The New Covenant Wine Is All of God’s Word
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I am curious as to why you left some words out of the quotation from Proverbs 28:25. The CJB says: "A grasping disposition stirs up strife, but he who trusts in ADONAI will prosper."
The NAS says: "An arrogant man stirs up strife, But he who trusts in the LORD will prosper."
The KJV says: "He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife: but he that putteth his trust in the LORD shall be made fat."
At first I thought you might have been taking out the italicized words from the KJV that were never in the original texts, but there aren't any.
The NAS says: "An arrogant man stirs up strife, But he who trusts in the LORD will prosper."
The KJV says: "He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife: but he that putteth his trust in the LORD shall be made fat."
At first I thought you might have been taking out the italicized words from the KJV that were never in the original texts, but there aren't any.
It is written cursed is the man who trusted in his own flesh je17 it is also written Gal 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.also is written in Co 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, and we are to operate accordong to the fruits of the spirit and to live and remain in the spirit is important even not rejecting His Holy Ghost gift for it is like rejecting christ His spiritual blood spilled His life He gave us to live ..
The passage in Genesis 2:16-17 reveals the first covenant God made with man.
16 ADONAI, God, gave the person this order: "You may freely eat from every tree in the garden 17 except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. You are not to eat from it, because on the day that you eat from it, it will become certain that you will die." The features of the “Adamic” or “Edenic” covenant, simply put, are that God required perfect obedience or death would be the result. This is where the idea of it being a “covenant of works” comes from. That doctrine considers the promise of life in return for not breaking the covenant to be eternal life, but I can’t find anything that says that is the case.
First of all, we absolutely must remember that Adam’s sin and subsequent fall was no surprise to God because He told Adam essentially, “when” rather than “if” you eat of the forbidden fruit. Therefore, God had a divine plan in place since before time was and Jesus was right there with Him knowing He would be the means by which man could return to that blessed state of communion with our Creator.
There are other scriptures I’m sure but look just at these to prove the point that it was not a covenant whereby man’s works would obtain for him eternal life.
Eternal life promised through Jesus to God’s elect:
Ephesians 1:4-5 (CJB) 4 In the Messiah he chose us in love before the creation of the universe to be holy and without defect in his presence. 5 He determined in advance that through Yeshua the Messiah we would be his sons - in keeping with his pleasure and purpose –
Titus 1:2 (CJB) God, who does not lie, promised that life before the beginning of time
John 10:28 (CJB) 28 and I give them eternal life.
Romans 6:22 (CJB) 22 However, now, freed from sin and enslaved to God, you do get the benefit - it consists in being made holy, set apart for God, and its end result is eternal life.
Life and immortality are brought to light by the gospel of Christ, not by Adam, Abraham, or Moses:
2 Tim. 1:9-10 (CJB) 9 since he delivered us and called us to a life of holiness as his people. It was not because of our deeds, but because of his own purpose and the grace which he gave to us who are united with the Messiah Yeshua. He did this before the beginning of time, 10 but made it public only now through the appearing of our Deliverer, the Messiah Yeshua, who abolished death and, through the Good News, revealed life and immortality.
Then there is the fact that death is threefold – physical death (Genesis 3:19), spiritual death (Ephesians 2:3-5), and eternal death (Revelation 21:8). God appointed Adam as representative of all mankind, so the fact that we could all be doomed to suffer through this life is actually quite uplifting in that by one man – Jesus Christ – we can also be brought back to the state God originally intended for us. After all, it wasn’t Eve who got in trouble for eating the forbidden fruit – it was Adam – the representative of all mankind. It is obvious that Adam had been told much by God. From the second chapter of Genesis we can see that God literally spoke to Adam. He told Adam to name all of the animals, so there is the proof that he recognized God’s voice, and we see where God was looking for Adam and Eve in the evening after they sinned in chapter 3, asking, “Where are you” as if He didn’t know. The communication is evident because God’s instructions had to pass on to later generations or Noah would not have known which animals were clean or unclean.
The fall of the first Adam paved the way for the obedience of the last Adam. Our undoing because of Adam’s fall made necessary our redemption, resurrection, and restoration by Christ. God's principles undoubtedly spoken to Adam are exactly the same principles that He speaks to us thorough His Word. The one word for is "Covenant."
Does that help?
16 ADONAI, God, gave the person this order: "You may freely eat from every tree in the garden 17 except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. You are not to eat from it, because on the day that you eat from it, it will become certain that you will die." The features of the “Adamic” or “Edenic” covenant, simply put, are that God required perfect obedience or death would be the result. This is where the idea of it being a “covenant of works” comes from. That doctrine considers the promise of life in return for not breaking the covenant to be eternal life, but I can’t find anything that says that is the case.
First of all, we absolutely must remember that Adam’s sin and subsequent fall was no surprise to God because He told Adam essentially, “when” rather than “if” you eat of the forbidden fruit. Therefore, God had a divine plan in place since before time was and Jesus was right there with Him knowing He would be the means by which man could return to that blessed state of communion with our Creator.
There are other scriptures I’m sure but look just at these to prove the point that it was not a covenant whereby man’s works would obtain for him eternal life.
Eternal life promised through Jesus to God’s elect:
Ephesians 1:4-5 (CJB) 4 In the Messiah he chose us in love before the creation of the universe to be holy and without defect in his presence. 5 He determined in advance that through Yeshua the Messiah we would be his sons - in keeping with his pleasure and purpose –
Titus 1:2 (CJB) God, who does not lie, promised that life before the beginning of time
John 10:28 (CJB) 28 and I give them eternal life.
Romans 6:22 (CJB) 22 However, now, freed from sin and enslaved to God, you do get the benefit - it consists in being made holy, set apart for God, and its end result is eternal life.
Life and immortality are brought to light by the gospel of Christ, not by Adam, Abraham, or Moses:
2 Tim. 1:9-10 (CJB) 9 since he delivered us and called us to a life of holiness as his people. It was not because of our deeds, but because of his own purpose and the grace which he gave to us who are united with the Messiah Yeshua. He did this before the beginning of time, 10 but made it public only now through the appearing of our Deliverer, the Messiah Yeshua, who abolished death and, through the Good News, revealed life and immortality.
Then there is the fact that death is threefold – physical death (Genesis 3:19), spiritual death (Ephesians 2:3-5), and eternal death (Revelation 21:8). God appointed Adam as representative of all mankind, so the fact that we could all be doomed to suffer through this life is actually quite uplifting in that by one man – Jesus Christ – we can also be brought back to the state God originally intended for us. After all, it wasn’t Eve who got in trouble for eating the forbidden fruit – it was Adam – the representative of all mankind. It is obvious that Adam had been told much by God. From the second chapter of Genesis we can see that God literally spoke to Adam. He told Adam to name all of the animals, so there is the proof that he recognized God’s voice, and we see where God was looking for Adam and Eve in the evening after they sinned in chapter 3, asking, “Where are you” as if He didn’t know. The communication is evident because God’s instructions had to pass on to later generations or Noah would not have known which animals were clean or unclean.
The fall of the first Adam paved the way for the obedience of the last Adam. Our undoing because of Adam’s fall made necessary our redemption, resurrection, and restoration by Christ. God's principles undoubtedly spoken to Adam are exactly the same principles that He speaks to us thorough His Word. The one word for is "Covenant."
Does that help?
To begin with, in 21[SUP]st[/SUP] century America we use the common definition of the word ‘covenant’ to determine our understanding of what it is – an agreement or contract. This is logical and acceptable for modern secular life, although ethically, it is still terrible that we go back on so many contracts, so easily. However, when pondering the status of most of our prayers – answered or unanswered, or any other aspect of our spiritual health, or anywhere that God is concerned, we need to use His meaning of the word. In order to do that, we have to look at history.
Dr. H. Clay Trumbull (1830-1903) studied extensively about the covenants and the covenant mindset, and fortunately, shared the findings with those who would hear. He writes much more eloquently than we are accustomed to these days, but he says the following in essence: When God created man, the one vital ingredient necessary for man’s happiness was “trustful surrender of his whole being to the willing and working of God,” but once sin entered that was destroyed. Consequently, man feared God, tried to hide from Him, no longer knew or trusted God as he had before. From the very beginning, God’s plan has been to share not just the blessings of being in Covenant but Covenant friendship with us. All God wanted was for man to believe in Him, then trust, love, and communication would naturally follow. And it did…until sin came. But man could not effect his own salvation to restore the relationship with God he had known before the fall and it could only be accomplished by faith.
Most of us probably never even looked at our salvation as a covenant with God but we enter into Covenant when we proclaim ourselves to be “saved” or a “believer or “a Christian” or simply a “follower of Christ.” We accept God’s gift of salvation without realizing the point of it is to bring us back to that state of fellowship for which we were created. That is the purpose of His covenants. Understanding all of this, to realize that He could have simply said, “I will do this and you do that,” but instead He chose to partner with us in covenant, while being breathtakingly awe-inspiring, is at the same time, equally as humbling. God created us to have fellowship with Him, and this is proven by the fact He makes covenants with man…as if He could not be trusted to keep His word. 1 Peter 2:9 (NAS) tells us we are “…A CHOSENRACE, A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light ;” The moment we enter into Covenant with God we are His…dedicated to Him much like the Nazarites of Bible times.
We do not understand Covenant God’s way. Not only do we no longer respect authority and we view dependence as weakness, we refuse to practice submission – all vital components of Covenant. Currently in America the separation of church and state has accelerated the process of covenant breaking and not understanding covenant because it is meant to infiltrate all of our daily lives, and used to be integrated into all of life until we began harping on the misinterpreted phrase, “separation of church and state” issue. God blessed America for befriending Israel and being the first to recognize her as a legitimate country when she became independent in 1948. Americans lived better and had more than ever before, until we allowed the separation of church and state to pull us away from the principles we stood for and propagated in our society…and look at us now.
Dr. H. Clay Trumbull (1830-1903) studied extensively about the covenants and the covenant mindset, and fortunately, shared the findings with those who would hear. He writes much more eloquently than we are accustomed to these days, but he says the following in essence: When God created man, the one vital ingredient necessary for man’s happiness was “trustful surrender of his whole being to the willing and working of God,” but once sin entered that was destroyed. Consequently, man feared God, tried to hide from Him, no longer knew or trusted God as he had before. From the very beginning, God’s plan has been to share not just the blessings of being in Covenant but Covenant friendship with us. All God wanted was for man to believe in Him, then trust, love, and communication would naturally follow. And it did…until sin came. But man could not effect his own salvation to restore the relationship with God he had known before the fall and it could only be accomplished by faith.
Most of us probably never even looked at our salvation as a covenant with God but we enter into Covenant when we proclaim ourselves to be “saved” or a “believer or “a Christian” or simply a “follower of Christ.” We accept God’s gift of salvation without realizing the point of it is to bring us back to that state of fellowship for which we were created. That is the purpose of His covenants. Understanding all of this, to realize that He could have simply said, “I will do this and you do that,” but instead He chose to partner with us in covenant, while being breathtakingly awe-inspiring, is at the same time, equally as humbling. God created us to have fellowship with Him, and this is proven by the fact He makes covenants with man…as if He could not be trusted to keep His word. 1 Peter 2:9 (NAS) tells us we are “…A CHOSENRACE, A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light ;” The moment we enter into Covenant with God we are His…dedicated to Him much like the Nazarites of Bible times.
We do not understand Covenant God’s way. Not only do we no longer respect authority and we view dependence as weakness, we refuse to practice submission – all vital components of Covenant. Currently in America the separation of church and state has accelerated the process of covenant breaking and not understanding covenant because it is meant to infiltrate all of our daily lives, and used to be integrated into all of life until we began harping on the misinterpreted phrase, “separation of church and state” issue. God blessed America for befriending Israel and being the first to recognize her as a legitimate country when she became independent in 1948. Americans lived better and had more than ever before, until we allowed the separation of church and state to pull us away from the principles we stood for and propagated in our society…and look at us now.
Hi Just -us-2,
This may help as you study, read Genesis 15, I remember reading this an not understanding the significance of what was 'actually' going on here. There was a type of treaty that was well known in Abrahams time in the near east its called the 'suzerain treaty'. Hopefully this will help in your study. Abraham certainly would have known the significance of what was going on here.
This may help as you study, read Genesis 15, I remember reading this an not understanding the significance of what was 'actually' going on here. There was a type of treaty that was well known in Abrahams time in the near east its called the 'suzerain treaty'. Hopefully this will help in your study. Abraham certainly would have known the significance of what was going on here.
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Thank so very much. Such an interesting study. I found Dr. Meredith Kline who gives a wonderful outline of these treaties.
I have always been fascinated with the way they were usually signed by cutting an animal in half and walking between the halves saying May this happen to me if I break this treaty. Makes just signing our name to a treaty pretty tame.
I have always been fascinated with the way they were usually signed by cutting an animal in half and walking between the halves saying May this happen to me if I break this treaty. Makes just signing our name to a treaty pretty tame.
L
Really informative! We really do have to pay attention to every jot and tittle! I've never seen the "when, vs. If," in that passage.
I've always felt sorry for Adam and Eve, and people have gotten mad at me for saying this, but if Adam and Eve hadn't sinned, someone would have eventually gotten to it.
I agree that it was part of God's plan.
I've always felt sorry for Adam and Eve, and people have gotten mad at me for saying this, but if Adam and Eve hadn't sinned, someone would have eventually gotten to it.
I agree that it was part of God's plan.
God “invented”, for lack of a better word, ‘covenant’ as His plan for interacting with man. He initiated these covenants we are talking about. Therefore, when I say that covenants are important to God, it is almost an understatement of the fact.
Simply put: keeping Covenant yields blessing – breaking Covenant yields curses. Deuteronomy 28 spells out more than twenty-five blessings for the keepers of Covenant! However, the more than sixty curses reserved for Covenant breakers put things firmly in perspective. History plainly reveals what happened when the children of Israel forgot about their part of the Covenant with God – just like Christians today. See Revelation 2:4. The sequence goes like this: forgotten covenants lead to broken covenants, which inevitably must lead to curses.
“Curses” – another one of those words New Testament Christians don’t like, and because of the evolution of society and the church, we like to think “curses” don’t apply to us anymore. But make no mistake; breaking Covenant will be followed by curses, and curses are not merely something the local witch casts upon her enemies. We can read the Apostle Paul’s description of Covenant breakers in Romans 1:26-31 as downright depraved and filled with every imaginable wickedness there is.
I read a simple description of covenant breaking related to Christianity that I think is a good parable. “Covenant breakers are like dish breakers. You may own a beautiful set of imported china, but if you break one cup, you lose the benefits of that piece. If you break all the pieces, all the benefits of the china are lost. Yes, the set of dishes are still yours, and you can look at them and think about how pretty they were and how expensive they were to buy. You can talk about them to your friends, but you can’t use them. They are broken! As a child of God you hold in your heart all of the wonderful costly blessings and promises paid for by the blood of Jesus. God’s covenant nature confines Him to the laws of Covenant… God will not override the laws of Covenant to give you your blessing. Just like you may own a broken dish, a broken promise is a lost blessing, rendered useless because of your broken covenant. Just think what happens when you break all of your covenants? No wonder some of us have little joy and satisfaction in our lives as well as ineffective prayers.” As this illustration shows, we break one dish and our set is not complete - food for thought.
Depending upon whose count a person chooses to use, there are seven, eight or nine covenants that God made with people in the Bible. They all fall into one of four basic categories -- the Blood Covenant (sometimes referred to as the service or servant hood covenant); the Salt Covenant (sometimes called the friendship covenant); the Sandal Covenant (also called the inheritance covenant); and the Betrothal Covenant, also known as the Marriage Covenant. To begin with, I am working on the types of covenants and might get into the individual covenants God made with Abraham, Moses, Noah, etc. as time goes on.
The first is the Blood Covenant…to be continued
Simply put: keeping Covenant yields blessing – breaking Covenant yields curses. Deuteronomy 28 spells out more than twenty-five blessings for the keepers of Covenant! However, the more than sixty curses reserved for Covenant breakers put things firmly in perspective. History plainly reveals what happened when the children of Israel forgot about their part of the Covenant with God – just like Christians today. See Revelation 2:4. The sequence goes like this: forgotten covenants lead to broken covenants, which inevitably must lead to curses.
“Curses” – another one of those words New Testament Christians don’t like, and because of the evolution of society and the church, we like to think “curses” don’t apply to us anymore. But make no mistake; breaking Covenant will be followed by curses, and curses are not merely something the local witch casts upon her enemies. We can read the Apostle Paul’s description of Covenant breakers in Romans 1:26-31 as downright depraved and filled with every imaginable wickedness there is.
I read a simple description of covenant breaking related to Christianity that I think is a good parable. “Covenant breakers are like dish breakers. You may own a beautiful set of imported china, but if you break one cup, you lose the benefits of that piece. If you break all the pieces, all the benefits of the china are lost. Yes, the set of dishes are still yours, and you can look at them and think about how pretty they were and how expensive they were to buy. You can talk about them to your friends, but you can’t use them. They are broken! As a child of God you hold in your heart all of the wonderful costly blessings and promises paid for by the blood of Jesus. God’s covenant nature confines Him to the laws of Covenant… God will not override the laws of Covenant to give you your blessing. Just like you may own a broken dish, a broken promise is a lost blessing, rendered useless because of your broken covenant. Just think what happens when you break all of your covenants? No wonder some of us have little joy and satisfaction in our lives as well as ineffective prayers.” As this illustration shows, we break one dish and our set is not complete - food for thought.
Depending upon whose count a person chooses to use, there are seven, eight or nine covenants that God made with people in the Bible. They all fall into one of four basic categories -- the Blood Covenant (sometimes referred to as the service or servant hood covenant); the Salt Covenant (sometimes called the friendship covenant); the Sandal Covenant (also called the inheritance covenant); and the Betrothal Covenant, also known as the Marriage Covenant. To begin with, I am working on the types of covenants and might get into the individual covenants God made with Abraham, Moses, Noah, etc. as time goes on.
The first is the Blood Covenant…to be continued
Blood Covenant
As I studied, I found that the concept of the blood covenant has been found in every society from the earliest to the present day, and the meaning and the seriousness of it are still the same as when it began. Modern society regards it as “historical” and irrelevant today, so obviously, does not understand the obligations or benefits involved. What makes this so crucial is that the basis of Christianity is rooted in Blood Covenant. The Blood Covenant between God and Abraham, founding the Hebrew people as God’s chosen in the Old Testament, appears in the New Testament between God and those who choose to serve Him through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. A Blood Covenant requires shedding of blood in sacrifice which in ancient Hebrew culture was a sign of restoration and purification. Our lack of understanding does not change or minimize the importance of this profound plan. It is equally as binding and important today in 2014 as it was about 4000 years ago when Abraham walked this earth as the “friend of God.”
Historically, the typical blood covenant was composed of nine parts, or steps. I found a detailed description of the nine parts and what the different components represented to a Hebrew in biblical times written by Paul Ziegler.
In our Bible we have the old and new testament, (or covenant). The old covenant was made with Abram and we have a record of it in the Bible. We can look in on it starting in the fifteenth chapter of Genesis. In verse one we read; "After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, `Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great.'." Here we see God offering His robe and belt to Abram. He offers to be his shield and His rewards. He cuts the covenant in Genesis 15:7-21. And He said to him, "I am the LORD who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess it." He said, "O Lord GOD, how may I know that I will, possess it?" So He said to him, "Bring Me a three year old heifer, and a three year old female goat, and a three year old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon." Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, and laid each half opposite the other ; but he did not cut the birds. The birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away. Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram ; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him. God said to Abram, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. "But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions. "As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace ; you will be buried at a good old age. "Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete." It came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which passed between these pieces. On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates : the Kenite and the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Rephaim and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Girgashite and the Jebusite." Here God is giving the terms of the covenant to Abram. But who are the ones passing between the pieces while Abram is in the deep sleep? I submit to you that it is the pre-incarnate Christ. In the Revelation 1:14-15 we see a description of Christ as follows, "And His head and His hair were white like wool, like snow, and His eyes were like a flame of fire; and His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been caused to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters," Here we see Christ, a descendant of Abram, standing in for Abram in the covenant procession. In Genesis 17:4-5+15 we see the exchange of names as follows, "As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, But your name shall be Abraham; for I will make you the father of a multitude of nations....Then God said to Abraham, as for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name." In Hebrew, God was called YHWH. Here we see Him taking part of His name and combining it with that of Abram and Sarai. From that time on God was known as, "The God of Abraham". Next we see the making of a scar or symbol of the covenant. In Genesis 17:10-12 we see, "This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you; every male among you shall be circumcised. And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you. And every male among you who is eight days old shall be circumcised throughout your generations, a servant who is born in the house or who is bought with money from any foreigner, who is not of your descendants." The scar of circumcision bears witness of the covenant. Abraham was tested when God told him to sacrifice his only son Isaac on a small mountain called mount Mariah near the town of Salem. Abraham passed the test. Two thousand years ago, the other party to the covenant was to sacrifice His only Son. The names had been changed by then; Salem was then called Jerusalem, and Mariah had been changed to Calvery, but the places were the same.
The new covenant took place in the same area of the world and contained some of the same players. God was there, of course, and Jesus; now incarnate, and the descendants of Abraham. This time Jesus was not only the representative of Abraham's descendants but He was also the offering; the Lamb that was slain. This time it was God's only Son and not Abraham's. Let us see how the new covenant was completed in Christ.
The typical blood covenant contained nine parts, or steps. These steps are as follows,
1) The two people exchange coats or robes. To a Hebrew, the coat or robe represented the person himself; so when he offered the other person his robe, he was offering himself; even his very life itself.
And as fulfilled by Christ:
1) EXCHANGE COATS OR ROBES. We come to this covenant clothed in sin and unrighteousness. He comes clothed in holiness and righteousness. We put on His righteousness. II Corinthians 5:21, "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." He takes our sins upon Him and we take His holiness for ours. What an exchange!
As I studied, I found that the concept of the blood covenant has been found in every society from the earliest to the present day, and the meaning and the seriousness of it are still the same as when it began. Modern society regards it as “historical” and irrelevant today, so obviously, does not understand the obligations or benefits involved. What makes this so crucial is that the basis of Christianity is rooted in Blood Covenant. The Blood Covenant between God and Abraham, founding the Hebrew people as God’s chosen in the Old Testament, appears in the New Testament between God and those who choose to serve Him through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. A Blood Covenant requires shedding of blood in sacrifice which in ancient Hebrew culture was a sign of restoration and purification. Our lack of understanding does not change or minimize the importance of this profound plan. It is equally as binding and important today in 2014 as it was about 4000 years ago when Abraham walked this earth as the “friend of God.”
Historically, the typical blood covenant was composed of nine parts, or steps. I found a detailed description of the nine parts and what the different components represented to a Hebrew in biblical times written by Paul Ziegler.
In our Bible we have the old and new testament, (or covenant). The old covenant was made with Abram and we have a record of it in the Bible. We can look in on it starting in the fifteenth chapter of Genesis. In verse one we read; "After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, `Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great.'." Here we see God offering His robe and belt to Abram. He offers to be his shield and His rewards. He cuts the covenant in Genesis 15:7-21. And He said to him, "I am the LORD who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess it." He said, "O Lord GOD, how may I know that I will, possess it?" So He said to him, "Bring Me a three year old heifer, and a three year old female goat, and a three year old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon." Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, and laid each half opposite the other ; but he did not cut the birds. The birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away. Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram ; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him. God said to Abram, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. "But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions. "As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace ; you will be buried at a good old age. "Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete." It came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which passed between these pieces. On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates : the Kenite and the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Rephaim and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Girgashite and the Jebusite." Here God is giving the terms of the covenant to Abram. But who are the ones passing between the pieces while Abram is in the deep sleep? I submit to you that it is the pre-incarnate Christ. In the Revelation 1:14-15 we see a description of Christ as follows, "And His head and His hair were white like wool, like snow, and His eyes were like a flame of fire; and His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been caused to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters," Here we see Christ, a descendant of Abram, standing in for Abram in the covenant procession. In Genesis 17:4-5+15 we see the exchange of names as follows, "As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, But your name shall be Abraham; for I will make you the father of a multitude of nations....Then God said to Abraham, as for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name." In Hebrew, God was called YHWH. Here we see Him taking part of His name and combining it with that of Abram and Sarai. From that time on God was known as, "The God of Abraham". Next we see the making of a scar or symbol of the covenant. In Genesis 17:10-12 we see, "This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you; every male among you shall be circumcised. And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you. And every male among you who is eight days old shall be circumcised throughout your generations, a servant who is born in the house or who is bought with money from any foreigner, who is not of your descendants." The scar of circumcision bears witness of the covenant. Abraham was tested when God told him to sacrifice his only son Isaac on a small mountain called mount Mariah near the town of Salem. Abraham passed the test. Two thousand years ago, the other party to the covenant was to sacrifice His only Son. The names had been changed by then; Salem was then called Jerusalem, and Mariah had been changed to Calvery, but the places were the same.
The new covenant took place in the same area of the world and contained some of the same players. God was there, of course, and Jesus; now incarnate, and the descendants of Abraham. This time Jesus was not only the representative of Abraham's descendants but He was also the offering; the Lamb that was slain. This time it was God's only Son and not Abraham's. Let us see how the new covenant was completed in Christ.
The typical blood covenant contained nine parts, or steps. These steps are as follows,
1) The two people exchange coats or robes. To a Hebrew, the coat or robe represented the person himself; so when he offered the other person his robe, he was offering himself; even his very life itself.
And as fulfilled by Christ:
1) EXCHANGE COATS OR ROBES. We come to this covenant clothed in sin and unrighteousness. He comes clothed in holiness and righteousness. We put on His righteousness. II Corinthians 5:21, "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." He takes our sins upon Him and we take His holiness for ours. What an exchange!
2) They take off their belt and offer it to the other person. The belt, also called the girdle, was used to hold your sward, your knife, and other fighting instruments. In this way you were saying to the other person that you were offering him your protection. If someone attacks you, they also have me to deal with. Your battles are my battles.
And........
2) TAKE OFF BELT: He protects us and provides us with protection. Luke 10:19, "Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall injure you." Ephesians 6:13-17 "Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, take up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sward of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
3)"CUT THE COVENANT". In this part, an animal is killed and cut down the middle and the two halves are laid opposite each other. The two parties to the covenant pass between the two halves of the animal and are saying, "May God do so to me and more if I break this covenant. This is a blood covenant, and cannot be broken.”
And.......
3) CUT THE COVENANT: Hebrews 10:14-18, "For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are
sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, `This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws upon their heart, and upon their mind I will write them, And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more. Now where there is forgiveness for these things, there is no longer any offering for sin." Jesus was not only the one making the covenant, but he was also the sacrificial lamb.
4) Raise the right arm and cut the palm of the hand and clasp each other's hand and mingle your blood. This is saying to the other person, "We are becoming one with each other. To intermingle the blood is to intermingle the very life of both people.
And.........
4) RAISE RIGHT ARM & MIX BLOOD: Jesus was both man and God. He was holy and also human. As we have the shed blood of Jesus Christ applied to our hearts, His blood cleanses us from all sin and we are also made holy. Our lives are forever intermingled with His.
L
That is really awesome! I love the way that you showed how the different parts of the covenant with Abraham and how they are indeed tied into the other covenants, such as the land that Israel would inherit, (even the procession through the land,) and circumcision.
This really opened up some areas of study for me. It's great the way these examples carry all the way through the scriptures! Even the name changes are there. I love it!
It got me thinking about David's blood covenant with Jonathan, and these are just my thoughts, but God made his covenant with Abraham through blood and the picture of our relationship with Christ through His blood. And David and Jonathan also made a blood covenant in honoring their friendship, It reminds me of two things, about honoring and loving God with all our hearts mind and strength, and loving our neighbor as ourselves. David and Jonathan were like brothers, (and in Christ we believers are too (brothers and sister.) I am going to study this out more.
Thank you for sharing these studies!
This really opened up some areas of study for me. It's great the way these examples carry all the way through the scriptures! Even the name changes are there. I love it!
It got me thinking about David's blood covenant with Jonathan, and these are just my thoughts, but God made his covenant with Abraham through blood and the picture of our relationship with Christ through His blood. And David and Jonathan also made a blood covenant in honoring their friendship, It reminds me of two things, about honoring and loving God with all our hearts mind and strength, and loving our neighbor as ourselves. David and Jonathan were like brothers, (and in Christ we believers are too (brothers and sister.) I am going to study this out more.
Thank you for sharing these studies!
L
Isaiah 41:10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Hebrews 10:12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
Hebrews 10:13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.
Hebrews 10:12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
Hebrews 10:13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.
6) Make a scar or some identifying mark. The scar was the outward evidence of the covenant that others could see and know that the covenant was made. Sometimes they would rub the cut in the hand to make the scar, then anyone who wanted to fight you would know that he not only had to fight you but another as well.
And..........
6) MAKE A SCAR: Jesus has the scars of the nails in His hands and the feet and the spear in His side. We have the circumcision of the heart. Romans 2:29, "But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God."