this Covenant, each one heeding the appeal of St. Paul: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” (Rom. 12:1)
Yet, none of the participants in the Covenant of Sacrifice had their part sealed by the blood of other men or animals, unlike the two real blood covenants, which we will now consider.
THE LAW COVENANT
“Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the Lord.” (Lev. 18:5) The Law Covenant given at Sinai is the first of the blood covenants. It was proposed by God, accepted by all Israel, and mediated by Moses. In its broad sense, it began with the Passover in Egypt when “the blood of sprinkling” of the typical lamb was observed by each Jewish household on that awesome night. It ultimately embraces practically everything in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Ten Commandments (literally, “ten words”) as given in Exodus Chapter 20, is a terse summarization of it. It is even more briefly stated in the words of Jesus Himself: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” (Matt. 22:37-39)
Jesus taught that all of the Law was typical: “Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” (Matt. 5:18) St. Paul elaborated on this in his epistle to the Hebrews: “For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. . . . Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; Then said he [Jesus], Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.” (Heb. 10:1-9) The things that happened to fleshly Israel were types whose chief object and purpose was to illustrate certain great truths for spiritual Israel: “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world [ages] are come.” (1 Cor. 10:11)
Being a type, the Law must continue until its antitype appears to fulfill every minute feature of it. Once the antitype appears, the type is no longer effective or obligatory upon those involved. Therefore, when Jesus took away “the first” so that He could establish “the second,” He eliminated in one stroke all the animal sacrifices of the Law, which in turn left no more room for the Jewish priesthood or the rituals they performed. However, the “ten words” of the Law still bind those who have not accepted Christ, and that feature of the Law Covenant must continue operative until its antitype, the New Covenant (Jer. 31:31-34), is inaugurated.
The various features of the Law are distributed over four books of the Pentateuch, but the people’s acceptance of it was conveyed by just one simple sentence: “And he [Moses] took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient. And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words.” (Exod. 24:7-8)
The great majority of the people quickly forgot the covenant, most lacking even the will to abide by it. It was soon apparent that even the willing were unable to obey it, because they were not in a perfect condition as was Adam when the Lord’s command was given to him in Eden. Adam could have done what was asked of him, but even those faithful Jews earnestly striving to keep their covenant found that what they thought was a covenant unto life was really a covenant unto death. As St. Paul wrote: “For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.” (Rom. 7:9) Speaking representatively for all Israel, he had come to realize that the Abrahamic Covenant, which assured the blessing of all men, gave hope for a future life. By placing themselves under an ideal beyond their ability to reach, that hope was extinguished, because none could keep the Law Covenant, which mandated death for disobedience.
Unlike any of the word covenants, the Law Covenant had attached to it certain offices and intermediary persons, including Moses as the Mediator, as well as priests, prophets, and kings who performed certain services. While the Law Covenant was typical in all its details, parts of it were to be fulfilled during the Gospel Age, and the remainder during the Millennial Age. Thus, Jesus was the Gospel-Age antitype of the Atonement-Day bullock, and the Church, His Body, has been the Gospel-Age antitype of the Atonement-Day goat as typed in Leviticus Chapter 16. Inklings of the Ransom and the Sin Offering were gradually revealed as the inspired testimony increased through the writings of the various “elders,” the 24 writers of the Old Testament. (Rev. 4:4)
The Law Covenant, with its righteous arrangements for human relations, its superior dietary requirements, its worship of the one true God, and avoidance of all superstition, was very different from the religions of Canaan and the surrounding regions. Thus, it is little wonder that Satan attempted to counterfeit in those heathen religions certain features of the Law Covenant and their antitypes as he understood them. It had been dimly hinted that a deliverer would eventually come to rescue man from the condemnation caused by his willful disobedience in Eden. As it gradually began to be revealed that Jesus would die and then be raised from the dead around Passover time in the spring, Satan concocted counterfeits of this in the heathen religions, especially in Babylon with the worship of Nimrod, Tammuz, etc.
By the time Israel lost its national individuality in 606 B.C. (the beginning of the Gentile Times), the belief was well established in Babylon that the pagan god Tammuz died every spring and was brought back to life, with the women of that city weeping for him. The Prophet Ezekiel wrote how this paganism had permeated Israelite society: “Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the Lord’s house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.” (Ezek. 8:14) Here was the counterfeit of the experience of Jesus: “And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.” (Luke 23:27-28)
The Prophet then saw more abominations: “Then said he unto me . . . thou shalt see greater abominations than these. . . . at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east. . . . Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here?” (Ezek. 8:15-17) These men worshipped a pagan sun god while contemptuously turning their backs to the temple of the true God.
By the time ancient Babylon reached its pinnacle, its Satan-invented religion had with certain variations infected the whole world, inspiring Jeremiah’s words: “Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord’s hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.” (Jer. 51:7) Notice how similar these words are to what the Apostle John wrote about the manipulations of Mystic Babylon – the Roman Church: “And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication.” (Rev. 17:4-5)
Most Christians know little or nothing about the true types of the Law Covenant because they have been so overshadowed by these earlier inventions of the great “serpent” (deceiver). Some of the Prophets were aware to some extent of the situation, as we will see in the words of Jeremiah when he prophesied of a New Covenant.
THE NEW COVENANT
“But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Jer. 31:33-34)
In addition to these words of the Prophet Jeremiah, the Prophet Ezekiel also prophesied of this time when the Lord will restore mankind to perfect manhood in the image of God: “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” (Ezek. 36:26-27)
The Apostle Paul discussed these Scriptures (Hebrews Chapter eight), quoting large portions of them, and then summing them up this way: “In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.” (Heb. 8:13) As the various features of the old covenant are fulfilled, it will pass away. The first verses of the chapter are very to the point about the contrast between the old and the new: “We have such an high priest . . . A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. . . . But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.” (Heb. 8:1-2, 6)
This second blood covenant has already been assured, although its administration is yet future - waiting for the full number of servants to be gathered who will officiate and mediate it between God and the whole human family: “For ye are not come unto the fire mount that might be touched . . . And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words . . . But ye are come unto mount Sion . . . the heavenly Jerusalem . . . to God the Judge of all . . . And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. . . . Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.” (Heb. 12:18-28)
Note that the New Covenant is completely superior to the Law Covenant because it will actually accomplish all it was designed to do. The Law Covenant itself could have had no superior if it had been kept by the Jews, but it was “weak through the flesh.” (Rom. 8:3) Its imperfections were in the human weaknesses of those who agreed to keep it but could not. Their own imperfections made them insufficient to cope with the perfection required in the Law. But the New Covenant, through the better Mediator, will give life to all who will receive it under its easier terms. The Law Covenant and its Mediator brought only the reverse - death.
Why did God make a Law Covenant at all if it was impossible for its human parties to adhere to it? St. Paul offered his usual superb logic on the question: “Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. . . . But before faith came, we were kept under the law . . . Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.” (Gal. 3:21-25) The Law was a “schoolmaster” in that it persuaded all who were persuadable of their inability to save themselves by their works under the Law, preparing them for Christ and His message.
The Apostle gave further enlightenment on this: “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.” (Rom. 10:1-4) Some of Israel earnestly endeavored to keep the Law, but did not submit themselves to the righteousness of God by accepting Christ who is the end (fulfillment) of the Law. They are to be included in the broad classification of the “unjust” - the unjustified of this age – but God will have mercy on them in the Kingdom. (Acts 24:15; John 5:28-29) Of these the Apostle said: “For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.” (Rom. 11:32)
All of the “just” will have a better resurrection than any of the “unjust.” (Heb. 11:35) The blessing of the nations through Abraham’s seed will come from the “stars of Heaven” (the two elect classes raised as spirit beings before the New Covenant can begin to operate) and from the “sand of the seashore” (the two elect classes who will officiate as perfect human beings on earth). “For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” (Isa. 2:3; Micah 4:2) Zion represents the spiritual phase of the Kingdom and Jerusalem represents the earthly phase of the Kingdom.
What of the non-elect - all those who will have part in the resurrection of the unjust? We recognize that there are many noble people among them, as well as many who are not so noble. Will the noble ones be overlooked? Certainly not! Even in the beginning, they will be greatly blessed as they walk up the Highway of Holiness (Isa. 35:8), because it will be easy and agreeable for them to conform themselves to the Kingdom’s righteous laws.
But what of the very wicked? There will undoubtedly be some among them who will come to love and appreciate God’s love and goodness toward them. As they seek to free themselves from their sinful tendencies, they will join with those who walk up the Highway of Holiness and will bow with the knee and confess with the tongue that Christ is Lord. (Phil. 2:9-11) All who walk up this highway will rejoice when they recognize God’s love, goodness, and mercy toward them. It is to them that the invitation will be extended: “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” (Rev. 22:17) Of those who do not so bow and confess, the Apostle said: “And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.” (Acts 3:23)
The features of the New Covenant are succinctly shown by the Psalmist, revealing its superiority over the Law Covenant: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; Who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies . . . thy youth is renewed like the eagles.” (Psa. 103:2-5)
The forgiving of iniquities came without any effort on man’s part – and generally with little or no knowledge that he is receiving this benefit: “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8) Thus, Christ made Himself an offering for sin for us before we knew anything about it being done. The healing of diseases will also be accomplished without men asking for it. In the resurrection day it is evident that the disease which brought someone to the grave must be cured before his awakening; otherwise, he would immediately die again.
Redemption from destruction, however, will require cooperation on the part of the recipients. “God our savior . . . will have all men to be saved, and come unto the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Tim. 2:3-4) But this knowledge of the Truth will not be forced upon anyone; they must willingly cooperate in the educational process, and some will refuse: “Let favour be showed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness.” (Isa. 26:10) That educational process will teach them the physical, mental, moral, and religious philosophies of life which will enable them to live forever in perpetual youth. Then the prophecy will come to pass: “Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom. His flesh shall be fresher than a child’s: he shall return to the days of his youth.” (Job 33:24-25)
The “crowning” means the bestowing of physical, mental, moral and religious perfection, and will also require the cooperation of the recipients. This is emphasized in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats: “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (Matt. 25:34) When the restitution process is complete, each one of the “sheep” will inherit a kingdom – perfect human life with its accompanying life rights – just as Adam had in Eden when he was given dominion over all things on earth.
All of God’s past and present dealings with the children of men are clarified when we fully understand His Plan. We see that all the teachings of the Bible are in harmony with each other, with God’s character, with Christ’s Ransom, with the Holy Spirit’s work, with man’s needs and with the facts. The Bible is thus demonstrated to be the repository of God’s marvelous Plan of the Ages, as well as the glorious expression of His magnificent character. Let us worship, praise and adore Him! “Great and marvellous are thy works, O Lord God, the Almighty; righteous and true are thy ways, thou King of the ages. Who shall not fear, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy; for all the nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy righteous acts have been made manifest.” (Rev. 15:3-4, ASV)
These are indeed “good tidings of great joy” to all people. We send these thoughts forth with the prayer that they will bless, uplift and comfort all who receive them - especially those of the Household of Faith. “I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations. For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth.” (Psa. 57:9-11)
(Drawn from the writings of Brother John J. Hoefle – primarily No. 169, July 1969, with some modifications.)
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“THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW”
Brother Leonard Williams, of Orlando, Florida, entered into the “sleep in Jesus” in January 2021. He came into the Truth as a young man and was a faithful supporter of the Florida Bible house for many years. When such good brethren leave us we feel a deep sadness. We mourn his passing with his family and friends.
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