The Laws of God – New versus the Old Covenant – Part III
Redemption from sin is the hub around which all the covenants rotate. Be it the first covenant or the second, in both forms, the Loving God points to life immortal, without sin, as it was intended in the Garden of Eden before sin reared its ugly head. The Old Covenant, unlike the New, was a solemn agreement that was initially made at Mount Sinai with the children of Israel. It required obedience to the core of God's law. The Old Covenant promised that a person or a nation would be physically blessed (health, wealth, etc.) or cursed (e.g., poverty, captivity, etc.) (Exodus 19:5 - 6, Deuteronomy 28, Leviticus 26). The covenant veered around interpersonal relationships, Moral laws, and Ceremonial laws. The ceremonial laws washed a person of his sins by the substitutionary sacrifice of a lamb, pointing to the ‘Lamb of God’.
Whether the new covenant began with Jesus' crucifixion or at Pentecost with the coming of the Holy Spirit, is immaterial. What matters most is that the new covenant was established between God and individuals (John 3:16), with Jesus Christ serving as a mediator. Besides serving as the sacrificial lamb, Jesus also became the new High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-16). Apart from physical prosperity, the new covenant promises salvation from sin and eternal life with God. As a high priest, Jesus constantly intercedes for his followers before his Father in heaven. Individuals may now approach God themselves; they no longer need a human high priest to speak for them.
There are some fundamental differences that should be borne in mind are appended:
• The old covenant was ended by Jesus Christ (Roman 10:4) while the new covenant was established by Jesus Christ (Hebrews 8:6)
• In the Old, Moses and the prophets were mediators while in the new covenant, Jesus Christ is the mediator. Further, Jesus is superior to Moses as a mediator;
• In The old covenant, the priesthood was in the lineage, while the new covenant priesthood is in the Melchizedek lineage (Hebrews 7:11,21). Jesus is a high priest forever, seated next to God in heaven.
• Jesus' sacrifice was once for all, perfecting believers for eternal life. The substitutionary sacrifice in the Old Testament had to be undertaken again and again.
• The old covenant was for specific people in a specific place and time. The new covenant extends to the entire world and humanity.
• In the old covenant, remembrance of sin was done yearly while in the new covenant, forgiveness and washing away of sin is done once and for all.
Hebrews 8:10-12 “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: 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. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.”
Dr Ashwin Drummond