Hello, I'm Lyle Southwell.
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And this is Let God Speak.
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After they returned
from Babylonian captivity,
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the Jewish people
renew their covenant
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to faithfully followed God.
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They signed a
solemn written covenant
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to be true and obedient.
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In the scriptures today,
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we will study the
contents of this covenant
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and the major
covenants of the Bible.
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On our panel today,
we have David Currie
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and Andrew Russell.
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As we begin, let's bow
for a moment of prayer.
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Father in heaven, as we take
up this most important subject
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of the covenants that
You have made with us.
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We pray for the
presence of Your Holy Spirit.
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And may we experience
Your covenant of grace today.
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We ask in Jesus' name, amen.
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Amen.
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The Babylonian returnees
experienced a deep revival
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under Nehemiah and Ezra.
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And at the conclusion of a long
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and very
heartfelt prayer by Ezra,
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what did they do, Andrew?
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Well, they made a covenant,
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we'll read that in verse 38.
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If we read verse 38, it
says, "And because of all this
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we make a sure
covenant, and write it,
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and our princes,
Levites, and priests,
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seal unto it."
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So they actually
wrote a covenant.
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They wrote their
covenant and then they signed
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their names to that covenant.
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Why did they do this?
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It was a way of
making a permanent record
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for the nation of Israel,
something that was cited,
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something that
was clearly stated
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and could be remembered.
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Okay, so this wasn't something
that was incredibly unusual.
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This is
something that, you know,
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God has made
covenants with His people down
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through history.
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That's right.
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What was the general nature
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of a covenant in
the Bible, David?
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Yes.
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Well, the covenant
is mentioned many times
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and most of the covenants
are made between equals,
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but the covenant we
wanna talk about today
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is an everlasting covenant
that God Himself initiated.
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And He expected people to walk
into the way of that covenant,
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and to keep the covenant.
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And God pledges to
care for His people
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when they didn't
keep the covenant
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and the covenant
that He made with them,
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established
families, it helped them
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to give work opportunities
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and apart from anything else
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and help them able
to worship the true God.
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Okay, so we call this
the everlasting covenant,
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but when was it
that God actually started
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making
covenants with His people?
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How far back does this go?
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Well, you know,
we go to Hosea 6:7.
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And there we see
that Hosea says that
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God made a covenant with Adam.
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So... That's a long way back.
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Right at the beginning.
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Right at the very beginning.
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And, of course, this was
a very significant nature
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because they
were told to multiply,
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they were told to eat,
and what they should eat?
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They're told to work,
to cultivate the fields,
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and worship God.
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All that in Genesis 1 and 2.
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And this was a
covenant that was made
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before sin came into this world.
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Absolutely.
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It came with Adam
right at the very beginning,
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and this was quite significant.
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Okay, so covenants are
obviously something that
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are integral to
God's relationship with us.
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God repeats a
lot of this to Noah.
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Andrew, can you share
a little bit about that?
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Yeah.
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Well, just
referring to that covenant
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that God made with
Adam in the very beginning,
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it talks about their multiplying
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and replenishing the
earth, it talks about them,
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you know, they, you
know, what they should eat.
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It goes and I think is worship,
and they work, it's all there.
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And one of the interesting
that in both covenants,
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he talks about how we eat.
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Yeah, we see
that repeated in Noah,
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in the time of Noah.
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So we'll go to
Genesis Chapter 9.
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And we can look at that
Genesis 9:1 just for a moment.
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And God makes this
covenant with Noah.
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And we'll look at verses 1,
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and we'll look at
verse 13, as well.
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And you see
this repetition here,
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even as it was
in the days of Adam.
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It says, "And God
blessed Noah and his sons,
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and said unto them,
'Be fruitful, and multiply,
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and replenish the earth.'"
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When you read Genesis, you read
that very clearly, isn't it?
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Yeah, yeah. When
God speaks to Adam.
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And in verse 13,
as well, it says,
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"And I do set my
bow in the cloud,
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and it shall be for
a token of the covenant
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between me and the earth."
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And so, yeah, and
so here, you know,
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God gives a more
formalized covenant here.
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We can also...
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Should we look at verse
11 or verse 9 and verse 11,
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it also says
here, "And I, behold,
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I establish my
covenant with you,
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and with your seed after you."
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And verse 11, "And I will
establish my covenant with you,
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neither shall all
flesh be cut off any more
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by the waters of a flood,
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neither shall there any more be
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a flood to destroy the earth."
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So here God is
expressing this covenant
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now to Noah as well.
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Okay.
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What I like about it,
Lyle as that is very soon
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as the Adamic covenant
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because they're
told to multiply,
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and they're told to eat
just as he is back to Noah.
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And obviously to
worship God. That's right.
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Come central to this
whole concept of the covenants.
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Okay, so we've
gone from Adam to Noah,
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who do we go to next?
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To Abraham, of course.
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Abraham?
Abraham is the next one.
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One of the most famous covenant,
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when we think of the covenants,
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some, one of the
most famous ones.
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Yeah, most
well-known and recognized.
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In just the next
chapter, Chapter 12 of Genesis.
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In Genesis
12:1-4 we can read that.
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It says, yeah, "Now the
Lord had said unto Abram,
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'Get thee out of thy
country, and from thy kindred,
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from thy father's house,
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unto a land that
I will shew thee.
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And I will make of
thee a great nation,
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and I will bless thee,
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and make thy name great,
and thou shalt be a blessing.
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And I will bless
them that bless thee,
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and curse them
that curseth thee,
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and in thee shall all families
of the earth be blessed.'
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So Abram departed, as
the Lord had spoken unto him,
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and Lot went with him,
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and Abram was
seventy and five years old
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when he departed out of Haran.'"
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And so, yeah, God's
got a special calling
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here for Abraham as
well, in terms of a covenant.
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Yeah.
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And he's 75 years old
when this covenant is made.
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I wonder why God chose
somebody who was so old.
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Does, David, does God formalize
this covenant at some point?
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Yes. You come
over to Genesis 17.
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And it says when he was 99,
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I mean, that's a pretty old age.
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That's getting up there.
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He is nearing to the century.
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"And God said to him,
'I am an Almighty God.
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And I'll make a
covenant between Me and you,
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and will
multiply you exceedingly."
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And then in verse 4, he
says, "As for Me, behold,
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My covenant is with you,
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and you shall be a
father of many nations."
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And then a little bit
later on in verse 8, he says,
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"And I'll give to
you and your descendants
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after you the land in
which you are a stranger to.
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And as for you, you
shall keep My covenant,
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you and your descendants
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after you through
their generations."
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So God was wanting all
people to keep this covenant
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because it did have
many promises as well.
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That was for sure.
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Yeah, that's fantastic.
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Now did, when God formalizes
this covenant with Abraham?
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Does God get
Abraham to sign a document
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like they did in
the days of Nehemiah
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where they signed that covenant?
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And like we do today.
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And like we do today, yes.
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Important to sign.
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Now in actual fact, the
signature of the covenant
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was in circumcision and the boy,
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males were all to be circumcised
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as a sign that
they were serving God
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and accepting this covenant
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and wanting to
obey the covenant.
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Okay, so far we've gone through,
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we've had Adam,
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we've had Noah,
we've had Abraham,
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who is the next great leader
that a covenant is established
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in relation with in the Bible?
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And it's well-known
within the Christian community,
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Moses in at
Sinai and this covenant
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that's made there.
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And we read that
in Exodus Chapter 19.
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So we go to Exodus Chapter
19 and we'll read verses 5-8.
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And we read about
this covenant here now,
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with the children of Israel
through Moses, God's servant.
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And so it says
here in verse 5-8,
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"Now therefore,
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if you will
obey my voice indeed,
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and keep my covenant,
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then you shall be
a peculiar treasure
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unto me above all people,
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for all the earth is mine.
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And you shall be unto
me a kingdom of priests,
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and an holy nation.
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These are the words
which thou shall speak
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to the children of Israel."
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And it says, "And Moses came
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and called for the
elders of the people,
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and laid before
their faces all these words
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which the Lord commanded him.
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And all the people
answered together, and said,
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All that the Lord
hath spoken we will do.
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And Moses returned the words
of the people unto the Lord."
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And this covenant,
you know, of course,
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included the Ten
Commandments here.
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Fantastic.
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Okay, so we've
got this commandment,
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this covenant here.
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Is there one more?
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Do we find another
one after this one?
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It's quite incredible here,
when you read this unfolding
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of covenants in the
life of God's people.
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We'll go to Jeremiah Chapter 31.
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Jeremiah 31st Chapter,
and we can read one here.
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Now, this covenant
really applies to all the world.
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And so let's read
Jeremiah 31:31-33.
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It says, "Behold, the
days comes, says the Lord,
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that I will make a New Covenant
with the house of Israel,
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and with a house of Judah.
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Not according to the covenant
that I made with their fathers
00:10:06.43\00:10:08.90
in the day that I
took them by the hand
00:10:08.94\00:10:11.21
to bring them out
of the land of Egypt,
00:10:11.24\00:10:12.91
which my covenant they broke,
00:10:12.94\00:10:15.04
although I was an
husband unto them, say the Lord.
00:10:15.08\00:10:18.28
But this shall be the covenant
00:10:18.31\00:10:19.65
that I will make
with the house of Israel.
00:10:19.68\00:10:21.58
After those days, says the Lord,
00:10:21.62\00:10:23.32
I will put my law
in their inward parts,
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and write it in their hearts,
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and will be their God,
and they shall be My people."
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And I say to all the world
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because this is what we
read about in the New Testament.
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Yes.
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The New Covenant in
the Book of Hebrews,
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Paul talks about this.
00:10:38.63\00:10:39.97
In Hebrews Chapter 8 is where
00:10:40.00\00:10:41.34
this is the New
Covenant that is, you know,
00:10:41.37\00:10:43.20
made with the house of Israel.
00:10:43.24\00:10:44.57
And it applies to all.
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Yes, indeed.
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Fantastic.
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Now just moving on from there.
00:10:48.71\00:10:50.15
If we go to Hebrews Chapter 9,
00:10:50.18\00:10:52.51
and Hebrews Chapter 9,
00:10:52.55\00:10:54.45
we're going to read
verse 14 and 15 here.
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The Bible says, "How much
more shall the blood of Christ,
00:10:57.19\00:11:01.02
who through the eternal Spirit
00:11:01.06\00:11:03.22
offered himself
without spot to God,
00:11:03.26\00:11:06.46
purge your
conscience from dead works
00:11:06.49\00:11:08.86
to serve the living God?"
00:11:08.90\00:11:11.37
Continues on,
"And for this cause
00:11:11.40\00:11:13.57
he is the mediator
of the New Testament
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or the New Covenant,
00:11:16.54\00:11:19.21
that by means of death,
00:11:19.24\00:11:20.58
for the redemption
of the transgressions
00:11:20.61\00:11:22.74
that were under
the first testament
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or the first covenant,
00:11:24.31\00:11:25.75
they which are called
might receive the promise
00:11:25.78\00:11:28.55
of eternal inheritance."
00:11:28.58\00:11:32.39
David, what is the
basis of this New Covenant?
00:11:32.42\00:11:35.52
Yes, the basis
of the New Covenant
00:11:35.56\00:11:36.99
is the death of Christ.
00:11:37.03\00:11:38.36
And Hebrews brings
us out very clearly,
00:11:38.39\00:11:39.89
as you mentioned,
00:11:39.93\00:11:41.53
and unlike in the Old Testament
where they were circumcised,
00:11:41.56\00:11:46.63
baptism, were
baptized into Christ.
00:11:46.67\00:11:49.47
And this, of course,
00:11:49.50\00:11:50.84
is a very significant
part of the New Covenant.
00:11:50.87\00:11:53.54
Okay.
00:11:53.58\00:11:54.91
So I noticed that
00:11:54.94\00:11:56.28
if we continue
on in this passage
00:11:56.31\00:11:58.31
here in Hebrews 13:20,
00:11:58.35\00:12:01.05
that this new covenant is called
00:12:01.08\00:12:03.69
the everlasting covenant.
00:12:03.72\00:12:05.45
David?
00:12:05.49\00:12:06.82
Yes.
00:12:06.86\00:12:08.19
He says, "Now
may the God of peace
00:12:08.22\00:12:09.92
who brought up our
Lord Jesus from the dead,
00:12:09.96\00:12:12.26
that great
Shepherd of the sheep,
00:12:12.29\00:12:14.10
through the blood of
the everlasting covenant."
00:12:14.13\00:12:17.17
It was a blood of
Christ that indeed covers us.
00:12:17.20\00:12:21.20
We think of Calvary,
00:12:21.24\00:12:22.57
and we think of all
that Jesus went through.
00:12:22.60\00:12:24.54
And this, of course,
was the basis of this
00:12:24.57\00:12:26.78
New Testament covenant.
00:12:26.81\00:12:29.68
Okay, so just thinking about
that a little bit more further,
00:12:29.71\00:12:32.81
if we have an
everlasting covenant,
00:12:32.85\00:12:35.08
then that would
indicate, would it not that,
00:12:35.12\00:12:37.22
you know, this
covenant has always been here?
00:12:37.25\00:12:40.06
This is the
covenant that extends
00:12:40.09\00:12:41.86
from one end of
the Bible to the other.
00:12:41.89\00:12:43.36
Absolutely.
00:12:43.39\00:12:44.73
And this is also the
covenant that is called
00:12:44.76\00:12:46.43
the New Covenant.
00:12:46.46\00:12:47.80
Isn't that right? Yes.
00:12:47.83\00:12:49.16
So my question is this
00:12:49.20\00:12:50.67
just to toss a
thought out there.
00:12:50.70\00:12:53.13
How do you have an
everlasting covenant
00:12:53.17\00:12:56.00
that is always been there,
00:12:56.04\00:12:58.34
and yet we call
it the New Covenant,
00:12:58.37\00:12:59.77
wouldn't that indicate that
it hasn't always been there,
00:12:59.81\00:13:01.74
that it's just arrived.
00:13:01.78\00:13:04.71
Almost seems like
there's two covenants,
00:13:04.75\00:13:06.08
isn't there?
00:13:06.11\00:13:07.45
Two different covenants.
00:13:07.48\00:13:08.82
Okay. Yeah.
00:13:08.85\00:13:10.19
Well, we do have the old
and the new covenant, don't we?
00:13:10.22\00:13:11.55
We've the old and the new. Yeah.
00:13:11.59\00:13:12.92
But it's always new
to every generation.
00:13:12.95\00:13:14.62
This is the point.
00:13:14.66\00:13:16.62
When Andrew read
about it from Jeremiah,
00:13:16.66\00:13:20.43
there was a New Covenant there,
00:13:20.46\00:13:21.86
there was a new
covenant with Abraham,
00:13:21.90\00:13:23.23
new covenant
with Moses, basically.
00:13:23.26\00:13:25.27
And for us it's a New Covenant.
00:13:25.30\00:13:27.14
It's a covenant with us
at this present generation.
00:13:27.17\00:13:30.31
Yes, absolutely.
00:13:30.34\00:13:31.67
This is a topic where, you know,
00:13:31.71\00:13:33.44
many people are confused over,
00:13:33.48\00:13:34.94
and not quite sure how
does this all fit together?
00:13:34.98\00:13:37.45
You know, you hear statements
like some people gonna say,
00:13:37.48\00:13:40.12
"Oh, the Old Covenant
that was how the people
00:13:40.15\00:13:41.68
of Israel got saved back then,
00:13:41.72\00:13:43.39
but, you know, we're
saved by the New Covenant."
00:13:43.42\00:13:45.55
And that's
through the blood of Jesus
00:13:45.59\00:13:47.22
kind of indicating that
the people of the Old Covenant
00:13:47.26\00:13:50.56
under the Old Covenant
couldn't find salvation
00:13:50.59\00:13:51.99
by the blood of Jesus
00:13:52.03\00:13:53.36
that they found
salvation some other way.
00:13:53.40\00:13:54.73
Yeah.
00:13:54.76\00:13:56.10
And sometimes
you get people that,
00:13:56.13\00:13:57.47
you know, you listen
to what they're saying,
00:13:57.50\00:13:58.83
and it sounds
like and I think that,
00:13:58.87\00:14:00.27
you know, they're
actually are implying
00:14:00.30\00:14:02.84
that some people get into
heaven under the Old Covenant
00:14:02.87\00:14:04.84
and some people get
there under the New Covenant.
00:14:04.87\00:14:06.54
Yes.
00:14:06.57\00:14:07.91
Whereas in reality
00:14:07.94\00:14:09.28
there is only one
everlasting covenant.
00:14:09.31\00:14:10.65
And we all get
into heaven by that.
00:14:10.68\00:14:12.31
We all get into
heaven by the same covenant.
00:14:12.35\00:14:14.18
There are not two
standards of salvation here.
00:14:14.22\00:14:15.88
And that's what was
entrusted to Abraham.
00:14:15.92\00:14:18.09
And we said, you know,
00:14:18.12\00:14:19.45
God tasked him
with something special.
00:14:19.49\00:14:20.82
If we go to Genesis 17,
00:14:20.86\00:14:23.29
back to Genesis Chapter 17,
00:14:23.32\00:14:25.66
and we read verse 7.
00:14:25.69\00:14:27.56
You notice, it uses the
word everlasting covenant here.
00:14:27.60\00:14:30.60
It says, and
God says to Abraham,
00:14:30.63\00:14:32.07
"And I will
establish my covenant
00:14:32.10\00:14:33.50
between me and
thee," well me and you,
00:14:33.54\00:14:35.37
"and your seed after
you in the generations
00:14:35.40\00:14:38.67
for an everlasting covenant,
00:14:38.71\00:14:40.94
to be a God unto you,
and to your seed also."
00:14:40.98\00:14:46.05
And so really, what's happening
here is it's a recovenanting,
00:14:46.08\00:14:49.28
isn't it?
00:14:49.32\00:14:50.65
You know what
we really means God
00:14:50.69\00:14:52.02
recovenanting and
recovenanting with His people.
00:14:52.05\00:14:55.06
Okay, we'll take a
moment are they still a part
00:14:55.09\00:14:57.46
of the New Covenant
because, you know, once again,
00:14:57.49\00:14:59.49
we often hear this concept that
we're New Covenant Christians,
00:14:59.53\00:15:01.90
therefore, we aren't
gonna keep the Ten Commandments.
00:15:01.93\00:15:03.77
Yeah. That's
what's happening here.
00:15:03.80\00:15:06.00
That's right. That's...
00:15:06.03\00:15:07.37
Why that would go against,
00:15:07.40\00:15:08.74
you know what
the apostles taught
00:15:08.77\00:15:10.14
in the Book of Hebrews
00:15:10.17\00:15:11.51
in Hebrews
Chapter 8, for example,
00:15:11.54\00:15:12.94
we go to Hebrews 8:10.
00:15:12.97\00:15:16.98
It says, and
here Paul is drawing
00:15:17.01\00:15:18.68
actually from Jeremiah,
00:15:18.71\00:15:20.05
which we just read early on.
00:15:20.08\00:15:22.35
This covenant that
goes to all the world,
00:15:22.38\00:15:24.69
"For this is the
covenant that I will make
00:15:24.72\00:15:26.42
with the house of Israel
00:15:26.45\00:15:28.06
after those days, says the Lord,
00:15:28.09\00:15:29.72
I will put my
laws into their mind,
00:15:29.76\00:15:32.23
and write them in their hearts,
00:15:32.26\00:15:33.76
and I will be to them a God,
00:15:33.80\00:15:35.46
and they shall
be to me a people."
00:15:35.50\00:15:38.27
And so the same
law that was written
00:15:38.30\00:15:39.63
by the finger of God
on two tables of stone,
00:15:39.67\00:15:41.80
at the end of the day
was never meant to stand
00:15:41.84\00:15:43.51
two tables of stone.
00:15:43.54\00:15:45.44
It was supposed to
come into our heart,
00:15:45.47\00:15:47.61
and it comes to into our heart
00:15:47.64\00:15:49.54
through faith in
the atoning sacrifice
00:15:49.58\00:15:52.75
of Jesus Christ.
00:15:52.78\00:15:54.52
Yeah, and I love the
way that the Bible says that
00:15:54.55\00:15:56.55
God will write it on our heart,
00:15:56.58\00:15:58.65
in other words, so
that we want to do it.
00:15:58.69\00:16:00.19
Yeah.
00:16:00.22\00:16:01.56
And He'll write it in our mind
so that we know what it says.
00:16:01.59\00:16:03.99
That's right. It
includes both aspects.
00:16:04.03\00:16:05.59
And this what David says
00:16:05.63\00:16:06.96
the law of the
Lord is perfect, right?
00:16:07.00\00:16:08.66
Converting the Saul,
and he loves God's law.
00:16:08.70\00:16:10.80
And we get to Paul, Romans
7:7, you know, he says that,
00:16:10.83\00:16:13.87
you know, I think
in verse 12 it said,
00:16:13.90\00:16:15.47
"His commandment is
holy and just and good."
00:16:15.50\00:16:17.81
And he quotes from
those Ten Commandments.
00:16:17.84\00:16:19.31
Yes.
00:16:19.34\00:16:20.68
And so the only
places in the Bible
00:16:20.71\00:16:22.68
that actually tell us
what the New Covenant is,
00:16:22.71\00:16:26.15
and actually spells
out the New Covenant,
00:16:26.18\00:16:27.85
both of those places are
uplifting the law of God.
00:16:27.88\00:16:32.05
Amen.
00:16:32.09\00:16:33.42
And they're
exalting the law of God
00:16:33.46\00:16:34.79
and calling us to
obedience to the law of God.
00:16:34.82\00:16:36.42
What's the foundation
of His kingdom, isn't it?
00:16:36.46\00:16:38.06
Yeah. The law of God.
00:16:38.09\00:16:39.43
That's it. Okay.
00:16:39.46\00:16:40.80
Let's go back to Nehemiah's day
00:16:40.83\00:16:42.40
and the written covenant
that they had in those days.
00:16:42.43\00:16:45.93
David, what did the
people pledge to do there?
00:16:45.97\00:16:48.10
Yes, well, they wanted
to do a number of things,
00:16:48.14\00:16:50.81
they've been
coming out of captivity.
00:16:50.84\00:16:53.07
And one of the
things that they said,
00:16:53.11\00:16:54.44
we're not gonna buy
grain on the Sabbath.
00:16:54.48\00:16:56.31
We're not gonna
marry our daughters
00:16:56.34\00:16:58.65
to sons of the
heathen people or vice versa.
00:16:58.68\00:17:02.52
And we're going to
look out the temple
00:17:02.55\00:17:04.65
and bring our
tithes into the temple.
00:17:04.69\00:17:07.72
It was quite a clear
statement that they were making,
00:17:07.76\00:17:10.13
that they wanted to do.
00:17:10.16\00:17:11.49
This was how they were
responding to God's covenant.
00:17:11.53\00:17:14.63
Why was this so
important to them
00:17:14.66\00:17:16.46
at this particular time period?
00:17:16.50\00:17:17.97
Well, the reason
being, of course,
00:17:18.00\00:17:19.87
they wanted to reestablish
themselves as a nation
00:17:19.90\00:17:23.10
they had been in captivity,
00:17:23.14\00:17:24.67
and now it was
important for them to
00:17:24.71\00:17:26.51
reestablish
themselves as God's nation,
00:17:26.54\00:17:29.21
and the nation
among the peoples.
00:17:29.24\00:17:31.25
And why had they
gone into captivity?
00:17:31.28\00:17:33.68
Because as the Bible says
they neglected the Sabbath.
00:17:33.72\00:17:37.92
In other words,
00:17:37.95\00:17:39.29
they were
neglecting true worship,
00:17:39.32\00:17:40.66
the communication with God
00:17:40.69\00:17:42.02
that was so
significant and important.
00:17:42.06\00:17:44.53
Absolutely.
00:17:44.56\00:17:46.36
And they get together,
00:17:46.39\00:17:47.73
they establish
this new covenant,
00:17:47.76\00:17:49.10
they all signed
their names to it.
00:17:49.13\00:17:50.47
And, Andrew,
00:17:50.50\00:17:52.17
how well did they do
with this New Covenant?
00:17:52.20\00:17:54.44
They get out there and they...
00:17:54.47\00:17:55.80
Yeah.
00:17:55.84\00:17:57.17
They've decided, you know,
00:17:57.21\00:17:58.54
we put Babylonian
captivity behind us.
00:17:58.57\00:18:00.01
We're never going into
Babylonian captivity again.
00:18:00.04\00:18:02.74
So we're gonna take this
very, very seriously right now.
00:18:02.78\00:18:05.65
Yeah.
00:18:05.68\00:18:07.02
And, you know, they've got that
whole experience of 70 years
00:18:07.05\00:18:08.82
in captivity behind them.
00:18:08.85\00:18:11.15
A great example of, you
know, the disaster that can come
00:18:11.19\00:18:13.66
from turning
away from serving God.
00:18:13.69\00:18:15.69
Yeah.
00:18:15.72\00:18:17.06
How long do they make it
with keeping this New Covenant?
00:18:17.09\00:18:18.96
Yeah, look, they
don't do too well.
00:18:18.99\00:18:20.96
I mean, amongst them
were still some faithful
00:18:21.00\00:18:22.66
but they don't
do too well at all.
00:18:22.70\00:18:24.77
And, you know, the
leadership in particular
00:18:24.80\00:18:26.67
we read about let them down.
00:18:26.70\00:18:29.00
So Nehemiah had, you
know, returned to Babylon
00:18:29.04\00:18:32.34
after 12 years,
00:18:32.37\00:18:33.71
but then some disturbing news
brought him back to Jerusalem.
00:18:33.74\00:18:37.68
I wanna take us
to Nehemiah 13:7.
00:18:37.71\00:18:41.68
Nehemiah 13:7.
00:18:41.72\00:18:44.92
And notice
what's happening here.
00:18:44.95\00:18:48.32
This what Nehemiah finds 13:7,
00:18:48.36\00:18:51.79
it says, "And I
came to Jerusalem,
00:18:51.83\00:18:54.60
and understood of the evil
00:18:54.63\00:18:56.87
that Eliashib did for Tobiah,
00:18:56.90\00:18:59.83
in preparing him a
chamber in the courts
00:18:59.87\00:19:03.20
of the house of God.
00:19:03.24\00:19:05.47
So Tobiah is a
bitter enemy of Israel.
00:19:05.51\00:19:08.08
And Nehemiah finds him
00:19:08.11\00:19:12.21
living in the temple of God.
00:19:12.25\00:19:14.42
In one of the apartments there.
00:19:14.45\00:19:15.78
In one of the apartments of God.
00:19:15.82\00:19:18.09
Yeah, so it's quite a
serious situation there.
00:19:18.12\00:19:21.69
When we think about that,
00:19:21.72\00:19:23.06
I mean, it kind of
blows your mind a little bit,
00:19:23.09\00:19:25.89
that this avowed enemy of God
00:19:25.93\00:19:28.60
would find a place living
amongst the people of God.
00:19:28.63\00:19:33.03
Do you think we ever
fall into the same trap
00:19:33.07\00:19:35.80
ourselves of
allowing the enemies of God
00:19:35.84\00:19:38.97
to live in our very midst?
00:19:39.01\00:19:42.11
You know, when
we think about it,
00:19:42.14\00:19:43.48
we, there are occasions when,
00:19:43.51\00:19:45.18
you know, we're Christians,
and we want to love everybody.
00:19:45.21\00:19:47.88
Yeah.
00:19:47.92\00:19:49.25
But Nehemiah was quite a
confrontational character.
00:19:49.28\00:19:52.19
Yeah.
00:19:52.22\00:19:53.96
And you can see them
like, oh, we're Christians,
00:19:53.99\00:19:55.62
we love people,
00:19:55.66\00:19:56.99
and we got to be
loving towards our enemies.
00:19:57.03\00:19:58.36
And so therefore,
00:19:58.39\00:19:59.73
we'll let this man
live in the temple.
00:19:59.76\00:20:01.10
Yeah.
00:20:01.13\00:20:02.46
Love is based on
principle, isn't it?
00:20:02.50\00:20:03.83
It's not just this emotional
kind of love that we have.
00:20:03.87\00:20:06.63
And we do find that, I
mean, even in realistically,
00:20:06.67\00:20:09.97
in the church
community today, you know,
00:20:10.01\00:20:11.91
we'll find some individuals
that may be going against
00:20:11.94\00:20:15.31
what the church
stands for and so forth.
00:20:15.34\00:20:17.71
And, you know, often
the leadership of the church
00:20:17.75\00:20:19.75
has to address them.
00:20:19.78\00:20:21.38
And it's not
always well received
00:20:21.42\00:20:23.22
because no one wants to be told
00:20:23.25\00:20:24.59
that they're sinning
against God, and they,
00:20:24.62\00:20:26.99
you know, bringing contempt upon
00:20:27.02\00:20:29.39
the name of the
church and so forth.
00:20:29.42\00:20:31.69
So do we just sit there and say,
00:20:31.73\00:20:33.06
"Well, we just love everyone,"
and we do nothing about it.
00:20:33.09\00:20:35.60
And within Christianity,
00:20:35.63\00:20:36.97
how many times
have we seen a situation
00:20:37.00\00:20:38.43
where a child abuse case
comes along and everybody says,
00:20:38.47\00:20:43.04
"Oh, but he's such
a wonderful person,
00:20:43.07\00:20:45.17
surely not, you know."
00:20:45.21\00:20:46.94
And they'll
protect the perpetrator
00:20:46.98\00:20:49.11
and they let
Satan live in our midst
00:20:49.14\00:20:50.75
rather than being like
Nehemiah being a man of action,
00:20:50.78\00:20:53.31
and tossing them out.
00:20:53.35\00:20:54.68
Absolutely. Yeah.
00:20:54.72\00:20:56.28
And Nehemiah did
something about this.
00:20:56.32\00:20:58.45
We're reading verses 8-9.
00:20:58.49\00:21:01.16
It says, listen
to Nehemiah here.
00:21:01.19\00:21:03.79
It says, "And
it grieved me sore,
00:21:03.83\00:21:06.06
therefore I cast forth
all the household stuff
00:21:06.09\00:21:08.90
of Tobiah out of the chamber.
00:21:08.93\00:21:11.10
And then I commanded, and
they cleanse the chambers,
00:21:11.13\00:21:13.84
and then brought
I again the vessels
00:21:13.87\00:21:16.37
of the house of God,
00:21:16.40\00:21:17.77
with the meat
offering and the frankincense."
00:21:17.81\00:21:20.21
Like I said, this wasn't
just any random apartment.
00:21:20.24\00:21:23.01
This was a place
00:21:23.04\00:21:24.38
that had been actually set aside
00:21:24.41\00:21:25.75
for the services of the temple.
00:21:25.78\00:21:27.48
Yes. Yeah.
00:21:27.52\00:21:29.32
You know, Nehemiah was
quite a confrontationist.
00:21:29.35\00:21:31.49
And sometimes I wonder
00:21:31.52\00:21:33.72
how well he
would get on if he was
00:21:33.76\00:21:36.59
a pastor in one
of our churches today
00:21:36.62\00:21:39.19
because he
certainly didn't stand for any
00:21:39.23\00:21:41.40
funny business
amongst God's people.
00:21:41.43\00:21:43.80
And he certainly
wasn't scared to act
00:21:43.83\00:21:45.87
when the time came to act.
00:21:45.90\00:21:48.77
Okay, David, what
else was going wrong in
00:21:48.80\00:21:52.81
Judah at this particular time?
00:21:52.84\00:21:54.18
Yeah.
00:21:54.21\00:21:55.54
Well, he recognized
00:21:55.58\00:21:56.91
and you look at
Chapter 13:10-12.
00:21:56.95\00:21:59.35
He says, "I also realized
the portions of the Levites
00:21:59.38\00:22:02.28
had not been given to them."
00:22:02.32\00:22:03.65
So the Levites were
suffering under bankruptcy,
00:22:03.69\00:22:08.16
you might say.
00:22:08.19\00:22:10.19
And so he saw that.
00:22:10.23\00:22:11.56
And then he says,
00:22:11.59\00:22:12.93
"Why is the
house of God forsaken?"
00:22:12.96\00:22:14.43
They've even
neglected the temple.
00:22:14.46\00:22:16.60
And this, of course,
was a great trouble to him
00:22:16.63\00:22:19.20
at that particular time.
00:22:19.23\00:22:22.40
Okay, so this was...
00:22:22.44\00:22:23.77
Yeah, there was a
whole bunch of things
00:22:23.81\00:22:25.14
that were happening here and,
00:22:25.17\00:22:26.51
you know, the last thing
that you want to have happening
00:22:26.54\00:22:29.11
is obviously your
ministry being affected.
00:22:29.14\00:22:30.65
Yeah.
00:22:30.68\00:22:32.01
And one of the...
There's a couple of things
00:22:32.05\00:22:34.22
here that are highlighted
in this passage that really,
00:22:34.25\00:22:37.65
I think speak to
symptoms amongst God's people.
00:22:37.69\00:22:43.29
And the first
symptom we find here
00:22:43.32\00:22:45.39
is that they had
withheld their finances,
00:22:45.43\00:22:48.80
they're holding back,
00:22:48.83\00:22:50.87
they weren't being
free with their money.
00:22:50.90\00:22:53.17
And they were,
00:22:53.20\00:22:54.54
you know, and as
a result the Levites
00:22:54.57\00:22:56.00
starting to go without and so,
00:22:56.04\00:22:57.94
of course, the Levites
are gonna have to go out
00:22:57.97\00:22:59.31
and work or do something
00:22:59.34\00:23:00.68
rather to
provide for themselves,
00:23:00.71\00:23:02.88
which is not a
healthy environment
00:23:02.91\00:23:04.41
for them to be in at
this particular time,
00:23:04.45\00:23:08.28
but it wasn't the
only reason that...
00:23:08.32\00:23:11.15
It wasn't the only
symptom that they discovered
00:23:11.19\00:23:13.82
that was a problem here
at this particular time.
00:23:13.86\00:23:16.93
What were some of
the other symptoms
00:23:16.96\00:23:19.49
if you go on to like verses,
00:23:19.53\00:23:20.86
I think it's verse 16 and 17.
00:23:20.90\00:23:22.23
Is it there, David? Yes.
00:23:22.26\00:23:24.07
Very clearly.
00:23:24.10\00:23:25.43
And even the verse
before goes back to Jeremiah,
00:23:25.47\00:23:28.00
when Jeremiah
tells them that they're
00:23:28.04\00:23:29.70
doing things on
the Sabbath, like,
00:23:29.74\00:23:32.34
bringing the
sheaves and loading donkeys
00:23:32.37\00:23:34.24
with wine and so on.
00:23:34.28\00:23:35.68
But then he says, "Men
of Tyre dwelt there also,"
00:23:35.71\00:23:38.08
here the Gentiles coming in,
00:23:38.11\00:23:40.25
"and they brought their
fish and all kinds of goods,
00:23:40.28\00:23:42.65
and they sold
them on the Sabbath
00:23:42.68\00:23:44.09
to the children of Judah,
00:23:44.12\00:23:45.65
and in Jerusalem."
00:23:45.69\00:23:47.02
And he says, "Then I contended
with the nobles of Judah,
00:23:47.06\00:23:49.22
and said to them,
00:23:49.26\00:23:50.59
'What evil thing
is this that you do,
00:23:50.63\00:23:52.03
by which you
profane the Sabbath?'"
00:23:52.06\00:23:53.86
The very thing that
basically took them into Babylon
00:23:53.90\00:23:57.23
barriers, beginning to
do again break the Sabbath
00:23:57.27\00:24:00.30
and allowing people to come in
00:24:00.34\00:24:01.77
and sell their
goods on the Sabbath.
00:24:01.80\00:24:04.47
And how quickly this took place?
00:24:04.51\00:24:06.27
You know, this is 12
years after they have
00:24:06.31\00:24:08.48
signed their
names to a covenant.
00:24:08.51\00:24:09.88
Yeah.
00:24:09.91\00:24:11.25
And all this is
happening. All right.
00:24:11.28\00:24:12.61
So what is, fill us in
on the story there, David?
00:24:12.65\00:24:14.35
What does Nehemiah do to
solve this particular problem?
00:24:14.38\00:24:17.65
Well, he says, "I
contended with the Judas.
00:24:17.69\00:24:20.36
And I shut the gates and
I put people at the gates."
00:24:20.39\00:24:23.99
And I was
thinking about this too,
00:24:24.03\00:24:26.29
that was probably a Sabbath duty
00:24:26.33\00:24:27.86
for men to stay at the gates
keeping out these Gentiles.
00:24:27.90\00:24:31.40
Yeah, so that the
Sabbath worship could continue.
00:24:31.43\00:24:33.77
That's exactly right.
00:24:33.80\00:24:35.14
Okay, so he was a man of action.
00:24:35.17\00:24:36.50
And it's
interesting is you find that
00:24:36.54\00:24:39.17
the Gentiles all
turned up, you know,
00:24:39.21\00:24:40.54
and they can't come in
00:24:40.58\00:24:41.91
and they can't
set up their stall
00:24:41.94\00:24:43.28
and they can't
sell their product.
00:24:43.31\00:24:44.65
And so they can't, you know,
00:24:44.68\00:24:46.01
they set up camp
outside the gates
00:24:46.05\00:24:48.05
and they're selling
stuff over the wall still.
00:24:48.08\00:24:50.99
You know, when you
walk away from God,
00:24:51.02\00:24:54.09
it's kind of sad
the length that we go
00:24:54.12\00:24:56.73
almost at times
to be disobedient.
00:24:56.76\00:24:59.29
And so Satan is
there to help us to do it.
00:24:59.33\00:25:00.66
That's it. Yeah, yeah.
00:25:00.70\00:25:03.03
And once again
Nehemiah he steps in,
00:25:03.06\00:25:05.43
and he's a man of action,
00:25:05.47\00:25:06.94
he gets this sorted out.
00:25:06.97\00:25:08.84
Now... Yes, go ahead.
00:25:08.87\00:25:10.21
I was just thinking,
00:25:10.24\00:25:11.57
Nehemiah has worked so hard
00:25:11.61\00:25:12.94
to take the reproach
away from God's people.
00:25:12.97\00:25:15.81
I mean, in the
beginning chapters
00:25:15.84\00:25:17.18
of the Book of Nehemiah,
00:25:17.21\00:25:18.55
I mean, that's
what he wants to do.
00:25:18.58\00:25:19.91
They realize that they're
in that position because of it.
00:25:19.95\00:25:22.42
They are in the
position of captivity
00:25:22.45\00:25:24.42
because of the very things
that they're even doing now
00:25:24.45\00:25:27.06
as we're reading about.
00:25:27.09\00:25:28.42
And Nehemiah work so tirelessly
hard to remove that reproach
00:25:28.46\00:25:31.53
to turn them back to the Lord.
00:25:31.56\00:25:33.09
And now they are
really, you know,
00:25:33.13\00:25:36.56
in apostasy for the most part.
00:25:36.60\00:25:39.43
People tend to move from
one extreme to the other.
00:25:39.47\00:25:41.70
The devil likes
to get us to move
00:25:41.74\00:25:43.07
to one extreme to the other,
00:25:43.10\00:25:44.44
and he have got them
breaking the Sabbath.
00:25:44.47\00:25:45.81
When you come down
to the time of Jesus,
00:25:45.84\00:25:47.98
had they moved to
another extreme there?
00:25:48.01\00:25:50.71
They had.
00:25:50.75\00:25:52.08
And what were they doing there?
00:25:52.11\00:25:53.52
They brought in at
least 400 regulations
00:25:53.55\00:25:55.98
apart from the commandments
00:25:56.02\00:25:57.39
that were manmade and
expected people to do that,
00:25:57.42\00:26:00.82
like, you couldn't even go into
a cornfield and pick up a bit
00:26:00.86\00:26:03.93
of wheat to eat on
the Sabbath, you know,
00:26:03.96\00:26:06.80
all those kind of
things were brought in by men.
00:26:06.83\00:26:08.90
Yeah
00:26:08.93\00:26:10.27
And you couldn't even, you know,
00:26:10.30\00:26:11.63
Jesus wasn't even allowed to
00:26:11.67\00:26:13.00
heal somebody
on the Sabbath day.
00:26:13.03\00:26:14.37
Absolutely.
00:26:14.40\00:26:15.74
And we might
smile at that today,
00:26:15.77\00:26:17.31
but, you know,
it does illustrate
00:26:17.34\00:26:20.21
the danger of
what happens when we,
00:26:20.24\00:26:22.94
you know, go to one
extreme or the other.
00:26:22.98\00:26:24.98
You end up trying to determine
what's right in your own eyes,
00:26:25.01\00:26:28.18
isn't it, you know?
00:26:28.22\00:26:29.88
So you can be in the church,
but you're still determining
00:26:29.92\00:26:31.79
what's right in your own eyes,
00:26:31.82\00:26:33.66
rather than what is
right in the eyes of God.
00:26:33.69\00:26:35.72
Very quickly.
00:26:35.76\00:26:37.09
Andrew, why was the
temple so important?
00:26:37.13\00:26:38.83
The temple was
the life of Israel.
00:26:38.86\00:26:40.80
It was, you know,
00:26:40.83\00:26:42.93
it was in the temple is
the gospel of salvation,
00:26:42.96\00:26:46.13
it was there for them to
celebrate God's goodness,
00:26:46.17\00:26:48.70
everything pointed
to Christ in the temple.
00:26:48.74\00:26:51.47
And yeah, it should have
been their place of rejoicing,
00:26:51.51\00:26:55.71
their place where they
learn about the grace of Christ,
00:26:55.74\00:26:58.05
and the place
where they realize that
00:26:58.08\00:27:00.38
they can trust God and
follow Him and do His work.
00:27:00.42\00:27:03.45
Absolutely.
00:27:03.49\00:27:04.82
And receive His blessings.
00:27:04.85\00:27:06.19
And this is where we see
God's grace coming through
00:27:06.22\00:27:08.22
in the covenants.
00:27:08.26\00:27:09.59
You know, God
expected His people
00:27:09.62\00:27:11.69
to take His
covenant very seriously.
00:27:11.73\00:27:15.26
Likewise, we're
invited to commit ourselves
00:27:15.30\00:27:18.43
to God's everlasting
covenant of love and grace.
00:27:18.47\00:27:22.57
And we're also called to
be faithful in our lives.
00:27:22.60\00:27:26.78
That's Let God Speak for today.
00:27:26.81\00:27:28.68
You can view all
our past programs
00:27:28.71\00:27:30.51
on our website
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00:27:30.55\00:27:34.72
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teachers notes there.
00:27:34.75\00:27:36.92
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00:27:36.95\00:27:41.42
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00:27:41.46\00:27:43.29
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00:27:43.32\00:27:44.66