(Hanne Weitzel)
Did the Israelites break the Old Covenant? / Anonymous commentator, 2020-05-20
The New Covenant in the blood of the Son of God
The New Covenant of God with Israel
(…) In your article about the
‘the Messianic Jews’ you write:
"The Old Covenant of God with Israel was broken by the Jews through
their condemnation of the Son of God to die on the cross, and God
consequently dissolved this covenant".
Can you tell me where in the Bible you have found this statement that the
Israelites have broken the covenant with God and that God has dissolved
this covenant with Israel?
Anonymous
Thank you for your visit to Immanuel.at and for your comments.
Before we enter into the direct biblical proof of the Israelites’ having broken
the covenant, we should go into the background, namely the promises of this
covenant and the more detailed circumstances why and how the Israelites broke
the covenant with their God.
First of all the fundamental basis, the promise of this Old Covenant (shavuot,
Ex 19:1-25): God promises here below, in Ex 19,15 in the very first announcement of
this Old Covenant: ‘Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep
My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples,
for all the earth is Mine.’ And furthermore, God promises the Israelites the
famous ‘Kingdom’:
And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
Ex 19,1 In the third month after the sons of
Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that very day they came into the
wilderness of Sinai. 19,2 When they set out from Rephidim, they came to the
wilderness of Sinai and camped in the wilderness; and there Israel camped in
front of the mountain. 19,3 Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him
from the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell
the sons of Israel: 19,4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians,
and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself. 19,5 ‘Now
then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be
My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine;
19,6 and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’
These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel." Ex 19,1-6;
This kingdom – the ‘Kingdom of God’ – was to be a single world
empire, with the Messiah as ruler and Israel as the leading nation (‘chief of
the nations’, Jer 31: 7). But when this prophecy was fulfilled and the Messiah
came to the Israelites in the person of the Son of God, they rejected him.
Then the high priest tore his robes and said, "He has blasphemed! He deserves death!
Mt 26,63 But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest
said to Him, "I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether
You are the Christ (the Messiah), the Son of God." 26,64 Jesus
said to him, "You have said it yourself;
nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of man sitting at the
right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven." 26,65 Then the high
priest tore his robes and said, "He has blasphemed! What further need do we have
of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy; 26,66 what do you
think?" They answered, "He deserves death!" Mt 26,63-66;
With the condemnation of their Messiah, the Son of God, to death
on the cross, the Israelites not only violated the fifth commandment of God
‘thou shalt not kill’. The argument that they did not kill Jesus themselves, but
rather the Romans did, is not valid, seeing that the Romans (Pilate) did not
want to kill the Lord at all, but the Jews insisted on it by taking the oath of
blood:
And all the people said, "His blood shall be on us and on our children!"
Mt 27,22 Pilate said to them, "Then what
shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" They all said, "Crucify
Him!" 27,23 And he said, "Why, what evil has He done?" But they kept shouting
all the more, saying, "Crucify Him!" 27,24 When Pilate saw that he was
accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and
washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this Man’s
blood; see to that yourselves." 27,25 And all the people said, "His
blood shall be on us and on our children!" Mt 27,22-25;
Apart from breaking the fifth commandment of God, the Jews have
thus also transgressed the only commandment for whose disregard there is no
forgiveness: the sin against the Holy Spirit:
Whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him.
Mt 12,31 "Therefore I say to you, any sin and
blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall
not be forgiven. 12,32 "Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it
shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall
not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come. Mt 12,31-32;
The sin against the Holy Spirit is the false judgment that an
unholy spirit is the ‘Holy Spirit’ or vice versa, that the Holy Spirit is a
demon. In Jn 8,48 it is reported: ‘The Jews answered and said to him, Do
we not say rightly that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?’ Since
Jesus always preached in the Holy Spirit, this was the sin against the Holy
Spirit.
(See also discourse 64: "What
is the sin against the Holy Spirit?")
This is the actual breach of the covenant by the Jews, with
which they finally lost their God. That is why Jesus, who at the beginning of
his public ministry preached only to the Jews as promised and also let his
disciples go ‘only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel’ (Mt 15:21-24),
then extended his preaching to all people of all nations (Mk 16:15-16).
(See also discourse 142: "The
Messianic Jews, Jewish religion and Christian faith. / Christianity: a fulfillment of the Jewish religion?")
And in consequence he also proclaimed the bitter truth to the
Jews: the Kingdom, this Kingdom of God promised to the Jews, with Israel as its
head, was taken from them and given to a nation (from all over the world) that
will bring its fruits (Christians who are faithful to the Bible).
The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it.
Mt 21,42 Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in
the Scriptures, – the stone which the builders rejected, this became the chief 6
corner stone; this came about from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
21,43 "Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you
and given to a people, producing the fruit of it." Mt 21,42-43;
But the sons of the kingdom (Jews without Jesus) will be cast out into the outer darkness.
Mt 8,11 "I say to you that many will come from east
and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom
of heaven; 8,12 but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer
darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Mt 8,11-12;
(See also discourse 94: "The
Kingdom of God and its Heirs. / The Heirs.")
Subsequently, on the death of his Son, when the curtain of the
temple was torn in two from top to bottom, God left the Holy of Holies in the
Temple, where he had lived permanently with the Israelites (Mt 27:50-51; Deut
31:16-17), and about 40 years later had the Temple with the altar of burnt offering razed to
the ground by the Romans under Titus.
"The veil of the Jerusalem temple was torn in two from top to bottom."
(Hanne Weitzel)
(See also discourse 140: "The
background to the murder of the Jewish Messiah Jesus of Nazareth. / The destruction of the Temple.")
Because from this time on there has been neither a temple nor a
burnt offering altar in Jerusalem for the sin offering – which had to be
sacrificed in Jerusalem and only in Jerusalem (Deut 12:13-14) –
the faith of Moses can no longer be practiced and the Mosaic laws can no longer
be fulfilled.
UAnd because on the other hand the Mosaic faith, for the forgiveness of sin,
prescribes as mandatory the sacrifice of an animal on the altar of burnt
offering in the Temple in Jerusalem, whereas there has been neither one nor the
other in Jerusalem for two thousand years, the Jews have all died in their sins
without forgiveness since that very time. After their resurrection, at the Last
Judgment, they will therefore be condemned to damnation. And their Messiah
prophesied this to them as well.
Unless you believe that I am He (the Messiah), you will die in your sins.
Jn 8,21 Then He said again to them, "I go away, and
you will seek Me, and will die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come."
8,22 So the Jews were saying, "Surely He will not kill Himself, will He, since
He says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?" 8,23 And He was saying to them,
"You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this
world. 8,24 "Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for
unless you believe that I am He (the Messiah), you will die in your
sins." Jn 8,21-24;
Even if the Jews now try to replace the lack of animal
sacrifices by ‘prayer offerings’, by saying prayers to themselves for hours on
end, this is completely useless, because God and the Holy Spirit no longer hear
them. That is the reason why this sin can no longer be forgiven: because the
contact with God has been severed.
But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.
Isa 59,1 Behold, the LORD’S hand is not so short
That it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear.
59,2
But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your
sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear. 59,3
For your hands are defiled with blood And your fingers with iniquity;
Your lips have spoken falsehood, Your tongue mutters wickedness. Isa 59,1-3;
So when the Messianic Jews teach that the Jews do not have to
change their religion in order to be saved by Jesus, they are not only
representing a false doctrine, but they are also committing the great mistake of
leading astray the few Jews who want to repent and convert to Jesus.
(See also discourse 1114: "The
teaching of the Messianic Jews – the Analysis.")
The Law and the Prophets (the Mosaic religion) were proclaimed until John;
Lk 16,16 "The Law and the Prophets
were proclaimed until John; since that time the gospel of the
kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.
Lk 16,16;
When the Son of God realized that the Israelites would not
accept him, he preached the gospel to the nations. And God has determined the
expected death of his Son as the New Covenant with all people and as a new
redeeming sacrifice for the forgiveness of the sins of all people who convert to
Jesus.
For this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.
Mt 26,26 While they were eating, Jesus took some
bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said,
"Take, eat; this is My body." 26,27 And when He had taken a cup and given
thanks, He gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you; 26,28
for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for
forgiveness of sins. 26,29 "But I say to you, I will not drink of this
fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My
Father’s kingdom." 26,30 After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of
Olives. Mt 26,26-30;
When a New Covenant has been concluded, it seems obvious that
the Old Covenant is to be considered dissolved. But it is not that simple,
because the ‘New Covenant’ that our Lord Jesus Christ brought was not new in the
sense that it just replaced the Old Covenant. It was new because it was new in
its own way.
For God there is a fundamental difference between Israel and the rest of the
world. Therefore a New Covenant that would require the dissolution of this Old
Covenant with Israel would have to be a New Covenant with Israel. The New
Covenant with the nations, with all people, is only ‘new’ in the sense of ‘never
having existed before’.
Let us look at some further statements of the Son of God on this paradigm shift
from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant. In Mt 9,14-17, for instance, the
disciples of the Baptist ask him why they keep the Mosaic covenant and fast
often, whereas his disciples do not.
But no one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment.
Mt 9,14 Then the disciples of John came to Him,
asking, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?" 9,15
And Jesus said to them, "The attendants of the bridegroom cannot mourn as long
as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the
bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. 9,16 "But
no one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls
away from the garment, and a worse tear results. 9,17 "Nor do
people put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wineskins burst, and the
wine pours out and the wineskins are ruined; but they put new wine into fresh
wineskins, and both are preserved." Mt 9,14-17;
And the Lord answers them with one, or actually two parables.
The first comparison is the ‘patching of an old garment with new cloth’. The
‘old garment’ of course refers to the Old Covenant, and the ‘patch’ is obviously
the New Covenant, a new religion.
And according to this statement of Jesus, the Old Covenant has a tear. It is
torn. And so it would not make sense, either, to put a ‚new patch’ – that is to
say, a new faith – on this tear. This would pull away from the old garment – the
Old Covenant – and the tear would become worse.
Similarly one does not pour new wine (the new faith) into old skins (the Old
Covenant), otherwise the new wine will tear the old skins and the wine will be
spilt and the skins will be ruined. New wine (new faith) is rather to be poured
into new wineskins (a New Covenant) and both are preserved.
What we can see from this are two things: on the one hand the Lord confirms here
that the Old Covenant was broken, ‘torn’ by the Israelites. The second insight
lies in the statement of Jesus: ‘both are preserved together’. So although
broken by the Israelites, the Old Mosaic Covenant also remains intact, along
with the New Covenant – Christianity.
This somewhat confusing statement of the Lord’s that both covenants are
preserved then leads some exegetes to try to reinterpret these words of the Lord
or even to interpret them ‘symbolically’, whereby one can then interpret
anything one wishes into them with impunity.
But if we make an effort to find an interpretation in accordance with the
Scriptures, we will very soon find what we need in the Old Testament, in the
prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah received several prophecies from God on this very
subject. First of all it is expressly stated that Israel has broken the Old
Covenant.
The covenant which I made with their fathers, My covenant which they broke.
Jer 31,32 not like the covenant which I
made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of
the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a
husband to them," declares the LORD. Jer 31,32;
Here God himself speaks of that Old, Mosaic Covenant which he
made with Israel in Egypt, which the Israelites broke. It is important to
establish this because God also made a covenant with Abraham (Gen 17:9), and confusion must
be avoided here.
(See also discourse 1111: "God’s
covenants, by Jacob Damkani.")
Although we can now also be certain that these statements in Jer 31,32
refer to the Old, the Mosaic Covenant, we do not yet know whether this, this covenant breach
of the Israelites, is the one we are interested in. For Israel has broken this covenant several times (Jer 11:10).
But we find the answer to this question likewise here in Jeremiah, in the
introduction to the verses above and immediately before this statement about the
breaking of the covenant:
"Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and with the seed of beast.
Jer 31,27 "Behold, days are coming,"
declares the LORD, "when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah
with the seed of man and with the seed of beast. 31,28 "As I have
watched over them to pluck up, to break down, to overthrow, to destroy and to
bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant," declares the
LORD. 31,29 "In those days they will not say again, ‘The fathers have eaten sour
grapes, And the children’s teeth are set on edge.’ 31,30 "But everyone will die
for his own iniquity; each man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth will be set
on edge. Jer 31,27-30;
These are the prophecies of God for the coming Millennium, the
Thousand Years Kingdom of Peace of his Son Jesus of Nazareth, according to which
the Israelites will return to their God and to his Son Jesus, the Messiah of
Israel, after their apostasy.
(See also chapter 10: "The
Millennium.")
So when God speaks above, in Jer 31,32, of the Old Mosaic
Covenant (Egypt), which the Israelites have broken, we are without doubt dealing
with the last breach of covenant before the Millennium, namely their judging the
Son of God to be a ‘demon’ and condemning him to die on the cross two thousand
years ago.
And in the following text of Jeremiah below (Jer 31,31-34), this view is also
confirmed by the fact that – as in many other biblical passages with reference
to the Millennium – God indicates that in those later days he will write his law
into the hearts of the Israelites and forgive their guilt, and will not remember
their sins any more.
(See also chapter 09: "God’s
new, everlasting covenant with Israel.")
Based on these facts to which the Bible thus testifies, that
Israel has broken the Old, Mosaic Covenant, and in the absence of the temple and
the altar of burnt offering, and especially because of their sin against the
Holy Spirit they have no forgiveness of their sins and so no contact with God
any more – unless they convert to Jesus Christ – it must be assumed that God has
dissolved this covenant.
Behold, days are coming, declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.
Jer 31,31 "Behold, days are coming," declares
the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the
house of Judah, 31,32 not like the covenant which I made with their fathers
in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My
covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them," declares the LORD.
31,33 "But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after
those days," declares the LORD, "I will put My law within them and on their
heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
31,34 "They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother,
saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to
the greatest of them," declares the LORD, "for I will forgive their iniquity,
and their sin I will remember no more." Jer 31,31-34;
Seeing that the ‘New Covenant’ which our Lord Jesus Christ
brought with his blood cannot be seen as a successor to the Old Covenant, in
such a way that an end to the latter would be justified, we have here, in Jer
31,31, the unambiguous statement of God that he will make a New Covenant
with Israel in the Millennium.
And if God makes a New Covenant with Israel here, then the Old Covenant with
Israel must necessarily have been dissolved. And this is now on the one hand the most important argument for the view that
the Old, Mosaic covenant was broken by Israel and dissolved by God. On the
other, however, it is also an indication that in the Millennium, when God
forgives Israel its sins ‘in one day’ (Zech 3,9) and the generation then living
will return to its God, Israel will again be in covenant with its God.
And exactly this is then also what we find expressed quite clearly in a prophecy
of Hosea’s, namely that God will make a New Covenant with the house of Israel in
those days – that is to say in the Millennium – and he will be their God and
they will again be his people.
Afterward the sons of Israel will return and they will come trembling to the LORD in the last days.
Hos 3,4 For the sons of Israel will remain for many
days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar and without
ephod or household idols.3,5 Afterward the sons of Israel will return and
seek the LORD their God and David their king; and they will come
trembling to the LORD and to His goodness in the last days. Hos 3, 4- 5;
As this analysis has now shown, it is a biblical fact that two
thousand years ago Israel, by condemning their Messiah Jesus of Nazareth to
death on the cross, broke the covenant with their God, and God, who had
constantly dwelt with the Israelites in the Holy of Holies of the temple, left
the temple and the Israelites and 40 years later had both temple and city razed to the ground by
the Romans under Titus.
But because of the absence of the Temple with its altar of burnt offering, the
conditions for ritual forgiveness of sins according to Mosaic law were
no longer fulfilled, and the Jews have since then been unable – unless they have
converted to Christianity – to obtain any forgiveness of sins.
Since the forgiveness of sins by God is the precondition for entering into
eternal life, both according to the faith of Moses and according to
Christianity, all Jews who do not convert to Jesus since are thereby condemned to
eternal damnation.
Only in the Millennium, the Thousand Years Kingdom of Peace of the Son of God on
earth, will the Israelites return to their God, and God will forgive Israel all
its sins ‘in one day’ and make a covenant with them again. But under what
conditions this covenant will be concluded, and whether they will perhaps be
congruent with those of the Old, Mosaic Covenant, will only become apparent in
the Millennium.
THE PARABLE OF THE UNFRUITFUL
VINEYARD Let me sing now for my well-beloved a song of my beloved concerning His
vineyard. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, Judge between Me and My vineyard. What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it? Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce worthless ones? So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard: I will remove its hedge and it will be consumed; I will break down its wall and it will become trampled ground. I will lay it waste; It will not be pruned or hoed, But briars and thorns will come up. I will also charge the clouds to rain no rain on it. For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel And the men of Judah His delightful plant. Thus He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; For righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress. Isa 5:1- 7; |
(See also Discourse 1015: "Shema Yisrael
‒ Hear, O ISRAEL: the judgment of God on his people.")
LAMENTATION OVER ZION.Zion, you joy and bride of God (Isa 62:5), what have you made of
yourself? You have betrayed your husband (Hos 2:18-22), his Son – who was sent to bring you
salvation – you had put to death (Mt 26:65-68) and so broke his covenant (Jer 31:31-33). Now God
has dissolved the covenant with you and given you over to your sins. Your Temple is annihilated, the
sacrificial altar is destroyed. In the place where you effected the forgiveness and the grace of
your God every day (Ex 29:38-39), not one stone has remained on another (Mt 24:1-2). Since then your
sons and daughters have all died in their sins (Jn 8:24) and go to damnation. |