The Old Covenant

[B-A-C]

Why start a discussion about the old covenant if we are no longer under it? Because I think it helps us understand the new covenant better.
We aren't saved by the law or animal sacrifice or works alone, there is now something called grace. I am sometimes surprised at what grace means
to some people. It seems to some that "Grace" is someone names and she "saved me from something". So exactly what is grace? How does it
save us?

There are a lot of covenants in the old testament, but I will try to stick to covenant concerning sin and the law.

In the old testament, when you sinned, you were supposed to die. Certain sins required being stoned. Rom 3:23; says the price of sin is death.
So God made a way for something else to die in your place. In this case it was usually animals, but sometimes food.was used.

The phrase "sin offering"is mentioned over 100 times in the Old Testament.
Lev 4:14; when the sin which they have committed becomes known, then the assembly shall offer a bull of the herd for a sin offering and bring it before the tent of meeting.
Lev 4:32; 'But if he brings a lamb as his offering for a sin offering, he shall bring it, a female without defect.
Lev 5:6; 'He shall also bring his guilt offering to the LORD for his sin which he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a goat as a sin offering. So the priest shall make atonement on his behalf for his sin.
Lev 5:7; 'But if he cannot afford a lamb, then he shall bring to the LORD his guilt offering for that in which he has sinned, two turtledoves or two young pigeons, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering.
Lev 5:8; 'He shall bring them to the priest, who shall offer first that which is for the sin offering and shall nip its head at the front of its neck, but he shall not sever it.
Lev 5:11; 'But if his means are insufficient for two turtledoves or two young pigeons, then for his offering for that which he has sinned, he shall bring the tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering; he shall not put oil on it or place incense on it, for it is a sin offering.
Lev 5:12; 'He shall bring it to the priest, and the priest shall take his handful of it as its memorial portion and offer it up in smoke on the altar, with the offerings of the LORD by fire: it is a sin offering.
Lev 5:13; 'So the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin which he has committed from one of these, and it will be forgiven him; then the rest shall become the priest's, like the grain offering.'"

These were supposed to be done by a priest. Priests were of the tribe of Levi (also known as Levites). There was a priest named Melchezidek (more about him later).
But the priesthood is generally considered to be started with Aaron and his sons. (Exod 28:1 They were also the "keepers of the Holy tent" which served as a temple.
They wore certain robes and garments (Exod 28 and 29). The animals couldn't be sacrificed by just anyone, it needed to be a priest.

Now these animals couldn't be just any animals. They couldn't be aged, or lame, or sick, or have any blemish at all. These were animals in their prime.

Lev 1:3; 'If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer it, a male without defect; he shall offer it at the doorway of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the LORD.
Lev 1:10; 'But if his offering is from the flock, of the sheep or of the goats, for a burnt offering, he shall offer it a male without defect.
Lev 3:1; 'Now if his offering is a sacrifice of peace offerings, if he is going to offer out of the herd, whether male or female, he shall offer it without defect before the LORD.
Lev 3:6; 'But if his offering for a sacrifice of peace offerings to the LORD is from the flock, he shall offer it, male or female, without defect.
Lev 4:3; if the anointed priest sins so as to bring guilt on the people, then let him offer to the LORD a bull without defect as a sin offering for the sin he has committed.
Lev 4:23; if his sin which he has committed is made known to him, he shall bring for his offering a goat, a male without defect.
Lev 4:28; if his sin which he has committed is made known to him, then he shall bring for his offering a goat, a female without defect, for his sin which he has committed.
Lev 4:32; 'But if he brings a lamb as his offering for a sin offering, he shall bring it, a female without defect.
Exod 12:5; 'Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats
Deut 15:21 "But if it has any defect, such as lameness or blindness, or any serious defect, you shall not sacrifice it to the LORD your God.
Deut 17:1; "You shall not sacrifice to the LORD your God an ox or a sheep which has a blemish or any defect, for that is a detestable thing to the LORD your God.
Exod 12:5; 'Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats
Deut 15:21 "But if it has any defect, such as lameness or blindness, or any serious defect, you shall not sacrifice it to the LORD your God.
Deut 17:1; "You shall not sacrifice to the LORD your God an ox or a sheep which has a blemish or any defect, for that is a detestable thing to the LORD your God.

God did not wants lame or sickly animals. He didn't want stolen animals either.

Mal 1:12; "But you are profaning it, in that you say, 'The table of the Lord is defiled, and as for its fruit, its food is to be despised.'
Mal 1:13; "You also say, 'My, how tiresome it is!' And you disdainfully sniff at it," says the LORD of hosts, "and you bring what was taken by robbery and what is lame or sick; so you bring the offering! Should I receive that from your hand?" says the LORD.
Mal 1:14; "But cursed be the swindler who has a male in his flock and vows it, but sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord, for I am a great King," says the LORD of hosts, "and My name is feared among the nations."

Finally these animals couldn't sacrificed just anywhere. It had to be in a special place the Lord had assigned.

Deut 12:13; "Be careful that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every cultic place you see,
Deut 12:14; but in the place which the LORD chooses in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I command you.

Forgiveness of sins was sometimes an expensive proposition. If you sinned a lot, you had to sacrifice a lot of animals. Everytime you sinned, there was a sacrifice.

Now I'm sure that PETA, the ASPCA, and Save the Whales would have had something to say about the cruelty of all these animals being sacrificed. But on the other hand,
cruelty to animals was much better than the alternative... cruelty to people, death for sin. I'm sure people didn't want to keep paying for these expensive sacrifices.
In some cases, these were a few hours pay, or a days pay, a prime bull was equivalent to a few weeks wages. However some people used sacrifice as an excuse to sin.
They just kept on sinning, and kept on sacrificing. God speaks to this in a few places also.

Amos 5:20; Will not the day of the LORD be darkness instead of light, Even gloom with no brightness in it?
Amos 5:21; "I hate, I reject your festivals, Nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies.
Amos 5:22; "Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them; And I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings.
Amos 5:23; "Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps.
Amos 5:24; "But let justice roll down like waters And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream

Isa 1:11; "What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?" Says the LORD. "I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats.
Isa 1:12; "When you come to appear before Me, Who requires of you this trampling of My courts?
Isa 1:13; "Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies-- I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.
Isa 1:14; "I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them.
Isa 1:15; "So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.
Isa 1:16; "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil,
Isa 1:17; Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow.

Even in the Old covenant, God did not want sacrifices without repentance.

well.. this is getting a bit long, so I will continue in the next message.

 

[B-A-C]

The first sin offering we see in the Bible was by Cain and Abel, one was accepted and one wasn't. Of course Cain and Abel weren't Jews or Israelites, that
race didn't exist yet.

Gen 4:2; And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
Gen 4:3; And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
Gen 4:4; And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
Gen 4:5; But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
Gen 4:6; And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
Gen 4:7; If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

I can't help but think why one was accepted and one wasn't. Perhaps it was the state of heart doing the giving? A clue might be in verse 7.
Gen 4:7; "If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it."

In Isaiah we see the temple of Lord was meant for peoples of all nations, even then.
Isa 56:1; Thus says the LORD, "Preserve justice and do righteousness, For My salvation is about to come And My righteousness to be revealed.
Isa 56:2; "How blessed is the man who does this, And the son of man who takes hold of it; Who keeps from profaning the sabbath, And keeps his hand from doing any evil."
Isa 56:3; Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say, "The LORD will surely separate me from His people." Nor let the eunuch say, "Behold, I am a dry tree."
Isa 56:4; For thus says the LORD, "To the eunuchs who keep My sabbaths, And choose what pleases Me, And hold fast My covenant,
Isa 56:5; To them I will give in My house and within My walls a memorial, And a name better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off.
Isa 56:6; "Also the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, To minister to Him, and to love the name of the LORD, To be His servants, every one who keeps from profaning the sabbath And holds fast My covenant;
Isa 56:7; Even those I will bring to My holy mountain And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples."
Isa 56:8; The Lord GOD, who gathers the dispersed of Israel, declares, "Yet others I will gather to them, to those already gathered."

Even the foreigners (Gentiles) were expected to follow certain rules if they wanted "to be joined with the Lord".

1 Kings 8:38; whatever prayer or supplication is made by any man or by all Your people Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart, and spreading his hands toward this house;
1 Kings 8:39; then hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive and act and render to each according to all his ways, whose heart You know, for You alone know the hearts of all the sons of men,
1 Kings 8:40; that they may fear You all the days that they live in the land which You have given to our fathers.
1 Kings 8:41; "Also concerning the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel, when he comes from a far country for Your name's sake
1 Kings 8:42; (for they will hear of Your great name and Your mighty hand, and of Your outstretched arm); when he comes and prays toward this house,
1 Kings 8:43; hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know Your name, to fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by Your name.
1 Kings 8:44; "When Your people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatever way You shall send them, and they pray to the LORD toward the city which You have chosen and the house which I have built for Your name,
1 Kings 8:45; then hear in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.
1 Kings 8:46; "When they sin against You (for there is no man who does not sin) and You are angry with them and deliver them to an enemy, so that they take them away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near;
1 Kings 8:47; if they take thought in the land where they have been taken captive, and repent and make supplication to You in the land of those who have taken them captive, saying, 'We have sinned and have committed iniquity, we have acted wickedly';
1 Kings 8:48; if they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who have taken them captive, and pray to You toward their land which You have given to their fathers, the city which You have chosen, and the house which I have built for Your name;
1 Kings 8:49; then hear their prayer and their supplication in heaven Your dwelling place, and maintain their cause,
1 Kings 8:50; and forgive Your people who have sinned against You and all their transgressions which they have transgressed against You, and make them objects of compassion before those who have taken them captive, that they may have compassion on them
1 Kings 8:51; (for they are Your people and Your inheritance which You have brought forth from Egypt, from the midst of the iron furnace),
1 Kings 8:52; that Your eyes may be open to the supplication of Your servant and to the supplication of Your people Israel, to listen to them whenever they call to You.
1 Kings 8:53; "For You have separated them from all the peoples of the earth as Your inheritance, as You spoke through Moses Your servant, when You brought our fathers forth from Egypt, O Lord GOD."

Apparently anyone who wanted to be "joined with the Lord" was included in this.
Some believe the old law and old covenant was for the Jews only. Yet as we see above even the Gentiles had to follow the same rules as the Jews.
Even Abraham when he was ready to offer up Isaac wasn't a Jew. Cain and Abel weren't Jews. The foreigners who went to the priests and the temple
of the Lord who "repented" weren't Jews. The 10 commandments were given to the Israelites as they wandered in the desert looking for the "promised land".
The first time the commandments were read in the promised land.. Gentiles were there.

Jos 8:30; Then Joshua built an altar to the LORD, the God of Israel, in Mount Ebal,
Jos 8:31; just as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded the sons of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of uncut stones on which no man had wielded an iron tool; and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings.
Jos 8:32; He wrote there on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written, in the presence of the sons of Israel.
Jos 8:33; All Israel with their elders and officers and their judges were standing on both sides of the ark before the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, the stranger as well as the native. Half of them stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses the servant of the LORD had given command at first to bless the people of Israel.
Jos 8:34; Then afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the book of the law.
Jos 8:35; There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel with the women and the little ones and the strangers who were living among them.

If we jump to the New Testament for a second....

Rom 3:9; What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Gentiles are all under sin;
Rom 3:22; even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;
Rom 3:23; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Rom 3:24; being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;

It seems there is no difference between sins of Gentiles and sins of Jews, there is no distinction. ALL have sinned.
Back to the Old testament...

Eccl 12:13; The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.
Eccl 12:14; For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.

The same judgment is for all people.

So what does all this old testament sacrifice stuff have to do with Jesus? I'm glad you asked. Stay tuned.

 

[B-A-C]

In the Old Testament, when people died, they went to Sheol, this is a Hebrew word, it simply means...

The grave, the pit, the earth, or possibly some subterranean place. In the New Testament, the same place is a Greek work called Hades.
In English this is usually translated as hell.

In the Old Testament, not much is mentioned about people after they go the Sheol. I was unable to find any place in the Old Testament where people
who are there have any consciousness or awareness. It seems Saul when he was brought up from Sheol by the seer of Endor mentioned that he was asleep.
There is also very little in the Old Testament that talks about what happens to us after we go to Sheol.

Hos 13:14; Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol? Shall I redeem them from death? O Death, where are your thorns? O Sheol, where is your sting? Compassion will be hidden from My sight.

(This verse is quoted in 1 Cor 15:55-56

Amos 9:2; "Though they dig into Sheol, From there will My hand take them; And though they ascend to heaven, From there will I bring them down.

These two verses are considered prophecy of "there must something after death".
In Genesis 25:8; Abraham was "gathered up to his people" after he died. In Genesis 25:17; we see the same thing for Ishmael (Ishmael wasn't a Jew BTW).
In Genesis 35:29; we see the same thing for Isaac. In Genesis 49:33; we see the same thing for Jacob. There are a few other places also.

In Judaism, it is taught that the resurrection doesn't happen until the age of the Messiah. Mainstream Orthodox Judaism does not believe that resurrection
is an "on going" event that happens every time someone dies, but rather will happen all at once for "God's chosen people" when the Messiah comes.

Of course we as Christians believe Jesus is the Messiah, and the resurrection of believers has not happened yet. Some Christians believe that the
resurrection is an on-going event that happens every time someone dies. Others believe the "dead in Christ" will rise at the time of the rapture.

John 5:28; "Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice,
John 5:29; and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.

In the new testament it mentions that both the "good" and the "evil" will be resurrected at a certain hour. ( Also see John 11:24; and 1 Thes 4:16; )
Some believe there are at least two resurrections.

Rev 20:5; The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection.

Another word for sheol or Hades is Gehenna, every time (except once) Gehenna is mentioned in the New Testament, it is Jesus speaking. The one exception is James 3:6;

There is no mention of the Lake of Fire in the Old Testament. However the Jews of the old testament did believe in punishment for the wicked in the after life. This is confirmed by
Jesus and the apostles in the New Testament.

 

[B-A-C]

In the Old Testament there weren't just 10 commandments. There were between 300 and 615 depending on who you talk to and how they are interpreted.
Much of the discrepancy seems to be due to duplicates. ( For example Lev 18:22; and Lev 20:13; are sometimes viewed as two separate commandments )

But it all came down to obey the commandments as best you can. If you mess up, have a priest sacrifice an animal to atone for your sins.
Breaking the commandments or not doing God's will is called "sin". Amazingly there are some Christians who believe that the commandments have nothing to
do with sin, yet they believe they can sin. I have asked many of them to give me an example of a sin, but so far none of them have been able to.
Even in the old Testament some believers were hypocrites who didn't take obedience and and sacrifice seriously. Some used animal sacrifices as an excuse to
sin whenever they wanted. I can't help but think of the Roman Catholic practice of indulgences here. If you didn't follow the commandments and sacrifice
then you went to Sheol/Hades/Gehenna, if you did follow the commandments you went to Abraham Bosom (as part of the gathering of "his people").
One of the main rituals that involved the Jewish faith was circumcision. (this seems unfair for males in my opinion :smiley But generally if you were circumcized
that was a statement that "I believe in God and will follow his commandments".

 

[B-A-C]

One thing that really is sort of vague in the old testament is the idea of something called "sin transference".
The animal that was sacrificed took on your sins. He paid the price for the penalty of sin (death), however the poor helpless animals didn't sin.
It was your sin that caused him to die.

This is brought to clearer light in the New Testament. Jesus is called the lamb of the world, and the lamb that was slain. What is the significance of that?
Gal 1:4; Heb 9:28; Heb 10:12; and 1 Pet 2:24; and Isa 53:12; say that Jesus bore our sins. Isa 53:5; and Isa 53:10; are a prophecy of this.
2 Cor 5:21; says Jesus became sin.. this is sometimes difficult to understand, but first of all it wasn't His, it was ours. Second Jesus didn't become the sinful nature,
but rather he took on our sins, He bore the sins of the whole world. He paid the price (death) for our sins. He was the lamb that paid the price.
John 1:29; John 1:36; 1 Pet 1:19; Acts 8:32; Rev 5:12;

Rev 7:14; says our sins where made white by the blood of the Lamb. In fact the word "Lamb" is mentioned 36 times in the New Testament and all but 2 occurances
of this word is in reference to Jesus.

The other point here is, Jesus wasn't only the sacrifice for our sins, but He is also the high priest for us. More about that coming.
The other thing I can't help but notice here, is that like the old testament, the more you sinned, the more sacrifice that was required.

Luke 7:40; And Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." And he replied, "Say it, Teacher."
Luke 7:41; "A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.
Luke 7:42; "When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?"
Luke 7:43; Simon answered and said, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more." And He said to him, "You have judged correctly."

It seems Jesus had to pay more for the sins of some than for others.

 

[B-A-C]

In the OP I mentioned "Grace" (whoever she is).
But here is grace...

Rom 5:7; For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die.
Rom 5:8; But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Rom 5:9; Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.

Jesus didn't deserve to die. We did (and still do). He didn't sin. We did. Yet he paid the price for us. That's grace.
He was beaten, whipped, stripped, thorned, pierced by a spear, mocked, and crucified. For you, because He loved you that much. That's grace.
Amazing grace. Would you die for someone else you knew was guilty? Would you be tortured for that guy who cut you off in traffic this morning?
Would you take a beating for others here on TJ that disagree with you? Maybe you would for your spouse or children, but would you do it for
a stranger that you knew was guilty and did something terrible to you? Maybe they raped your wife or molested you children or killed your parents.
Would you die for them? That's grace!!

But it gets even better. Not only did Jesus save us from hell, eternal punishment and death. But we have eternal life. We are called "joint-heirs" with Christ.
We get to rule and reign with Him. We get to see the wonders of the New Jerusalem and Heaven. We get to be re-united with other believers. We get
to know God the father. That's grace!!