Welcome to Anchors Of Truth,
live from Plantation, Florida.
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From The Old To The
New, with Sasha Bolotnikov.
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Good evening and happy Sabbath.
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We welcome you once
again to the beautiful
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Plantation
Seventh-day Adventist Church
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here in Plantation, Florida.
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We have been
having a wonderful time,
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an exquisite time, a beautiful
time in the Lord as we have
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concentrated on Jewish ministry,
and really those things that
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appertain to the
Jewish community, reached into
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the Christian community.
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And we've seen that over
the last couple of nights, Jim,
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in a very, very beautiful way.
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We really have, and
last night we learned a lot.
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We had a one hour
session, then we had two hours
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of more just
talking about things.
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And I got a call today
from my friend David Adderley.
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And David is a
wonderful man, loves the Lord,
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loves the Word of God.
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He said, "I learned more last
night about the Jewish people
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and the way that it fits into
Christianity than," he said,
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"I've ever learned in my life."
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And we're hearing that
from all over the world.
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And people are surprised
at the outreach that 3ABN has.
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We're on ten
satellites around the world.
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Plus we have 150 stations in the
U.S. that are local stations.
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Plus we are on Dish
Network and 1200 cable outlets.
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There are a lot of
people watching this,
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and we are getting
a wonderful response.
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And we are pleased to
know that so many people are
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really interested in
the interwoven connections
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between Jew and
Christian, and how one does not
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supplant the other but
one grows into the other,
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one is part of the other.
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They are really inseparable.
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And I got a couple of
calls from New York today also.
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Very, very fine response
on last night's program,
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and on this series in general.
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Yes, and we are looking forward
to the next three sessions.
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Tonight, we have
Sasha Bolotnikov,
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Alexander Bolotnikov; Dr. Sasha.
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And he is going to present the
subject, From Old To The New.
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And then tomorrow
morning, we have another session
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with Pastor Alex, the
pastor is this congregation.
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And then tomorrow afternoon,
Ralph Ringer will sort of
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bring it to a head, put a little
cherry on top of the sundae,
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and will close our
five meetings series.
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And this has
been very, very good.
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Under the title, One In The
Messiah, we've learned a lot.
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That is right, we
really, really have.
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Well listen, why
don't you lead us in prayer
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before we have our music.
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Shall we pray.
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Gracious Father, again
we come to You now during
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the sacred Sabbath hours.
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We thank You for this temple
in time, this respite from the
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cares of this world
whereby we have been called to
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lay down our work,
our trial, our trouble,
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those things that perplex us,
and rest in the arms of Jesus
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even for a little while.
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And so we pray, dear Lord,
that You would be the center
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and circumference of all
that happens in this house
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on this night.
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Be with the
speaker, be with the singer,
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be with those here
and around the world
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who will hear and
listen and watch and consume
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what we have to offer.
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May Your Spirit bathe
Sasha Bolotnikov as he speaks,
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but may it also go
into the hearts and homes
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of those who will sit
and hear and listen and see.
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And may their lives be
touched by You tonight.
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We put ourselves in Your
hands and thank You for what we
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know You are going to do in
answer to the prayer of faith.
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- In Jesus' name, amen. - Amen.
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The pastor is going
to be singing for us now.
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And I'm told that this
is an original composition,
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one of his very
own; Sh'ama Israel.
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And when he shall have
concluded this beautiful
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message in song, the
next voice you will hear
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will be that of Dr.
Alexander (Sasha) Bolotnikov.
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He is the director of
the Shalom Learning Center
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in the Oregon Conference.
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Hear ye him.
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Hear, O Israel, Adonai our God;
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Adonai is one.
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Sh'ama Yisrael,
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Adonai eloheinu.
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You shall love the Lord your God
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with all your heart,
all your soul, and strength.
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Keep these words that
I'm commanding you today;
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keep them in your heart.
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Hear, O Israel, Adonai our God;
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Adonai is one.
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Hear, O Israel, Adonai our God;
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Adonai is one.
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Teach Torah to your children
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when you are at
home, when you're away.
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Bind them to your
hand, and your forehead too;
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in everything you
think and speak and do.
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Hear, O Israel, Adonai our God;
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Adonai is one.
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Hear, O Israel, Adonai your God;
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Adonai is one.
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Sh'ama Yisrael,
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Adonai eloheinu.
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Sh'ama Yisrael,
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Adonai echad.
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Adonai echad.
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Adonai echad.
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Thank you, Alex,
for this beautiful song.
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It is really...
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It feels really
good to hear the words of
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the central Jewish
prayer; Sh'ma Yisrael,
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"Hear, O Israel, the Lord
is your God, the Lord is one,"
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at the beginning
of His holy Shabbat.
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And I wish every one of
our viewers and everyone who
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have come here at Plantation on
this beginning of the Shabbat,
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I wish you Shabbat shalom.
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The topic today which I
would like us to contemplate on
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is a very, very debated matter
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in the history
of biblical studies.
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It is about the difference
between the old covenant
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and the new covenant.
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How many of you...
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Before I ask this,
let me ask you this.
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Why do you think God
gave the new covenant?
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How many of you believe
that God gave the new covenant
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because the laws
of the old covenant
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were too hard to keep?
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In Hebrew tradition, 613
commandments of the Torah.
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And by the way, you count
them, you can read through the
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five books of
Moses, you count them.
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That's going to depend
how you consider sentences;
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between 590 and 630.
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That's why on
average it's considered 613.
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So, is it because of in the
beginning God gave that many
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commandments to Israel?
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And now He decided,
"Oh, I overdone a little bit.
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Let Me make a new covenant so
it will be a little bit easier."
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Well what about
this, how many of you think
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that God gave the new covenant
because Jews were so unfaithful
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to the Lord that God finally
said, "I'm through with you.
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And I'm going
to pick new people.
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I'm going to pick
pagans and Gentiles.
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Oh, by the way,
since they're so pagan,
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they won't be able to keep
up with so many commandments.
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I better reduce the
requirement a little bit."
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You see, all these
thoughts are floating around
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in different books.
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And they all are
rooted way back in the ideas
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of the late second
century, presented by the early
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Christian leader
known as Marcion.
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Marcion postulated that
there are two different Gods.
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The God of the Jew, YHWH, who
is the God of the old covenant;
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who is basically
evil, harsh, loveless God.
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And God Jesus, the
God of the new covenant;
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the God of Christians,
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who is kind,
accepting, and loving.
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So for many
centuries the tradition was,
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"Oh if you don't understand
Old Testament, that's fine.
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Start with New and you will
understand the love of Jesus.
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Don't read the Old Testament
because it will tell you about
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the harsh and
militant God of Israel."
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And what we have, we
have a connection here.
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We have a negative
view of Israel, together
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with a negative
view of God of Israel.
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Contrasted by the high
view of Jesus, opposite
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to His
predecessor; God of Israel.
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Basically...
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And it has many implications
to the point that many people
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believe that God the
Father needs to be pleased
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and appeased by Jesus.
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Because He's that
harsh God of old covenant.
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You know what the problem is?
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The problem is...
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The root of the
problem is that we actually
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talk about something we
don't understand the meaning of.
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We talk about the
new and old covenant.
00:14:05.44\00:14:09.10
We understand what
"new" and what "old."
00:14:09.20\00:14:13.57
What we don't understand is
what the covenant is all about.
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You see, I specifically framed
the question at the beginning
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of our discussion to highlight
the fact that the majority of
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the people think of
covenant as something legal.
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And indeed, this is true.
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If you look at the
usage of the word, "covenant,"
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in today's English, according
to Webster and Oxford dictionary
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95% of the usages
are in legal documents.
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The other five is in the Bible.
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The question is, do we bring
outside definition to the Bible,
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or do we try to understand
what is "covenant" in the Bible?
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In order to understand this,
I invite you to open the book
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which is not
very frequently read.
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But this is my favorite book.
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The book of Deuteronomy.
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And this is one
of the last chapters.
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Deuteronomy 29, and I'm
going to read from verse 9.
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From verse 10, sorry.
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"All of you stand today
before the Lord your God;
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your leaders and your tribes and
your elders and your officers,
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all the men of Israel,
your little ones and your wives,
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also the stranger who is
in your camp..." and so forth.
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Verse 12, that's the key.
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"That you may enter into
covenant with the Lord your God,
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and into His oath which the Lord
your God makes with you today,
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that He," verse 13, "may
establish you as a people
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for Himself."
00:16:42.48\00:16:44.13
This is the key text.
00:16:45.71\00:16:48.89
If you look at it
carefully, you will see a very
00:16:50.09\00:16:55.20
important repetition of
two phrases in verse 12.
00:16:55.23\00:17:02.14
It says first here,
"Enter into covenant with the
00:17:02.55\00:17:08.30
Lord your God."
00:17:08.33\00:17:09.69
And the second
phrase, "And into His oath."
00:17:10.62\00:17:18.35
These are very similar phrases.
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They are expressing the
same idea in different words.
00:17:22.85\00:17:31.91
So this text is the only
text among so many verses
00:17:32.50\00:17:41.44
across the Old
and the New Testament
00:17:41.47\00:17:44.46
that uses the word "covenant."
00:17:44.49\00:17:46.50
This is the one that
gives the definition.
00:17:46.53\00:17:49.36
Covenant is, "divine oath."
00:17:50.58\00:17:55.87
That's what the covenant is.
00:17:57.74\00:18:00.82
It's nothing about us.
00:18:01.36\00:18:03.38
It's nothing about
our obedience, obligation,
00:18:03.41\00:18:09.99
attempts to be good.
00:18:10.02\00:18:12.61
Covenant is a divine
oath to make His people.
00:18:12.71\00:18:22.61
That's what God is doing.
00:18:23.25\00:18:24.85
In fact, God is
contrasting the covenant
00:18:25.09\00:18:29.95
with the ancient ritual;
the ancient Hittite ritual.
00:18:30.21\00:18:34.78
Abraham knew about this.
00:18:34.81\00:18:36.68
Back in his day, in the third
and late second millennium,
00:18:37.02\00:18:42.39
the king would attack a city
and the city would surrender.
00:18:43.89\00:18:51.46
The ruler of the city
that surrendered wants to enter
00:18:52.18\00:18:58.72
into a covenant with
that victorious king.
00:18:58.75\00:19:02.93
So what does he do?
00:19:03.42\00:19:04.85
They have a road that
leads to the gate of the city.
00:19:05.91\00:19:09.84
The king which is
victor sits at the throne
00:19:10.77\00:19:16.13
at the gate, and the
ruler that is defeated
00:19:16.16\00:19:20.96
stands at the
beginning of the road.
00:19:21.64\00:19:25.01
And they take seven donkeys.
00:19:25.11\00:19:27.49
They split their
carcasses in half and lay them
00:19:27.80\00:19:33.26
on both sides of the pathway.
00:19:33.29\00:19:36.10
And the king that stands
at the head of the procession
00:19:36.49\00:19:41.88
and the ruler that surrenders
walks between these donkeys
00:19:41.91\00:19:47.02
making an oath.
00:19:47.12\00:19:49.20
"This and this shall be
done to me that if I break
00:19:49.89\00:19:57.03
my promise, my
covenantal promise to you,
00:19:57.31\00:20:00.85
oh gracious king
who defeated me."
00:20:02.09\00:20:06.30
You know what happened?
00:20:07.25\00:20:08.98
Back in Genesis 15, God
gives promise to Abraham saying,
00:20:10.25\00:20:16.87
"Your reward is great."
00:20:16.90\00:20:19.01
And Abraham doubts a
little bit, says, "How do I know
00:20:19.11\00:20:23.27
that my reward is great?
00:20:23.30\00:20:25.06
I'm getting old."
00:20:25.09\00:20:26.33
And God takes him outside and
shows him the stars in heaven.
00:20:27.03\00:20:31.28
And He says, "This
is how many descendents
00:20:31.39\00:20:33.53
you're going to have.
00:20:33.56\00:20:34.59
But now let's do this.
00:20:34.62\00:20:36.26
Let's do..."
00:20:36.81\00:20:38.62
And to Abraham, it
sounds like the Hittite's do.
00:20:39.58\00:20:43.07
Because Abraham wanders in the
land which is in the sphere of
00:20:43.10\00:20:47.81
influence of a Hittite kingdom.
00:20:47.84\00:20:50.47
Which is located in
Turkey, north of the Canaan.
00:20:50.50\00:20:55.29
Today's Turkey.
00:20:56.35\00:20:57.57
So God says, "Take
the three year old sheep,
00:20:57.60\00:21:02.94
three year old bullock,
three year old male goat,
00:21:02.97\00:21:07.28
and cut them in half."
00:21:07.83\00:21:09.83
And so he does.
00:21:10.07\00:21:11.17
And so he sits at the
beginning of the road and waits
00:21:11.42\00:21:17.18
for God to stand at
the other end of the road
00:21:17.21\00:21:21.90
so that he could
walk between the animals
00:21:21.93\00:21:25.17
he just sacrificed and split.
00:21:25.20\00:21:27.87
And he waits and
he waits and he waits.
00:21:27.97\00:21:29.92
And you know what happens?
00:21:29.95\00:21:31.33
In the fiery flame like
a furnace fire, God Himself
00:21:32.38\00:21:40.09
walks among the
split carcasses of animals.
00:21:40.12\00:21:46.01
The fact that given
the promise to Abraham
00:21:47.76\00:21:51.46
that if Abraham falls
off from the covenant,
00:21:51.84\00:21:56.08
He, God, is going to be
split like that dead animal.
00:21:56.53\00:22:04.00
Do you see that even in
this, in the very beginning
00:22:05.84\00:22:10.74
in the book of
Genesis, in the Torah,
00:22:10.77\00:22:13.80
we have the same
message as in the gospel.
00:22:13.83\00:22:17.48
So covenant is
divine promise, divine oath.
00:22:19.73\00:22:25.31
What else can we learn
from this word, "oath?"
00:22:26.27\00:22:30.57
This word in
Hebrew is very rare.
00:22:31.59\00:22:35.18
You know, the word for
"oath" appears many times,
00:22:36.93\00:22:40.54
but it's a
different Hebrew word.
00:22:40.57\00:22:42.07
That particularly in Hebrew,
"alah," occurs only three times
00:22:42.10\00:22:46.86
in the entire Bible.
00:22:46.89\00:22:48.13
It occurs one other time in
the context, which definitely
00:22:49.42\00:22:57.14
speaks about the
sacred oath of faithfulness
00:22:57.17\00:23:04.98
that wife and husband give
each other at their marriage.
00:23:05.01\00:23:12.47
That's what the
covenant is all about.
00:23:13.95\00:23:17.45
Have you ever heard the term,
"Church is the bride of Christ."
00:23:19.12\00:23:25.48
Do you understand
where the roots come to?
00:23:26.93\00:23:30.07
It goes all the way
down to the Torah to the
00:23:30.59\00:23:34.89
definition of the covenant.
00:23:34.92\00:23:37.62
In other words, God
making covenant with Israel;
00:23:37.82\00:23:43.45
the word is the same
as God had married Israel.
00:23:44.00\00:23:51.01
Let me ask you a question.
00:23:53.43\00:23:55.38
Raise your hand,
those of you, who believe
00:23:56.93\00:24:02.18
that you are holy.
00:24:02.91\00:24:05.88
What!
00:24:09.53\00:24:10.90
Okay, I see you having problem.
00:24:11.74\00:24:15.23
Okay, let me ask
you a very similar but a
00:24:17.11\00:24:21.91
different question.
00:24:21.94\00:24:23.36
Raise your hand, those who
believe that you are sinless.
00:24:23.62\00:24:30.28
Do you see the difference?
00:24:33.43\00:24:35.00
Holy is not sinless.
00:24:36.16\00:24:40.00
You need to know a little
bit of the background here.
00:24:40.83\00:24:45.66
Tell me the word
which is in your opinion
00:24:48.36\00:24:52.93
opposite to the word, "sinless."
00:24:52.96\00:24:56.36
Sinful.
00:24:58.03\00:24:59.15
Right?
00:24:59.60\00:25:00.63
What would be the word which
is opposite to the word, "holy?"
00:25:02.67\00:25:10.29
Well, Unholy. That's true.
00:25:12.62\00:25:14.15
But let me give
you another word.
00:25:14.18\00:25:15.98
It's a good idea.
00:25:16.98\00:25:18.29
Let me give you another word.
00:25:19.23\00:25:20.67
In Hebrew, the opposite
to "holy" is "adulterer."
00:25:20.82\00:25:24.95
You know why?
00:25:27.38\00:25:28.51
I'll tell you why.
00:25:28.82\00:25:29.94
You've got to observe a Jewish
engagement and wedding ceremony
00:25:30.58\00:25:36.62
to understand that.
00:25:36.65\00:25:37.91
You see, the word, "holy,"
"kadosh," is used elsewhere
00:25:39.08\00:25:45.92
in the context of betrothal.
00:25:45.95\00:25:48.70
In Hebrew, betrothal is
making a future bride holy.
00:25:49.57\00:25:57.98
What happens is this...
00:25:58.61\00:26:00.61
A young man at
the betrothal ceremony
00:26:01.57\00:26:05.90
approaches the young
lady, gives her a piece of gold,
00:26:06.31\00:26:12.57
and declares, "Now
behold, you are holy to me
00:26:12.60\00:26:19.83
in accordance to the
law of Moses and Israel."
00:26:19.86\00:26:24.12
What does it mean?
00:26:25.10\00:26:26.16
If a young lady
accepts this piece of gold,
00:26:26.68\00:26:32.33
she becomes forbidden to any man
00:26:33.35\00:26:39.49
except the one from whom
she took that piece of gold.
00:26:40.51\00:26:47.46
Do you understand now
the New Testament terminology
00:26:48.97\00:26:53.35
why the church is
holy bride of God?
00:26:53.38\00:26:57.38
You see, anybody who
accepts God's invitation
00:26:58.82\00:27:06.81
to become His bride, to enter
the covenant, becomes holy.
00:27:07.55\00:27:15.87
Now it doesn't
mean you become sinless.
00:27:17.62\00:27:20.37
You know what?
00:27:21.41\00:27:22.80
Is there anybody here
who is married over 30 years?
00:27:24.44\00:27:29.69
Alright.
00:27:31.46\00:27:32.70
Okay, tell me something.
00:27:33.15\00:27:35.03
I want to hear that.
00:27:36.74\00:27:38.31
"I was married for 30
years and we never disagreed
00:27:39.08\00:27:45.77
or quarreled."
00:27:45.80\00:27:47.50
Tell me that.
00:27:48.56\00:27:49.80
I want to hear that.
00:27:50.13\00:27:51.60
It doesn't happen, does it.
00:27:53.62\00:27:55.39
Well, well.
00:27:57.20\00:27:58.41
But do you understand
the difference between
00:27:59.55\00:28:01.72
disagreement, or
even quarrel, and divorce?
00:28:01.75\00:28:04.72
See, that's the difference.
00:28:06.67\00:28:09.30
We're not sinless in
our relationship with God.
00:28:09.72\00:28:14.06
But we are committed the
same way as if somebody has
00:28:14.89\00:28:23.85
disagreement with his wife.
00:28:23.88\00:28:25.91
And even walks to
the street to cool down.
00:28:26.25\00:28:30.07
He is not going to the lawyer...
00:28:30.78\00:28:33.75
...to sign papers.
00:28:35.60\00:28:37.73
You see, this is how our
relationship with God is.
00:28:39.16\00:28:44.65
We are not perfect.
00:28:45.14\00:28:47.03
But God wants
from us commitment.
00:28:47.42\00:28:51.94
And if we are
committed, we're holy.
00:28:52.82\00:28:56.32
And we grow in this relation.
00:28:58.28\00:29:01.23
Well, Israel had
rough edges with God.
00:29:02.28\00:29:10.71
Let's go to the book
of Exodus chapter 24.
00:29:13.19\00:29:17.03
You know, we
cannot idealize things.
00:29:18.71\00:29:24.66
But in Exodus 24, it
says here in verse 3...
00:29:25.55\00:29:33.97
That's when Moses
comes down from Mt. Sinai
00:29:34.33\00:29:38.85
and receives the
Ten Commandments.
00:29:39.62\00:29:44.42
And plus some commentary
on the Ten Commandments.
00:29:44.74\00:29:49.63
So verse 3 says he comes
down and tells the people
00:29:50.06\00:29:55.81
"all the words of the
Lord and the judgments.
00:29:55.84\00:29:59.76
And all the people answered
with one voice and said,
00:30:00.23\00:30:05.13
'All the words which the
Lord has said we will do.'"
00:30:05.86\00:30:13.95
That's commitment.
00:30:15.12\00:30:16.32
What otherwise do
you expect, you know?
00:30:17.63\00:30:21.72
You come to your...
00:30:22.57\00:30:25.98
...beloved lady, whom
you think you should marry.
00:30:28.63\00:30:36.30
You stand on your knee and
you say, "Shall you marry me?"
00:30:36.33\00:30:41.78
You know, there has
to be one of two answers.
00:30:43.15\00:30:46.59
There is no in the middle.
00:30:48.09\00:30:49.99
She must either say
yes or she must say no.
00:30:51.37\00:30:57.22
But you can't say,
"Maybe yes, maybe no."
00:30:58.11\00:31:03.20
Cannot be.
00:31:04.00\00:31:05.29
Or, you know, some
idea, "Oh they have to say
00:31:05.73\00:31:09.58
with the help of God."
00:31:09.61\00:31:10.76
"I'm going to marry
you with the help of whom?"
00:31:10.79\00:31:13.46
Doesn't work.
00:31:15.02\00:31:16.13
You've got, at some
point, you've got to commit.
00:31:16.61\00:31:20.30
That's not bad.
00:31:21.54\00:31:22.74
But, things happen.
00:31:23.72\00:31:26.18
You know, what we see in
Exodus 24 is nothing else
00:31:26.60\00:31:33.16
but God's wedding with Israel.
00:31:33.58\00:31:38.41
This is making of the covenant.
00:31:39.42\00:31:42.82
Look how it says
here, "And Moses wrote
00:31:43.47\00:31:48.40
all the words of the Lord.
00:31:48.74\00:31:51.23
And he rose early in the
morning and built an altar
00:31:51.64\00:31:56.69
at the foot of the mountain...
00:31:56.72\00:31:58.57
And then he sent young
men of the children of Israel,
00:31:59.41\00:32:04.63
who offered burnt
offerings and sacrifices.
00:32:04.66\00:32:09.21
And Moses took half the
blood and put it in basins,
00:32:09.50\00:32:14.03
and the rest he
sprinkled on the altar.
00:32:14.06\00:32:16.99
Then he took the Book
of the Covenant and read
00:32:17.02\00:32:23.48
in the hearing of the people."
00:32:23.78\00:32:26.01
That's making of the covenant.
00:32:26.55\00:32:28.53
That's marriage.
00:32:28.56\00:32:29.80
You ask me, how do I
make this assumption?
00:32:29.93\00:32:33.93
Let's go with me to
the book of Ezekiel.
00:32:34.59\00:32:38.80
The book of Ezekiel is
very clear on terminology.
00:32:40.51\00:32:45.53
Ezekiel chapter 16.
00:32:47.32\00:32:51.35
Hear how it says.
00:32:56.61\00:33:00.39
Verse 8, we're not
going to read all the details.
00:33:05.51\00:33:09.10
Verse 8, "When I
passed by you..."
00:33:10.54\00:33:14.50
And it's talking about Israel.
00:33:15.50\00:33:17.64
And in verse 1 it's clear.
00:33:17.89\00:33:19.76
"...again and looked
upon you, indeed your time
00:33:20.39\00:33:27.16
was the time of love; so
I spread My wing over you,
00:33:27.19\00:33:32.76
I covered your nakedness.
00:33:33.33\00:33:36.28
Yes, I swore an oath to you and
entered into covenant with you."
00:33:36.31\00:33:45.81
You see again these two words.
00:33:45.84\00:33:48.41
"And you became Mine."
00:33:49.80\00:33:54.41
That's what making a covenant.
00:33:55.81\00:33:57.90
God makes covenant
with Israel is the same as
00:33:59.73\00:34:04.63
God marries
Israel, or betroths Israel.
00:34:04.66\00:34:08.33
Well, but unfortunately
things happen rough.
00:34:09.96\00:34:15.42
The book of Jeremiah
is very clear on this.
00:34:17.40\00:34:23.32
Look with me at chapter 3.
00:34:25.36\00:34:28.70
And this is interesting text.
00:34:30.13\00:34:32.62
It says here in chapter
3 starting from verse 1,
00:34:34.29\00:34:41.07
"They say, 'If a
man divorces his wife,
00:34:41.68\00:34:48.21
and she goes from him
and becomes another man's,
00:34:48.24\00:34:51.70
may he return to her again?'"
00:34:51.73\00:34:55.00
I don't have time to
spend too much on this subject
00:34:55.91\00:34:59.63
of law of divorce
in the Old Testament
00:34:59.73\00:35:03.40
in the book of
Deuteronomy chapter 24.
00:35:03.43\00:35:06.05
Many people think
that the old covenant
00:35:06.08\00:35:10.29
permits the divorce while
Jesus and the new covenant
00:35:10.32\00:35:14.10
forbids the divorce.
00:35:14.13\00:35:15.66
Look at how Jeremiah interprets
the law of Deuteronomy.
00:35:16.19\00:35:21.23
It's very clear that Jeremiah
understands that the law
00:35:21.26\00:35:26.41
in Deuteronomy 24 does
not legislate the divorce.
00:35:26.44\00:35:33.32
But it address the
situation of remarriage.
00:35:33.35\00:35:38.29
And here it is.
00:35:38.76\00:35:40.05
"May he return to her again?
00:35:40.08\00:35:42.84
Would not that land
be greatly polluted?"
00:35:44.40\00:35:47.99
And then he
addresses Israel and explains.
00:35:48.47\00:35:51.52
"But you have played the
harlot with many lovers."
00:35:51.55\00:35:58.01
You see?
00:35:59.25\00:36:00.46
And by the way,
what Jesus teaches?
00:36:00.85\00:36:03.26
Anyone who divorces his
wife except the adultery.
00:36:03.30\00:36:09.24
So here is how
Jeremiah the prophet lays out
00:36:09.49\00:36:15.12
God's accusation clearly.
00:36:15.15\00:36:18.18
And by the way, if you read
the entire chapter of Ezekiel,
00:36:18.21\00:36:21.61
you will see the same thing.
00:36:21.64\00:36:23.10
You will see God
starting divorcement procedure
00:36:23.66\00:36:28.23
with Israel, because
Israel committed adultery.
00:36:28.26\00:36:33.62
In which sense?
00:36:34.53\00:36:35.95
English is kind
of word play here.
00:36:36.61\00:36:40.42
Adultery...idolatry.
00:36:40.45\00:36:42.72
That's what it was.
00:36:43.80\00:36:45.13
In fact, look at the Decalogue.
00:36:47.29\00:36:50.60
There are two
commandments in Decalogue
00:36:51.26\00:36:54.31
that deal with faithfulness.
00:36:54.34\00:36:57.05
We all know
commandment number seven, right?
00:36:58.11\00:37:01.16
Well what about
commandment number one?
00:37:01.81\00:37:04.93
"Thou shalt not have any
other god in front of Me."
00:37:06.20\00:37:11.60
That was the problem.
00:37:11.80\00:37:13.16
Well, but is this all?
00:37:14.36\00:37:18.00
Is this all?
00:37:19.95\00:37:21.50
Look how the verse ends.
00:37:23.19\00:37:28.02
God lays out the
accusation to Israel that Israel
00:37:29.02\00:37:34.17
played with many lovers.
00:37:34.20\00:37:35.71
But then it says,
"Yet return to Me."
00:37:35.74\00:37:40.63
"Yet return to Me."
00:37:43.67\00:37:48.39
That's the grace.
00:37:49.65\00:37:51.12
You know, things happen in life.
00:37:52.66\00:37:55.77
Things happen when in
marital life the situation
00:37:56.92\00:38:02.96
becomes that
two spouses divorce.
00:38:02.99\00:38:06.20
But sometimes after
they separate, they realize
00:38:07.58\00:38:11.72
they made wrong and they can...
00:38:11.75\00:38:13.32
...go back.
00:38:14.93\00:38:16.06
Of course, if they
haven't formed new families
00:38:16.09\00:38:21.94
they can still go back.
00:38:22.78\00:38:24.83
And this is what
God is saying to Israel.
00:38:25.24\00:38:29.98
"Israel, I divorce you and
you deserve to be sent away.
00:38:31.04\00:38:36.71
But in My grace, come back.
00:38:36.74\00:38:41.88
Come back."
00:38:43.26\00:38:44.55
This is the God of
love in the old covenant.
00:38:46.02\00:38:51.08
Now let's go to
Jeremiah's view of the covenant
00:38:53.15\00:38:58.10
and the new covenant.
00:38:58.13\00:38:59.54
And famous Jeremiah 31:31.
00:39:00.06\00:39:04.78
Oh how many things
are said about this text.
00:39:05.64\00:39:09.76
But it is interesting
how, in this same chapter,
00:39:10.93\00:39:17.53
God says that, "I love
you with eternal love."
00:39:17.56\00:39:25.26
And here is verse 31.
00:39:26.19\00:39:30.53
Hear how it says.
00:39:32.29\00:39:34.41
"'Behold, the days are
coming,' says the Lord,
00:39:37.64\00:39:42.15
'that I will
make new covenant...'"
00:39:42.92\00:39:45.14
With Gentiles.
00:39:46.17\00:39:47.80
Is this how it says?
00:39:52.52\00:39:53.89
Does your English
Bible say Gentiles?
00:39:55.55\00:39:58.49
Let's read.
00:40:00.14\00:40:01.26
"...with the house of
Israel and the house of Judah."
00:40:01.29\00:40:06.52
Oh, I expect somebody
jump up and say, "Of course,
00:40:06.99\00:40:11.47
who is Israel today?
00:40:11.50\00:40:13.44
The church."
00:40:13.72\00:40:15.44
Okay, let's read the context.
00:40:15.89\00:40:17.85
"Not according to the covenant
I made with their fathers
00:40:18.93\00:40:24.02
in the day I took them by
hand out of the land of Egypt."
00:40:25.13\00:40:30.14
Wait a second.
00:40:30.17\00:40:31.45
Was a church taken
out of the land of Egypt?
00:40:31.48\00:40:35.27
Which fathers is
he talking about here?
00:40:36.63\00:40:39.95
The church fathers?
00:40:39.98\00:40:41.97
Give me a break.
00:40:42.42\00:40:43.81
We need to read
the text of the Bible.
00:40:44.35\00:40:47.09
"My covenant
which they broke..."
00:40:51.40\00:40:57.49
It's very clear it
talks about Israel who broke
00:40:57.52\00:41:00.81
the covenant with God.
00:41:00.84\00:41:02.69
And look, "...though I
was a husband to them."
00:41:03.95\00:41:09.83
You see what's happening?
00:41:12.53\00:41:14.28
I mean, today there are
so many speculations about
00:41:15.46\00:41:22.34
what the destiny
of Israel people,
00:41:23.06\00:41:27.62
talk about someday,
it's 1948 or 1967, you know.
00:41:27.65\00:41:33.52
All this political confusion
which is going on there.
00:41:33.55\00:41:38.06
I'm not going to touch on this.
00:41:39.15\00:41:40.85
But the Bible
here is very clear.
00:41:40.88\00:41:44.87
God makes new
covenant with Israel.
00:41:46.18\00:41:49.99
In the context of
Jeremiah, God is remarrying...
00:41:50.36\00:41:56.74
...Israel, whom He divorced.
00:41:58.78\00:42:01.36
He did.
00:42:01.76\00:42:02.85
But He remarries them.
00:42:03.24\00:42:05.31
That's the message for Israel.
00:42:07.36\00:42:10.32
This is the message that
God sends to Israel and says,
00:42:10.88\00:42:14.63
"I'm going to remarry you.
00:42:15.00\00:42:16.67
Even though you were not
faithful, I was faithful.
00:42:16.93\00:42:21.56
I am a suffering party.
00:42:21.59\00:42:24.71
I have arrived to
declare, 'Look, you betrayed Me.
00:42:24.74\00:42:28.86
But no, I am making
new covenant with you.'"
00:42:28.89\00:42:34.92
You see, it makes no other
sense if we're talking about
00:42:36.44\00:42:42.87
the church; there was no
old covenant with the church.
00:42:42.90\00:42:47.68
The new covenant can be
made only if there was old.
00:42:51.76\00:42:56.49
The new covenant is
with Israel and Judah.
00:42:58.44\00:43:04.72
You're going to ask me, "How?"
00:43:04.99\00:43:07.12
Because now I feel this
idea blows somebody's mind.
00:43:07.75\00:43:12.83
But let me do
some explanation here.
00:43:12.86\00:43:16.82
Not going to
leave you like this.
00:43:17.61\00:43:19.55
We need to see how
this prophecy is fulfilled.
00:43:20.75\00:43:28.02
First of all, I want
us to read the context.
00:43:29.26\00:43:33.90
This is how it says, verse 33.
00:43:35.78\00:43:40.02
"'But this is the covenant
that I will make with the
00:43:41.52\00:43:45.02
house of Israel after
those days,' says the Lord.
00:43:45.05\00:43:49.10
'I will put My law into
their minds and write it
00:43:49.64\00:43:54.56
on their hearts.'"
00:43:54.59\00:43:57.23
Is this a metaphor?
00:43:58.48\00:44:00.31
No.
00:44:01.95\00:44:02.98
Believe me, the
prophets of the Old Testament
00:44:03.61\00:44:09.01
did not write in Greek style
with metaphors and epithets.
00:44:09.04\00:44:15.57
They're very concrete.
00:44:15.77\00:44:17.20
"I will write My
Torah in their hearts."
00:44:18.62\00:44:22.18
The question is,
where was the Torah before?
00:44:23.82\00:44:27.12
Well, very easy.
00:44:29.25\00:44:31.57
The Torah before
was inside the ark.
00:44:33.63\00:44:36.24
Well the Ten
Commandments with two tablets
00:44:36.27\00:44:38.44
were inside the ark,
and the Book of the Law,
00:44:38.47\00:44:41.07
according to Deuteronomy,
was sitting beside the ark.
00:44:41.27\00:44:45.11
In fact, the Lord's
presence was in a very specific
00:44:45.91\00:44:52.99
geographical location.
00:44:53.19\00:44:55.18
Deuteronomy 12.
00:44:56.68\00:44:58.69
Deuteronomy 12 says...
00:45:01.44\00:45:04.29
...in verse 5, "But
you shall seek the place
00:45:08.73\00:45:16.38
where the Lord your God
chooses, out of all your tribes,
00:45:16.88\00:45:22.79
to put His name for His dwelling
place; and there shall you go."
00:45:22.82\00:45:28.59
Torah is very
specific about the place
00:45:30.93\00:45:34.45
which Israelites
needed to attend.
00:45:35.77\00:45:38.21
I'm very careful
not using the word.
00:45:38.24\00:45:40.26
Worship; because they
worshiped in different places,
00:45:40.70\00:45:44.32
in towns; Levitical laws.
00:45:44.52\00:45:46.73
But that was the
place where they sacrificed.
00:45:46.76\00:45:50.13
That's where the place of the
presence of the divine glory,
00:45:51.13\00:45:56.23
the Shekinah; that
was a very specific place.
00:45:56.26\00:46:00.26
And that's why
sanctuary or altar or anything
00:46:00.29\00:46:03.53
could not be duplicated.
00:46:03.56\00:46:05.90
That place or
location was disputed later on
00:46:07.87\00:46:11.97
by the people
known as Samaritans.
00:46:12.00\00:46:14.83
Remember the
discussion Samaritan woman had
00:46:16.54\00:46:20.83
with Jesus, as is
described in the Gospel of John
00:46:20.86\00:46:30.28
chapter 4.
00:46:30.31\00:46:33.20
And here it says in verse 20 she
asked Him a specific question.
00:46:34.16\00:46:42.07
"Our fathers
worshiped on this mountain."
00:46:42.98\00:46:46.87
And she points to Mount
Gerizim in today's Samaria.
00:46:46.90\00:46:51.25
"And you Jews say that
in Jerusalem is the place
00:46:51.81\00:46:56.18
where one ought to worship."
00:46:56.21\00:46:58.54
Listen to the response of Jesus.
00:47:00.51\00:47:03.30
"Woman, believe Me, the hour
is coming when you will neither
00:47:03.33\00:47:10.42
on this mountain, nor in
Jerusalem, worship the Father."
00:47:10.45\00:47:14.37
Then He makes a remark.
00:47:15.40\00:47:17.20
"You worship
what you do not know.
00:47:18.35\00:47:21.44
We know what we worship,
for salvation is of the Jews."
00:47:21.47\00:47:29.19
So Jesus affirms that, as
of His time, as of the time
00:47:29.94\00:47:36.46
when He's speaking
with Samaritan woman,
00:47:37.30\00:47:40.12
there is only one
place in Jerusalem
00:47:40.15\00:47:43.68
where divine glory resides.
00:47:43.71\00:47:45.74
But now He continues,
"But the hour is coming,
00:47:46.04\00:47:50.25
and now is, when the
true worshipers will worship
00:47:50.28\00:47:54.14
the Father in spirit and truth."
00:47:54.17\00:48:00.07
This is a fundamental
prediction that Jesus makes
00:48:01.71\00:48:06.86
that gives a pivotal difference
between the old covenant
00:48:07.25\00:48:12.68
and the new covenant.
00:48:12.71\00:48:14.26
The old covenant was centered,
and Paul, when he comments
00:48:15.01\00:48:20.23
on Jeremiah 31, is very
specific that the old covenant
00:48:20.26\00:48:25.64
was centered on geographical
location of the sanctuary.
00:48:25.67\00:48:30.11
Jesus says that the time is
coming when the worship will be
00:48:31.16\00:48:36.03
in truth and in spirit.
00:48:36.06\00:48:39.82
What does it mean?
00:48:41.71\00:48:42.99
Again, this is not a metaphor.
00:48:43.74\00:48:45.90
Look at 1
Corinthians chapter 3 verse 16.
00:48:46.62\00:48:54.11
It says, "Don't you know
that you are the temple of God
00:48:54.59\00:49:01.91
and the Spirit of
God dwells in you?"
00:49:03.27\00:49:05.60
What's happening?
00:49:06.26\00:49:08.05
We see a transition of
divine glory, of divine spirit,
00:49:09.95\00:49:15.80
from the place on top
of the ark of the covenant
00:49:16.10\00:49:21.75
into the hearts
of the believers.
00:49:22.85\00:49:25.57
That's your difference.
00:49:27.13\00:49:29.18
There is nothing about
some legal issues what the
00:49:29.21\00:49:34.50
old covenant;
easy law, hard law.
00:49:34.53\00:49:37.77
This is where
the Holy Spirit is.
00:49:37.80\00:49:40.05
The old covenant places
the Holy Spirit in specific
00:49:41.33\00:49:46.79
geographical location.
00:49:46.82\00:49:48.85
The new covenant
makes us the temples of God.
00:49:49.18\00:49:55.03
How did it
actually come to fruition?
00:49:57.14\00:50:00.12
Very simple.
00:50:01.73\00:50:03.10
Look at Acts chapter 2.
00:50:04.37\00:50:07.12
The Jewish Feast of Pentecost.
00:50:09.13\00:50:12.29
The number of Jews,
thousands and thousands of Jews,
00:50:13.18\00:50:18.78
from all over place.
00:50:18.81\00:50:21.55
Because after the Babylonian
captivity, Jews did not
00:50:21.58\00:50:27.42
live in Judea.
00:50:27.45\00:50:29.84
That is always neglected,
that fact is always neglected
00:50:31.14\00:50:35.76
by many Bible students.
00:50:35.79\00:50:38.41
We often think that
until the time of Christ
00:50:38.93\00:50:43.79
Jews lived exactly as
described in the Torah.
00:50:43.82\00:50:49.43
Well the Torah,
unfortunately, does not address
00:50:49.84\00:50:54.12
the phenomenon
known as the Diaspora,
00:50:54.32\00:50:57.39
where a number of Jews
did not return from Babylon.
00:50:58.18\00:51:02.15
A number of Jews
settled in Egypt,
00:51:02.82\00:51:05.61
a number of Jews settled
in Rome, and other places.
00:51:05.82\00:51:10.68
But they had their
center location, Jerusalem,
00:51:10.71\00:51:14.27
where they
would make pilgrimage.
00:51:14.30\00:51:16.63
And Pentecost, which is
in the time of May/June,
00:51:16.66\00:51:21.14
is the best time to do it.
00:51:21.17\00:51:22.88
And what happens?
00:51:24.10\00:51:25.66
Well some of those Jews
didn't even speak Hebrew.
00:51:26.64\00:51:33.95
They were in
Diaspora for many generations.
00:51:33.98\00:51:37.59
They come to Jerusalem.
00:51:38.24\00:51:40.30
They needed a translation.
00:51:41.25\00:51:43.36
Usually, translation was
made by learned scholars.
00:51:44.92\00:51:49.57
But this famous
day, the Spirit of God
00:51:50.91\00:51:57.87
rested upon twelve Jews,
00:51:58.86\00:52:03.66
disciples of the Jewish
Messiah, Yeshua Ha'Mashiach,
00:52:04.69\00:52:09.70
who began to translate to
them the message of Pentecost.
00:52:10.90\00:52:19.22
And what is the Pentecost?
00:52:19.26\00:52:20.45
Pentecost is actually a
celebration of the giving
00:52:20.48\00:52:24.45
of the Torah on Mount Sinai.
00:52:24.48\00:52:27.33
So the covenant was made
on the Pentecost originally.
00:52:30.24\00:52:35.15
The marriage.
00:52:35.18\00:52:36.21
And remarriage
happened at Pentecost.
00:52:36.66\00:52:42.41
God remarried Israel.
00:52:43.26\00:52:45.60
Who were these
Israelites whom God remarried?
00:52:46.99\00:52:50.56
Three thousand Jews...
00:52:51.32\00:52:54.51
...who, mellowed by their hearts
after having heard the news
00:52:55.74\00:53:03.44
of Messiah, and said,
"Brethren, what shall we do?"
00:53:03.54\00:53:08.97
And the Jew by the name,
Shim'on, Simon the Peter,
00:53:10.38\00:53:16.86
said, "Repent and be baptized."
00:53:17.45\00:53:20.61
And three thousand Jews...
00:53:21.38\00:53:24.24
...became the foundational
stone of the new covenant.
00:53:25.32\00:53:33.26
You're going to
ask, "Wait a second.
00:53:33.94\00:53:37.51
But after the stoning of
Stephen, Jews no longer came."
00:53:37.98\00:53:44.52
But wait a second.
00:53:45.55\00:53:47.29
I want to show you something.
00:53:47.69\00:53:49.76
I want to show you the
book of Acts chapter 11.
00:53:50.80\00:53:57.42
And you will see
what happened after Peter.
00:53:58.02\00:54:01.60
The book of Acts chapter 11.
00:54:02.40\00:54:05.20
It says here, verse 19,
"Now those who were scattered
00:54:06.07\00:54:13.91
after the persecution
that arose over Stephen
00:54:13.94\00:54:18.21
traveled as far as
Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch,
00:54:19.25\00:54:25.01
preaching the word to no
one..." but Gentiles only.
00:54:25.82\00:54:31.30
What does it say here?
00:54:34.29\00:54:35.64
Do you read the
same text I read?
00:54:38.02\00:54:40.41
You see "Jews."
00:54:40.59\00:54:41.62
You testify that I am not
making up the Bible as I go.
00:54:41.65\00:54:45.72
Well look, who were these Jews?
00:54:47.82\00:54:49.76
"Some of them were men
from Cyprus and Cyrene."
00:54:49.79\00:54:53.76
That's those Jews
who lived in Diaspora.
00:54:53.79\00:54:57.03
This is what happened
after stoning of Stephen.
00:54:59.16\00:55:02.22
The gospel went from
Judea, geographically,
00:55:02.98\00:55:12.09
into the Jewish Diaspora.
00:55:12.12\00:55:14.26
And hear what it says.
00:55:14.29\00:55:15.98
"And they had
come to Antioch..."
00:55:16.92\00:55:19.03
So these Jews who received
the good news came to Antioch.
00:55:19.06\00:55:23.07
"...and spoke to Hellenists..."
00:55:23.10\00:55:26.87
By the way, Hellenists
are the Hellenized Jews too.
00:55:28.11\00:55:31.41
"...preaching the Lord Jesus.
00:55:32.36\00:55:34.64
And the hand of the Lord was
with them, and a great number
00:55:36.01\00:55:41.77
believed and turned to God.
00:55:41.80\00:55:44.13
And news of these
things came to the ears of
00:55:44.44\00:55:48.12
the church in Jerusalem,
and they sent Barnabas,"
00:55:48.15\00:55:51.62
a Jewish
missionary, "to Antioch."
00:55:53.26\00:55:56.66
And this is how the
Christians came to be.
00:55:57.92\00:56:01.84
Foundation.
00:56:03.95\00:56:05.88
And the Hellenists
and non-Jews stand alone.
00:56:07.25\00:56:12.67
This is the new covenant...
00:56:13.83\00:56:15.86
...as always been.
00:56:17.37\00:56:19.15
The foundation
is always staying.
00:56:20.12\00:56:24.90
You know why?
00:56:24.93\00:56:25.97
Think about this.
00:56:26.75\00:56:28.34
If we suppose that God
decided to divorce Israel
00:56:29.91\00:56:37.26
and does not give
it a second chance,
00:56:38.64\00:56:41.74
would He give a
second chance to us?
00:56:42.61\00:56:45.26
Don't we all
deserve a second chance?
00:56:47.78\00:56:53.33
The new covenant
is not a new law.
00:56:54.44\00:56:58.61
The new covenant
is a second chance.
00:56:59.09\00:57:04.00
God says to a broken
marriage, "Let's try again.
00:57:04.89\00:57:09.53
Don't walk away from Me."
00:57:10.22\00:57:12.40
Isn't this a
wonderful gracious God.
00:57:14.49\00:57:17.66
Let's pray.
00:57:19.15\00:57:20.66
Heavenly Father, we are
so grateful for Your grace.
00:57:21.36\00:57:28.58
That is what Your grace says.
00:57:29.20\00:57:32.12