BIBLE INTRODUCTION COURSELesson 14

The word of God is…sharper than any two-edged sword…

Hebrews 4:12

The RestoredChurch of God

WHAT ISTHE OLDCOVENANT?

WHAT ISTHE OLDCOVENANT?

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Introduction

Many believe that the Old Covenant refers to a harsh TenCommandments law, while the New Covenant pertains onlyto grace and promises not based on law or obedience.Although popular, such traditional concepts are completelywrong. Professing Christianity has never understood the sig-nificance of the two divisions of God’s Word.

Yet, the Bible reveals the true meaning and significanceof these divisions, known as the Old Testament and the NewTestament.

When God created man, He made him to appear as aphysical image of Himself. Man was physically complete,but spiritually incomplete. God’s overall plan of salvationcalls for all (at some point in the order He has predeter-mined) to receive the Holy Spirit in order to grow to becomespiritually complete. This Plan is being implemented in care-fully planned stages, with the vast majority of humanity notbeing called in this age.

Ancient Israel’s track record well illustrates that theystumbled spiritually without God’s Holy Spirit. Their spiri-tual blindness is expressed in Deuteronomy 5:29:

“O that there were such a heart in them, that they wouldfear Me, and keep all My commandments always, that itmight be well with them, and with their children forever!”The reason that ancient Israel was not inclined to obey is thatthe natural, normal carnal mind is hostile against God, notsubject to His laws (Rom. 8:7).

Yet, the overall experience of Israel demonstrates that itis impossible for mankind to obey God’s laws without HisHoly Spirit. Nothing short of God’s miraculous divine inter-vention is required to open the mind and grant the willpow-er to begin keeping God’s laws—to deeply desire to be inharmony with every aspect of His will.

The Old Covenant documented the instructions given toall of Israel and their failure to live up to what they hadpromised to do. They had been instructed by God’s servantsand had witnessed numerous divine miracles from God.However, without His Holy Spirit leading and guiding themfrom within, they could not obey God, much less overcomeweaknesses of the flesh. Their experience demonstrates thatman cannot obey or please God with his natural carnal mind.

Such a lesson could not be condensed into one proverbor even one episode. It required the experiences of manythousands of people, over many centuries, to make such anall-encompassing point. The lesson had to be written inblood, so to speak, requiring many books of the Bible, withthe experiences of many generations interwoven with God’scommands and counsel.

We will find that in all those recorded experiences,Israel failed to live up to the covenant they had made withGod—the Old Covenant. The problem was not the laws ofGod—as many professing Christians declare—but rather thefailure of carnal people with natural minds.

In studying this lesson, be sure to write down each of theverses from your own Bible. Upon finishing the lesson, it ishelpful to review it from time to time. This helps to put intobetter perspective the understanding gained.

LESSON 14

“Covenant” vs. “Testament”

(1) Using a dictionary, write down the definition of“covenant.”

Comment: The following general definition should be sim-ilar to that in any given dictionary: “An agreement between twoor more persons to do or refrain from doing some act; a com-pact.”

(2) What was the covenant God made with Noah? Genesis9:11.

Comment: The covenant mentioned in Genesis 9:11 issomewhat of an extension of the same covenant mentioned inGenesis 6:18, in which Noah was to enter the ark God had himbuild (Gen. 6:14). The part of the covenant in which God prom-ised never to destroy the earth again in this manner was accom-panied by a token—a rainbow (Gen. 9:12-13).

(3) Did God also make a covenant with Abraham? Genesis17:2.

Comment: Because Abraham obeyed God, the covenantGod made with him promised blessings in return. We findthat Abraham’s descendants were to become a great nation(Gen. 12:2), and that he was to be the father of many nations(17:4). This covenant agreement was basically, “You do yourpart and I will do mine.” Notice also that this covenant wasaccompanied by a token, as explained in Genesis 17:10-11.

(4) Using the dictionary again, write down the definition of“testament.”

Comment: The general definition that follows should alsobe similar to the one in your dictionary: “A will; a formal dec-laration, usually in writing, of a person’s wishes as to the dis-position of his property after his death.” Note that the definitionof testament hinges upon death, whereas a covenant is a mutu-al agreement in which death is not necessarily a factor.

(5) Are those who follow Christ to be inheritors of a testa-ment that He made? Genesis 22:18; Galatians 3:16, 29;Hebrews 9:15-17.

Comment: It was God’s will to make eternal inheritance inHis kingdom available to all who would desire it. The will ortestament that Christ made is spelled out in the last fourth of theBible—the New Testament. It teaches how to become an heir tothe promises of eternal inheritance in God’s kingdom, soon tobe established on the earth. One of the purposes of Christ’sdeath was to make this inheritance possible.

The Covenant Made with Ancient Israel

(1) Before the Ten Commandments were given at Sinai,what did God first propose to Israel? Exodus 19:4-6.

(2) After God had proposed this covenant to Moses, Mosescame down from the mountain and presented it to the leadersand elders of Israel. What was the response of the elders ofIsrael? Exodus 19:8.

Comment: After Israel had promised to abide by thecovenant proposed by God, the Ten Commands weregiven—being the central basis for all of the lesser and moredetailed civil laws, judgments, statutes and precepts. The

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first five books of the Bible—the books of the law—deal pri-marily with the instructions for Israel pertaining to thecovenant made with God. The majority of what is called theOld Testament pertains to the historical accounts of Israel, aswell as other writings and prophecies pertaining to Israel,past and future. These books pertain primarily to Israel andtheir track record with respect to the covenant previouslymade to God.

The major part of the Bible has been misnamed the “OldTestament” when the proper name is the “Old Covenant.” Hereis how it came to be misnamed:

When Catholic scholars translated the Bible into Latin inthe fourth century, the word testamentum was the term used,which could have meant either “covenant” or “testament.”When the term was later translated into English, testamentumwas retained as “testament.” This is why the part of the Biblecontaining the Old Covenant is misnamed unto this day inEnglish Bibles.

It is interesting that the only place the term “OldTestament” is found in the Bible is in II Corinthians 3:14. Evenhere, the Greek term diatheke was translated as “testament,” tocoincide with the misnomer already erroneously accepted. Theterm could have (and should have) been translated as“covenant.” The Old Covenant section of the Bible contains thesame books (although not in the correct order) as they werereferred to in the New Testament as “the law and the prophets,”and sometimes “the law, the prophets and the psalms (or writ-ings).”

In light of this information, recall the dictionary defini-tion already discussed in which the term, “testament” appliesonly to the death of the primary party in order to be in effect.Death was not mentioned with respect to the covenant Godmade with Israel in order for it to be in effect. Basically, thecovenant called upon Israel to obey God’s laws, whichwould result in material blessings—while disobediencewould bring curses. It is quite obvious how the term “OldCovenant” is most appropriate and that “Old Testament” is amisnomer.

(3) Does the Bible explicitly tell us whether the ancientIsraelites had access to God’s Spirit? John 7:37-39.

Comment: As verse 39 indicated, the Holy Spirit was notgiven until Jesus had been glorified (after His death, burial andresurrection). Those of ancient Israel were not given God’sSpirit except for the very few, such as the patriarchs, and laterMoses, Joshua, Samuel, David and others—the prophets in par-ticular. Although God left mankind to learn lessons through bit-ter experience in the ways of carnality, He reserved the right tocall a selected few specific people across time according to Hisown purpose.

(4) Did the people of Israel feel they were capable of ful-filling their part of the covenant God made with them? Exodus24:7-8.

Comment: After the people affirmed that they wouldperform “all the Eternal had said” and would be obedient tohim, the covenant was ratified with blood as written in verse8. The people somehow equated that being in the proximityof God—as His power and presence were manifested atMount Sinai—would give them the inspiration and power to

obey Him. Yet, they were incapable of living up to theirpromise of obeying God, as experience would clearly show.Just as people today, they were crippled by the absence ofthe Holy Spirit, although oblivious to that fact. Remember,the Holy Spirit was not yet available to all humanity, includ-ing Israel.

(5) What verses best summarize the experiences of Israelrecorded in the Old Covenant? I Corinthians 10:11; Romans15:4.

Comment: The experiences of ancient Israel serve as les-sons for true Christians today.

The Administration of Death

The Old Covenant consisted of distinct parts, the central partbeing the Ten Commandments. They preceded the OldCovenant and also transcend it. Other distinct parts of the OldCovenant were the civil laws and judgments, which gavedetailed applications of the Ten Commandments.

(1) What was the meaning of the set of judgments thatcalled for “life for life, an eye for an eye and a tooth for atooth?” Exodus 21:23-24.

Comment: Although the context of these verses pertainedto the protection of pregnant women (as in verse 22), the judg-ment applied to many other situations, in principle. A sentencewas a certainty for any infraction. The offender paid a penaltythat was equivalent to the damage he had caused.

(2) What was the penalty for someone committing murder?Genesis 9:5-6; Exodus 21:12.

Comment: Immediately after the Flood, God instituted theadministration of death as punishment for murder (Gen. 9:5-6).As one of the Ten Commandments in force since the creation ofman, it was spelled out in detail in the civil judgments (Ex.21:12).

(3) Was this administration of death called glorious? IICorinthians 3:7-8.

Comment: The administration of death was the civil exe-cution of punishment for violation of laws of the civil code thatexpanded on the Ten Commandments. Such laws requiring thedeath penalty usually involved such violations as murder, kid-napping or adultery.

The Israelites sinned on a regular basis and were continu-ally reminded of it. Their example serves to make us realize ourweaknesses and limitations, as well. It underlines our need forhelp through God’s Spirit to overcome our own human nature.The administration of the death penalty served to emphasizethis valuable lesson.

If the Israelites had been able to fulfill their part of thecovenant by keeping the letter of the law, they would havereceived only material blessings. Eternal life was never a prom-ise associated with the Old Covenant.

The “ministration of death” (II Cor. 3:7) was temporaryuntil the time of the “ministration of the spirit” (II Cor. 3:8), tobe permanent. The new administration of the same laws is to beimplemented by those who, with the help of the Holy Spirit,overcome and qualify in this life. They will rule in the govern-ment of God as spirit beings—a SPIRITUAL administration!

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The Old Covenant—a Marriage Covenant

Many have never heard that the LORD—the Eternal, the God ofthe Old Covenant—who later became Jesus Christ—had actu-ally entered a marriage covenant with Israel. Jesus Christ, whohad created all things (John 1:3) and thundered the TenCommandments and led Israel through the wilderness (I Cor.10:4), had married ancient Israel.

(1) Did the LORD who later became Jesus Christ explicitlystate that He was married to Israel? Jeremiah 3:14.

(2) Was Christ the husband of Israel? Jeremiah 3:20; 31:32;Isaiah 54:5.

(3) Did Christ enter into a covenant of marriage withIsrael? Ezekiel 16:8.

(4) What were to be the blessings upon Israel for remain-ing faithful to their covenant with God? Leviticus 26:1-3.

Comment: To get an overview of these promised blessings,read verses 4-13. This is equivalent to Deuteronomy 28: 1-14.You should become acquainted with these two chapters (Lev.26 and Deut. 28), since they spell out the blessings for obedi-ence and curses for disobedience to God’s laws, upon which theCovenant with Israel was based.

(5) What were to be the curses upon Israel for beingunfaithful to their covenant with God? Leviticus 26:14-16.

Comment: Read verses 17-39 for more insight andoverview of the curses for disobedience. These verses are beingfulfilled to this very day concerning the nations of modernIsrael.

(6) Did the apostle Paul indicate that the marriage covenantis based upon law—God’s Law? Romans 7:1-3.

Comment: These verses plainly indicate that neither partyof a marriage is bound to the law. Rather, each party is boundto the other mate by the law. Notice that the law does not ceaseto exist when one of the parties dies. Only the marriagecovenant, which was based upon the law, becomes dissolved bythe death of one party.

Likewise, Christ’s marriage with ancient Israel was dis-solved, yet the law upon which it was based still continues.Rather than Christ doing away with the law, it was the sins ofhumanity in breaking God’s perfect law that did away with His

life. He had to give His life in order to redeem all humanitysince, as Creator, His life was of greater value than all thecumulative lives of those who have ever lived.

(7) Is it the destiny of all who overcome and become spir-it beings at the First Resurrection to enter into a marriagecovenant with the glorified Christ? Romans 7:4.

Comment: This marriage covenant, based upon God’s spir-itual Law, will be under the terms of the New Covenant, to bediscussed in the next lesson.

Summary

It should be reinforced here that the law of works—the sacrifi-cial system—was not inaugurated at the time the TenCommandments were given, but began nearly a year later as aseparate and distinct part of the Old Covenant. In order to bet-ter remember this pivotal scripture, write out Jeremiah 7:22-24,as well. The sacrificial rituals became a distinct part of the OldCovenant, yet separate from the Ten Commandments.

The Old Covenant, usually misnamed as the OldTestament, was based upon material blessings for Israelkeeping the letter of the Law—which Israel miserably failedto do. Remember that the Old Covenant was made withIsrael only. The Old Covenant was not only material, butalso only temporal. Yet the spiritual law upon which it wasbased is eternal.

While Israel never lived up to their terms of their Covenantwith God, there were certain revivals in the kingdom of Israelin which certain kings were righteous, resulting in blessings forIsrael in the short term as they followed their examples. Thisoccurred during (and shortly after) the reign of David, and inthe reigns of Hezekiah, Josiah, and a few others to a lesserextent. Such revivals were the exception to Israel’s usual trackrecord.

Various other aspects of the Old Covenant will be furthercovered in the next lesson, which will also introduce the termsof the New Covenant. Meanwhile, our article “Are Christiansfreed from the Old Covenant?” will prove beneficial, as it pro-vides a unique overview of the subject.

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