We are walking in today: Weekend Meditation--The Renewed Covenant Of The Most High--The Conclusion!!!!!!
Witness difference throughout the Bible: H914 badal--to make a distinction, difference
Lev 10:10 And that ye may put difference H914 between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean;
The Torah testifies...............
Lev 11:47 To make a difference H914 between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten.
The prophets proclaim..................
Eze 22:26 Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference H914 between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.
The writings bear witness...........................
****
Lev 20:25
Ye shall therefore put difference H914 between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated H914 from you as unclean.
So we see that under the Everlasting [New] Covenant, when we identify with the death of Messiah, we become set free from the ‘old’ yoke [of bondage to Sin and the Law]. Messiah then invites us to choose to take upon ourselves a ‘new’ yoke [a yoke of bondage of a marriage covenant with Yahushua].
We might say that Messiah sets us free from the old yoke of bondage to the old master, with the hope that we might voluntarily choose to enter into a new yoke of bondage [marriage] with the New Master. It is in this way that we will find rest, and we learn of the mystery of true delight!
Before we look at the last highlight, we must first state a few observations seen in the Scriptures, in which the ‘Old’ Covenant is contrasted with the ‘New’ Covenant.
Old vs New: A Contrast
Here we will mention a few statements in the Scriptures, in which the ‘Old’ Covenant is contrasted with the ‘New’ Covenant.
First, we must remember that we are not dealing with two separate covenants, but only one — which The Most High calls the Everlasting Covenant. This truth can be seen clearly in (Psalms 89:27-33), when in referring to Messiah, we see the covenant promised to Judah and Israel is called an Everlasting Covenant, but is called a New Covenant in (Jeremiah 31:31-33). We see the same parallels in (Hebrews 13:20), where the Covenant in Yahushua’s Blood is called the Everlasting covenant, but which Yahushua calls a New Covenant in His Blood in (Matt 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20).
The changes or contrasts between the ‘Old’ and ‘New’ versions of the Everlasting Covenant are seen in Scripture as enhancements or upgrades, as it were, to the Everlasting Covenant, whereby all the ‘fine print’ of the Terms and Conditions stated throughout the ‘Old’ Testament writings [the Tanak, also called the Law or Torah] remain intact even today — as they are said to be eternal, and will never be ‘done away.’
Thus we see throughout the Scriptures that the eternal Torah requirements for The Most High’s Covenant People have not changed. They are the same for us, as they were for the Israelites, and for Yahushua, except for the specific changes, or ‘upgrades’ mentioned in Scripture. These New Covenant ‘upgrades’ are summarized in Jeremiah Chapter 31, and are further listed in the book of Hebrews, where these changes are called ‘Better Things.’
As a summary of New Covenant promises in Scripture passages mentioned above (Jeremiah 31 and Ezekiel 36), we saw that The Most High will give His people a new heart, and a new Spirit, and will cause His people to walk in His Torah (Ezekiel 36:26-27). This promise is only part of the Torah revelation that His people will become ‘Born-Again,’ as Messiah becomes ‘birthed’ within them; and they will be filled with the Holy Spirit to enable and empower them.
We then saw that as part of the New Covenant, The Most High promised to put His Law in their inward parts, and write it [internally] in their hearts, rather than [externally] on stone, so that they will have the heart or willingness, as well as the grace or enablement, to obey the Torah (Jeremiah 31:31-33).
Further New Covenant changes are listed in the book of Hebrews. These changes include a change in the Priesthood, wherein Yahushua has become the High Priest, after an eternal order; and a change in the Sacrifice system, wherein the Blood of Yahushua has an active and ongoing role for us today, as His Blood completely removes the consciousness of past sins, and is better than the blood of bulls and goats, which merely covered the sins. As part of the change of the Sacrifices, we are told (in Hebrews 10:8-10) that the ‘not my will’ as spoken in Psalms 40:7, is established as the new sacrifice, which has taken away the old sacrifice.
We have also seen many changes in the Everlasting Covenant that promised to enhance the Believers’ daily walk with Messiah. As a part of these ‘New’ Covenant changes, we see a heightened awareness of the significance of those provisions of the Everlasting Covenant that remain intact.
As one example, Yahushua revealed to us the importance of our participation in Passover, when He revealed to us the ‘New’ Covenant significance of Passover in (Matthew 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:15-20; John 6:53-56). As another example, we can now see the importance of our participation in Messiah’s Sabbaths, after Messiah revealed to us one of the reasons the Israelites were refused entry into the Promised Land was that they “despised His Judgments” [His mishpatim, His eternal ‘House Rules’] and “polluted His Sabbaths” (Eze 20:13,16,20,21,24).
As another example, Messiah has told us in advance that He will reject the Foolish Virgins for two reasons: 1) because they are considered workers of iniquity (Mt 7:23), which tells us they were in disobedience to the law of Moses; and 2) He did not know them [they avoided the Everlasting Covenant provision that allows His Born-again people to know Him (Ex 31:13; Eze 20:12,20): by keeping His Sabbaths].
He has also told us [in advance] by His prophets that His final judgment against the earth’s inhabitants is for the same reason — because they have broken His Everlasting Covenant (Isaiah 24:5), which in context, appears to be soon-coming.
We have seen a few contrasts between the ‘Old’ and ‘New’ versions of The Most High’s Everlasting Covenant.
We have noted that the Torah remains intact for Believers today in the New Covenant. We must now state, however, that according to the Torah, the ‘New’ Covenant — and the ‘new’ yoke — is not one of ‘required’ obedience, or compulsion.
The New Covenant: No Compulsion
Perhaps the most surprising feature of the ‘New’ Covenant is that it remains as The Most High’s Everlasting Covenant, but it is now a Covenant in which obedience is no longer required. Under the ‘Old’ Covenant, obedience was required, under threat of death. Under the ‘New’ Covenant however, there is no compulsion to come under a ‘yoke’ [of bondage] of obedience to the Covenant. This difference can be understood in light of The Most High’s purposes.
Among the ‘New’ Covenant changes is the removal of the obligation to obey the Law [Torah]. In its place is the opportunity for the Believer to voluntarily choose to obey the Law [Torah]. As we saw above under the heading, ‘Yokes of Bondage,’ this last change is according to Torah, and reveals some of Fathers purposes in these last days.
One of Father’s purposes today is to find a Bride suitable for His Son. Father is looking for those who love His Son — that is, He is looking for those who keep His Commandments (John 14:15). He is looking for those who know His Son — who know that Messiah is the one who gave the Commandments to Moses. Thus Father is looking for those who are Born-Again (who have Messiah ‘birthed’ within them), and who demonstrate that they know the identity of His Son, by their obedience to Messiah’s Commandments written in the Law [the Torah].
When a Believer becomes ‘Born-Again,’ he is at that time set free from the old yoke of bondage, as discussed above under the heading, ‘Yokes of Bondage.’ Messiah then invites that one to come under a ‘New’ yoke of bondage, to become a bond servant of the Master. Notice however, that Yahushua does not compel anyone to become a bond servant. He does, however, compel people to come to Him to be set free, and to repent, and then compels them to come in to dine with Him.
He then desires that those that come to Him, would voluntarily enter into the bond of the ‘New’ Covenant with Him; and that because of their love for their Master, they would become yoked as bondservants to obedience to Him, and to His Word.
Love, by its very nature, can not be made compulsory; it must be of the free will, and of the heart. Yahushua sets us free, so that we are then truly free to choose whom we will serve. We may then choose to serve Him, and to please Him, and delight to do His will, or we may choose not to do so. Whatever choice we make, reveals whether we love Him, or not. However, let us also remember that He has told us:
“No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” (Luke 16:13)
Here Yahushua warns us, that after we have been set free from the old master [sin, and the obligation to obey the Law, under threat of death], we now have a choice of whom we will serve. The Most High sees to it that everyone must serve one master or another. Let us recall this passage:
“Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” (Romans 6:16)
After being set free, many choose not to be in bondage, thinking they are free. There is no compulsion whatsoever. However, the above passage reveals that unless we voluntarily choose to serve [in obedience to the eternal Scriptures], which leads to the fruit of righteousness, we will end up serving sin, which results in death.
It is our choice of whom we will obey.
Many spiritual Leaders today have understood one side of the coin of Paul’s writings, but have failed to see the other side of the coin. They understand that as Believers we have ‘died to’ the bondage of the Law, and to sin. They are in grave error, however, to think the eternal Law [Torah] has been ‘done away’ or replaced.
According to the Scriptures, if the Law [the Torah] were ‘done away, we would not be forgiven by the Blood of Yahushua — because it is the Torah that prescribes forgiveness by an acceptable Blood sacrifice — and so it is only by the Torah that we are redeemed by Yahushua’s Blood, and forgiven of our sins (Hebrews 9:22).
Conclusion
We have seen that under the ‘New’ Covenant, the Believers are promised a new heart, and a new spirit, prefiguring the experiences of being ‘Born-Again’ and being filled with the Holy Spirit;
We have seen that under the ‘New’ Covenant, the eternal Commandments of Torah are no longer external, written on tables of stone, but are now internal, written on the heart, prefiguring obedience to the same, eternal Torah.
We have seen that the ‘New’ Covenant provides everything for us that the ‘Old’ Covenant could not provide, but most importantly, the Grace Messiah gives us, as He lives within us by His Spirit, to enable us, and to empower us to be obedient.
We have seen that under the ‘New’ Covenant, instead of trying to obey the Commandments by our own strength, our own ability, it is now ‘Messiah-in-us’ who gives us the ‘Grace’ — the delight, and the ability, to keep His Commandments!
We have seen that under the ‘New’ Covenant, we too will delight in the Law in the inward man, just as did the apostle Paul (Romans 7:22), when we, as Paul, begin to walk in obedience to Messiah’s eternal and Everlasting New Covenant — According to the Scriptures.
Although we have touched on a few highlights of the New Covenant, there is much yet to discuss. We must yet look at Father’s Everlasting Covenant, to see further details of how the ‘Old’ is related to the ‘New,’ and how we are to ‘connect the dots’ in our understanding.
We must look further at Passover, to see how the Blood of the New Covenant is to be sprinkled physically within the Holy place [our inner man] of our Tabernacle or Temple [our bodies].
We must look further at some of the Difficult Words of Paul, and see how these all confirm the many sublime features of Father’s Everlasting Covenant
Ye shall therefore put difference H914 between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated H914 from you as unclean.
So we see that under the Everlasting [New] Covenant, when we identify with the death of Messiah, we become set free from the ‘old’ yoke [of bondage to Sin and the Law]. Messiah then invites us to choose to take upon ourselves a ‘new’ yoke [a yoke of bondage of a marriage covenant with Yahushua].
We might say that Messiah sets us free from the old yoke of bondage to the old master, with the hope that we might voluntarily choose to enter into a new yoke of bondage [marriage] with the New Master. It is in this way that we will find rest, and we learn of the mystery of true delight!
Before we look at the last highlight, we must first state a few observations seen in the Scriptures, in which the ‘Old’ Covenant is contrasted with the ‘New’ Covenant.
Old vs New: A Contrast
Here we will mention a few statements in the Scriptures, in which the ‘Old’ Covenant is contrasted with the ‘New’ Covenant.
First, we must remember that we are not dealing with two separate covenants, but only one — which The Most High calls the Everlasting Covenant. This truth can be seen clearly in (Psalms 89:27-33), when in referring to Messiah, we see the covenant promised to Judah and Israel is called an Everlasting Covenant, but is called a New Covenant in (Jeremiah 31:31-33). We see the same parallels in (Hebrews 13:20), where the Covenant in Yahushua’s Blood is called the Everlasting covenant, but which Yahushua calls a New Covenant in His Blood in (Matt 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20).
The changes or contrasts between the ‘Old’ and ‘New’ versions of the Everlasting Covenant are seen in Scripture as enhancements or upgrades, as it were, to the Everlasting Covenant, whereby all the ‘fine print’ of the Terms and Conditions stated throughout the ‘Old’ Testament writings [the Tanak, also called the Law or Torah] remain intact even today — as they are said to be eternal, and will never be ‘done away.’
Thus we see throughout the Scriptures that the eternal Torah requirements for The Most High’s Covenant People have not changed. They are the same for us, as they were for the Israelites, and for Yahushua, except for the specific changes, or ‘upgrades’ mentioned in Scripture. These New Covenant ‘upgrades’ are summarized in Jeremiah Chapter 31, and are further listed in the book of Hebrews, where these changes are called ‘Better Things.’
As a summary of New Covenant promises in Scripture passages mentioned above (Jeremiah 31 and Ezekiel 36), we saw that The Most High will give His people a new heart, and a new Spirit, and will cause His people to walk in His Torah (Ezekiel 36:26-27). This promise is only part of the Torah revelation that His people will become ‘Born-Again,’ as Messiah becomes ‘birthed’ within them; and they will be filled with the Holy Spirit to enable and empower them.
We then saw that as part of the New Covenant, The Most High promised to put His Law in their inward parts, and write it [internally] in their hearts, rather than [externally] on stone, so that they will have the heart or willingness, as well as the grace or enablement, to obey the Torah (Jeremiah 31:31-33).
Further New Covenant changes are listed in the book of Hebrews. These changes include a change in the Priesthood, wherein Yahushua has become the High Priest, after an eternal order; and a change in the Sacrifice system, wherein the Blood of Yahushua has an active and ongoing role for us today, as His Blood completely removes the consciousness of past sins, and is better than the blood of bulls and goats, which merely covered the sins. As part of the change of the Sacrifices, we are told (in Hebrews 10:8-10) that the ‘not my will’ as spoken in Psalms 40:7, is established as the new sacrifice, which has taken away the old sacrifice.
We have also seen many changes in the Everlasting Covenant that promised to enhance the Believers’ daily walk with Messiah. As a part of these ‘New’ Covenant changes, we see a heightened awareness of the significance of those provisions of the Everlasting Covenant that remain intact.
As one example, Yahushua revealed to us the importance of our participation in Passover, when He revealed to us the ‘New’ Covenant significance of Passover in (Matthew 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:15-20; John 6:53-56). As another example, we can now see the importance of our participation in Messiah’s Sabbaths, after Messiah revealed to us one of the reasons the Israelites were refused entry into the Promised Land was that they “despised His Judgments” [His mishpatim, His eternal ‘House Rules’] and “polluted His Sabbaths” (Eze 20:13,16,20,21,24).
As another example, Messiah has told us in advance that He will reject the Foolish Virgins for two reasons: 1) because they are considered workers of iniquity (Mt 7:23), which tells us they were in disobedience to the law of Moses; and 2) He did not know them [they avoided the Everlasting Covenant provision that allows His Born-again people to know Him (Ex 31:13; Eze 20:12,20): by keeping His Sabbaths].
He has also told us [in advance] by His prophets that His final judgment against the earth’s inhabitants is for the same reason — because they have broken His Everlasting Covenant (Isaiah 24:5), which in context, appears to be soon-coming.
We have seen a few contrasts between the ‘Old’ and ‘New’ versions of The Most High’s Everlasting Covenant.
We have noted that the Torah remains intact for Believers today in the New Covenant. We must now state, however, that according to the Torah, the ‘New’ Covenant — and the ‘new’ yoke — is not one of ‘required’ obedience, or compulsion.
The New Covenant: No Compulsion
Perhaps the most surprising feature of the ‘New’ Covenant is that it remains as The Most High’s Everlasting Covenant, but it is now a Covenant in which obedience is no longer required. Under the ‘Old’ Covenant, obedience was required, under threat of death. Under the ‘New’ Covenant however, there is no compulsion to come under a ‘yoke’ [of bondage] of obedience to the Covenant. This difference can be understood in light of The Most High’s purposes.
Among the ‘New’ Covenant changes is the removal of the obligation to obey the Law [Torah]. In its place is the opportunity for the Believer to voluntarily choose to obey the Law [Torah]. As we saw above under the heading, ‘Yokes of Bondage,’ this last change is according to Torah, and reveals some of Fathers purposes in these last days.
One of Father’s purposes today is to find a Bride suitable for His Son. Father is looking for those who love His Son — that is, He is looking for those who keep His Commandments (John 14:15). He is looking for those who know His Son — who know that Messiah is the one who gave the Commandments to Moses. Thus Father is looking for those who are Born-Again (who have Messiah ‘birthed’ within them), and who demonstrate that they know the identity of His Son, by their obedience to Messiah’s Commandments written in the Law [the Torah].
When a Believer becomes ‘Born-Again,’ he is at that time set free from the old yoke of bondage, as discussed above under the heading, ‘Yokes of Bondage.’ Messiah then invites that one to come under a ‘New’ yoke of bondage, to become a bond servant of the Master. Notice however, that Yahushua does not compel anyone to become a bond servant. He does, however, compel people to come to Him to be set free, and to repent, and then compels them to come in to dine with Him.
He then desires that those that come to Him, would voluntarily enter into the bond of the ‘New’ Covenant with Him; and that because of their love for their Master, they would become yoked as bondservants to obedience to Him, and to His Word.
Love, by its very nature, can not be made compulsory; it must be of the free will, and of the heart. Yahushua sets us free, so that we are then truly free to choose whom we will serve. We may then choose to serve Him, and to please Him, and delight to do His will, or we may choose not to do so. Whatever choice we make, reveals whether we love Him, or not. However, let us also remember that He has told us:
“No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” (Luke 16:13)
Here Yahushua warns us, that after we have been set free from the old master [sin, and the obligation to obey the Law, under threat of death], we now have a choice of whom we will serve. The Most High sees to it that everyone must serve one master or another. Let us recall this passage:
“Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” (Romans 6:16)
After being set free, many choose not to be in bondage, thinking they are free. There is no compulsion whatsoever. However, the above passage reveals that unless we voluntarily choose to serve [in obedience to the eternal Scriptures], which leads to the fruit of righteousness, we will end up serving sin, which results in death.
It is our choice of whom we will obey.
Many spiritual Leaders today have understood one side of the coin of Paul’s writings, but have failed to see the other side of the coin. They understand that as Believers we have ‘died to’ the bondage of the Law, and to sin. They are in grave error, however, to think the eternal Law [Torah] has been ‘done away’ or replaced.
According to the Scriptures, if the Law [the Torah] were ‘done away, we would not be forgiven by the Blood of Yahushua — because it is the Torah that prescribes forgiveness by an acceptable Blood sacrifice — and so it is only by the Torah that we are redeemed by Yahushua’s Blood, and forgiven of our sins (Hebrews 9:22).
Conclusion
We have seen that under the ‘New’ Covenant, the Believers are promised a new heart, and a new spirit, prefiguring the experiences of being ‘Born-Again’ and being filled with the Holy Spirit;
We have seen that under the ‘New’ Covenant, the eternal Commandments of Torah are no longer external, written on tables of stone, but are now internal, written on the heart, prefiguring obedience to the same, eternal Torah.
We have seen that the ‘New’ Covenant provides everything for us that the ‘Old’ Covenant could not provide, but most importantly, the Grace Messiah gives us, as He lives within us by His Spirit, to enable us, and to empower us to be obedient.
We have seen that under the ‘New’ Covenant, instead of trying to obey the Commandments by our own strength, our own ability, it is now ‘Messiah-in-us’ who gives us the ‘Grace’ — the delight, and the ability, to keep His Commandments!
We have seen that under the ‘New’ Covenant, we too will delight in the Law in the inward man, just as did the apostle Paul (Romans 7:22), when we, as Paul, begin to walk in obedience to Messiah’s eternal and Everlasting New Covenant — According to the Scriptures.
Although we have touched on a few highlights of the New Covenant, there is much yet to discuss. We must yet look at Father’s Everlasting Covenant, to see further details of how the ‘Old’ is related to the ‘New,’ and how we are to ‘connect the dots’ in our understanding.
We must look further at Passover, to see how the Blood of the New Covenant is to be sprinkled physically within the Holy place [our inner man] of our Tabernacle or Temple [our bodies].
We must look further at some of the Difficult Words of Paul, and see how these all confirm the many sublime features of Father’s Everlasting Covenant
Shema Selah we are to choose the Most High in all things but what have you chosen?? https://youtu.be/9GD1K9KRruU
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