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The Sinaitic Covenant
When was the
Covenant
First Introduced?
(The 10 Commandments)
I believe that it is fundamental at the outset of our study of the Sinaitic Covenant to
know exactly what it consists of and when it came into being.
Deut. 5:2,3 (KJV) -- The Lord our God made a covenant with
us in Horeb. The Lord made not this covenant with out fathers, but with us, even us,
who are all of us here alive this day.
Vss. 4-6 -- The Lord
talked with you face to face in the Mount out of the midst of the fire ... saying, I am
the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
Vss. 7-21 -- Moses quotes the words of the Lord giving the Ten
Commandments, then --
Vs. 22 -- These are the words the Lord spake unto all your
assembly in the Mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick
darkness, with a great voice: And he added no more. And he wrote them
in two tables of stone and delivered them to me.
I believe it is important to note the opening statement that God made before speaking
to them the Ten Commandments.
Deut. 5:6 (KJV) -- I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out
of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. (Then follows the Ten
Commandments. After completion of giving the Commandments: -- )
Vs. 22 -- These are
the words the Lord spake unto all your assembly. . . And he wrote them in two tables
of stone and delivered them to me.
This would mean that this statement should be included as an opening statement to the
Ten Commandments and had to have been written in stone by His finger in the original copy.
This very clearly states that this Covenant was first presented to those assembled at
Mt. Sinai when God spoke these commandments face to face with them. "These
were not made to our fathers." These were not previously presented to Adam
and Eve or to any one of their ancestors intervening between Adam and Eve to Sinai.
Vs. 22 (KJV) -- And he added no more.
This indicates that the Sinaiatic Covenant consisted entirely of the Ten Commandments
and no more, according to this passage.
Gal. 3:16 -- The promises were spoken to Abraham and his
seed. The Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but
"and to your seed," meaning one person, who is Christ.
What I mean is this: The Law,
introduced 430 years later (not in heaven, not in Eden, not prior to Sinai), does not
set aside the Covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise.
This Law (The Ten Commandments) which was introduced 430 years after the promises made
to Abraham was not and could not have been introduced prior to Sinai or this statement
would be a falsehood.
Neh. 9:13,14 -- You came down on Mt. Sinai; you spoke to them
from heaven. You gave them regulations and laws that are just and right, and decrees
and commands that are good. You made known to them your holy Sabbath and gave them
commands, decrees and laws through your servant Moses.
If the Ten Commandments or the Sabbath were introduced to the ancestors of the
Israelites prior to Sinai these statements by Moses and Nehemiah would be falsehoods.
What Was Nailed To
The Cross?
What I want to present is a few thoughts and facts and passages from Scripture that I
struggled with in order to prove what I had always believed, and most reluctantly was
forced to see that my opposition were not using smoke and mirrors as I had imagined.
This is not presented as any confrontational type of presentation but rather what I
found during my search for truth which conflicted with my historical understanding in this
matter.
I would like to start with Acts 15 -- Read that entire chapter thoughtfully and
repeatedly. Paul, after his first missionary journey, is sharing the gospel with his
Gentile believers in Antioch where he had begun his ministry. Some believers
(Christians) who came down from Judea and said that the Gentiles must be circumcised and
required to obey the law of Moses. Paul and Barnabus, along with some other believers,
made the trip to Jerusalem to confer with the General Conference (Peter, James and John
et.al). There the same debate was entered into by the statement in Acts 15:5
Acts 15:5 (RSV) -- But some believers who belonged to the party
of the Pharisees rose up and said, "It is necessary to circumcise them, and to charge
them to keep the law of Moses."
Read Peter's rebuke to these Pharisee believers who were arguing that these Gentile
believers must keep the law in order to be saved.
Acts 15:8-10 (RSV) -- And God who knows the heart bore witness to
them, giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us; and he made no distinction between
us and them, but cleansed their hearts by faith.
Now therefore why do you make trial of
God by putting a yoke upon the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we have
been able to bear? (The law)
Vs. 11 -- But we believe that we shall be saved through the
grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will. (Not in keeping or in obedience to
the Law)
As a result of this spirited discussion they reached a consensus of what the Gentile
believers may consider as requirements and are warned not to believe all the other things
that the Pharisee believers are urging from the law.
Acts 15:27-29 -- Therefore, we are sending Judas and Silas to
confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and
to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements.
You are to abstain from food sacrificed
to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.
You will do well to avoid these things.
This seems like a strange list of essential requirements. One must remember that
those Gentiles of whom they were speaking were Christian converts. They had been
fully instructed in the new commandment that Christ had given them:
John 13:34 (NEB) -- "A new commandment I give you: love one
another; as I have loved you, so are you to love one another. If there is this love
among you, then all will know that you are my disciples.
Rom. 13:8-10 (NIV) -- For he who loves his fellowman has
fulfilled the law.
The commandments: Do not commit adultry; Do no murder; Do not steal; Do not covet, and
whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: Love does no harm
to its neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law. Then why this
strange list of requirements?
(1) "Abstain from food sacrificed to idols." This was so they
would not be a stumbling block to their neighbor whose faith might be weak. Paul had
told them that these idols of wood and stone were only wood and stone -- but to the
weak in faith it might be a stumbling block.
(2) "From blood, from the meat of strangled animals." The Sinatic
covenant between God and the Israelites had been cancelled. The covenant God had
made with Noah, which applied to all the inhabitants of the earth, was still in effect.
Gen. 9:3,4 -- Everything that lives and moves will be food for
you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. But you
must not eat meat that has its lifeblood in it.
The instructions regarding the eating of meats in the Sinaiatic covenant had ended, but
they were to remember that the covenant that God made with Noah was still in effect.
(3) "Abstain from sexual immorality." The whole basis of the law
of the Spirit is fulfilled in love to ones neighbor. This was to warn them against
getting carried away into a sinful application of this commandment.
I can say that I was perplexed that they were not told about Sabbath-keeping because
these were not Jewish believers who needed no reminding about the importance of
Sabbath-keeping.
My next stop-over was in 2 Cor. 3:7-18 under the heading "The Glory of the New
Covenant."
2 Cor. 3:7-18 -- Now if the
ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters of stone, (No question -- the ten-commandments) came with glory so that the
Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading
though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? (This
was the replacement for the ministry engraved in stone)
If the ministry that condemns men is
glorious, how much more glorious is the Ministry that brings righteousness... And if
what was fading away (the ministry etched in stone) came with glory, how
much greater is the glory of that which lasts?
Obviously, from this, one can only conclude that the ministry etched in stone was
fading away and coming to an end. On the other hand its replacement, the ministry of
the Spirit, was to last forever.
Vs. 13,14 -- ... We are not like
Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while
the radiance was fading away.
But their minds were made dull,
for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant (10 commandments) is
read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away (He
is its replacement).
The ten commandments are the old covenant. The ark was constructed especially to
house this important item and it was given the name "Ark of the covenant"
because it housed this important document written by God's own finger.
I believe it is impossible to read too often this passage about the Glory of the New
Covenant. How could anyone feel the least cheated by having the tablets of stone and
the expanded additional laws and ceremonies in Moses' book of the Law exchanged by
receiving Christ into our lives by His Holy Spirit who directs us when we place ourselves
totally in His hands.
My next stop-over is Galatians 4. There is enough material to write a book on
this subject. The book of Romans is a gold mine. Read all the chapter of
Galatians 4 because it is priceless. I want to confine my remarks to the section
"Hagar and Sarah."
Gal. 4:21-31 -- Tell me, you who
want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says?
For it is written that Abraham had two
sons, one by the slave woman, and the other by the free woman. His son by the slave
woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result
of promise.
These things may be taken figuratively,
for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mt.
Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: (The 10 commandments and laws
associated with it). This is Hagar.
Now Hagar stands for Mt. Sinai in Arabia
and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem because she is in slavery with her
children.
Mt. Sinai refers to the covenant given by God to the Children of Israel through
Moses. The centerfold of that covenant being the ten-commandments.
Vss. 28-31 -- Now you,
brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.
At that time the son born in the ordinary
way persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same
now.
But what does the Scripture say?
"Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman's son will never
share in the inheritance with the free woman's son.
Therefore, brothers, we are not children
of the slave woman, but of the free woman.
Get rid of the slave woman can only be meaning to say --
get rid of the covenant that was given at Mount Sinai. Isn't
that a fair statement? -- "and her son"
This would then mean to ger rid of those who were propagating the binding claims of the
law on the Christian believers. Specifically, the Jews who held to the Old Covenant.
"For the slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with the free
woman's son." This would mean that those who rely on their obedience to The Law
(The Ten Commandments) for their righteousness will have no share in salvation. My
next stop-over -- a passage from Rom. 7:4-6:
Rom. 7:4-6 -- So, my brothers,
you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to
another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God.
For when we were controlled by the sinful
nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore
fruit for death.
But now, by dying to what once bound us
(the ministry etched in stone) we have been released from the law so that we serve
in the new way of the spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.
One more stop-over in Eph. 2. Read the whole chapter carefully, but my emphasis
is under the heading "One in Christ." Vss. 11-22. Paul is reminding
the Ephesians, who were a nation of Gentiles, that:
Eph. 2:12-15 -- Remember that at
that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel, and
foreigners to the covenants of the promise, (The law) without hope and without God
in the world. (The Sabbath and all the law was without access to them. It
didn't apply to them.)
But now in Christ Jesus you who
were once far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he
himself is our peace, who has made the two one (Jew and Gentile) and has destroyed
the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his
flesh the law with its commandments and regulations.
His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, We
keep saying, I don't feel comfortable without the law with its commandments and
regulations -- Christ is OK but why can't I have both?
Vs. 16 -- And in this one body
to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their
hostility.
This barrier, this hostility -- the law with its
commandments and regulations. Through the cross he put to death this
hostility. Isn't this speaking of this ministry etched in stone --
given by God at Sinai -- with splendor which was
soon to fade and be replaced by the ministry of the Spirit? Isn't this the proper
time -- at the cross for its fading splendor to go out
and to be replaced by Christ to which it was pointing all the time? Now to the
finale:
Col. 2:13,14 -- When you were
dead in your sins (we continue to sin in spite of our determination not to and the law
each time reminds us that the penalty for that is death) and in the uncircumcision of
your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ
(We are born again -- dying to self
completely and leaving ourselves in God's hands to serve Him without reservation).
He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its
regulations (tables of stone) that was against us and that stood opposed to us;
(a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear --
Peter) he took it away, nailing it to the cross.
When I review all that I have shown before this passage and the scores of others that
space and time don't permit to include, it is easier to see why I don't have the problem I
used to have to the idea that the law was nailed to the cross.
My own conclusion has become my firm belief that the entire law was replaced at the
cross, for those who fully accept Christ as their Savior, and that now we serve God in a
new way, by dying to that which once bound us (the ministry etched in stone). We
have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in
the old way of the written code.
I doubt if any one of us will end up believing exactly the same as someone else.
I believe the Lord is more interested in how we make use of the truths we do understand
and live them out in our individual lives.
The Changing of The
Covenants
Isaiah 28 reveals the difficulties Christ had in trying to teach His message of
salvation to the Israelites with its changing of the covenants. Note various
renditions:
Isa. 28:9 (Moffatt) -- Whom is
he going to instruct?" They say to me, "to whom does he mean to impart his
oracles?"
NIV -- To whom is he
explaining his message?
Moffatt -- Is it to babies
newly weaned, just taken from the breast?
Gal. 4:1-9 -- What I am saying
is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns
the whole estate.
He is subject to guardians and trustees
until the time set by his father.
So also, when we were children, we were
in slavery under the basic principles of the world (the law).
But when the time
had fully come, God sent his son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under
law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.
Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit
of his son into our hearts, (to replace the ministry engraved in stone -- 2 Cor. 3:7) the spirit who calls out, Abba, Father."
So you are no longer a slave, but a son;
since you are a son, God has made you also an heir...
But now that you know God -- or rather are known by God -- how is it
that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles. (the law)
Do you wish to be enslaved by them all
over again?"
Vss. 10-12 Moffatt -- For he
does nothing but stammer about ‘law upon law, law upon law, line upon line, line upon
line, a little here, a little there!’
Yes, and through stammering lips and in a
foreign tongue will God talk to this people,
The God who told them once where true
rest lay, rest for weary souls, refreshing rest;
Since they wouldn't listen to Him He let them be taken into exile and scattered
over the earth where they were instructed by foreign lips and strange tongues.
Matt. 11:28-30 -- Come to me,
all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you
and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your
souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Vss. 10-12 Moffatt -- And
yet they would not listen. So ‘law upon law, it shall be, law upon law, line
upon line, line upon line, a little here, a little there,’" that will be all the
Eternal has to say to them -- to make them trip
and tumble backward, till they are caught and captured.
The results of relying on their obedience to the law to secure salvation. These
stiff-necked Israelites could not accept that Christ had come to replace the law, with
himself. All the law with all its commandments and ceremonies pointed to Christ, the
giver of the law at Sinai. When the lawgiver came to take this yoke from them (the
yoke that neither they or their forefathers had been able to bear --
Acts 15:10), they refused to listen and insisted on retaining the law and rejecting
the Lawgiver.
Vss. 14ff Moffatt -- (Therefore)
you scoffers, ruling in Jerusalem here, listen to this word from the Eternal: You think
you have struck terms with death, and made your compact with the powers of doom,
(grave) so that the surging scourge of a flood can never reach you, since you are safe
behind a lie and sheltered by a falsehood!
Well, this is the Lord God's word: Here I
lay Sion's foundation, a rare and tested stone, secure and solid (he who has faith in me
will never flinch); I will build Sion up with justice and mould it with equity.
But your safe place the hail shall sweep
away, and floods shall whelm your shelter; Your terms with death shall be revoked, and
your compact with doom shall never hold.
They are trusting in their obedience to the law to protect them from all
catastrophies. They are God's special people (We are the Remnant!). They are
refusing to exchange the covenant given them at Sinai for the One who gave them this law
and covenant.
Gal. 3:22-25 (NEB) -- But
Scripture has declared the whole world to be prisoners in subjection to sin, so that faith
in Jesus Christ may be the ground on which the promised blessing is given, and given to
those who have such faith.
Before this faith came, we were close
prisoners in the custody of law, pending the revelation of faith.
Thus the law was a kind of tutor in
charge of us until Christ should come, when we should be justified through faith;
and now that faith has come, the tutor's charge is at an end.
Heb. 4:1-11 (NEB) -- Therefore we
must have before us the fear that while the promise of entering his rest remains open, one
or another among you should be found to have missed his chance.
For indeed we have heard the good news (gospel)
as they did. (The unbelieving Israelites also heard the gospel.)
But in them the message they heard did
no good, because they brought no admixture of faith to the hearing of it.
It is we, we who have become believers,
who enter the rest referred to in the words, ‘As I vowed in my anger, they shall
never enter my rest.’
Yet God's work has been finished ever
since the world was created; for does not Scripture somewhere speak thus of the 7th day:
‘God rested from his work on the 7th day?’ -- and once
again in the passage above we read, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’
This rest that Christ was offering them was not the Sabbath rest on every Sabbath
day. The Israelites had been carrying out that commandment religiously while at the
same time God was saying that they shall never enter my rest. It is obvious that a
different type of rest was involved in the New Covenant as contrasted with the Sabbath
rest of the old.
Heb. 4:6-11 -- The fact remains
that someone must enter it, and since those who first heard the good news (gospel) failed
to enter through unbelief, God fixes another day. Speaking through the lips
of David after many long years, he uses the words already quoted: ‘Today, if
you hear his voice, do not grow stubborn.’
If Joshua had given them rest, God would
not thus have spoken of another day after that. Therefore, a Sabbath rest still
awaits the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest, rests from his own work as God
did from his. Let us then make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may
fall by following this evil example of unbelief.
The good news of the gospel was the message Jesus was teaching them in Matt.
11:28-30. "Take my yoke upon you ... and you will find rest for your
souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." He was asking
them to replace the ministry engraved in stone which dispensed death for the ministry of
the Spirit which gives life -- 2 Cor. 3:6,7. The
Israelites had never entered that rest because they refused to make this vital exchange,
because of their unbelief.
Since those who first heard the gospel (Jews) failed to enter through unbelief, God
fixes another day... ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not grow
stubborn.’ If Joshua had given them rest, God would not thus have spoken of
another day after that (which day had he spoken of before? --
it could only be the Sabbath. Which day he replaced it with can only be Today.)
Heb. 3:12,13 -- See to it,
brothers, that none of you has a sinful, umbelieving heart that turns away from the living
God.
But encourage one another daily, as long
as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sins deceitfulness.
The work that we are to rest from is our work of trying to earn salvation. Jesus
was inviting them to enter into my rest; I have already accomplished this for you.
All you have to do is accept my completed work for you. If you give me your complete
allegiance I will place my Spirit in you and, as long as you maintain this relationship,
your salvation is assured.
Everyone knows John 3:16 -- perhaps the most popular
verse in the Bible and rightly so. Yet so few have any recollection of the two
verses which follow; that round out what this message is trying to convey.
John 3:17,18 -- For God did not
send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Whoever believes in him is not condemned,
but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the
name of God's one and only Son.
2 Cor. 3:7-9 -- Now if the
ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory ...
will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious?
If the ministry that condemns men
is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness.
The purpose of the law was to bring to every inhabitant of the earth the conviction
that they were sinners as all are guilty of breaking the law. This same law had
condemned them to death as this is the penalty of breaking the law. This was to make
them realize their need of a Savior to save them from this death sentence. Christ
did not come to condemn the world but to save the condemned. Only in believing and
accepting Him do we escape that condemnation, otherwise the condemnation remains.
2 Cor. 3:6 (NEB) -- Such
qualifications as we have comes from God; it is he who has qualified us to dispense his new
covenant -- a covenant expressed not in a
written document, but in a spiritual bond; for the written law condemns to death,
but the Spirit gives life.
Rom. 8:1-4 -- Therefore,
there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ
Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death (Ministry
engraved in stone).
For what the law was powerless to do in that it
was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of
sinful man to be a sin offering.
And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in
order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do
not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
Heb. 7:11,12 -- Now if
perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for it is on this
basis that the people were given the law), what further need would there have been to
speak of another priest arising in the succession of Melchizedek, instead of the
succession of Aaron? For a change of priesthood must mean a change of law.
Vss. 15-19 (NEB) -- The
argument becomes still clearer, if the new priest who arises is one like Melchizedek,
owing his priesthood not to a system of earth-bound rules but to the power of a
life that cannot be destroyed.
For here is the testimony: ‘Thou art
a priest for ever, in the succession of Melchizedek.’ The earlier rules were
canceled as impotent and useless, since the Law brought nothing to perfection; and a
better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God. (The ministry of
the Spirit.)
Heb. 8:8-12 -- The time is
coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and
with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their
forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did
not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord.
This covenant I will make with the house
of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and
write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. .
. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no
more." (Quoted from Jeremiah 31:31-34).
Vs. 13 -- By calling this
covenant "New" He has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and
aging will soon disappear.
Can this leave any doubt that the Sinaiatic covenant has been canceled and a new
covenant substituted? Not only that, but it is not like the covenant He made with
them at Sinai when He took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt. Could it be
that our refusal to accept Christ as the replacement for the "ministry engraved in
stone" might cause God to harden us in that decision as He did to the Israelites for
the same reason?
Sabbath Keeping
Jer. 17:19-27 -- This is what
the Lord said to me: "Go and stand at the gate of the people, through which the kings
of Judah go in and out; stand also at all the other gates of Jerusalem.
Say to them, ‘hear the word of the
Lord, O kings of Judah and all people of Judah and everyone living in Jerusalem who come
through these gates.
This is what the Lord says: Be careful
not to carry a load on the Sabbath day, or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem.
Do not bring a load out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath
day holy, as I commanded your forefathers. Yet they did not listen or pay attention;
they were stiff-necked, and would not listen or respond to discipline.
But, if you are careful to obey me,
declares the Lord, and bring no load through the gates of this city on the Sabbath,
but keep the Sabbath day holy by not doing any work on it, then kings who sit on David's
throne will come through the gates of this city with their officials. They and their
officials will come riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by the men of Judah and
those living in Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever...
But, if you do not obey me to keep the
Sabbath day holy by not carrying any load as you come through the gates of Jerusalem on
the Sabbath day, then I will kindle an unquenchable fire in the gates of Jerusalem that
will consume her fortresses."
No question about it -- carrying a load through the
gates of the city on the Sabbath was a flagrant example of Sabbath-breaking, with dire
consequences promised the offender, and great promises made to the nation if they were
faithful in obedience to this requirement.
Neh. 13:15-21 -- In those days I
saws men in Judah treading wine presses on the Sabbath and bringing in grain and loading
it on donkeys, together with wine, grapes, figs and all other kinds of loads. And
they were bringing all this into Jerusalem on the Sabbath.
Therefore, I warned them against selling
food on that day. Men from Tyre who lived in Jerusalem were bringing in fish and all
kinds of merchandise and selling them in Jerusalem on the Sabbath to the people of Judah.
I rebuked the nobles of Judah and said to
them, "What is this wicked thing you are doing -- desecrating
the Sabbath day? Didn't your forefathers do the same things, so that our God brought
all this calamity upon us and upon this city? Now you are stirring up more wrath
against Israel by desecrating the Sabbath.
When evening shadows fell on the gates of
Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I ordered the doors to be shut and not opened until the
Sabbath was over. I stationed some of my own men at the gates so that no load
could be brought in on the Sabbath Day.
Once or twice the merchants and sellers
of all kinds of goods spent the night outside Jerusalem. But I warned them and said,
"Why do you spend the night by the wall? If you do this again, I will lay
hands on you." From that time on they no longer came on the Sabbath.
This passage further emphasizes that bringing any merchandise into the gates of the
city on the Sabbath was a flagrant example of Sabbath-breaking. Even bringing it to
the gates and waiting for the gates to be opened, following the Sabbath, was unacceptable.
In contrast to these passages we have a glowing description of Post-Second-Coming
Jerusalem with the chapter heading of "The Glory of Zion." Note the
following:
Isa. 60:10-13 -- Foreigners will
rebuild your walls, and their kings will serve you. Though in anger I struck you (Second
Coming), in favor I will show you compassion.
Your gates will always stand open,
they will never be shut, day or night, so that men may bring you the wealth of the nations -- their kings led in triumphal procession.
For the nation or kingdom that will not
serve you will perish; it will be utterly ruined. The glory of Lebanon will come to
you, the pine, the fir, and the cypress together, to adorn the place of my sanctuary; and
I will glorify the place of my feet."
Without question, at the time this is referring to, it appears that the rules are
changed. It is no longer Sabbath-breaking to bring cargoes of merchandise into Jerusalem;
24 hours a day -- seven days a week. And God is
there ruling in His holy tabernacle and is the One who is making this statement.
Perhaps the reason that it is no longer Sabbath-breaking is because the Sabbath has
been replaced. It was a shadow of things that were to come; it being replaced by the
reality, which is Christ.
Wouldn't that help to explain the unusual passage we find in Jeremiah where God is
explaining to Jeremiah the conditions in the Holy Land when He is ruling from
Jerusalem. Note the following passage:
Jer. 3:14-17 -- Return,
faithless people, declares the Lord, for I am your husband. I will choose one of you
from every town and two from every clan and bring you to Zion. (This is
to repopulate Jerusalem after its rebuilding, after the Second Coming, at which time every
wall fell down at the great earthquake from His presence.)
Then I will give you shepherds after
my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.
In those days, when your numbers have
increased greatly in the land, declares the Lord, men will no longer say, The ark
of the covenant of the Lord. It will never enter their minds or be
remembered; it will not be missed, nor will another one be made.
At that time they will call Jerusalem
‘The Throne of The Lord,’ and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor
the name of the Lord.
At that time they will call Jerusalem "The Throne of The Lord." In the
days of the Old Covenant the mercy seat of the ark was called the throne of the
Lord. Jerusalem will be called the "Throne of The Lord" because the Lord
will be dwelling and ruling from Jerusalem in His holy temple.
"When your numbers have increased greatly in the land..." This would probably
represent 2 to 300 years after His Second Coming to have their numbers increase greatly in
the land. At that time the ark of the covenant will never enter their minds or be
remembered. It will not be missed -- nor another
made.
Would not this also indicate that this, along with the Sabbath, have been replaced by
Him to whom all these things pointed forward to? The law was not done away with, but
written in our hearts. Our greatest delight will be to do what He wants us to
do. We will not be required to have a check list of do's and dont's to keep us
oriented. We will have no uncertainty as to His requirements for us.
Our entire existence will be built around loving God with all our heart, mind, and
soul; and loving our neighbor as God loves us. This, Paul states, fulfills all the
requirements of the law.
Sabbath And The Law
In speaking this Covenant to the Israelites at Horeb (Deut.5:7-21) God states the
following as a part of the Fourth Commandment:
Deut. 5:15 (KJV) -- And remember
that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out
thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: Therefore the Lord thy God
commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day.
Therefore: (Webster's Unabridged) --
(1) For this or that reason.
(2) Consequently.
Deut. 5:15 (KJV) -- Therefore
the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day.
Therefore -- Webster: For this is the reason
(KJV) -- The Lord thy God
commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day.
(Berkeley) -- This is why
the Lord has commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
Deut. 5:22 (KJV) -- These
words the Lord spake unto your assembly in the Mount out of the midst of the fire, of the
cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and he added no more.
And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me.
The above passages sets in stone, so to speak, that the Covenant God gave at Sinai
consisted of the Ten Commandments. In speaking this Covenant to them face to face,
He spoke the Ten Commandments: And he added no more.
This should help us to see also that the Sabbath was special between God and the
Israelites. It was to remind them of their miraculous deliverance from slavery in
Egypt. This, along with the Passover, Feast of Unleaven Bread, and the other yearly
feasts had great meaning which applied only to the Israelites.
God stated that the reason He had them observe the Sabbath was for them to remember His
great deliverance of them from slavery in Egypt. In no manner could any Gentile
meaningfully share that experience of remembrance in the same way. This is the
reason that all of these religious celebrations associated with this Covenant constituted
an important part of the enmity, the dividing wall of hostility that separated the Jews
and Gentiles. To combine the two into one body in Christ, this dividing wall was
broken down by abolishing this Covenant with its commandments and regulations through the
cross. (Eph. 2:14-16 NIV)
Lev. 23:1,2 -- The Lord said to
Moses, "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: These are my appointed feasts, which
you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.
Vss. 3-43 -- (He then lists in
order and describes each of these appointed feasts.)
1. The Sabbath
2. Passover & Unleavened Bread
3. First fruits
4. Feast of Weeks
5. Feast of Trumpets
6. Day of Atonement
7. Feast of Tabernacles
Vs. 44 -- So Moses announced to
the Israelites the appointed feasts of the Lord.
The Lord instructed Hosea, a contemporary of Isaiah, to marry an adulterous woman
(Gomer) so as to give him insight into God's relationship with Israel. Israel was in
a deep state of spiritual adultery in their relationship with the Lord. The Lord
tells Hosea of some of his future plans for Israel:
Hosea 2:11 -- I will stop all
her celebrations; her yearly festivals, her new moons, her Sabbath days -- all her appointed feasts."
This is explicit in stating that all her appointed feasts will be brought to an end.
Leviticus 23 names and describes all the appointed feasts of the Lord which they
were commanded to observe.
Col. 2:13,14 -- When you were
dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with
Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with
its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away,
nailing it to the cross...
Vss. 16,17 --
Therefore (for this reason) do not let anyone judge you by what you eat
or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a new moon celebration or a Sabbath
day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however is
found in Christ.
In Hosea we are informed prophetically that all these appointed feasts will come to an
end sometime in the future. In Colossians we are told that this has happened. The
time being when these shadows of things to come met the reality which was Christ.
The very thing that all these feasts pointed forward to. The reason not to let
anyone judge you in what you eat or drink or to any of the appointed feast days was
because Christ had canceled the written code (10 Commandments) with its regulations ...
nailing it to the cross.
Rom. 7:1-6 (An illustration from marriage) --
The law has authority over a man only as long as he lives.
For example, by law a married woman is
bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from
the law of marriage. So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still
alive, she is called an adultress. But if her husband dies, she is released from
that law and is not an adultress, even though she marries another man.
So, my brothers, you also died to the law
(to which we had been married) through the body of Christ, that you might belong to
another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to
God.
For when we were controlled by the sinful
nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore
fruit for death.
But now, by dying to what once bound us,
(the ministry engraved in stone) we have been released from the law so that we
serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.
Now by dying to what once bound us (the ministry engraved in stone) we have been
released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit. We often
complain that we prefer to retain the ministry engraved in stone and to serve in the new
way of the Spirit as well.
In the analogy above this would be called adultery in the civil example and totally
unacceptable to the new spouse. Isn't it "spiritual adultery" in the
spiritual application and just as unacceptable to our new "Spiritual Spouse?"
The reason for this feeling of insecurity without the "ministry engraved in
stone" is that it has become first in our lives and the replacement (Christ) doesn't
give that same comfort to us because He has not been first in our lives.
Now we come to a touchy subject for sure. If the entire law was nailed to the
cross then what happened to the Sabbath? Was it a casualty of that nail? Paul
was running into this problem, especially with the Jewish converts who were having the
same problem as we do today. It's like insisting on visiting privileges with our
former spouse.
Rom. 14:5 -- One man considers
one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each
one should be fully convinced in his own mind.
Some may argue that Paul was speaking of special ceremonial days; however, this
statement is all inclusive and applies to every day alike. He in no way
limited this in any way. Paul's plea was "let us stop passing judgment on one
another." The Jewish converts were having difficulty in adjusting to the gospel
and Paul was calling for tolerance on both sides of the argument.
Gal. 4:3-5 -- So also, when we
were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world (the
law). But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born
under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.
Vs. 9 -- But now that you
know God -- or rather are known by God -- how is it that you are turning back to those weak and
miserable principles? (the law) Do you wish to be enslaved by them all
over again?
Vs. 10 -- You are observing
special days and months and seasons and years! I fear for you, that somehow I
have wasted my efforts on you.
Having previously brought the gospel to the Galatians and explained how the ministry of
the Spirit had replaced the Ministry engraved in stone, he finds Judaizers had undermined
his teachings. He finds them turning back to those weak and miserable principles
(the law) again. He found them observing special days and months and seasons
and years.
These must have been the very things he previously had told them were no longer of any
spiritual consequence. These can only be referring to Sabbaths (days), monthly
ceremonial feasts (months), yearly festivals (seasons) and sabbatical years (years).
These are so listed in Colossians and many places in the Old Testament.
Some say that days refers to ceremonial annual Sabbaths, but these are covered in the
classification of seasons and would indicate an unnecessary replication of something
already stated. "I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on
you." This leaves no doubt as to how Paul felt about keeping these ceremonial
feast days of which the Sabbath being the most prominent one.
Amos, who lived approximately 800 years before the crucifixion, penned a prophecy from
God, in response to the Israelites complaining of how the weekly Sabbaths and New Moon
Festivals were taking up their valuable time that could be better spent in the market
place.
Amos 8:4-9 -- Hear this, you who
trample the needy and do away with the poor of the land, saying "When will the new
moon be over that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath be ended that we may market
wheat?" -- skimping the measure,
boosting the price and cheating with dishonest scales. . .
"In that day," declares
the Sovereign Lord, "I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth
in broad daylight. I will turn your religious feasts into mourning and all your
singing into weeping."
Not only would their Sabbaths and New Moon celebrations be ended, but all their
religious feasts would come to an end. Now we look to see when, if ever, in
subsequent time in their history is there any fulfillment of this confirmed.
Mark 15:33 -- At the sixth hour (Noon)
darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour (3:00 PM) And at the
ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice,. . . . "My God, My God, why have you
forsaken me?". . .
Vs. 37
-- With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.
Some may say that the Israelites continued with their feasts and sacrifices until the
city and the temple were completely destroyed by Titus in AD 70. This is true, but
type met antitype at the cross, at which time all these feasts and ceremonies met their
fulfillment in Christ.
The very fact of their rejection of Christ would reveal why they were blind to this
transfer of the covenants. A blindness which continues to this day. A blindness
which is not scheduled to be removed until the last Gentile is called in (Rom.
11:25). Then, with confession and repentance they will accept Christ as their Savior
and will be reinstated as God's special people. All who belong to Christ are
Abraham's seed and heirs according to the same promise (Gal. 3:29).
Col. 2:13-15 -- When you were
dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with
Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its
regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it
to the cross.
Vs. 15 -- And having
disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over
them by the cross.
Vs. 15 (LB) -- In this way
God took away Satan's power to accuse you of sin, and God openly displayed to the whole
world Christ's triumph at the cross where your sins were all taken away.
Vss. 16,17 -- Therefore do
not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious
festival, a new moon, or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that
were to come, the reality, however, is found in Christ.
From this passage there is no escape. Religious festival (annual feast days); New
moon (monthly ceremonial celebrations); a Sabbath day (weekly Sabbaths). This would
indicate that all of these celebrations are but shadows of the things that were to come.
The reality, however, is found in Christ. This all fits with all the
preceding material that we have been studying.
Any practice which seeks to add to the completeness the believer already has in Christ
only undermines that relationship and the believer's assurance. Any time the
Christian seeks to add to that body of righteousness that is Christ, he is saying that
Christ's righteousness is insufficient and he undermines his own standing with God!
Whenever any mention is made of the law being nailed to the cross there is an immediate
outcry that "now it must be OK to kill, commit adultery, steal, etc., to one's hearts
content. They are not stopping to consider that only in Christ is the law ended.
I would like to demonstrate from Scripture why exchanging the Law (Ten Commandments)
for the Spirit is safe and proper and indispensable. It should not cause anyone to
go into a life of wickedness.
Rom. 7:4 -- So my brother, you
also died to The Law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him
who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. . .
Vs. 6 -- But now by dying to
what once bound us, (the ministry engraved in stone) we have been released from The
Law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written
code (Ten Commandments).
Now that we have committed our lives to Christ we are no longer under the law. It
no longer is our tutor, we no longer are under its supervision. Christ sends His
Spirit into our lives and He directs our lives and, as a result, we bear fruit to God.
Gal. 5:18 -- But if you are led
by the Spirit, you are not under law.
Vs. 22 -- But the fruit of
the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and
self control. Against such things there is no law (none is needed).
Vss. 19-20 -- The acts of the
sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and
witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions,
factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.
I warn you as I did before, that those
who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God (They remain under The Law and
are condemned by The Law).
To those who still feel that The Law is essential to them consider:
1 Tim. 1:9-11 -- We also know
that law is made not for good men but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and
sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their mothers and fathers, for
murderers, for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers -- and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine
that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he intrusted to me.
The New Testament instructs the Christian on every duty: In The New Testament the duty
to worship the Lord, as taught in (KJV):
The first commandment is found —
50 times
The second, idolatry condemned —
12 times
The third, profanity is condemned —
4 times
The fifth, honor mother & father —
6 times
The sixth, murder is condemned —
6 times
The seventh, adultery is condemned —
12 times
The eighth, theft is condemned —
6 times
The ninth, bearing false witness —
4 times
The tenth, covetousness —
9 times
The remarkable fact is that the fourth commandment is not repeated.
Every shade of sins are found in various lists in the New Testament (KJV):
1. Mark 7:21-22 — 13 sins
2. Romans 1:29 ff — 19 sins
3. Galatians 5:19 ff — 17 sins
4. 2 Timothy 1 ff — 18 sins
A disregard of the Sabbath is never mentioned.
Paul was preaching to the Gentiles who knew very little, if anything, about the Sabbath
and in all of his instructions no mention of it as a requirement to keep or adverse
consequences if it is disregarded is made. We (SDA's) have been told that in the
original in heaven it is the only law that has a halo around it -- that it is above
all the others. Why, then, has it been so overlooked by the Bible writers of the New
Testament?
I believe this is further proof that this was a beautiful shadow of more beautiful
things to come. I believe it met that reality at the cross. There the transfer
was made from the shadow to the Substance.
When Did the Sinaitic Covenant
End?
Should it come as a surprise that the Sinaiatic Covenant was nailed to the cross?
Scriptures give us much reason to not be surprised by this:
Gal. 3:16-18 (Phillips) -- Now the promises were made to Abraham
and his seed. (Note in passing that the Scripture says not "seeds" but
uses the singular "seed," meaning Christ) I say then that the law,
which came into existence 430 years later, (not in heaven, not in Eden,
not prior to Sinai) cannot render null and void the original "contract" which
God had made, and thus rob the promise of its value.
For if the receiving of the inheritance
were to depend on the law, then it does not depend on promise. But God gave it to
Abraham by promise.
Gal. 3: 19 (Phillips) -- Where then lies the point of the
Law? It was an addition made to underline the existence and extent of sin but only
until the arrival of the "seed" to whom the promise referred.
(NEB) -- Then what of the law? It was added to make
wrong doing a legal offense. It was a temporary measure pending the arrival of
the "issue" to whom the promise was made.
(Good News) -- Why was the Law given, then? It was
added in order to show what wrong doing is, and was meant to last until the coming of
Abraham's descendent, to whom the promise was made.
(NKJV) -- What purpose then does the law serve? It
was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise
was made.
Vss. 23-25 (Phillips) -- Before the coming of this faith we
were all imprisoned under the power of the Law, with our only hope of deliverance the
faith that was to be shown to us. The Law was like a strict tutor in charge of us
until we went to the school of Christ and learned to be justified by faith in him.
Once we have that faith we are completely free from the tutors authority.
Gal. 3:24,25 (Good News) -- So the law was in charge of us,
to be our instructor until Christ came, so that we might be put right with God through
faith. Now that the time of faith is here, the instructor is no longer in charge of
us.
NIV -- So the law was put in charge to lead us
to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we
are no longer under the supervision of the law.
NKJV -- Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to
Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no
longer under a tutor.
Wuest -- So that the law became our guardian until Christ, in
order that on the grounds of faith, we might be justified; but this faith having come, no
longer are we under the guardian.
These texts in all these translations state that the law was a temporary covenant which
was to last only until Christ should come to terminate its reign. To find any
statements in the Bible to promote the binding claims of the law on our lives after the
time of Christ would be a direct contradiction of the above passages. Of course, we
find no such contradiction.
I have read these passages in all the 13 translations that I have and they all give the
same details. It is not deviously or questionably stated. It is very clear
indeed. Why is it so difficult to accept? It can only be that we must be
trying to justify and hold on to a doctrine that is at odds with the plain teaching of
Scripture. If this were the only evidence, as to the duration of the law from Sinai,
it would be enough. The fact is that there are many other passages just as clear and
pointed which present the same truth.
Eph. 2:14-16 (RSV) -- For he is our peace, who has made us both
one, and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the
law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in
place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through
the cross, thereby bringing the hostility to an end.
NEB -- For he himself is our peace. Gentiles and Jews, he has
made the two one, and in his own body of flesh and blood has broken down the enmity which
stood like a dividing wall between them; for he annulled the law with its rules and
regulations, so as to create out of the two a single new humanity in himself, thereby
making peace. This was his purpose, to reconcile the two in a single body to God
through the cross, on which he killed the enmity.
NIV -- For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one
and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his
flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create
in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to
reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.
Phillips -- For Christ is our living peace. He has made us
both one by breaking down the barrier and enmity which lay between us. By his
sacrifice he removed the hostility of the Law, with all its commandments and rules,
and made in himself out of the two, Jew and Gentile, one new man, thus producing
peace. For he reconciled both to God by the sacrifice of one body on the cross, and
by his act killed the enmity between them.
Weymouth -- For He is our peace -- He who has made
Jews and Gentiles one, and in his own human nature has broken down the hostile dividing
wall, by setting aside the Law with its commandments, expressed, as it were, in
definite decrees. His design was to unite the two sections of humanity in
Himself so as to form one new man, thus effecting peace, and to reconcile Jews and
Gentiles in one body to God, by means of His cross -- slaying by it their mutual
enmity.
NKJV -- For He himself is our peace, who has made both one,
and has broken down the middle wall of division between us, having abolished in His
flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so
as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might
reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the
enmity.
Berkeley -- For He is our peace. Breaking down the
partition wall that separated, He united the two sections. By His own human nature He
ended the feud and demolished the Law of Commandments with regulations, so that in
Himself He might create the two into one new person and thus make peace and through the
cross reconcile them both in one body to God, killing the feud by the cross.
Ordinance: (Webster Unabridged)
1. A direction or command of an authoritative nature.
2. A custom or practice established by usage or authority.
Rom. 10:4 (NEB) -- For Christ ends the law and brings
righteousness for everyone who has faith.
NIV -- Christ is the end of the law so that there may be
righteousness for everyone who believes.
Moffatt -- Now Christ is an end to law, so as to let every
believer have righteousness.
Good News -- For Christ has brought the Law to an end, so
that everyone who believes is put right with God.
RSV -- For Christ is the end of the law, that every one who
has faith may be justified.
Amplified -- For Christ is the end of the Law -- the
limit at which it ceases to be, for the Law leads up to Him who is the fulfillment of its
types, and in Him the purpose which it was designed to accomplish is fulfilled. That
is, the purpose of the Law is fulfilled in Him -- as the means of righteousness
(right relationship to God) for everyone who trusts in and adheres to and relies on Him.
Col. 2:13,14 (NIV) -- When you were dead in your sins and in
the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave
us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was
against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.
KJV -- And you, being dead in your sins and the
uncircumcision of your flesh hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you your
trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, and
took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.
RSV -- And you, who were dead in trespasses and the
uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our
trespasses, having canceled the bond which stood against us with its legal demands;
thus he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
NEB -- And although you were dead because of your sins and
because you were morally uncircumcised, he has made you alive with Christ. For he has
forgiven us all our sins; he has canceled the bond which pledged us to the decrees of
the law. It stood against us, but he has set it aside, nailing it to the cross.
Weymouth -- And to you -- dead as you once were in
your transgressions and in the uncircumcision of your natural state -- He has
nevertheless given Life with Himself, having forgiven us all our transgressions, The
bond, with its requirements, which was in force against us and was hostile to us, He
canceled, and cleared it out of the way, nailing it to His cross.
Are not these passages speaking of this "ministry that brought death, which was
engraved in stone?" 2 Cor.3:7. Also the same that Peter was referring to
in Acts 15:10 as "the yoke that neither we nor our father have been able to
bear?"
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