The
Bible is in two major divisions called testaments or covenants. The word
testament is a translation of the Greek “diatheke” which was a translation of
the Hebrew word “Berith” which means covenant. The covenant is not much
understood today having been watered down in meaning. However in the Biblical
times recorded covenants were binding contracts made by two parties sealed in
blood and remained in effect until both parties were dead. Covenants were made
based on strengths and weaknesses and not things in common. The shedding of
blood was always a most important factor in ratification of the covenant!
GENERAL ORDER OF
THE COVENANTS
In
a covenant there was an exchange of strengths and weaknesses between the
parties. They would:
1. Exchange
coats, symbols of authority meaning all I have is yours and all yours is mine.
2. Exchange
weapons signifying a giving of strength. Your enemies were now mine and my
enemies were yours. I stand with you even to death!
3. Exchange
names making the parties one forever. One family and one name!
4. Make promises
that would be kept by both parties forever.
5. Pronounce
curses if the covenant is broken
6. Walk through
a pathway of blood made by splitting animals and drawing the halves apart
7. Together eat
a covenant meal of bread and wine.
GOD
MADE A COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM!
Genesis 15:1-21 KJV After these things the word of
the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield,
and thy exceeding great reward. 2 And
Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the
steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? 3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast
given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. 4 And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto
him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of
thine own bowels shall be thine heir. 5
And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the
stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed
be. 6 And he believed in the LORD; and
he counted it to him for righteousness. 7
And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the
Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.
8 And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit
it? 9 And he said unto him, Take me an
heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of
three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon. 10 And he took unto him all these, and
divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the
birds divided he not. 11 And when the
fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away. 12 And when the sun was going down, a deep
sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. 13 And
he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a
land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four
hundred years; 14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve,
will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. 15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace;
thou shalt be buried in a good old age. 16
But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of
the Amorites is not yet full. 17 And it
came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking
furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. 18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant
with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of
Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: 19 The
Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, 20 And
the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, 21 And
the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
YAHWEH ALONE walked the
covenant path of blood, the red carpet of blood!. Abraham and his household
were commanded to perform circumcision, thus shedding blood. The circumcision
was a reminder of the powerful covenant Yahweh made with Abraham, Isaac and
Israel but soon degenerated into mere form and ritual and superior pride.
YAHWEH
remained faithful to His covenant and brought Israel out of Egypt by the blood
of the Passover. The covenant sheds light on the reason David addressed Goliath
as an uncircumcised Philistine! 1 Samuel 17:26 KJV And David spake to the
men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this
Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this
uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?
David was very
much aware of the power of the covenant!
Man
of course broke the covenant, but God in His mercy allowed man to sacrifice an
animal as substitute promising a new covenant that will be superior to the old!
Jeremiah 31:31-34 KJV Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I
will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of
Judah: 32 Not according to the covenant that I made
with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of
the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto
them, saith the LORD: 33 But this shall be the covenant that I will
make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my
law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God,
and they shall be my people. 34 And they shall teach no more every man his
neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all
know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for
I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
Hebrews 8:8-13 KJV For finding fault with them, he
saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: 9 Not
according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took
them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued
not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. 10 For
this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those
days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in
their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a
people: 11 And they shall not teach every man his
neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know
me, from the least to the greatest. 12
For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their
iniquities will I remember no more. 13
In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which
decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.
THEN JESUS CAME AND
GOD RATIFIED THE NEW COVENANT IN HIS BLOOD!
Matthew 26:26-28 KJV And as they were eating, Jesus
took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and
said, Take, eat; this is my body. 27 And
he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of
it; 28
For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for
the remission of sins.
When
we partake of communion we are reminding ourselves of the covenant Yahweh made
with us! This is why communion is important. This is why communion needs to be
understood. This is why we cannot afford to treat it lightly!
1 Corinthians
11:23-30 KJV 23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered
unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took
bread: 24 And when he had given thanks,
he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you:
this do in remembrance of me. 25 After
the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is
the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in
remembrance of me. 26 For as often as ye
eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he
come. 27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat
this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the
body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a
man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that
cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh
unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's
body. 30 For this cause many are weak
and sickly among you, and many sleep.
Ephesians 2:1-22 KJV
And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2
Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in
the children of disobedience: 3 Among whom also we all had our conversation
in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh
and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his
great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath
quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6 And hath raised
us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ
Jesus: 7 That in the ages to come he
might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through
Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace are ye
saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should
boast. 10 For we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we
should walk in them. 11 Wherefore
remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called
Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by
hands; 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: 13
But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the
blood of Christ. 14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one,
and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 15
Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments
contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making
peace; 16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in
one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: 17 And
came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were
nigh. 18 For through him we both have
access by one Spirit unto the Father. 19
Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with
the saints, and of the household of God; 20 And are built upon the foundation
of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple
in the Lord: 22 In whom ye also are builded together for an
habitation of God through the Spirit.
Galatians 3:7-17 KJV Know ye therefore that they
which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. 8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God
would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto
Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. 9 So then they which be of faith are blessed
with faithful Abraham. 10 For as many as are of the works of the law
are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not
in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. 11 But that no man is justified by the law in
the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. 12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man
that doeth them shall live in them.
13 Christ hath redeemed us from
the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is
every one that hangeth on a tree:
14 That the blessing of Abraham
might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the
promise of the Spirit through faith. 15
Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant,
yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto. 16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the
promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to
thy seed, which is Christ. 17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was
confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty
years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.
Through the
covenant of Yashua’s Blood we are all privileged to enter into the promises of
Yahweh to Abraham! We are no more strangers but citizens of the Kingdom!
As a result of
this new covenant we have
1. An exchange
of names. We now bear the name of Yashua. We are His family!
2. An exchange
of weapons. We have the WHOLE armor of God!
3. An exchange
of clothing. We are clothed in His righteousness and His authority.
4. Redemption
from the curse of the law.
5. Freedom in Christ
and through Christ.
We
need to examine the Bible which is the covenant record drawn up for us by
YAHWEH. We need to see and understand what His Blood has done for us. We need
to come to God in faith believing and holding fast to His promises. He will NOT
break His promises neither go back on His word. His Word was ratified by
nothing less but the precious BLOOD of JESUS! Even the curse has been done away
through the Blood of Jesus.
Romans 1:16-17 KJV For I am not ashamed of the
gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that
believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17 For therein is the righteousness of God
revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
Hebrews 12:22-29 KJV But ye are come unto mount
Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an
innumerable company of angels, 23 To the general assembly and church of the
firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the
spirits of just men made perfect, 24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new
covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that
of Abel. 25 See that ye refuse not him
that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth,
much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from
heaven: 26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he
hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also
heaven. 27 And this word, Yet once more,
signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are
made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which
cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with
reverence and godly fear: 29 For our God
is a consuming fire.
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