The Scriptures tell us that Yahovah will make a “New Covenant" with humanity. This promise has been widely used among the world's religions to show that humanity know longer needs to obey the laws written in the Old Testament. But is this an accurate assessment of what the Hebrew Bible teaches?
The phrase “New Covenant” is found only one time in the entire Old Testament. That being:
Jeremiah 31
31 "Behold, the days are coming, says Yahovah, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah--
Again, this is the only place that the phrase “New Covenant” is found in the entire Old Testament.On that one promise by Yahovah, the western world has established an entire religion, a religion that teaches that “we are no longer under the Old Testament Law”.
But is that really what the Scripture states? Does that passage really instruct us to no longer obey the Old Testament Laws?
Certainly not!
Let's read the rest of this prophecy:
Jeremiah 31
31 "Behold, the days are coming, says Yahovah, when 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 lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says Yahovah. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says Yahovah: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know Yahovah,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says Yahovah. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."
Verse 33 tells us that Yahovah "will put His law in their minds, and write it on their hearts".
It NEVER states that Yahovah will change, replace or annul His Laws! In fact it says just the opposite, Yahovah will "write His Laws in our hearts" so that we WILL obey them!
You can clearly see that Yahovah's Law is not ended.
Another important question that we must ask is:
"Are we even in the "New Covenant" era yet?"
Verse 34 can answer this question for us, because verse 34 actually tells us the results of this “New Covenant”.
It says that the result of this "New Covenant" will be that "No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know Yahovah,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them."
So has verse 34 happened yet?
Has Yahovah caused it to no longer be necessary for any man to “teach his neighbor or brother to know Yahovah”? Does “all know Him, from the greatest of His creation even unto the least of His creation”?
Has any of this happened yet? Because according to the prophecy, that is what the result of the "New Covenant" will be!
And there's more, because at that time:
Jeremiah 33
14 'Behold, the days are coming,' says Yahovah, 'that I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah: 15 'In those days and at that time I will cause to grow up to David A Branch of righteousness; He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. 16 In those days Judah will be saved, And Jerusalem will dwell safely. And this is the name by which she will be called: YAHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.' 17 "For thus says Yahovah: 'David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel; 18 nor shall the priests, the Levites, lack a man to offer burnt offerings before Me, to kindle grain offerings, and to sacrifice continually.' " (See also Zechariah 14:20-21 and others)
My friends, please re-read verse 16.
Has Judah been saved?
Does Jerusalem dwell in safety?
And again:
Jeremiah 32
37Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely: 38 And they shall be my people, and I will be their elohim: 39 And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me forever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: 40 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.
And again:
Isaiah 11
6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. 7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. 9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Yahovah, as the waters cover the sea.
My friends, Jeremiah prophesied that the New Covenant would bring peace. Jeremiah prophesied that our hearts would no longer be at enmity with Yahovah and that “no man would ever again have to teach his neighbor to know Yahovah”! Isaiah prophesied that “the wolf would lie down with the lamb” and that the “lion would eat grass like an ox”.
In Yahovah's infinate love and mercy, He will cause our hearts to fear (and respect) Him so that we will never depart from His Torah again!
Here is how it will happen:
Ezekiel 37
1 The hand of Yahovah was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of Yahovah and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said, "O Sovereign Master, you alone know." 4 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of Yahovah! 5 This is what the Sovereign Yahovah says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am Yahovah.' "
Alas, a "New Covenant"!
My friends, may Yahovah bless you all in accordance with the sincerity of your desire for truth!
Jeff and Sarah
Torah Family Homepage
