Jeremiah
31 speaks of the new covenant God will make with Israel. But what is the old
covenant that is being replaced. Most Christians tend to think that the old
covenant is salvation by works and the new covenant salvation by faith. But
that this erroneous is apparent from Paul’s argument in Romans 2 to 4 and 9. The old
covenant was also salvation by faith!!
What
is the old covenant? The old covenant grows out of God’s covenant with Abraham.
So let us look at these covenants with Abraham and Moses.
The
first covenant with Abraham is Genesis 12:1-3 where no works are demanded
except to get out of his father’s house and to go to the promised land. If he
went to the Promised Land God would bless him and make him a blessing.
The
second covenant with Abraham is in Genesis 15:1-11 where an unconditional
promise is given to Abraham that he would be the father of a great nation. In
this covenant, the Exodus event is indicated in verses 13-14 as a part of the
covenant with Abraham. This passage also contains the well-known verse 15:6,
“Abraham believed God, and He accounted it to him for righteousness”. It is
important here to note that the word righteousness carries within it the
meaning of salvation.
The
third covenant with Abraham is in Genesis 17:1-14. Here God begins in verse 4
saying that God’s covenant is with Abraham, to make him the father of many
nations. Verse 7 says that this would be an everlasting covenant with his
descendants and God would give these descendants the promised land. No
conditions are given. The sign of this covenant, that they were chosen by God,
was circumcision (vs 10). To remain in this covenant relationship, they needed
to carry on them the sign of the covenant, otherwise they were cast off (vs
14).
We
now come to the covenant with Moses in Exodus. The Exodus event begins with the
Passover celebration. Again here no conditions are put. God has rescued them
and they were to put the blood of the Passover lamb on their houses so the
judgment would not come on them. No works were required, only an expression of
their faith in Yahweh and the Passover sacrifice.
In
Exodus 19:4-6
‘You
have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My
voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above
all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you
shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”
Verse 5 “if you will indeed obey My voice
and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me “ is seen as a verse expressing salvation by works. But is that true?
Verse 4 says that God has, with no conditions, brought them out of Egypt to
HIMSELF. Now if they lived by obedience
to Yahweh, God would make them a nation of priests, or they would fulfill God’s
purpose for them.
The succeeding verses then spells how they
could make themselves into a nation of priests.
The book of Deuteronomy often speaks of the
Old Testament. These need to be studied carefully. You should note that the
disobedience that leads to separation from God is worshiping other gods and
not breaking one of the commands.
Deuteronomy 4:3-4 makes this very clear.
Those who left Yahweh died and those who stayed with Yahweh lived. Verse 5 and
6 says that if they lived by the Law they would be a testimony to the nations
around them. This is the covenant referred to in verse 13 and the Laws are spelt
out in the succeeding verses.
Deuteronomy 4:23 says that forgetting the
covenant was to worship other gods. Similarly, if you read Deuteronomy 9-12
carefully, you will see that these chapters speak of God’s unconditional love
for Israel and how if Israel obeyed the commands they would fulfill God’s
purpose for them.
This is essentially the same relationship
we have with God in the New Covenant. He saved us in Jesus, and if we are loyal
to Him and avoid other gods, we have salvation. The more we live by the
teachings of Jesus the more we fulfill His purpose for us.
Then what is the difference between the Old
Covenant and the New?
Primarily two.
One is obvious, which is the finished work
of Jesus, so that we know how secure our future with God is. But what Jeremiah
refers to is the writing of the Law in our hearts (Jer 31:33) and we do not
need anyone to teach us (Jer 31:34). Compare this with 1 John 2:27. Here it is
the presence of the Holy Spirit that makes this a reality. So the difference between
the Old Covenant and the New is not Works and Grace, but the out pouring of the
Holy Spirit on all flesh as prophesied in Joel. In the Old I had to fulfil God’s
purpose on my own, in the New I fulfil with the power of the Holy Spirit.
So, let us leave the Old and move on to the
New.
