The New Covenant

When we look at the New Covenant we see that the word "new" means just that - new. In the Old Testament the word "new" in Hebrew is hadash which has the sense of something "fresh". It is used in the case of newly harvested grain in Leviticus 23:16 and Numbers 28:26. Also it is used in referring to new songs being sung to Yahweh in Psalms 33:3; 40:3; 96:1; 98:1, and so on.

And finally it is used in speaking of the New Covenant in Jeremiah 31:31 and speaking of the promise of the Holy Spirit in Ezekiel 11:19; 18:31; 36:26.

The other word for "new" that is used is beriah which is only found in Numbers 16:30. The usage in that passage alludes to God bringing about something completely new and in an unprecedented fashion. As we know, He caused the ground to open up and swallow those in rebellion, alive. This was definately something totally new which had not been done before.

In the New Testament the word for "new" that is primarily used (especially in regards to the New Covenant) is kainos which again has the idea of "fresh".

As we know something that is fresh is not necessarily something that is entirely new. In fact freshness has the idea that something that is already there needs refreshing. A word is always defined by the context in which it is used. Take the example of the Hebrew word for "day" which is yom. Yom is a fairly broad word which can mean a literal, 24hr day or an entire age. So how do we know that the days of the Creation Week are literal 24hr days? By the context. We find that every day in that Week is accompanied by "...so the evening and the morning were the [a number] day." Throughout Scripture, everytime the word yom is used with either a number or a time of day, it is a literal, 24hr day.
Also, as I said of the new moon. The moon is always there just because we can't see it. Every month there is not an entirely, newly created moon, but the same one that has always been there, but is new again to us. Interestingly, the new moon reminds us of God's covenant.

Now looking back at the word "new" we find the same to be true. The context gives us the definition. If we ignore what is being said before and after the word then we are ignoring God's use of that word and making up our own definition. The word new in the sense of the New Covenant must be looked at in the same way.

"Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD.
But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying 'Know the LORD' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more." - Jeremiah 31:31-34

Notice that God says "the house of Israel" the second time, compared to when He said both houses in verse 31. He is speaking of ONE house, ONE people under Him.
"There is neither Jew nor Greek...for you are all one in Christ Jesus." - Galatians 3:28

Earlier in that same chapter, Paul wrote, "Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham." Galatians 3:7 speaking of the fact that our heritage, whether Jewish or any other does not save us, but only by faith are we saved.

Abraham was a Gentile called out of a Gentile nation (Genesis 15:7; 11:27-32; 12:1). He was called a Hebrew (which means one who crosses, or passes, over; as in the Euphrates River). God called Abram Abraham - father of mulitudes. He was calling him to make a people unto Himself. That includes ALL who come to the LORD by faith. If we understand this concept, then we begin to realize that everything God has given to His people Israel is not just speaking of the physical nation so much as it's speaking to ANY and ALL who come to Him by faith in receiving His gift of salvation through His blood that was shed on the cross as a sacrifice on our behalf. That is why His WHOLE Law is for both Jew and Gentile who come to Him by faith.

Now when He says in Jeremiah that He will put His law in our minds and write it on our hearts - we must realize that this is a major part of the New Covenant. He accomplishes this by giving us His Holy Spirit as we read in Ezekiel.
"I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them." - Ezekiel 36:27
This goes right in line with Ephesians 2:10.

By God causing us to walk in His statutes and judgments (which always speak of His entire Law, not just the Ten Commandments) we can now see the connection with the word grace. The true definition of the word grace (charis in the Greek) is "a divine influence upon the heart with a reflection through the life". God's grace is not only unmerited favor, but it is especially His Spirit enabling us to walk in His ways and His light which then shines to all men that they may glorify Him (Matthew 5:16).

Notice also that a part of the New Covenant as expressed in Jeremiah is that all who are under that covenant will know God. Psalm 111:10 says, "...A good understanding have all those who do His commandments." Genesis 26:5 tells us this: "because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws."

Abraham knew the LORD because he not only believed in Him, but obeyed His commandments as well.
And notice that this was four hundred and some years before the law was given at Sinai!
God's law has always been, and that is what we'll look at next.

God's intention all along was to dwell with His people as He does and now and soon will forever. Some have mentioned that because there is no temple then the feasts are no longer commanded for us because everything revolved around the temple. However, WE are the temple. The body of Christ is the tabernacle in which God dwells (1 Corinthians 6:19; 2 Corinthians 6:16). WE are a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9) and Messiah is our High Priest (Hebrews 4:14). Jesus is THE sacrifice and we are to offer up spiritual sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving.

"You also as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." - 1 Peter 2:5

This passage in a nutshell shows us the reality of what was changed, or rather renewed, in the New Covenant. God is getting back to what He desired all along. Not to dwell in temples made of stone, but in us. Not to have a priesthood that offered up the blood of bulls and goats, but a priesthood that walked in His good works following our great High Priest - Yeshua the Messiah. The temple, Levitical priesthood, and the animal sacrifices were all three related because they were all tied in together with people's relationship to sin. The Levites would assist in sacrificing the animal in the temple. NOW that we are the temple and the priesthood we can look to our High Priest Who offered up Himself as the ultimate sacrifice and keep the Sabbath, the Feasts, and the rest of the Law in true freedom. Read Acts 7:46-50; Hebrews 9:11-15

"Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law." - Romans 3:31

It is by the law that we experience freedom, not bondage. We become slaves of righteousness, not of sin (Romans 6:17-23).

Remeber, James says that faith without works is dead. Works can't save us, but they prove our faith is real. Obeying the law cannot save us, but it proves to us, and those around us, that we love God and our faith in Him is real. (1 John 5:2-3)

When we place our faith and trust in Christ we enter into a relationship with Him, as heirs, by which we find peace and joy in walking with the Spirit, in obedience to His laws. "For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin." Romans 7:14 "For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man." Romans 7:22 "...So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin." Romans 7:25 "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be." Romans 8:7

It is because of the constant struggle between our flesh and our spirit that we must submit to God's law in order to be free. We must be a "slave of righteousness" (Romans 6:19).
NOT that we are justified by keeping the law, but that in keeping the law, we are being obedient to the faith, and are able to crucify our flesh.

ONE law for ONE people under ONE God. HE saves us by His grace through our faith, and gives us His instructions and laws for us to live by. Jesus said in John 7:16, "My doctrine is not my own, but His who sent Me." The word 'doctrine' means teaching, or instruction. What are the Father's instructions? The commandments, statutes, judgments, laws. The Feasts of His are a part of that. This is also why we should not participate in holidays that are in opposition to His word. Easter, Christmas, etc... are clearly pagan in origin and tradition and the Lord specifically tells us not to worship HIM with those types of things (Deuteronomy 12:1-4).

Yeshua (Jesus) said, "For this is My blood of the covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." Matthew 26:28. Neither Matthew nor Mark record the word 'new'. It is a 'new' covenant and one that I am very thankful for!

What's Coming

It's been a few weeks since I've posted anything, but over the coming weeks we'll be looking at some things that I believe the LORD has been speaking to me on concerning His Covenant, His Name, and the Judgment that comes to those who reject both. Until next week, blessings, Jason

Preacher's toe touches school lawn, he gets arrested

Here's an interesting article for your reading (dis)pleasure.

Preacher's toe touches school lawn, he gets arrested

The Pagan Roots of Christmas

Today we hear the vehement cry to "Keep Christ in Christmas!", but what if He was never in it to begin with?

If we look closely we can see that every tradition of Christmas has it's beginnings in the ancient winter solstice festivals of old. From the christmas tree to santa claus, from the gift giving to the "spirit of christmas". Even the downright silly clothing has it's origins in the solstice.

Let's start with the date - December 25th. Was Christ born on this day? If you ask your pastor he'll say "No." and he's right. Christ was not born on December 25th nor even in that month. Unfortunately most pastors will then proceed to tell you that it's okay to celebrate Jesus' birth on that day, though, because we have liberty in His grace to do such things. Really? Hmmm....I wonder, then, why does God say not to worship Him with such things in Deuteronomy 12:4? "Such things" being pagan, idolatrous images, places, and names. So what is December 25th and what do others say about this date?

December 25th was the date chosen and designated by the Roman Catholic church as the day to celebrate the birth of Christ.  This was done in 350 A.D. by pope Julius I in an attempt to establish a time in which Christians could celebrate the birth all on the same day.  However, the 25th of December had always been the winter solstice*, when the dark days of winter began to be longer, leading many to believe the sun was being “reborn”.  Consequently this made the date of December 25th the “birth day” of nearly every single sun god in most pagan cultures throughout the world.

  In Mesopotamia, the festival was called Sacaea, or Zagmuk, during which slaves and servants would trade places with their masters.  It lasted 12 days overlapping the winter solstice, or vernal  equinox, in its center peak.  It was a festival held in observation of the sun god, Marduk and his battle over darkness.  The Babylonians held both land and river parades as well.  Sacaea, as Berossus* referred to it, had festivals characterized by the aforementioned subversion of order leading up to the new year.  Masters and slaves interchanged, a mock king was crowned and masquerades filled the streets. This has been a suggested precursor to the Festival of Kronos, Saturnalia and possibly the modern version of Purim.

In Egypt, they celebrated the feast of Osiris for 12 days by decorating their homes with palms and other outdoor greenery.  They kept it for 12 days because that number was in accordance with their calendar system and the palm was used because it was believed there was a correlation between it and the twelve months in a year.

  In Rome, the festival of Saturnalia was celebrated during this time, which honored the god Saturn.  The festival was kept to usher in the Golden Age of Saturn.  Following this celebration, the Romans commemorated the god Mithra, the sun god, who was known as the Grand Deliverer.  In Egypt he was known as Horus and in Babylon - Tammuz.
   During Saturnalia, the people gave themselves up to wild joy: they feasted, they gave gifts, and they decorated their homes with greenery.  The usual order of the year was suspended: grudges and quarrels forgotten; wars interrupted or postponed.  Businesses, courts, schools closed.  Rich and poor were equal, slaves were served by masters, and children headed the family (this is a forerunner to the transition in America where the focus became more on the children during the holiday season, and this grew evermore popular in the 1830‘s and 40‘s).  This all leads us in seeing the general “Spirit of Christmas” or the “Spirit of the Season” with which people become much friendlier and more giving.
   Cross-dressing and masquerades, merriment of all kinds also prevailed.  A mock king -- the Lord of Misrule -- was crowned.  Candles and lamps chased away the spirits of darkness.

Seneca the younger writes about Rome during Saturnalia around 50 A.D: “It is now the month of December, when the greatest part of the city is in a bustle.  Loose reins are given to public dissipation; everywhere you may hear the sound of great preparations, as if there were some real difference between the days devoted to Saturn and those for transacting business....Were you here, I would willingly confer with you as to the plan of our conduct; whether we should eve in our usual way, or, to avoid singularity, both take a better supper and throw off the toga.” --From the Epistolae

In northern Europe the festival of Yule was kept, in which the people would celebrate by decorating fir or pine trees, burning the Yule log, giving gifts, drinking, and decorating their homes with the evergreen boughs and holly.  Our modern Christmas holiday is the most closely related to the celebration of Yule.

In choosing the 25th of December, the Roman Catholic church was trying to make the statement that Jesus is the only true God who was born, not the false sun gods of pagan cultures.  But mixing truth with paganism and idolatry is an abomination to the Lord and as a result the church began celebrating a holiday that was pagan from the beginning, only now Jesus was thrown into the middle.  What we see is that a door was opened to celebrating the birth of Jesus with pagan traditions and a holiday that has actually very little to do with Christ and more to do with greed and heathen customs.

The early “church father”, Tertullian, wrote in 230 A.D.,  “By us who are strangers to Sabbaths, and new moons, and festivals, once acceptable to God, the Saturnalia, the feasts of January, the Brumalia, and Matronalia, are now frequented;  gifts are carried to and fro, new year’s day presents are made with din, and sports and banquets are celebrated with uproar; oh, how much more faithful are the heathen to their religion, who take special care to adopt no solemnity from the Christians.”

  Are you willing to look further? Or would you rather pretend that it wasn't true? Do you say to yourself, "Well that's not how I look at Christmas." But doesn't it matter how GOD SEES IT? It does. If you're willing to follow Him then at least ask Him to reveal the truth to you no matter what that might be and He will. And those who trust in Him will never be put to shame.

*Berossus - a Babylonian writer and astronomer from                    the early 3rd century B.C.

Caught Red Handed!

Reading through the book of Joshua has been great, since it's one of those books that I rarely read but I forget how powerful and edifying it is (it is part of the Scriptures after all!) Usually we pull out the verse that says, "As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD". Cross-stitched on a pillow or etched on a coffee mug, this verse has become the Christian anthem that most people really do not think about.

The context of that phrase is one of serving ONLY Yahweh! Putting away the other gods in your life to serve Him alone.

"Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD!
And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Ammorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

- Joshua 24:14-15

Notice that the gods Joshua spoke of were gods from the other side of the River AND/OR the gods of the Amorites which is where the people of Israel were living. Gods from where they CAME from and gods that were where they were PRESENTLY living! We'll talk more about that in a bit.

The people answer Joshua in verses 16-18 and say that they will serve the LORD, but Joshua says in v. 19 that they CANNOT serve HIM! Not a very positive reinforcement there, is it? But read on...

"But Joshua said to the people, 'You cannot serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. If you forsake the LORD and seve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good.'"
-Joshua 24:19-20

We cannot be with God and have other gods/idols in our lives and expect Him to be okay with that. He won't be. In fact in Deuteronomy 12:1-4 He told the people there (and us today) not to worship Him with pagan idolatrous things!

The first commandment, God says, is to "not have other gods before Me". That phrase 'before Me' that God uses means, in the presence of or in the face of', meaning other gods in His presence. We are not to serve other gods in the LORD's presence. Remember, God sees everything. He knows if we are serving something, or someone else along with serving HIM.

But the people answered Joshua again saying, 'No, but we will serve the LORD!" How emphatic!

"So Joshua said to the people, 'You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD for yourselves, to serve Him.' And they said, 'We are witnesses!'"
-Joshua 24:21-22

We can fool ourselves pretty well into thinking that we are serving the LORD alone, but are we really? How do we know if we are only following HIM?

By obeying His Commandments. Time and time again the prophets came to the people and warned them to turn back to the Torah/Law which they had forsaken. They followed after other gods throughout much of their history because they continually rejected His Covenant, His commandments.

Yeshua (Jesus) said to the Pharisees and some of the scribes (namely the religious leaders),

"Laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men,..."
And
"All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition."
-Mark 7:8a, 9a

He was giving them the same message He gave His prophets to deliver to the people in times past...Repent! and turn back to the Law of the LORD!

Back in Joshua 7 we read about Achan. The Israelites lost the battle at Ai and 36 men of the Israelites died in battle because of Achan's sin. What was his sin? Achan had taken a wedge of gold, 200 shekels of silver, and a Babylonian garment. Doesn't sound like a big deal, does it? But the LORD called them 'accursed things' and men lost their lives and Israel lost a battle because of Achan's covetousness.

It says that YHWH's anger burned against the children of Israel because of those things which Achan had taken. Then YHWH told Joshua that He would not be with him unless he destroyed the accursed things from among them. Did Achan confess? Not yet.
So Joshua gathered the people according to their tribes and the LORD brought forth the guilty.

"In the morning therefore you shall be brought according to your tribes. And it shall be that the tribe which the LORD takes shall come according to families; and the family which the LORD takes shall come by households; and the household which the LORD takes shall come man by man.
-Joshua 7:14

And the LORD did just that until finally Achan was brought forth after going through all those people, and Joshua came to him and said,
"My son, I beg you, give glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession to Him, and tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me."
-Joshua 7:19

Can you imagine being Achan? Being in that position where all the people are gathered...thousands, perhaps millions of people...and slowly out of each tribe, out of each family, out of each household, it comes down to YOU. You would HAVE to know that God is singling you out for what you knew was already a sin. But Achan never said anything until finally he stood before Joshua and had to confess. Would the LORD have forgiven Achan if he'd repented before Joshua came to him? I believe so because the LORD is merciful and has allowed us to do just that, but we'll never know about Achan because he didn't do that. As a result he, his children, his livestock and all that he had were stoned and burned. This is a very serious issue with YHWH. As Joshua says in ch. 24, YHWH is a holy God. Sin cannot stand in His presence.

There is no hiding from the Father who formed us and sees everything within us.

Achan was caught red handed for his disobedience to YHWH's command (Deuteronomy 7:25-26)! There in Deuteronomy the LORD told them exactly what not to do...exactly what Achan did!

But we're all guilty of doing something similar, aren't we? I know I am, but we can't take the professing church's stance and say, "Well none of us are perfect, but thank God for His grace!" Grace is NOT a license to sin (Romans 6:1, 15-23), but it is the power of God working in us to accomplish HIS will and follow HIS Law (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:27; Ephesians 2:8-10). We have no excuse for if we sin willfully we count the blood of Yeshua as worthless, and can expect judgment (Hebrews 10:26-31)

That doesn't mean that we will never mess up, but that our heart's desire should be to not mess up! And when we do sin, to REPENT! We are never going to be perfect on this side of eternity, but we should be walking after the ONE who IS perfect...Yeshua our Messiah! Walk just as He walked...in perfect submission to Torah. Walk in the light as He is in the light...He IS the Light! (1 John 1)

We can see how our sin can affect those around us, just like Achan's did the children of Israel. Our sin can affect our household, our family, our church family, our co-workers, etc... because God is faithful to deal with the sin in our life and He WILL NOT let it be swept under the rug. And we can't forget that He isn't concerned with just us, but those around us as well. He wants our witness to be unblemished, but if it's not, He will expose our disobedience to deal with others in our life, so that they might see the power of a holy God.

Personally I'd rather have Him deal with them through my obedience rather than my disobedience!...but it's my choice. It's your choice.

Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve,...

...but as for me and my house, we will serve YHWH.

The Feast of Tabernacles

Here it is the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles. It's been an interesting week for sure.

One thing I've continued to learn this year is the concept of thankfulness tied in with the Feast. There are over 80 verses in which thanking the LORD is noted.

In Exodus 23:16 and 34:22 the Feast is also called the Feast of Ingathering, because they were to bring in the harvest. It was a time of thanking God for all that He had supplied. This is where the concept of Thanksgiving comes from, however it is merely a replacement of HIS Feast of Ingathering/Tabernacles.

There is so much that I can be thankful for that my Father has given me. It's a wonder to me that many times I complain or grumble about the very things that God has supplied for my good! Complaining, or murmuring, against the LORD is sin (Numbers 14:27). It's my carnal nature, the flesh, that hates God and cannot be subject to HIS Torah (Law) (Romans 8:7) that refuses to acknowledge His goodness and mercy! However, my spirit, in walking with His Spirit, sees the blessings He has bestowed upon me and rejoices in the fact that my Father loves me so much! I have to ask for His forgiveness for my selfish attitude and continue to walk in the light of His Torah that I might crucify that carnal nature (Galatians 5:24).

As this Feast draws to a close I am reminded of the beginning of this year, during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, how the principle of removing the sin (represented in the leaven) from my self continued long after the Feast was done. I believe this Feast of Tabernacles will be no different. Long after it is done, I will no doubt be challenged and reminded to offer up thanksgiving to my God for who He is and all that He has done and is going to do! He is worthy of my praise! And all of this is a grand reflection of the fact that we will one day dwell, literally 'tabernacle', with HIM (Revelation 21:3). Hallelujah!

That is why Yeshua (Jesus) came to dwell with man the first time...to destroy the works of the devil and give us new life and a hope for eternity with HIM (1 John 3:8; 1 Corinthians 15:20-28). He was called Immanuel which means God with us (Matthew 1:23). Read Revelation 21:3 again.

It's amazing that the professing church has taken elements of the Feast of Tabernacles and embellished them into Thanksgiving and Christmas! What a perversion of the truth! I pray that He continues to open eyes and ears to the Truth of His Word, His Law, and guide us in all righteousness.

I'm far from perfect, but I don't want to use that as an excuse and reject His Torah, which is loving instruction, just because of my humanity. On the contrary I want to walk in the light of His Law so that I might crucify my flesh and know what is pleasing and displeasing to Him who bought me with His own blood!!

He tabernacles with me now (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) and will forevermore Revelation 21-22!!!

The Feast of Tabernacles

Well I purposely did not write on the Day of Atonement because the LORD did not give me anything to write. There seemed to be a lot to process during that Day and the days surrounding it which gave me much to think about but hard to put into words.

One thing that is very clear and apparent is the fact that it is a day of heaviness if one is truly afflicting their souls. But is that through fasting from food?

It appears as though physical fasting can play a role in afflicting one's soul, since it definately afflicts the flesh! But there is much more to it than that.

I would suggest reading not only Leviticus 23, but Isaiah 58 as well.

But here we are already half way into the Feast of Tabernacles. The last great feast of God's year and a perfect picture of spending eternity with HIM! The command to rejoice before Him for seven days has become evident this year. Will we choose to let the enemy rob us of that joy or will we choose to rejoice in YHWH!

Bless the LORD, oh my soul!