Law Added, Not Annulling Abrahamic Covenant
Galatians 3:17-19 “And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect. (18) For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise. (19) What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator.”
Four hundred and thirty years after God made His covenant with Abraham, He gave the nation of Israel the law. The law however, had no impact whatsoever on the eternal covenant that God had given to Abraham. The covenant of the law was added to the covenant of circumcision. And as the above quoted passage of scripture declares, it was added because of the transgressions of the Jewish nation, for the law was never made for those who are righteous, but rather for those who are lawless (1 Timothy 1:9). Just as with the covenant of circumcision, the law was a covenant that God made with the Jewish nation only, for God never gave the law to the gentiles. And, as with the covenant of circumcision, the Jewish people partook of this covenant by birth. The law is also not an eternal covenant, for it only applies to this life. When they die, one who is under the law is freed from the law (Romans 7:2).
Leviticus 11:1-8 “Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them, (2) "Speak to the children of Israel, saying, 'These are the animals which you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth… (8) Their flesh you shall not eat … They are unclean to you.”
After the law was given, it was no longer just circumcision that distinguished the Hebrew nation as being separated unto God. For God had now separated them through dietary laws as well, in that there were certain foods that they were no longer allowed to eat. I want you to notice in the above quoted passage of scripture God’s choice of words in giving them these laws, for He did not say that these foods were unclean, but rather He said that they were unclean, “to the Jews”. And so we see that one of the reasons why God gave the Jews these laws was to separate them from the world. Through the law, God had also now separated the Jews by giving them their own calendar. For the Jewish calendar is different to the rest of the world. And many other such laws were given to the Jews, which contributed in making them a nation separated unto God.
Hebrews 8:13 “In that He says, "A new covenant," He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.”
The covenant of the law is still in place with the Jewish nation today, for God does not break His covenants. However, Jews that are born-again today, partake of the new covenant. It is to these Jews, that as the scripture quoted above declares, God makes the first covenant obsolete. For the rest of the Jews however, the first covenant remains in place. Even though that covenant is becoming obsolete.
Galatians 3:11-12 “But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall live by faith." (12) Yet the law is not of faith, but "the man who does them shall live by them.”
And so, we see that not only are there three different people groups in the earth today, but there are also two different covenants in place in the earth today. The first people group in the earth are the Jews, and they still have the covenant of the law. As the above quoted passage of scripture declares, because the Jewish nation partakes of this covenant by birth, there is no faith involved with regards to the covenant of the law. The second people group in the earth today are the gentiles. This people group have no covenant relationship with God at all. And then we have the church of God in the earth today. The church of God enjoys the covenant relationship with God, called the New Covenant.
Michael E.B. Maher
Comments