Section 2c  -  The Sabbath Covenant
             2d  -  The Sinai or Old Covenant 
 

2c.  The Sabbath Covenant 

The special covenant of the Sabbath was another significant demarcation which set Israel apart from the rest of humanity. It is distinguishingly and exclusively Israel's! True, some Christian denominations cling tenaciously to its observance as a matter of obedience and salvation, and most others observe the sabbath on Sunday, the first day of the week. They do these on their own authority. God has never made any covenant with any non-Israelites concerning the observance of this day!

What is this Sabbath?

Gen.2:1-3   And finished are the heavens and the earth and all their host. 
And finishing is the Elohim, on the sixth day, His work which He does. 
And ceasing is He on the seventh day from all His work which He does. 
And blessing is the Elohim the seventh day, and hallowing it, 
for in it He ceases from all His work, which the Elohim creates to make. 

Which day God has appointed as the Sabbath?

After the people of Israel had ‘journeyed from Elim; and the whole congregation of the sons of Israel entered into the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their going forth from the land of Egypt’ they complained of hunger and longed for the sustenance they used to have prior to their deliverance (Ex.16:1-14). God sent them ‘manna’ (Ex.16:15) and used this incident to mark out the special day to be dedicated to Him. Each day, for five days, these people would get a sufficient supply of manna which could not be carried over to the following day. On the sixth day, however, there would be a double portion the remainder of which could be carried over to the next day for on that day, the seventh, there would be no supply.

Ex.16:25,26   Then Moses said: Eat it today, for there is a sabbath today to Yahweh! 
Today you shall not find it in the field. 
Six days shall you pick it up, 
yet on the seventh day, the sabbath, none shall come to be on it .

The observance of this day was significant enough to be included in what is called the ‘Ten Commandments’ in the law given on Mt Sinai to the sons of Israel..

Ex.20:8-10   You are to remember the sabbath day to hallow it. 
Six days shall you serve and do all your work, 
yet the seventh day is a sabbath to Yahweh your Elohim. 
You shall not do any work, you, your son or your daughter, 
your servant or your maidservant, your bull, your donkey or your beast, 
or your sojourner who is within your gates. 
For in six days Yahweh dealt with the heavens and earth, the sea and all that is in them, 
and He stopped on the seventh day. 
Therefore, Yahweh blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it. 

Lev.19:30   Instead, My sabbaths shall you observe, 
and My sanctuary shall you fear: I am Yahweh. 

Lev.26:2   Instead My sabbaths shall you observe, 
and My sanctuary shall you fear: I am Yahweh. 

Ex.31:12,13   Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying: 
Now you, speak to the sons of Israel saying, 
Surely, My sabbaths shall you keep, 
for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations 
to know that I, Yahweh, am hallowing you. 

Ex.31:16,17   Hence the sons of Israel will keep the sabbath 
so as to make the sabbath an eonian covenant throughout their generations. 
Between Me and the sons of Israel it shall be a sign for the eon, 
for in six days Yahweh dealt with the heavens and the earth, 
and on the seventh day He ceased and was refreshed. 

Ezek.20:12   And also My sabbaths I have given to them, 
To be for a sign between Me and them, 
To know that I [am] Yahweh their sanctifier. 

Ezek.20:19,20   I [am] Yahweh your Elohim, in My statutes walk, 
And My judgments observe, and do them, 
And My sabbaths sanctify, 
And they have been for a sign between Me and you, 
To know that I, Yahweh, [am] your Elohim. 

Lev.23:3   Six days shall work be done, 
yet on the seventh day there shall be a sabbath of cessation, a holy meeting. 
You shall do no work at all. This is a sabbath to Yahweh in all your dwellings. 

Ex.35:1-3   Then Moses assembled the whole congregation of the sons of Israel 
and said to them: These are the words which Yahweh instructs you to do them. 
Six days shall work be done, yet on the seventh day 
you shall come to have a holy sabbath of cessation to Yahweh. 
Everyone doing work on it shall be put to death. 
You shall not consume anything with fire in all your dwellings on the sabbath day. 

Ex.31:14,15   Hence you will keep the sabbath, for it is holy to you. 
Profaners of it shall be put to death, yea death, for 
if anyone is doing work in it, that soul will be cut off from among his people. 
Six days shall work be done, 
and on the seventh day is a sabbath of cessation, holy to Yahweh. 
Everyone doing work on the sabbath day shall be put to death, yea death. 

Num.15:32-36   While the sons of Israel were in the wilderness 
they found a man gathering together sticks on the sabbath day. 
Those finding him gathering the sticks together 
brought him near to Moses and to Aaron and to the whole congregation. 
They left him under guard, for it had not been expounded what should be done to him. 
Yahweh said to Moses: The man shall be put to death, yea death. 
The whole congregation shall pelt him with stones outside the camp. 
So the whole congregation brought him forth to outside the camp 
and pelted him with stones, so that he died just as Yahweh had instructed Moses. 

Deut.5:12-15 You are to observe the sabbath day to hallow it, 
just as Yahweh your Elohim had instructed you. 
Six days shall you serve and do all your work, 
yet the seventh day is a sabbath to Yahweh your Elohim.
You shall not do any work on it; you, your son or your daughter, 
your servant or your maidservant, your bull, your donkey 
or any domestic beast of yours, or your sojourner who is within your gates, 
that your servant and your maidservant may rest as you do. 
Remember that you had become a servant in the country of Egypt, 
and Yahweh your Elohim brought you forth from there 
with a steadfast hand and with an outstretched arm. 
Therefore Yahweh your Elohim instructed you to observe the sabbath day. 

Jer.17:27   And if you do not hearken unto me to sanctify the day of rest, 
And so as not to bear a burden, 
And to come in at the gates of Jerusalem on the day of rest, 
Then I have kindled a fire in its gates, 
And it has consumed the high places of Jerusalem, and it is not quenched!'  .

Ezek.22:8   My holy things you have despised, 
And My sabbaths you have polluted. 

Ezek.22:26   Its priests have wronged My law, And they pollute My holy things, 
Between holy and common they have not made separation, 
And between the unclean and the clean they have not made known, 
And from my sabbaths they have hidden their eyes, 
And I am pierced in their midst. 

Ezek.20:13-16   And--rebel against me do the house of Israel in the wilderness, 
In My statutes they have not walked, 
And My judgments they have despised, which the man who does--lives by them. 
And My sabbaths they have greatly polluted, 
And I say to pour out My fury on them in the wilderness, to consume them.
And I do [it] for My name's sake, Not to pollute [it] before the eyes of the nations, 
Before whose eyes I brought them forth. 
And also, I, I have lifted up My hand to them in the wilderness, 
Not to bring them in to the land that I had given, 
Flowing with milk and honey, A beauty it [is] to all the lands, 
Because against My judgments they did kick, 
And in My statutes they have not walked, 
And My sabbaths they have polluted, for after their idols their heart is going 

Ezek.20:21-26   And--the sons rebel against Me, 
In My statutes they have not walked, 
And My judgments they have not observed--to do them, 
Which the man who does--lives by them. 
My sabbaths they have polluted, 
And I say to pour out My fury upon them, 
To complete Mine anger against them in the wilderness. 
And I have turned back My hand, And I do [it] for My name's sake, 
Not to pollute [it] before the eyes of the nations, before whose eyes I brought them out. 
I also, I have lifted up My hand to them in the wilderness, 
To scatter them among nations, And to spread them through lands. 
Because My judgments they have not done, 
And My statutes they have despised, 
And My sabbaths they have polluted, 
And after idols of their fathers have their eyes been. 
And I also, I have given to them statutes not good, 
And judgments by which they do not live. 
And I defile them by their own gifts, 
By causing to pass away every opener of a womb, 
So that I make them desolate, So that they know that I [am] Yahweh. 

Neh.13:15-22   In those days I have seen in Judah those treading wine-vats on sabbath, 
and bringing in the sheaves, and lading on the asses, and also, wine, grapes, and figs, 
and every burden, yea, they are bringing in to Jerusalem on the sabbath-day, 
and I testify in the day of their selling provision. 
And the Tyrians have dwelt in it, bringing in fish, and every ware, 
and selling on sabbath to the sons of Judah and in Jerusalem. 
And I strive with the freemen of Judah, and say to them, 
`What [is] this evil thing that you are doing, and polluting the sabbath-day? 
Thus did not your fathers do? 
and our Elohim brings in on us all this evil, and on this city, 
and you are adding fierceness on Israel, to pollute the sabbath.' And it comes to pass, 
when the gates of Jerusalem have been dark before the sabbath, that I speak, 
and the doors are shut, and I say, that they do not open them till after the sabbath; 
and of my servants I have stationed at the gates; 
there does not come in a burden on the sabbath-day. 
And they lodge--the merchants and sellers of all ware--at the outside of Jerusalem, 
once or twice, and I testify against them, and say unto them, 
`Wherefore are you lodging over-against the wall? if you repeat [it], 
a hand I put forth upon you;' from that time they have not come in on the sabbath. 
And I say to the Levites, that they be cleansed, and, coming in, keeping the gates, 
to sanctify the sabbath-day. 
Also, this, remember for me, O my Elohim, and have pity on me, 
according to the abundance of Your kindness. 

Isa.56:2-7   Happy is the mortal who is doing this, 
and the son of humanity who is holding fast in it, 
keeping from violating the sabbath, and keeping his hand from doing any evil.
And the son of the foreigner obligated to Yahweh must not speak, saying, 
`Separating, yea separating me is Yahweh from His people,' 
and the eunuch must not say, `Behold! I am a dry tree.'"
For thus says Yahweh, "To the eunuchs who will keep My sabbaths, 
and choose that in which I delight, and hold fast to My covenant,
then I give to them, in My house and in My walls, an acclaiming hand, 
and a name better than sons and daughters. 
A name eonian will I give to them, which shall not be cut off. 
And the sons of the foreigner obligated to Yahweh to minister to Him, 
and to love the name of Yahweh, to become His servants, 
and everyone keeping from violating My sabbath, and holding fast My covenant, 
I bring them also to My holy mountain, and I make them rejoice in My house of prayer. 
Their ascent approaches and their sacrifices shall ascend for acceptance on My altar, 
for My house a house of prayer shall be called, for all the peoples," 

Isa.58:13,14   "If you are turning back your foot, because of the sabbath, 
from doing your own desire on My holy day, 
and call the sabbath a delicacy, and the holy day of Yahweh, glorious, 
and glorify it rather than doing your own ways, 
than finding your own desire or to speak your own word, 
then you shall enjoy deliciousness in Yahweh, 
and I will cause you to ride on the fane heights of the land, 
and I will feed you from the allotment of Jacob, your forefather,"… 

Jer.17:21-26   Thus said Yahweh, Take you heed to yourselves, 
And you bear not a burden on the day of rest, 
Nor have you brought [it] in by the gates of Jerusalem. 
Nor do you take out a burden from your houses on the day of rest, 
Yea, any work you do not do, 
And you have sanctified the day of rest, as I have commanded your fathers. 
And they have not hearkened nor inclined their ear, 
And they stiffen their neck not to hear, And not to receive instruction. 
And it has been, if you certainly hearken unto Me, 
An affirmation of Yahweh, 
So as not to bring in a burden by the gates of this city on the day of rest, 
And to sanctify the day of rest, so as not to do in it any work-- 
Then entered by the gates of this city have kings and princes, 
Sitting on the throne of David, riding in a chariot, and on horses, 
They, and their princes, the man of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem, 
And this city has remained to the eon. 
And they have come in from cities of Judah, 
And from suburbs of Jerusalem, And from the land of Benjamin, 
And from the low country, And from the hill-country, and from the south, 
Bringing in burnt-offering, and sacrifice, And present, and frankincense, 
And bringing praise [to] the house of Yahweh. 

Jesus and the Sabbath

Jesus observed the Sabbath in spirit and truth, unencumbered by the numerous traditions that came to be appended to it through the generations.

Lk.4:16   And He came to Nazareth, where He was reared, and, 
according to His custom on the day of the sabbaths, 
He entered into the synagogue and rose to read. 

Mt.12:9-12   And, proceeding thence, He came into their synagogue. 
And lo! a man having a withered hand. And they inquire of Him, saying, 
"Is it allowed on the sabbaths to cure?" that they should be accusing Him. 
Now He said to them, 
"What man of you will there be, who will have one sheep, 
and if ever this should be falling into a pit on the sabbaths, 
will not take hold of it and raise it? 
Of how much more consequence, then, is a man than a sheep! 
So that it is allowed to be doing ideally on the sabbaths." 

Mt.12:8   for the Son of Mankind is Lord of the sabbath. 

Lk.6:5   And He said to them that 
"The Son of Mankind is Lord of the sabbaths also." 

Mk.2:27,28   And He said to them, "The sabbath came because of mankind, 
and not mankind because of the sabbath, 
so that the Son of Mankind is Lord, also, of the sabbath." 

Jn.5:16-18   And therefore the Jews persecuted Jesus and sought to kill Him, 
for He did these things on a sabbath. 
Yet Jesus answers them, 
"My Father is working hitherto, and I am working."
Therefore, then, the Jews sought the more to kill Him, 
for He not only annulled the sabbath, 
but said His own Father also is God, making Himself equal to God. 

The Apostles and the Sabbath

Lk.23:56   Now, returning, they make ready spices and attars. 
And on the sabbath, indeed, they are quiet, according to the precept. 

Act.1:12   Then they return into Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, 
which is near Jerusalem a sabbath's journey. 
 

As it was in the days of old, so it was in the days when Jesus walked the earth (Lk.23:56; Jn.19:42; etc.). And the sabbath WILL BE OBSERVED during the Millenium and in the days preceding it as the following passages show.

Mt.24:20   Now be praying that your flight may not be occurring in winter, 
nor yet on a sabbath, for then shall be great affliction, 
such as has not occurred from the beginning of the world till now; 
neither under any circumstances may be occurring. 

Ezek.44:23,24   `And My people they direct between holy and common, 
and between unclean and clean they cause them to discern. 
And concerning controversy, 
they stand up for judgment; with My judgments they judge it; 
and My law and My statutes in all My appointed places they keep; 
and My sabbaths they sanctify. 

Ezek.46:1-3   `Thus said the Lord Yahweh: 
The gate of the inner court that is looking eastward is shut the six days of work, 
and on the day of rest it is opened, and in the day of the new moon it is opened; 
and come in has the prince the way of the porch of the gate at the outside, 
and he has stood by the post of the gate, 
and the priests have made his burnt-offering, and his peace-offerings, 
and he has bowed himself by the opening of the gate, and has gone forth, 
and the gate is not shut till the evening.
And bowed themselves have the people of the land at the opening of that gate,
on sabbaths, and on new moons, before Yahweh. 

Ezek.45:17  And on the prince are the burnt-offerings, 
and the present, and the libation, 
in feasts, and in new moons, and in sabbaths, 
in all appointed times of the house of Israel: he does make the sin-offering, 
and the present, and the burnt-offering, and the peace-offerings, 
to make atonement for the house of Israel. 

Isa.66:23  And it comes, according to the monthly quota in its month, 
and according to the sabbath quota in its sabbath, 
all flesh shall come to worship before Me in Jerusalem," says Yahweh. 

Zech.14:16-19   And it shall come to be 
that everyone left of all the nations coming against Jerusalem,
shall also go up, a quota, year by year, to worship the King, Yahweh of hosts, 
and to celebrate the celebration of booths. 
And it comes, whoever will not go up from the families of the earth, 
to Jerusalem to worship the King, Yahweh of hosts, 
then the downpour shall not come on them. 
And if a family of Egypt shall not go up, and shall not come, then it is not on them; 
to it shall come the stroke with which Yahweh will strike all the nations, 
which will not go up to celebrate the celebration of booths. 
This shall be the sin of Egypt, and the sin of all the nations, 
that will not go up to celebrate the celebration of booths. 

2d.  The Sinai or Old Covenant

We are all familiar with the story of the giving of the law on Mt.Sinai by the angel of the Lord through Moses to the people of Israel (Ex.20). 

Act.7:38  This is he who came to be in the ecclesia in the wilderness 
with the messenger, who speaks to him in mount Sinai, and with our fathers, 
who receives the living oracles to give to you, 

Ex.24:4-8   Now Moses wrote all the words of Yahweh. 
And he rose early in the morning and built an altar below the mountain 
and twelve stone monuments for the twelve tribes of Israel. 
Then he sent youths of the sons of Israel, and the brought up ascent offerings 
and sacrificed young bulls as sacrifices of peace offerings to Yahweh. 
Moses took half of the blood and put it in goblets, 
and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 
And he took the scroll of the covenant and read it in the ears of the people; 
so they said: All that Yahweh has spoken we shall do and hearken to. 
Now Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people and said: 
Behold the blood of the covenant which Yahweh contracts with you
concerning all these matters. 

Ex.34:27,28   Yahweh said to Moses: Write for yourself these words, for 
at the bidding of these words I contract with you a covenant and with Israel. 
And he came to be there before Yahweh, forty days and forty nights. 
Bread he did not eat and water he did not drink. 
Thus he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten words.

Lev.26:46   These are the statutes, the judgments and the laws 
which Yahweh put between Him and the sons of Israel on Mount Sinai 
by means of Moses. 

Deut.5:1-3  Moses called to all Israel and said to them: 
Hear, Israel, the statutes and the judgments 
that I am speaking in your ears today, 
that you learn them and observe to obey them. 
Yahweh our Elohim, He contracted a covenant with us at Horeb.
Not with our fathers did Yahweh contract this covenant, 
but with us, us, these here today, all of us who are alive. 

Not only was Israel disobedient in the time of Moses, her whole record in the ‘Old Testament’ shows the distinct characteristic of her inherent stubbornness. And the ‘New Testament’ records her rejection of her own Messiah and her part in crucifying Him.

Jn.1:11   ‘To His own He came, and those who are His own accepted Him not.’ . 

Lk.23:23-25   Yet they importuned with loud voices, requesting that He be crucified. 
And their voices and the chief priests' prevailed….. 
Jesus he gives up to their will.

Mt.27:35  And, answering, the entire people said, "His blood be on us and on our children!

Lk.23:34   Father, forgive them, for they are not aware what they are doing. .

Act.13:27   For those dwelling in Jerusalem and their chiefs, 
being ignorant of Him
and of the voices of the prophets which are read on every sabbath, 
fulfill them in judging Him. 

1Cor.2:6-8   Yet wisdom are we speaking among the mature, 
yet a wisdom not of this eon, 
neither of the chief men of this eon, who are being discarded, 
but we are speaking God's wisdom in a secret, 
wisdom which has been concealed, 
which God designates before--before the eons, for our glory, 
which not one of the chief men of this eon knows, 
for if they know, they would not crucify the Lord of glory. .

Gal.3:21  …For if a law were given that is able to vivify, 
really, righteousness were out of law. 

Heb.7:18,19   For, indeed, there is coming to be a repudiation of the preceding precept 
because it is weak and without benefit; 
for the law perfects nothing, 
yet it is the superinduction of a better expectation, 
through which we are drawing near to God. 

Rom.3:20   because, by works of law, no flesh at all shall be justified in His sight, 
for through law is the recognition of sin. 

Rom.7:7  …But sin I knew not except through law. 
For besides, I had not been aware of coveting 
except the law said, "You shall not be coveting." 

Gal.3:19   What, then, is the law? 
On behalf of transgressions was it added, 
until the Seed should come to Whom He has promised, 
being prescribed through messengers in the hand of a mediator. 

Rom.4:15   …Now where no law is, neither is there transgression. 

Rom.5:13  ….yet sin is not being taken into account when there is no law; 

Rom.8:3,4  For what was impossible to the law, in which it was infirm through the flesh, 
did God, sending His own Son in the likeness of sin's flesh and concerning sin, 
He condemns sin in the flesh, 
that the just requirement of the law may be fulfilled in us, 
who are not walking in accord with flesh, but in accord with spirit. 

1Cor.2:14   Now the soulish man 
is not receiving those things which are of the spirit of God, 
for they are stupidity to him, and he is not able to know them, 
seeing that they are spiritually examined. 

Rom.10:3   For they, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, 
and seeking to establish their own righteousness, 
were not subjected to the righteousness of God. 

Ex.34:29   It came to be when Moses descended from Mount Sinai 
with the two tablets of testimony in Moses' hands, 
when he descended from the mount, 
that Moses did not realize that the skin of his face gleamed
because of His speaking to him. 

Ex.34:32,33   Afterward all the sons of Israel came close to him; and 
he instructed them in all that Yahweh had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. 
When Moses finished speaking with them, then he put a covering on his face. 

2Cor.3:13-16   and are not even as Moses. He placed a covering over his face, 
so that the sons of Israel were not to look intently 
to the consummation of that which is being nullified.
But their apprehensions were calloused, for until this very day 
the same covering is remaining at the reading of the old covenant, 
not being uncovered, for only in Christ is it being nullified. 
But till today, if ever the reading of Moses should be reached, 
a covering is lying on their heart.
Yet if ever it should reach a turning back to the Lord, 
the covering is taken from about it. 

Meanwhile, the sentence passed on her at the end of the book of Acts is still in effect.

Act.28:26-28  …"Ideally the holy spirit speaks through Isaiah the prophet, 
to your fathers, saying,  `Go to this people and say, 
"In hearing, you will be hearing, and may by no means be understanding, 
And observing, you will be observing, and may by no means be perceiving," 
For stoutened is the heart of this people, 
And with their ears heavily they hear, 
And with their eyes they squint, 
Lest at some time they may be perceiving with their eyes, 
And with their ears should be hearing, 
And with their heart may be understanding, 
And should be turning about,  And I shall be healing them.
Let it be known to you, then, that 
to the nations was dispatched this salvation of God, and they will hear." 

Rom.11:32 For God locks up all together in stubbornness,… 

Rom.11:8   What then? What Israel is seeking for, this she did not encounter, 
yet the chosen encountered it. 
Now the rest were calloused, even as it is written, 
God gives them a spirit of stupor, 
eyes not to be observing, and ears not to be hearing, 
till this very day. 

Rom.11:25   For I am not willing for you to be ignorant of this secret, brethren, 
lest you may be passing for prudent among yourselves, 
that callousness, in part, on Israel has come, 
until the complement of the nations may be entering. .

The New Covenant

So, we find that Scripture talks of a NEW covenant that God intends to establish with the same nation in the not too distant future. This Covenant will be built upon better promises, and empowered with the vital factor which will be supplied at its inception. Israel will then know the law and keep it. Yahweh will then do them good - without further reservation!

Heb.7:22   by so much also has Jesus become the sponsor of a better covenant. 

Heb.9:15   And therefore He is the Mediator of a new covenant, 
so that at a death occurring for the deliverance of the transgressions
of those under the first covenant, those who are called 
may be obtaining the promise of the eonian enjoyment of the allotment. 

Heb.8:6-13   Yet now He has happened upon a more excellent ministry, 
in as much as He is the Mediator, also, of a better covenant, 
which has been instituted on better promises. 
For if that first one were unblamable, no place would have been sought for a second. 
For, blaming them, He is saying, 
"Lo! the days are coming," the Lord is saying, 
"And I shall be concluding with the house of Israel 
and with the house of Judah a new covenant, 
Not in accord with the covenant which I make with their fathers 
In the day of My taking hold of their hand 
To be leading them out of the land of Egypt, 
Seeing that they do not remain in My covenant, 
And I neglect them," the Lord is saying, 
"For this is the covenant which I shall be covenanting 
with the house of Israel after those days," the Lord is saying: 
"Imparting My laws to their comprehension, 
On their hearts, also, shall I be inscribing them, 
And I shall be to them for a God,  And they shall be to Me for a people. 
And by no means should each be teaching his fellow citizen, 
And each his brother, saying, `Know the Lord!' 
For all shall be acquainted with Me, from their little to their great, 
For I shall be propitious to their injustices, 
And of their sins and their lawlessnesses 
should I under no circumstances still be reminded." 
In saying "new," He has made the former old. 
Now that which is growing old and decrepit is near its disappearance.

Heb.10:15-18   Now the holy spirit also is testifying to us, for after having declared, 
"`This is the covenant which I shall be covenanting with them after those days,' 
the Lord is saying, `imparting My laws to their hearts, 
I shall be inscribing them on their comprehension also, 
and of their sins and their lawlessnesses 
shall I under no circumstances still be reminded.'" 
Now where there is a pardon of these, 
there is no longer an approach present concerned with sin. 

Jer.31:31-34   Lo, days are coming, an affirmation of Yahweh, And I have made 
with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah a new covenant, 
Not like the covenant that I made with their fathers, 
In the day of My laying hold on their hand, to bring them out of the land of Egypt, 
In that they made void My covenant, And I ruled over them—
an affirmation of Yahweh. 
For this [is] the covenant that I make, with the house of Israel, after those days, 
An affirmation of Yahweh, 
I have given My law in their inward part, And on their heart I do write it, 
And I have been to them for Elohim, And they are to me for a people. 
And they do not teach any more each his neighbor, and each his brother, 
Saying, Know you Yahweh, For they all know Me, 
from their least unto their greatest, An affirmation of Yahweh; 
For I pardon their iniquity, And of their sin I make mention no more. 

Ezek.37:1,10-14   There has been upon me a hand of Yahweh, 
and He takes me forth in the Spirit of Yahweh, 
and does place me in the midst of the valley, and it is full of bones, …. 
And I have prophesied as He commanded me, 
and the Spirit comes into them, and they live, 
and stand on their feet--a very very great force. 
And He said unto me, 
`Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; 
lo, they are saying: Dried up have our bones, And perished has our hope, 
We have been cut off by ourselves. 
Therefore, prophesy, and you have said unto them, thus said the Lord Yahweh: 
Lo, I am opening your graves, And have brought you up out of your graves, 
O My people, And brought you in unto the land of Israel. 
And you have known that I [am] Yahweh, In My opening your graves, 
And in My bringing you up out of your graves, O My people. 
And I have given My Spirit in you, and you have lived, 
And I have caused you to rest on your land, 
And you have known that I Yahweh, I have spoken, and I have done [it], 
An affirmation of Yahweh.' 

Ezek.37:21-23  …Thus said the Lord Yahweh: 
Lo, I am taking the sons of Israel, 
From among the nations whither they have gone, 
And have gathered them from round about, 
And I have brought them in unto their land. 
And I have made them become one nation in the land, on mountains of Israel, 
And one king is to them all for king, And they are no more as two nations, 
Nor are they divided any more into two kingdoms again. 
Nor are they defiled any more with their idols, 
And with their abominations, 
And with any of their transgressions, 
And I have saved them out of all their dwellings, In which they have sinned, 
And I have cleansed them, 
And they have been to Me for a people, And I--I am to them for Elohim. 

Ezek.37:24-28   And My servant David [is] king over them, 
And one shepherd have they all, 
And in My judgments they go, and My statutes they keep, and have done them. 
And I have made to them a covenant of peace, 
A covenant eonian it is with them, 
And I have placed them, and multiplied them, 
And placed My sanctuary in their midst--to the eon. 
And My tabernacle has been over them, 
And I have been to them for Elohim, And they have been to Me for a people. 
And known have the nations that I Yahweh am sanctifying Israel, 
In My sanctuary being in their midst--to the eon!' 

Ezek.39:27-29   In My bringing them back from the peoples, 
I have assembled them from the lands of their enemies, 
And I have been sanctified in them before the eyes of the many nations, 
And they have known that I [am] Yahweh their Elohim, 
In My removing them unto the nations, 
And I have gathered them unto their land, 
And I leave none of them any more there. 
And I hide not any more My face from them, 
In that I have poured out My spirit on the house of Israel, 
An affirmation of the Lord Yahweh!' 

Isa.59:20,21   And there comes to Zion the Redeemer, 
and "He shall turn back transgression from Jacob," averring is Yahweh.
"And I--this is My covenant with them," says Yahweh. 
"My spirit, which is on you, 
and My word, which I place in your mouth, shall not remove from your mouth, 
or from the mouth of your seed, or from the mouth of your seed's seed," 
says Yahweh, "Henceforth and till the eon." 

Jer.32:39-42   Lo, I am gathering them out of all the lands 
whither I have driven them in Mine anger, and in My fury, and in great wrath, 
and I have brought them back unto this place, 
and have caused them to dwell confidently; 
and they have been to Me for a people, and I am to them for Elohim;
and I have given to them one heart, and one way, 
to fear Me all the days, for good to them, and to their sons after them: 
and I have made for them a covenant eonian,
in that I turn not back from after them for My doing them good, 
and My fear I put in their heart, so as not to turn aside from me; 
and I have rejoiced over them to do them good, 
and have planted them in this land in truth, with all My heart, and with all My soul. 
`For thus said Yahweh: As I brought in unto this people all this great evil, 
so I am bringing in on them all the good that I am speaking concerning them; 

Ezek.11:19,20   And I have given to them one heart, 
And a new spirit I do give in your midst, 
And I have turned the heart of stone out of their flesh, 
And I have given to them a heart of flesh.
So that in My statutes they walk, and My judgments they keep, and have done them, 
And they have been to me for a people, And I am to them for Elohim. 

Jer.24:6,7   And I have set Mine eyes on them for good, 
And have brought them back to this land, 
And built them up, and I throw not down, 
And have planted them, and pluck not up. 
And have given to them a heart to know Me, For I [am] Yahweh, 
And they have been to Me for a people, And I am to them for Elohim, 
For they turned back unto Me with all their heart.

Zech.12:10   Yet I pour out on the house of David, and on the dwellers of Jerusalem, 
a spirit of grace and supplications; 
and they look to Him Whom they stabbed, 
and they will wail over Him as the wailing over the only son, 
and they will be embittered over Him as the embittering over the firstborn. 

Rev.1:7   Lo! He is coming with clouds, 
and every eye shall be seeing Him--those, also, who stab Him—
and all the tribes of the land shall be grieving over Him. Yea! Amen! 

Jn.19:37   ...again, a different scripture is saying, they shall see Him whom they stab. 

Ezek.34:22-24   And I have given safety to My flock, 
And they are not any more for prey,
And I have judged between sheep and sheep. 
And have raised up over them one shepherd, 
And he has fed them--my servant David, 
He does feed them, and he is their shepherd, 
And I, Yahweh, I am their Elohim, 
And My servant David prince in their midst, I, Yahweh, have spoken. 

Ezek.34:25,26   And I have made for them a covenant of peace, 
And caused evil beasts to cease out of the land, 
And they have dwelt in a wilderness confidently, And they have slept in forests. 
And I have given them, and the suburbs of my hill, a blessing, 
And caused the shower to come down in its season, 
Showers of blessing they are. 

Ezek.34:29-31   And I have raised for them a plant for renown, 
And they are no more consumed by hunger in the land, 
And they bear no more the shame of the nations. 
And they have known that I, Yahweh, their Elohim, [am] with them, 
And they--the house of Israel--My people, 
An affirmation of the Lord Yahweh. 
And you, My flock, the flock of My pasture, 
Men you [are]--I [am] your Elohim, An affirmation of the Lord Yahweh!' 

Rom.11:32   For God locks up all together in stubbornness, 
that He should be merciful to all. 

Isa.30:18-21 KJV  And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, 
and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: 
for the LORD [is] a God of judgment: blessed [are] all they that wait for him. 
For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: 
he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; 
when he shall hear it, he will answer thee. 
And [though] the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, 
yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, 
but thine eyes shall see thy teachers: 
And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, 
This [is] the way, walk ye in it,
when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. 

Ezek.16:60-63   And I--I have remembered My covenant with you, 
In the days of your youth, 
And I have established for you a covenant eonian. 
And you have remembered your ways, And you have been ashamed, 
In your receiving your sisters--Your elder with your younger, 
And I have given them to you for daughters, And not by your covenant. 
And I--I have established Mycovenant with you, 
And you have known that I [am] Yahweh. 
So that you do remember, And you have been ashamed, 
And there is not to you any more an opening of the mouth because of your shame, 
In My receiving atonement for you, For all that you have done, 
An affirmation of the Lord Yahweh!' 

Jer.50:20   In those days, and at that time, An affirmation of Yahweh, 
Sought is the iniquity of Israel, and it is not, 
And the sin of Judah, and it is not found, 
For I am propitious to those whom I leave! 

Isa.44:22   For behold! I wipe out as a dense haze, your transgressions, 
and as a cloud, your sins. 
Return to Me, for I redeemed you." 

Mic.7:18-20   Who is an El as You are, bearing with depravity, 
and passing over transgression, for the remnant of His allotment? 
He does not hold fast His anger for the future. For He delights in kindness. 
He will return, having compassion on us. He will subdue our depravities. 
And You wilt fling into the shadowy depths of the sea all our sins. 
You wilt render the truth to Jacob, the kindness to Abraham, 
which You swear to our forefathers from days aforetime. 

Isa.60:21   And your people, all of them are righteous; 
for the eon shall they tenant the land, 
the scion of Yahweh's planting, the making of His hand, to beautify itself. 

Jer.33:6-9   Lo, I am increasing to it health and cure, And have healed them,
and revealed to them The abundance of peace and truth. 
And I have turned back the captivity of Judah, And the captivity of Israel, 
And I have built them as at the first, 
And cleansed them from all their iniquity, that they have sinned against Me, 
And I have pardoned all their iniquities, that they have sinned against Me, 
And that they transgressed against Me. 
And it has been to Me for a name of joy, for praise, and for beauty, 
to all nations of the earth, Who hear of all the good that I am doing them, 
And they have feared, And they have trembled for all the good, 
And for all the peace, that I am doing to it. 

Hos.6:1   Go, and we will return to Yahweh, our Elohim, 
for He tore to pieces, and He will heal us: 
He was smiting, and He will bind us up. 

Zech.8:22,23   And many peoples and staunch nations will come 
to seek Yahweh of hosts in Jerusalem, and to beseech the face of Yahweh. 
Thus says Yahweh of hosts: 
In those days ten mortals, from all the languages of the nations, 
will take fast hold. And they will take fast hold of the hem of a man, a Jew, saying, 
We will go with you, for we hear that Elohim is with you. 

Isa.52:1   Rouse! Rouse! Clothe yourself with your ornaments, O Zion! 
Clothe yourself in your beautiful cloaks, Jerusalem, the holy city! 
For no more shall come into you any longer the uncircumcised and unclean. 

Ezek.44:9   `Thus said the Lord Yahweh: 
No son of a stranger, uncircumcised of heart, and uncircumcised of flesh, 
comes in unto My sanctuary, 
even any son of a stranger, who [is] in the midst of the sons of Israel, 

And we find detailed instructions concerning weekly sabbaths, high sabbaths and special commemorative days that will be observed and the sacrifices that will be offered at the Temple during the Millenium (see Ezek.45).

These ceremonies and sacrifices will be central to the worship and liturgy in The Kingdom Of God that is to be established when Messiah comes to rule the earth with the rod of iron. 

However, these were, are, and will be, entirely foreign to us who are members of The Body Of Christ!

It will benefit us a great deal to ponder on this fact. Paul insists that such things are a shadow of what will become a reality in the future - the Millenium - when the 12 apostles of the Lord sit on 12 thrones ruling the 12 tribes of Israel who, in turn, rule the world (Col.2:16,17; Mt.19:28; Lk.22:30)! What they observed in their lifetime, they will have the joyous privilege to observe once again after their resurrection and through the days of the Millenium.
 

Back to:
....Main menu of articles

....Section 1   -   Introduction
.........................The Special Place of Israel
....Section 2a & 2b   -   The Circumcision Covenant 
...............................     The Kingdom or Territorial Covenant 

Proceed to:
....Section 3   -   Israel's Failure 
....................... . Israel Chastised 
....Section 4   -  God's Good Name 
.........................Still The People Of God 
....Section 5   -  Conclusion