Warning not short and will require thought and study.
Many today will say that the 10 commandments are done away with in the Old Covenant and will often quote such scriptures as:
Deu 4:13 And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.
here it is claimed that the ten commandments are called the covenant but let us examine the truth of this matter. Before I deal with this verse we will go back and examine the first covenant, to do this we know where to look as it is written:
Deu 5:2 The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.
Deu 5:3 The LORD made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day.
So the covenant was established at Horeb after the exodus with Israel, so lets take a look and we find the covenant first given in Exodus 19 as it is written:
Exo 19:2 For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount.
here they are at Horeb and what happens?
Moses goes up to God and God speaks to Moses these words:
Exo 19:5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
So the very first Covenant known as the Old covenant was to "obey my voice and keep my covenant" So here we first see that they were to obey His voice and keep his covenant.
and then Moses comes down to the people and tells them these words and they respond:
Exo 19:8 And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.
so the People willingly enter into covenant with God. what is a covenant?
Webster defines it this way: "A mutual agreement of two or more persons or parties, in writing and under seal, to do or to refrain from, some act or thing; a contract; stipulation."
So here we can see that two parties, God and the Israel make an agreement. It is important to note that at this point they have entered into covenant with God Yet the 10 commandments are not Yet given.
So what about Deut 4 which said:
Deu 4:13 And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.
It is per tenant to realize that the ten commandments as mentioned were given after Israel had made covenant with God. Its also obvious to the observant mind that here Moses does not say, the covenant or a covenant but "his covenant" It is Gods covenant this is not the Old covenant itself but Gods covenant which He spoke from the mount. But "the" covenant was made before this and now God gives his Covenant which the people of Israel would obey as they have already entered into covenant with God in chapter 19.
In fact the same language is used in exodus 19 notice:
Exo 19:5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
The covenant itself is not the ten commandments as they come after but rather the first covenant is a mutual agreement to obey Gods voice and keep his covenant. between God and Israel. But his covenant is only binding on the basis of the mutual agreement/covenant made in Exodus 19.
It is also a point of note that the Deut 4:23 is not a covenant made but a covenant commanded by God, on the premise that they have covenanted with God to do so. It is assumed that one can see the difference between a covenant mutually agreed upon by two parties as seen in Exodus 19 and a covenant command as seen in duet 4. One is contingent on the other. God commands those who have made covenant with Him.
Thus it is clear that the 10 commandments were the basis of the agreement made in chapter 19. And this is why that are called his covenant. It is also evident that the 10 commandments existed before exodus 20 as Goad already had his covenant.
The same can be seen today in how we live in our states. To be a citizen we make agreement to obey and conform to the state. This then brings the commands of the law of that state upon us. Thus when we covenant to become a citizen we also agree to follow that states commands/law. To become a citizen is an agreement between two parties the person and the state. But the conditions are to keep the state laws. this is the second definition of covenant
"a writing containing the terms of agreement between parties." Thus the conditions upon which an agreement or covenant rests.
Paul connects these concepts here:
Eph 2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
when you have no citizenship you are not part of the covenants of promise. Notice that within the agreements are covenants of promise. The promises of God which are in conjunction with the commands of God. God graciously blesses those who follow His commands. His covenant. Thus we have the blessings of the law which come from following the commands of God which come from entering into the covenant in exodus 19.
I will continue this later addressing other scriptures on the covenant as I have time and then eventually looking at the new covenant.
Many today will say that the 10 commandments are done away with in the Old Covenant and will often quote such scriptures as:
Deu 4:13 And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.
here it is claimed that the ten commandments are called the covenant but let us examine the truth of this matter. Before I deal with this verse we will go back and examine the first covenant, to do this we know where to look as it is written:
Deu 5:2 The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.
Deu 5:3 The LORD made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day.
So the covenant was established at Horeb after the exodus with Israel, so lets take a look and we find the covenant first given in Exodus 19 as it is written:
Exo 19:2 For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount.
here they are at Horeb and what happens?
Moses goes up to God and God speaks to Moses these words:
Exo 19:5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
So the very first Covenant known as the Old covenant was to "obey my voice and keep my covenant" So here we first see that they were to obey His voice and keep his covenant.
and then Moses comes down to the people and tells them these words and they respond:
Exo 19:8 And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.
so the People willingly enter into covenant with God. what is a covenant?
Webster defines it this way: "A mutual agreement of two or more persons or parties, in writing and under seal, to do or to refrain from, some act or thing; a contract; stipulation."
So here we can see that two parties, God and the Israel make an agreement. It is important to note that at this point they have entered into covenant with God Yet the 10 commandments are not Yet given.
So what about Deut 4 which said:
Deu 4:13 And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.
It is per tenant to realize that the ten commandments as mentioned were given after Israel had made covenant with God. Its also obvious to the observant mind that here Moses does not say, the covenant or a covenant but "his covenant" It is Gods covenant this is not the Old covenant itself but Gods covenant which He spoke from the mount. But "the" covenant was made before this and now God gives his Covenant which the people of Israel would obey as they have already entered into covenant with God in chapter 19.
In fact the same language is used in exodus 19 notice:
Exo 19:5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
The covenant itself is not the ten commandments as they come after but rather the first covenant is a mutual agreement to obey Gods voice and keep his covenant. between God and Israel. But his covenant is only binding on the basis of the mutual agreement/covenant made in Exodus 19.
It is also a point of note that the Deut 4:23 is not a covenant made but a covenant commanded by God, on the premise that they have covenanted with God to do so. It is assumed that one can see the difference between a covenant mutually agreed upon by two parties as seen in Exodus 19 and a covenant command as seen in duet 4. One is contingent on the other. God commands those who have made covenant with Him.
Thus it is clear that the 10 commandments were the basis of the agreement made in chapter 19. And this is why that are called his covenant. It is also evident that the 10 commandments existed before exodus 20 as Goad already had his covenant.
The same can be seen today in how we live in our states. To be a citizen we make agreement to obey and conform to the state. This then brings the commands of the law of that state upon us. Thus when we covenant to become a citizen we also agree to follow that states commands/law. To become a citizen is an agreement between two parties the person and the state. But the conditions are to keep the state laws. this is the second definition of covenant
"a writing containing the terms of agreement between parties." Thus the conditions upon which an agreement or covenant rests.
Paul connects these concepts here:
Eph 2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
when you have no citizenship you are not part of the covenants of promise. Notice that within the agreements are covenants of promise. The promises of God which are in conjunction with the commands of God. God graciously blesses those who follow His commands. His covenant. Thus we have the blessings of the law which come from following the commands of God which come from entering into the covenant in exodus 19.
I will continue this later addressing other scriptures on the covenant as I have time and then eventually looking at the new covenant.