NEW COVENANT -- TORAH

INTRODUCTION

 When I was in seminary the official line of the school relative to the “Old Testament” was expressed in one of two ways:

·        We (Christians) are not under law (Torah) as a code but under grace.

·        The “Old Testament” has been superseded by the “New Testament.”

Both statements were presented as incontrovertible facts by the professors without detailed justification from the “New Testament.”  The above quotation marks are intentional, because this terminology is based on a single verse in the book of Hebrews (8:13).  The contrast in this passage is between the New Covenant promised in Jeremiah 31:31 ff. and the “first” Covenant made through Moses at Mt. Sinai.  This is significant because the Greek term for covenant (συνθηκη) does not occur a single time in the Greek text from Matthew to Revelation, but the term for testament (διαθηκη) occurs throughout.  Now, these two terms do not mean the same thing, and more modern translations use the term covenant for διαθηκη whenever the reference to one of the covenants (ברית) recorded in the Hebrew bible.  (Note that the Hebrew term for testament (צואה) never occurs in the Hebrew bible.)  The distinction between these two terms is the following:

·        In Koine Greek the term διαθηκη corresponds to a will, i.e. the record of a person’s wishes on how his possessions are to be distributed following death.

·        The terms συνθηκη and ברית correspond to a contract whose provisions are binding as soon as it is ratified.  These provisions typically include obligations for each individual included in the contract, rewards for satisfactory compliance, and penalties for failure to comply.

Two questions must be asked and answered:

·      Are either of the common Christian assessments of the Hebrew bible justifiable on the basis of the New Covenant Greek text and the Hebrew bible?

·     If the common Christian attitude is not justifiable, what is the real relationship between the New Covenant and the content of the Old Covenant (law, Torah)?

 NEW COVENANT ON THE TORAH

First of all, the term Torah never appears in the Greek text of either the LXX or the New Covenant books.  Rather the Hebrew term תורה was consistently rendered by the appropriate form of νομος, or law, but this translation is misleading.  According to the usage in the Hebrew bible, תורה, which literally means instruction, consists of history, specific instructions, commandments, statutes, and judgments.  The writers of the New Covenant texts were clearly aware of these divisions, but subsequent generations of gentile Christians progressively became less aware of the distinctions between νομος and תורה.  Today most Christians believe that law and Torah are one and the same.  Nevertheless, if one accepts presuppositions that have became normative in Gentile Christianity, the New Covenant texts do provide some support that Torah has been superseded by Christian doctrine.

 CHRISTIAN PROOF TEXTS 

The following passages are proof texts that are frequently cited to prove that the Torah and its related books have been superseded.

 

·        Rom 3:19,20 – Now we know that whatever the Law (Torah) says, it speaks to those who are under the Torah, that every mouth may be closed, and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Torah no flesh will be justified in his sight, for through the Torah is the knowledge of sin.

·        Rom 3:24, 25 – Being justified as a gift by his grace through the redemption which is in Yeshua ha-meshiach; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in his blood through faith…

 

·      Rom 7:7 – What shall we say then?  Is the Torah sin?  May it never be!  On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Torah…

·    Rom 9:30-32 – What shall we say then?  That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law.  Why?  Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as it were by works.  (Note: Here the term law does not refer to the Torah but to the complex system of traditions developed by the Jews following their return from the Babylonian exile.)

·    Rom 10:4 – For ha-meshiach is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.  (Note:  The term translated end is τελος.  In the present context it refers to the termination of man-made laws as a standard for righteousness.  This statement is equally applicable to the torah, rabbinic halacha, to the various ‘laws’ promulgated by Christian denominations, Sharia law, and any other type of law code.  The reason is that law is designed to detect transgression, not compliance.)

·      2 Cor 3:14 – But their minds are hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the Old Covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is lifted in ha-meshach.  (Note: here Old Covenant refers to the Torah, portions of which are read during every sabbath meeting.)

 

·      Gal 2:16 – Nevertheless, knowing that a man is not justified by works of the Torah (mitzvot) but through faith in Yeshua ha-meshiach, even we have believed in Yeshua ha-meshiach, that we may be justified by faith in ha-meshiach, and not by the works of the mitzvot, since by works of the mitzvot no flesh will be justified.  (Note:  The point is that even though Rav Shaul was a Torah-observant Jew, he and his colleges were still justified by faith in Yeshua.)

·        Gal 3:13 – Ha-meshiach redeemed us from the curse of the Torah, having become a curse for us…  (Note:  The curse of the Torah is a reference to Deut 28:16 – 68.)

 

·      Gal 3:21 – Is the Torah contrary to the promises of God?  May it never be!  For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed been based on law.  (Note:  Here the term law refers to any kind of law and not particularly to the Torah.)

·     Eph 1:7 – In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the richness of his grace…

·      Col 1:13, 14 – For he delivered us from the dominion of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

·      Titus 3:5 – He saved us, not on the basis of deeds we have done in righteousness, but according to his mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy spirit.

·        Heb 7:18, 19 – For, on one hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness (for the Torah made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of better hope, through which we draw near to God.  (Note: The former commandment is a reference to the creation of Levitical priests within the Torah.  The term translated made perfect is a past tense form of the verb τελειοω, which means bring to completion.)

 

·    Heb 8:13 – When he said, “A new covenant,” he has made the first obsolete.  But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.  (Note: the first covenant is a reference to the Sinai covenant, and the new covenant is a reference to the covenant promised in Jer 31:31 ff.  The priests and Levites did not disappear, but the tabernacle/temple worship did cease in 70 CE.)

·        Heb 9:12 – … and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood, he entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.

 

·        Heb 9:15 – And for this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant, in order that since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

·      Heb 10:8, 9 – After saying above, “Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices you have not desired, nor have you taken pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the Torah); then he said, “Behold I have come to do your will.”  He takes away the first in order to establish the second.  

The above passages present the apostolic teaching on Torah relative to the blood and death of Yeshua.  A summary of the significant points is as follows:

·      All of God’s interactions with humans are based on covenants.  The Hebrew bible describes either five or six covenants that God made with humans in antiquity (Adamic, Noahic. Abrahamic, Sinai, Davidic, and New Covenants).  The New Covenant texts refer to just two of these.  The first covenant refers to the Sinai Covenant established through the mediation of Moses, and it constitutes the major theme of the Torah.  The people of Israel violated this covenant repeatedly, so God promised a New Covenant (Jer 31:31 – 34).  This new covenant is to replace the Sinai covenant, which had been broken.  The text of Jeremiah gives no details about the content of this covenant except to say that Torah would be written into the people’s hearts and minds, all the people would know God, and God would forgive the people’s sin.  Heb 8:13 asserted that the first covenant was growing old and soon to disappear.  Within that context he was talking about the priestly rituals, and they did in fact cease in 70 CE.

 

·       The most frequent assertion is that the works associated with Torah commandments cannot redeem, justify, or make anybody righteous.  That was never their purpose.  Rather, the commandments, statutes, and judgments of Torah constitute an absolute standard, and as such they define what sin is – falling short of the standard.  The inability to justify or redeem applies to any law system regardless of how it was developed.  All law systems are designed to detect and punish transgression, not to reward compliance.

 

·   Expanding the scope of Torah to include all of the ancient writings, those things that had been recorded are intended for our instruction.  They teach us about God’s faithfulness, God’s justice, God’s provision for those who trust him, and God’s promises to those who remain faithful, as well as God’s judgment on those who rebel against him.

·        Faith in Yeshua and the redemption through the cross eliminates the validity of righteousness based on all human devised system of rules or “laws.”  This includes the Torah, rabbinic Halacha, Roman Catholic ecclesiastic law, Sharia law, and any other system of law regardless of source.

 APOSTOLIC USE OF TORAH

The Greek text of the of the apostolic writings contains more than 100 occurrences of the term νομος , most of which are reference to the Torah or to the entire Hebrew bible.  That being the case, one should examine how these men referred to and used the text of Torah, and the Hebrew bible in general, before dismissing it as superseded:

·        Acts 21:23, 24 – We have four men who are under a vow; take them and purify yourself along with them, and pay their expenses in order that they may shave their heads; and all will know that there is nothing to the things which they have been told about you, but that you yourself also walk orderly, keeping the Torah.  (Note:  Jews who followed Yeshua, including all of the apostles, were carefully following Torah.)

 

·      Acts 25:8 – … while Paul said in his own defense, “I have committed no offense either against the Torah of the Jews or against the temple or against Caesar.”  (Either Rav Shaul remained a Torah-observant Jew throughout his life, or he was a liar.)

·        Acts 26:20 –  … but kept declaring both to those of Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem and then throughout all regions of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance.

 

·       Mat 3:7, 8 –  But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Therefore, bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance.”  (Note:  In both cases deeds appropriate to repentance means conduct in accordance with the standard of Torah.)

 

·     Rom 3:31 – Do we then nullify the Torah through faith?  May it never be!  On the contrary, we establish the Torah.

 

·       Rom 6:5-7 – For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection, knowing this that our old self was crucified with him that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.

 

·        John 8:34 – Yeshua answered them, “Truly, truly I say to you, everyone who commits sin becomes a slave to sin.”

 

·       Rom 6:10, 11 – For the death that he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the live he lives, he lives to God.  Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Yeshua ha-meshiach.  (Note: The word translated once for all is εφαπαξ, which signifies once and only once.  This term is an emphatic construction of απαξ, which also means once.)

 

·     Rom 6:16 – Do you not know that when you present yourselves as slaves for obedience, you are slaves to the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness.

·       Rom 7:12 – So then, the Torah is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.  (See also Ja 1:25, 3:8)

 

·       Rom 8:2-4 – For the law of the Spirit of life in Yeshua ha-meshiach has set you free from the law of sin and death.  For what the Torah could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the requirement of the Torah might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the spirit.

 

·      Rom 13:8 – Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another, for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the Torah.  (C.f., Rom 13:10, Lev 19:18, 34) 

 

·       Lev 19:18 – You shall not take vengeance nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

 

·      Rom 15:4 – For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.  (See also 1 Cor 6:9-11, 10:1-13, Col 3:5-9, 1 Tim 1:9, 10, 2 Pet 2:14, 15.)

 

·      1 Cor 1:30 – But by his doing you are in Yeshua ha-meshiach, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.

 

·     1 Cor 7:19 – Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is keeping the commandments of God.  (Note:  This was written long before the New Covenant texts were available, so this is a reference to the commandments in the Hebrew bible.)

 

·     Gal 2:19 – For through the Torah I died to the Torah that I might live to God.  (Note: This is the same argument as Rom 7: the Torah has no claim on one who is already dead.)

 

·    Gal 3:17 – What I am saying is this: the Torah, which came 430 years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise.  (Note:  The Abrahamic covenant (Gen 15), which is unconditional on the part of Abraham, was not abrogated by the Sinai covenant, which was conditional for every Israelite.)

 

·     Gal 3:21 – Is the Torah then contrary to the promises of God?  May it never be!  For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would have been based on law.

 

·    1 Tim 1:8 – But we know that the Torah is good, if one uses it lawfully.  (Note: The last clause has νομιμως χρηται.  This expression has no direct equivalent in Hebrew.  According to Moulton & Milligan, it means make use of it in a legitimate manner; Delitzsch’s translation of this text from Greek to Hebrew has “… if the man conducts himself according to Torah.”) 

In summary, the apostolic reaching of the gospel consisted of the following major points:

·       All human beings, whether Jew or gentile, are accounted by YHWH as sinners, first by their descent from Adam, and second by personal violation of one or more of God’s specific commandments.  As repeated more than once, anyone who sins becomes a slave to sin.

·     Yeshua’s death on the cross accomplished forgiveness for sin, redemption from slavery to sin, and sanctification for all who believe.

·       Through faith each believer is joined with Yeshua in his death with respect to sin, and once a person has been accounted dead, the stipulation of the commandments, statutes, and judgments of Torah have no further claim on that person.

·    Just as a believer has been joined with Yeshua in his death with respect to sin, he is joined with Yeshua in his resurrection to life with respect to YHWH.

·       Because a believer has been forgiven, redeemed, and sanctified, the exhortation for all believers is now to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with their new status.  Uniformly, the standard of conduct appealed to is based on the commandments and judgments found in Torah.

The apostolic teaching is consistent in asserting that forgiveness of sin, redemption, and sanctification are available only through faith in the blood of Yeshua.  Torah is an absolute standard that renders everyone guilty of sin at some point, so it cannot make anyone righteous, forgive sin, or accomplish redemption.  If that was the intended purpose of the Torah, then the essentially uniform contention of the Gentile church is valid.  However, was that ever the purpose of the Torah?  If this assertion was valid, then why did the apostles exhort the professing believers to obey the commandments of God, to use what had been written in antiquity as the basis for their instruction, to use the commandments and statutes of Torah as their standard for proper conduct?  There is in my mind a profound inconsistency between what the apostles taught versus modern interpretations and applications of it.

THE PURPOSE OF TORAH

The commandments, statutes, and judgments associated with the Torah were given over a period of around 40 years following the Passover.  But Yeshua was called the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, and Rav Shaul asserted that Yeshua’s death amounted to the Passover sacrifice for those who believed in him.  (Note that during the event of Yeshua’s transfiguration, Yeshua’s coming departure following his death was called εχοδον – an exodus.)  Additionally, Yeshua spent his entire earthly ministry pointing out discrepancies between the common practices of his day and the actual intention of the commandments in the Torah.  These factors connect the Passover event with Yeshua’s death and resurrection.

FIRST EXODUS

The details of the first exodus are contained in the books of Exodus (שמות) through Deuteronomy (דברים).  When this phase of the narrative begins, the 12 tribes of Israel had been in Egypt in excess of 400 years, and they had been slaves beyond living memory of everyone then alive.  At that time YHWH raised up a man of Levi, Moses, had him trained as a prince of Egypt, and then sent him as a fugitive into the desert lands to the east of Egypt.  There he spent 40 years as a shepherd watching over his father-in-law’s sheep (commonly regarded as the most stupid and wayward of domestic animals).  While working in this capacity, he encountered YHWH, the God of his fathers, on a particular mountain where the flock was grazing.  This God commanded Moses to return to Egypt and to his people and become the instrument for bringing the people from Egypt to this mountain.  Moses offered every excuse he could think of to avoid this assignment, but in the end he went and became the visible agent for the execution of God’s judgment on Egypt and her gods. 

The final climactic judgment was the death of all first-born males of Egypt during a single night.  In contrast, the Israelites had been commanded to select an unblemished lamb, verify its purity for a week, kill it during the day before the coming judgment, paint its blood around the door of their house, and then consume the entire lamb during that one night.  The following morning Pharaoh expelled all Israelites, everyone whose door was marked with blood, from Egypt.  This was the beginning of the first exodus, which accomplished redemption from a life of slavery to Egypt.

The overall exodus lasted a total of 40 years according to scripture.  Throughout this period, God’s visible presence in the form of a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night led them.  The first phase of their journey from Egypt to the mountain lasted three months.  During that time God led them through the Red Sea to 1) destroy the Egyptian army and 2) prevent the Israelites from returning to Egypt.  During the remainder of that journey God miraculously supplied the people with food (manna) and water to demonstrate that his provision was sufficient for them.  The people remained at the mountain for about two years.  While there, the people received the Ten Words (aka., the Ten Commandments), instructions for building the tabernacle, and instructions for priestly service.  The remaining 38 years were taken up by judgment against the adult generation that had left Egypt, because they had rebelled against YHWH.

The commandments, statutes, and judgments that characterize the Torah were mostly given during the two years at the mountain but also sporadically during the subsequent 38 years of wandering.  These instructions had three purposes:

·   A population composed of people who had known only slavery had no idea how to conduct themselves in a free self-governing society.  The majority of the Ten Words and specific judgments defined how individuals should conduct themselves in such a society.

·      None of the people had any idea how to approach or interact with the living God – their only prior experience had been with dumb idols like those of the Egyptian gods.  The priestly instructions, the offerings, and the appointed times defined how each individual was to interact and have fellowship with YHWH, their God.

·   A particular set of commandments and statutes provided the structure for courts and the impartial administration of justice.

Nowhere in the text from Exodus to Deuteronomy is there any mention of the Torah as the basis for entrance into a heavenly kingdom.  YHWH is king, and he was king over Israel once the people had largely taken possession of the land of promise.  All ideas about entrance into and life in a heavenly realm came much later, and many, and perhaps most of such ideas, were constructs produced by Gentile Christian scholars.  They were never part of this story. 

SECOND EXODUS

The New Covenant books are essentially the story of the enactment of the New Covenant and the second exodus.  The Gospels are not biographies in any ordinary sense.  The birth narratives up to the public presentation of Yeshua at his baptism correspond to the selection of a lamb without blemish, as the Israelites had done in Exodus 12.  Additionally, he is presented as the only begotten, and therefore the first-born, son of God.  At his baptism, John proclaimed him to be the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  This title is remarkable, because no lamb offering under the Levitical system is described in such a way.  After being baptized, a voice from heaven (בת קול in Hebrew) announced, “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.”  At this point the Holy Spirit drove him into the wilderness for testing by Satan, reflecting the assertion in Heb 4:15 – he was tempted in all things, yet without sin.  His subsequent ministry lasted from 1 to 3 years, depending on how one interprets the temporal references in the Gospels.  As a brief summary, his ministry emphasized the following main points:

·     Yeshua made a point of showing how the Pharisees, Sadducees, and scribes had misconstrued the Torah to the extent of making “laws” and practices that were in direct contradiction to it.  His teachings expressed the true intent of Torah on the basis of his own authority.

·     His signs of raising the dead, healing the sick, opening the eyes of the blind and ears of the death, cleansing lepers, and casting out demons had been predicted by the prophets.  These signs served to validate his role as messiah as promised  according to the prophets.

·     His parables presented in story form the value of his person, his role as son of the king (God), and the value and nature of his message for those who received it.  The parable format was chosen not because it was new but because only those with God-given perception would recognize the underlying message.

·     He repeatedly claimed in various ways to be an eternal person, that he came down to earth from heaven, that he must die for the remission of sin, and that he would return to heaven from which he had come.  He claimed that he had the authority from his father to lay his life down and to take it back up again.

·    He selected 12 students, one to represent each tribe of Israel, to whom he gave the intimate details of his message along with the power to perform miraculous signs.  

·   He demonstrated mastery over time and space, control over natural processes, and prophetic knowledge of future events.

·        His life and actions were a precise implementation of Torah as it had been intended. 

His death constitutes the antitype of the first Passover.  Consider the following:

·     He was the only begotten, and therefore the first-born, son of God.  In the first Passover, the first-born sons of Egypt died; this time the first-born son of God died.

·        He was identified as the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

·     He was tried, scourged, and crucified during the time that the Passover lambs were being slaughtered in the temple.

·        He was resurrected to demonstrate that the sacrifice had been accepted.

·        He was identified as ‘our Passover’ by Rav Shaul (1 Cor 5:7). 

The first Passover redeemed the people of Israel from slavery to Egypt; this second Passover redeemed those who trust in the death of Yeshua from slavery to sin.  Having been mystically united with Yeshua in death, believers were no longer subject to the standards and regulations that apply to the living.  Likewise, believers were joined with Yeshua in his resurrection to life with respect to God.  As a result, believers were then able through faith not to sin.  The practical problem that confronted the apostles was that many of those who professed faith in Yeshua continued living in the same old manner.  The apostles’ response was to exhort the people to conduct themselves in a manner that was consistent with their new status.  Without exception the apostles used the Torah as their absolute standard for righteous conduct.  This fact alone demonstrates that the apostles did not consider Torah to be obsolete or superseded.

SUMMARY

The passages cited from the New Covenant books demonstrate that neither Yeshua nor the apostles considered the Torah, prophets, and writings (תנ''כ) to be obsolete or superseded.  To be sure, Torah does not make anyone righteous, forgive sin, or redeem anyone.  It has three fundamental purposes:

·        Provide absolute standards for interpersonal conduct within human society.

·        Provide a basis for maintaining civil justice and imposing just penalties on those who transgress the standards of Torah.

·        Provide a framework for worship and fellowship with God.  This aspect of Torah can no longer be followed, because there is no temple, and sacrifice for sin has been rendered obsolete by Yeshua’s death on the cross.  However, if a valid temple existed today, there is no reason why the other types of offering would be invalid.  According to the prophesies of Isaiah, the status of Levites and priests will remain valid during the messianic age, but Yeshua will now be the eternal high priest.   

Does that mean that except for the sacrificial system the stipulations of Torah remain valid?  Well, yes … and no.  In my estimation, the Ten Words remain valid as they stand.  However, the elaborations of the Ten Words in parasha Mishpatim (Ex 21-24) and elsewhere were directed at a pastoral/agrarian culture of more than 3000 years ago.  Such a culture is not at all relevant to the vast majority of people, especially in the west and increasingly world-wide.  Mishpatim that are not cultural specific should be applied as they are.  Those that are tied to that ancient culture require some degree of interpretation to render them culturally relevant.  Applications of this sort would in no way invalidate the Torah as it has been preserved, but two cautions must be maintained:

·     None of us can claim apostolic authority, so no modernizing mitzvah (commandment) can exceed the scope and intent of the original text and context.

·    Nobody can invent new mitzvot on his own authority, and nobody can legitimately claim to have divine authority for his update.

COVENANTS

I briefly mentioned the distinction between a covenant and a testament, but I suspect a little elaboration is in order.  The Hebrew bible describes either five or six covenants between God and man, but it never mentions the idea of a testament.  Every covenant includes obligations, a statement of benefits for fulfillment of obligations, and penalties for lack of fulfillment.  The differences between these covenants is important for understanding human history as related in the bible.

Adamic Covenant (Gen 2:16, 17).  This covenant is disputed, because it is never specifically identified as such, but it does have the characteristics of a conditional covenant. 

·        Obligations – Man must not eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

·        Benefits – Man may live in the garden of Eden and eat freely from every other tree.

·      Benefit – If man fulfills his obligation he potentially will live eternally and have direct fellowship with his creator.

·        Penalty – If man does not fulfill hi obligation, he most certainly will die.

Noaic Covenant (Gen 9:9-17).  This covenant was established shortly after Noah and hi family came out from the arc.

·        Obligations.  When any human murders another, the murder must be put to death by other humans.

·      Obligations.  God promises that he will never again destroy all living things by a flood.  The sign of his unconditional promise is the rainbow in the sky after a rain.

·        Benefits.  Humans may eat all animals, but they must not eat flesh with the blood.

·        Penalties.  No penalty is specifically stated.

Abrahamic Covenant (Gen 15:2-18, 17:1-21).  This covenant establishes the descendants of Abraham as the chosen people of God.  Fulfillment of the promises of God are essentially unconditional on the part of God.

·        Benefits.  Abram will produce an heir from Sarai in their old age, and their names will be changed to Abraham and Sarah.

·       Benefits.  Abraham will have a multitude of descendants who will encompass many nations, and his descendants will include kings.

·        Benefits.  His descendants will receive the land of Canaan as an eternal possession.

·      Benefits.  Abraham received the sign of male circumcision as the sign of this covenant.  Ny physical descendant who is not circumcised forfeits the benefits of this covenant.

Sinai Covenant (Ex 20 – 30, Deut 27-28).  The Sinai Covenant encompasses all of the commandments, statutes, and judgments listed in Exodus through Deuteronomy.  On condition that the people carefully keep the commandments, statutes, and judgments given by God, the people would enjoy abundant blessings (Deut 28:1-13) in the land promised to Abraham.  However, if the people failed to faithfully serve God as required, they would experience judgments (Deut 28:16-68) up to and including exile from the promised land.  Because the Abrahamic Covenant was unconditional, the promise of land inheritance would remain for a generation who would repent and faithfully serve God.

Davidic Covenant (2 Sam 7).  This covenant is also unconditional.  God promises David that he would raise up an heir who would establish a house for God’s name and that he would establish David’s line and his kingdom forever.

New Covenant (Jer 31:31-37).  This covenant is also unconditional.  God promises the following:

·        God will unilaterally make this covenant with the House of Judah and the House of Israel.

·        He will put his Torah within them and write it on their heart.

·        All the people will know him.

·        He will forgive their iniquity.

·        The people of Israel will remain a nation before him forever.