This is a beginning post of a new series that will explore the validity of each of the Adventist arguments in favor of a particular teaching that they hold. This series will be on none other than their most talked about teaching: The Sabbath.
I will state their argument, and then attempt to dissect it. All discussion is welcome, though I do ask that comments should be upon the subject matter for each post. Thank you for your understanding!
Adventist Sabbath Argument #1:
The Sabbath was instituted at creation before the fall. Therefore, the Sabbath was given to all of mankind, and all must observe it.
My response:
No where in the Biblical passage in Genesis is there a command to observe the Sabbath. In fact, if one reads closely they will discover that the seventh day of creation has no "evening/morning" reference, which implies that the meaning of the Sabbath extends beyond a simple 24 hour period of time.
Furthermore, the idea that the Sabbath was instituted at creation to be observed has not been the historical view held by Christians or Jews for over 2000 years. It has been generally understood by everyone, historically both Jews and Christians, that obligatory Sabbath observance was not introduced in the Bible until the time of Moses. Notice these references from the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D.:
“Why did He not teach those--who are called righteous and pleasing to Him, who lived before Moses and Abraham, who were not circumcised in their foreskin, and observed no Sabbaths--to keep these institutions?" Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho the Jew 150 A.D.
“And I (Justin) said, "Tell me then yourself, I pray, some things which can be observed; for you will be persuaded that, though a man does not keep or has not performed the eternal decrees, he may assuredly be saved." Then he (Trypho the Jew) replied, "To keep the Sabbath, to be circumcised, to observe months, and to be washed if you touch anything prohibited by Moses, or after sexual intercourse." And I said, "Do you think that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Noah, and Job, and all the rest before or after them equally righteous, also Sarah the wife of Abraham, Rebekah the wife of Isaac, Rachel the wife of Jacob, and Leah, and all the rest of them, until the mother of Moses the faithful servant, who observed none of these statutes, will be saved?" And Trypho answered, "Were not Abraham and his descendants circumcised?" And I said, "I know that Abraham and his descendants were circumcised. The reason why circumcision was given to them I stated at length in what has gone before; and if what has been said does not convince you, let us again search into the matter. But you are aware that, up to Moses, no one in fact who was righteous observed any of these rites at all of which we are talking, or received one commandment to observe, except that of circumcision, which began from Abraham."
And he (Trypho) replied, "We know it, and admit that they are saved." ibid.
“In fine, let him who contends that the Sabbath is still to be observed as a balm of salvation, and circumcision on the eighth day because of the threat of death, teach us that, for the time past, righteous men kept the Sabbath, or practiced circumcision, and were thus rendered "friends of God." For if circumcision purges a man since God made Adam uncircumcised, why did He not circumcise him, even after his sinning, if circumcision purges? At all events, in settling him in paradise, He appointed one uncircumcised as colonist of paradise. Therefore, since God originated Adam uncircumcised, and in-observant of the Sabbath, consequently his offspring also, Abel, offering Him sacrifices, uncircumcised and in-observant of the Sabbath, was by Him commended; while He accepted what he was offering in simplicity of heart, and reprobated the sacrifice of his brother Cain, who was not rightly dividing what he was offering. Noah also, uncircumcised--yes, and in-observant of the Sabbath--God freed from the deluge. For Enoch, too, most righteous man, uncircumcised and in-observant of the Sabbath, He translated from this world; who did not first taste death, in order that, being a candidate for eternal life, he might by this time show us that we also may, without the burden of the law of Moses, please God. Melchizedek also, "the priest of the most high God," uncircumcised and in-observant of the Sabbath, was chosen to the priesthood of God. Lot, withal, the brother of Abraham, proves that it was for the merits of righteousness, without observance of the law, that he was freed from the conflagration of the Sodomites. But Abraham, (you [Jews] say) was circumcised. Yes, but he pleased God before his circumcision; nor yet did he observe the Sabbath. For he had "accepted" circumcision; but such as was to be for "a sign" of that time, not for a prerogative title to salvation…In short, let them teach us, as we have already premised, that Adam observed the sabbath; or that Abel, when offering to God a holy victim, pleased Him by a religious reverence for the sabbath; or that Enoch, when translated, had been a keeper of the sabbath; or that Noah the ark-builder observed, on account of the deluge, an immense sabbath; or that Abraham, in observance of the sabbath, offered Isaac his son; or that Melchizedek in his priesthood received the law of the sabbath.” Tertullian An Answer to the Jews 210 A.D.
In addition to the fact that both Jews and Christians knew nothing of the Adventist position, the assertion itself contradicts the bible. Notice this passage:
“You came down on Mount Sinai; you spoke to them from heaven. You gave them regulations and laws that are just and right, and decrees and commands that are good. You made known to them your holy Sabbath and gave them commands, decrees and laws through your servant Moses.” Nehemiah 9:13-14
According to this passage God made known the Sabbath through His servant Moses, not at creation. Here is another one:
“Then the LORD said to Moses, “‘Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the LORD, who makes you holy. Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; whoever does any work on that day must be cut off from his people. For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must be put to death. The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested.’“ Exodus 31:12-17
According to the LORD in this passage the Sabbath was to be a sign between Him and His people, the Israelites only, not the entire human race.
A typical Adventist objection to these passages is Mark 2:27 where Jesus says,
"The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath".
Thus they draw the conclusion that the Sabbath is for all of mankind, and thus incumbent upon all people to observe it. But this is not what it says. It merely says that the Sabbath was made for man (i.e. for man's benefit), and not the other way around. The Adventist use of this passage is forcing a meaning upon Jesus' words that was not intended by the context. More on this at a later time.
10 comments:
I like your article. My understanding from the article is that Sabbath was not instituted at the beginning of time, but it was later introduced during the time of Moses and only to the Israelite. So are you showing that even today if a person is an Israelite, they are to observe sabbath? Also, that being said, is there other laws that an Israelite has to obey other than everyone else and can one become an Israelite then in turn have to observe the Sabbath?
Natalie
Hi Natalie,
Your questions actually deal with pretty much the same thing, i.e. Does an Israelite, or anyone else for that matter, still have to observe the Sabbath? Though I have already talked to you about this question, I decided to go ahead and comment on it here for the benefit of others.
First of all, it's a great question!
Now, let's take a look at the biblical evidence regarding this.
In Exodus 19:3-8 we read these words,
"And 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 children of Israel: ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”
So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the LORD commanded him. Then all the people answered together and said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do.” So Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD."
Here we see the beginnings of God's covenant with Israel.
A covenant is,
"an agreement, usually formal, between two or more persons to do or not do something specified". Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
God said to Moses that the people of Israel would be a "special treasure" to Him "above all people" if they obeyed His voice and kept His covenant. When Moses related these words to the Israelites, they replied,
"All that the LORD has spoken we will do".
Thus they showed their willingness to enter into covenant or agreement with God.
What follows in chapters 20-23 is the actual text of the covenant that God made with Israel. In Exo. 34:28 and Deut. 4:13, the Ten Commandments are specifically designated as the actual text of the covenant. You can think of the Ten Commandments as the actual writing of the contract between God and Israel with it agreed to by both parties. The additional laws were perhaps clarifying the text of the contract.
In chapter 24 of Exodus we read about the ratification of the covenant between God and Israel:
"So Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which the LORD has said we will do.” And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel. Then he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the LORD. And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient.” And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you according to all these words.”
Notice that the people of Israel affirmed two more times their willingness to enter into this covenantal relationship with God.
When Moses took the blood and sprinkled the altar and the people, he was ratifying the agreement between Israel and God. Thus the covenant was inaugurated through blood. From this point on, the covenant between God and Israel, the covenant of the Ten Commandments (Deut. 4:13), was in force.
Now it is important to bear in mind that a covenant is only in force as long as the one initiating the covenant maintains its validity. In this case, God is the one who initiated the covenant between Himself and Israel. Therefore, it is only God who can deem whether the covenant remains in force or not.
God already gave Israel His stipulation for the validity of His covenant with them,
"Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people".
Only if Israel remains obedient to the covenant will God continue to consider their agreement valid.
In Exodus 20:4-5 we read,
"You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them."
This is taken from the actual text of the agreement between God and Israel.
Now the reason the Israelites were not to create an image of the divinity was because they had not seen any form, but only a voice (cf. Deut. 4:12, 15-18). Thus any image of God would be a violation of this commandment.
In Exodus 32 we read,
"Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”
And Aaron said to them, “Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf.
Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!”
So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD.” Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play." verses 1-6.
Here we see Israel creating an image of a golden calf; Aaron declaring that the calf is the God that brought them out of Egypt; and also declaring the next day to be a feast to the LORD (the true God). Thus Israel violated the text of their agreement with God (i.e. the commandment in Exodus 20:4-5) by creating an image for the divinity, and bowing down to it and serving it (in otherwords, worshipping it as God).
What was God's reaction to this apostasy?
"And the LORD said to Moses, “Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!’” Exodus 32:7-8.
Notice the boldened parts. These are important, and we will come back to them in a moment.
What about Moses? What was his reaction?
"And Moses turned and went down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in his hand. The tablets were written on both sides; on the one side and on the other they were written. Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets...So it was, as soon as he came near the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing. So Moses’ anger became hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain." Exodus 32:15-16, 19.
Moses' action here has very important ramifications for the covenant.
It wasn't that Moses got hot and smashed the tablets of the Ten Commandments like someone would hit a wall when angry. On the contrary, Moses was indicating to the Israelites, and to his readers, that something drastic had happened to the covenant bewteen God and Israel. By smashing the tablets of the covenant, the Ten Commandments, Moses was declaring that the covenant was now broken and had been disregarded by God!
How do we know this? Recall that God said,
"your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them."
Notice that He used the phrase "your people" when referring to Israel speaking to Moses. No longer did He consider them His people, but now He had disregarded them as His people.
Jeremiah the Prophet relates God's thoughts in this regard about the Israelites He brought out of Egypt,
"Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the LORD." Jer. 38:31-32 LXX (31:31-32 MT).
According to the Prophet, when Israel violated the covenantal agreement between themselves and God, He "disregarded" them. In effect, He disowned Israel as His special people. God had ceased to view the covenant between Himself and Israel as binding. On God's part, He would introduce a "new" covenant with a "new" Law later (cf. Isa. 51:4-5). This occured with the Advent of Christ.
Now it is true that the Law was reiterated by God to Moses for Israel. But it is also true that the special covenant Israel had with God ceased to be binding when Israel violated the covenant with the calf worship, and God subsequently disowned them.
Conclusion:
So in light of this information, my answer to your question of whether Israelites are still required to observe the sabbath, would have to be, No. That covenant ended when Israel violated their agreement with God. That is why God brought in a "new" covenant. Notice St. Paul's words concerning this:
"For if that first [covenant] had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. Because finding fault with them, He says:
"Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah--not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the LORD. For this [is] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more."
In that He says, "A new [covenant]," He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away." Heb. 8:7-13.
The "first" covenant was the Ten Commandments (cf. Exo. 34:28; Deut. 4:13). The "second" or "new" covenant is Jesus Christ Himself (cf. Matt. 26:26-28).
Hope that helps!
David,
I am not sure you understand what the covenants are about. The problem with the first covenant was not because of the Ten Commandments but because of how God's Law was observed. The Law of God was written in tables of stone and many people were obeying (when they were obeying) externally. Their hearts were not in it. But God wants His Law to written and obeyed from the heart. As Paul said in 2 cor3:3 :
"clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart".Paul explicitly said what the new covenant was about. In Hebrews 8:10 it is written:
"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. "So we can see that the new covenant has nothing to do with the Ten Commandments being old but has everything to do with the "location" of the Law of God. In the first covenant, the law was external, on tables of stone. In the new covenant, the God's Law is inside, written in the heart. The Ten Commandments are still in effect (after all, can we imagine a time when the "Thou shall not kill" commandment would not be valid any longer?) but now people keep them out of love rather than by fear of being punished by God.
God bless.
David, I really enjoy your writing, thank you!
I would really appreciate your thoughts on the following texts, which at face value would seem to support sabbath keeping for non-jews.
Firstly Exodus 20: 8-11
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Also, Isa 56:1-7
Thus says the LORD, "Preserve justice, and do righteousness, for My salvation is about to come and My righteousness to be revealed.
How blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who takes hold of it; who keeps from profaning the sabbath, and keeps his hand from doing any evil." Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say, "The LORD will surely separate me from His people." Neither let the eunuch say, "Behold, I am a dry tree." For thus says the LORD, "To the eunuchs who keep My sabbaths, and choose what pleases me, and hold fast My covenant, To them I will give in My house and within My walls a memorial, and a name better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off. Also the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, to minister to Him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be His servants, every one who keeps from profaning the sabbath, and holds fast My covenant; Even those I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; for My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.
Many thanks, Clement
Hi Still,
You said, "I am not sure you understand what the covenants are about. The problem with the first covenant was not because of the Ten Commandments but because of how God's Law was observed. The Law of God was written in tables of stone and many people were obeying (when they were obeying) externally."
Scripture says,
"For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. Because finding fault [with them], He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; [because they did not continue in My covenant], and I disregarded them, says the LORD." Hebrews 8:7-9 emphasis mine.
Please notice that the first covenant was faulty, not because of the people's "external" obedience to the law, but rather because of their disobedience to the law. The passage says that they (the children of Israel) did not continue in the covenant. This would indicate that Israel had broken the agreement between themselves and God. Did this happen? Yes, it did. And it is recorded for us in Exodus 32:1-19. What Israel did in that passage was a violation of the terms of their agreement (or covenant) with God. In my comment to Natalie I went through all of this very carefully. Please refer to it again for further clarification of this point.
You said, "Their hearts were not in it."
Again, I would say that Scripture teaches us that the issue was over their flagrant disobedience to the terms of the covenant. And those terms were the Ten Commandments. It had nothing to do with an "external/internal", "heart versus no heart" obedience. It simply had to do with Israel violating their agreement with God.
You said, "So we can see that the new covenant has nothing to do with the Ten Commandments being old but has everything to do with the "location" of the Law of God. In the first covenant, the law was external, on tables of stone. In the new covenant, the God's Law is inside, written in the heart. The Ten Commandments are still in effect (after all, can we imagine a time when the "Thou shall not kill" commandment would not be valid any longer?) but now people keep them out of love rather than by fear of being punished by God."
You are right, the first covenant had the terms of the agreement (i.e. the law/Ten Commandments) written on tablets of stone. However, the new covenant is not simply the Ten Commandments written on the heart. Rather, the "law" that God puts into our heart is the preaching and teaching of Christ in the Gospels. It is His commandments to us in the Gospels that forbid the type of things that you mention, and not our adherence to a set of laws given to ancient Israel.
Many blessings to you Still!
Hi Clement,
You asked about two passages, Exodus 20: 8-11 and Isa 56:1-7.
"On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates." Exo. 20:10.
The passage is stating the responsibility of the Israelite in regards to the Sabbath observance. Apparently, even if there was an alien (i.e. foreigner) in the home, the Israelite owner of the property was required to make sure that the person rest from all labor. This was actually a part of the Sabbath obligation upon the Israelite. If he failed to do this, then the Sabbath command would have been violated. Same goes for the animals on the property.
"Preserve justice, and do righteousness, for My salvation is about to come and My righteousness to be revealed.
How blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who takes hold of it; who keeps from profaning the sabbath, and keeps his hand from doing any evil." Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say, "The LORD will surely separate me from His people." Neither let the eunuch say, "Behold, I am a dry tree." For thus says the LORD, "To the eunuchs who keep My sabbaths, and choose what pleases me, and hold fast My covenant, To them I will give in My house and within My walls a memorial, and a name better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off. Also the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, to minister to Him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be His servants, every one who keeps from profaning the sabbath, and holds fast My covenant; Even those I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; for My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples." Isa. 56:1-7.
Notice that the first verse says, "Preserve justice, and do righteousness, for My salvation is about to come and My righteousness to be revealed." I believe that this phrase sets the context for the entire passage. It comes across to me that God wanted to instill hope and assurance in the foreigners who desired to be joined with the LORD until the time of "reformation" (Heb.9:9-10). When Christ came He established a new covenant with Israel that was different from the the first one. It replaced circumcision with baptism as the rite of initiation into the kingdom of God. It consisted of a different law, and included all people rather than just the people of Israel. St. Paul's words may be appropriate in considering this:
"What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made...But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise." Gal.3:19, 23-29.
The new covenant of Christ fulfills the foreigner's desire to be joined to the LORD in a way that the old covenant never could.
I hope that helps answer your question.
Blessings to you my friend!
David,
The issue with Israel was indeed an issue of the heart. The greatest commandment given to Israel was "You will love the Lord with all your might and all your heart and you will love your neighbor like yourself". The Ten Commandments are just the expression of this great commandment. They failed that and everthing afterward was a consequence of this first failure.
The new covenant has nothing to do with just the "preaching and teaching of Christ in the Gospel".
Again, read Hebrews 8:10:
"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
Here Paul refers to the text of Jeremiah 31:33. Which law was Jeremiah speaking about? The Ten Commandments!
Why was the first covenant faulty? Was it faulty because "Thou shall not kill" is a bad commandment? Or "Honor your father and mother" is a bad commandment? Or was "Don't take the name of the Lord in vain" faulty?
No, as Paul said, the law is holy.
Please, notice it was the Covenant that was faulty, not the Ten Commandments. And the Bible says it was so because the people of God broke the commandments. So everything coming from God (the Ten Commandments) was good. It was the part coming from men (Israel's obediance) that was faulty. They said that they would comply and they didn't.
We see the same problem in the time of Jesus. Christ said the Pharisees paid the tithe on everything and He said it was good but they forgot mercy which was not good. The Pharisees and the scribes kept the letter of the law but forgot the spirit of the law. It was again a problem of the heart. This is why Paul said that we can do the greatest things but if we don't have love it is considered as nothing.
This is what the new covenant is all about. God doesn't wants people who just obey the letter of the law but have no love for God and for men. He wants a people made of individuals wwho love God and love humanity. And why is the second covenant different from the first one? It is not because God's part has to be improved (the Law of God is holy and perfect. There is nothing to be improved). It is because men's side has been improved. Instead of being written on tables of stone, now the law is written on tables of flesh, that is, in the heart, in the inward parts (cf. Jeremiah 31:33). The "inward parts" expression means that the actions come from the heart, they are sincere. The people are not faking it. They obey God because they love Him, not just because it is the law.
God bless!!
Still,
I'm starting to get the feeling that your not reading my comments.
You said, "Why was the first covenant faulty? Was it faulty because "Thou shall not kill" is a bad commandment? Or "Honor your father and mother" is a bad commandment? Or was "Don't take the name of the Lord in vain" faulty?
No, as Paul said, the law is holy.
Please, notice it was the Covenant that was faulty, not the Ten Commandments. And the Bible says it was so because the people of God broke the commandments. So everything coming from God (the Ten Commandments) was good. It was the part coming from men (Israel's obediance) that was faulty. They said that they would comply and they didn't."
I said previously to you,
"Please notice that the first covenant was faulty, not because of the people's "external" obedience to the law, but rather because of their disobedience to the law. The passage says that they (the children of Israel) did not continue in the covenant. This would indicate that Israel had broken the agreement between themselves and God. Did this happen? Yes, it did. And it is recorded for us in Exodus 32:1-19. What Israel did in that passage was a violation of the terms of their agreement (or covenant) with God. In my comment to Natalie I went through all of this very carefully. Please refer to it again for further clarification of this point."
I never said that the commandments were faulty in any way. So why are you implying that I did?
If we are to get anywhere in our conversations we need to be honest with one another and truly pay attention to what is being said.
You said, "The issue with Israel was indeed an issue of the heart."
Still, I quoted Scripture in my response to Natalie and you that clearly showed Israel's problem was that of disobedience to the covenant that existed between them and God. They asserted three times that they would fully accomplish all that the LORD said (cf. Exo. 19:8; 24:3,7). They clearly violated their part of the agreement (cf. Exo. 32:1-19). God calls the first covenant "faulty" because of the people's disobedience, and He disregarded them (Jer. 38:32 LXX; Heb. 8:8-9). He said that the new covenant would not be like the old one (cf. Jer. 38:31-32 LXX; Jer. 31:31-32 MT). The old covenant was the text of the law, the Ten Commandments (cf. Exo. 34:28; Deut. 4:13). They were written on stone tablets (cf. Exo. 34:28). The law "written and engraved on stone" was the "ministry of death...of condemnation" (cf. 2Cor. 3:7,9). The new covenant will have a new law (cf. Isa. 51:1-5). The new law is that of Christ (cf. Gal.6:2). The new law's commandments are in the Gospels (cf. Matt. 5-7; 28:18-20; John 15:9-17). The old covenant was inaugurated with animal blood (cf. Exo. 24:8). The new covenant was inaugurated with Christ's blood (cf. Luke 22:20). The old covenant is obsolete (cf. Heb. 8:13).
You said, "God doesn't wants people who just obey the letter of the law but have no love for God and for men."
Actually, according to St. Paul, we no longer need to observe the "letter" of the law at all:
"But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter." Romans 7:6.
Blessings to you!
David,
I do read your comments. It is just that in elaborating my argumentation, I have to mention things that you may have already said. So it is sometimes repeated not to imply that you said otherwise but to show the articulations of my reasoning. Because even if we say the same things sometimes, my articulations are different and, as a consequence, my conclusions are different too. I hope I am clear. I am sorry if I gave another impression.
Now concerning the old covenant, I repeat again: it was a heart issue. You said that it was a disobediance issue. Yes, of course. But disobediance is a heart issue. Look what Psalms 78:8-11,35-37 (and the verses in between) say:
"8 And may not be like their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation that did not set its heart aright, And whose spirit was not faithful to God. 9 The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, Turned back in the day of battle.
10 They did not keep the covenant of God; They refused to walk in His law , 11 And forgot His works And His wonders that He had shown them."
"35 Then they remembered that God was their rock, And the Most High God their Redeemer.
36 Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth, And they lied to Him with their tongue;
37 For their heart was not steadfast with Him, Nor were they faithful in His covenant."These verses show explicitly what the problem of Israel was: a heart not aright and steadfast with God. This is what I mean by a heart issue. And, of course, a heart that is not steadfast with the Lord always leads to disobedience. So there is no contradiction between you and me, except that you look at the consequences while I look at the causes. And God also looks at the causes. Yes, He wants to address the effects of sin. But more than that, He wants to address sin first. This is why, when Jesus was in the presence of the paralytic said "thy sins are forgiven thee" (Luke 5:20).
Concerning the letter of the law, I think there is a common misunderstanding here that it is important to dissipate: it is impossible to keep the spirit of the law without the letter of the law (while it is possible to do the contrary). Again, there is nothing wrong with the Ten Commandments. Even James make an reference to the Ten Commandments where he shows that there are a unit.
Another common misconception is that the expression "delivered from the law" or "not under the law" means that we have nothing to do with the law any more. Rather, the expression simply means that we are not under the condemnation of the law. As Paul said, "there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ". It doesn't mean that the law is not in action anymore. It means that by accepting Christ, the consequence of sin, that is death, cannot hurt us. We see this illustrated several times in the Bible. For example, when the Jews were slaves in Egypt, they had to put the blood on the door posts and the lintel (Exodus 12:7,13). Without the blood, a Jewish house would have suffer the same fate as an Egyptian house. So when God acted against the land of Egypt, the law of God (here the death of the first born) was in effect even for the Jews, but because of the blood, the consequences were not felt. The same can be said of Noah. Noah was not whisked away from the Flood. The Flood came upon him but because of the ark, the consequences were not felt. The same can be said of Daniel's three friends in the furnace. They were in the fire but because there was a fourth person "like the Son of God" (Daniel 3:25) the consequences of the fire were not felt. So, the "laws" were in effect but the consequences were not felt because of the intervention of what could be called a type of Christ.
This is the same thing when Paul speaks about being "delivered from the law". The law is still in effect but we are spared because of the blood of Christ, allowing us to be adopted in the family of God. And we serve God not as servants (letter of the law) but as sons and daughters of God (letter + spirit of the law).
Thank you for the clarification, Still.
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