The Old and New Covenants are key to understanding the relationship between Yah and His people, the house of Israel. While both covenants are made with the same people, their nature and requirements are very different. This article explains these differences and why calling the New Covenant a "renewed" covenant is not accurate.
The Old Covenant
The Old Covenant, given through Moses at Mount Sinai, defined how the Israelites related to Yah. This covenant included:
1. External Rules:
- The Old Covenant required strict adherence to written laws and commandments. These laws were external, focusing on rituals and ceremonies. Examples include the Ten Commandments and various ceremonial laws dictating how the Israelites were to live and worship.
2. Continuous Animal Sacrifices:
- To atone for sins, the Old Covenant mandated regular animal sacrifices. These sacrifices had to be repeated to maintain atonement. Leviticus 16:34 explains: "This shall be a statute forever for you, that atonement may be made for the people of Israel once in the year because of all their sins."
3. Mediated Relationship:
- The relationship between Yah and the Israelites was mediated through priests. Only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies, and only once a year on the Day of Atonement.
4. Blessings and Curses:
- The Old Covenant included blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience, as outlined in Deuteronomy 28. The Israelites' relationship with Yah depended on their adherence to these laws.
5. Temporary Forgiveness:
- Forgiveness under the Old Covenant was temporary and required continual sacrifices. Each sin required a new sacrifice. Hebrews 10:1-4 states: "For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near... For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins."
The New Covenant
Jeremiah 31:31-34 prophesies the establishment of a New Covenant, highlighting significant changes from the Old Covenant:
> "Behold, the days are coming, declares Yah, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers... But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares Yah: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts... For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."
The New Covenant brings several transformative changes:
1. Internalization of Yah's Law:
- The New Covenant focuses on Yah's law being internalized within the hearts of believers. Hebrews 8:10 echoes this: "I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts."
2. One-Time Sacrifice of Yahshua:
- Unlike the continuous animal sacrifices required under the Old Covenant, the New Covenant is established through the one-time, all-sufficient sacrifice of Yahshua. Hebrews 10:10-12 explains that Yahshua's sacrifice is once for all, eliminating the need for repeated sacrifices: "And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Yahshua once for all."
3. Direct, Personal Relationship with Yah:
- Under the New Covenant, every believer has direct access to Yah without the need for a human mediator. This is symbolized by the tearing of the temple veil at Yahshua's death. Matthew 27:50-51 records this event: "And Yahshua cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom."
- Furthermore, Ephesians 2:14-16 explains how Yahshua removed the dividing wall of hostility: "For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility."
4. Complete and Permanent Forgiveness:
- The New Covenant promises complete and permanent forgiveness of sins. Jeremiah 31:34 concludes: "For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." This assurance of forgiveness contrasts sharply with the temporary and repeated forgiveness provided under the Old Covenant. Hebrews 10:14-18 emphasizes this point: "For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified... Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin."
Conclusion
Both the Old and New Covenants are made with the house of Israel, emphasizing Yah's continued relationship with His chosen people. However, the New Covenant is fundamentally different from the Old Covenant in its requirements and implications:
- The Old Covenant required external adherence to laws, continual animal sacrifices, a mediated relationship with Yah through priests, conditional blessings and curses, and offered only temporary and repeated forgiveness.
- The New Covenant focuses on the internalization of Yah's law, the one-time sacrifice of Yahshua, a direct and personal relationship with Yah, and complete and permanent forgiveness of sins.
Referring to the New Covenant as merely a "renewed" covenant does not capture the profound transformation it entails. The New Covenant represents a fundamentally new and transformative relationship between Yah and His people, the house of Israel.
