rightly dividing the word of truth part 6

rightly dividing the Word of Truth part 6

Close your eyes.  I’m thinking about something and I want you to picture it.  Ready? HAND

Maybe you were imagining:

·         That appendage with 5 digits (thumb, index, middle, ring and pinky)

·         A personal possession (it fell into the hands of the enemy)

·         A side (on one hand…on the other hand)

·         A pledge (I give you my hand in marriage)

·         A style of penmanship (I write this letter in my own hand)

·         A skill or ability (I tried my hand at snowboarding)

·         Aid or assistance (this morning, Daniel lent a hand in setup)

·         Cards in a game (I was dealt a horrible hand)

·         One who performs work (a hired hand)

There are a lot of things that hand can mean.  When we come to the Biblical text, the same is true.  The text is made up of individual words and each of those words may have any number of meanings.  To complicate matters, we are reading English words which can mean many things, but they have been translated from Hebrew or Greek words which can mean a number of things in the original language.

This complicated matter is the backdrop behind our next principle of interpretation: determine carefully the meaning of words.

Knowing Scripture by R.C. Sproul  (p 79) Rule 5 Determine carefully the meaning of words.  Whatever else the bible is it is a book which communicates information verbally.  That means that it is filled with words.  Thoughts are expressed through the relationship of those words.  Each individual word contributes something to the whole of the content expressed.  The better we understand the individual words used in Biblical statements the better we will be able to understand the total message of Scripture.

Once again, we can see how these principles overlap.  In word studies, the most determinative factor is context.  To go back to our hand illustration, in order to determine what I mean by “hand” you need to hear me use it in context.  If I said, “I was playing spades and was dealt a horrible hand” you would know that by “hand” I meant the particular cards I was holding.  If I said “this morning, the worship was excellent, let’s give Adam and Josh a hand” you would know that I meant applause.  If I said “this morning Daniel gave me a hand by helping set up” you would know that by “hand” I meant aid or assistance.

Context drives the meaning of a word.  Gordon Fee (one of the authors in how to read the bible) says the following on p 79 in his work New Testament Exegesis: A Handbook for students and pastors that the aim of word study “is to try to understand as precisely as possible what the author was trying to convey by his use of this word in this context.”

So our 9^th principle of interpretation is carefully determine the meaning of words.

COMMON FALLACIES

Before we move into the word study process, I’d like to share with you a few of the common word study fallacies set forth by Duval and Hays in Grasping God’s Word:

The English-Only Fallacy: Because the Bible was not originally written in English, it must be translated into English from the original biblical languages, Hebrew and Greek.  This fact can complicate word studies for students who do not know the original languages…The English-only fallacy occurs when you base your word study on the English word rather than the underlying Greek or Hebrew word, and as a result draw unreliable or misleading conclusions.

Root Fallacy: One of the more common fallacies is the notion that the real meaning of a word is found in its original root.  Think about how silly this can be even in English.  (we drive on a parkway and park on a driveway.  A butterfly has nothing to do with butter and a sawhorse has nothing to do with horses)…Give context priority over etymology and you will be on solid ground.

Selective-Evidence Fallacy: When we cite just the evidence that supports our favored interpretation or when we dismiss evidence that seems to argue against our view, we commit the selective-evidence fallacy.  This error is particularly dangerous because here we are intentionally tampering with the biblical evidence whereas in other fallacies the mistakes may be quite unintentional.  Although we want the Bible to support our convictions in every case, there will be times when its message confronts us for our own good.  When that happens, we should change our view rather than twist Scripture to advance our own agenda.  Before you begin studying a word in the Bible, make up your mind to accept all the evidence.

If you want more on fallacies, Grasping God’s Word, chapter 8 shares a few more.  But I chose these to highlight. 

THE 3-STEP PROCESS:

Now that we have looked at some fallacies, let’s look at the process of word study.  It is a 3-step process:

1.       Choosing your words

2.       Determining what the word could mean

3.      Determining what the word does mean in context

1) CHOOSING YOUR WORDS.  Let’s be realistic, we don’t have the time to look up every single word in the passage, nor do we need to.  We only need to look up the key words.   How do you know which words are the key words?  Duvall and Hays suggest the following guidelines for determining words to study in depth:

·         Look for words that are crucial to the passage

·         Look for repeated words (Blessed in Matt 5)

·         Look for figures of speech

·         Look for words that are unclear, puzzling, or difficult

Now if statistics are correct, you will only remember a fraction of what I say in this message.  If you remember nothing else, remember this rule of thumb: the most important words are the ones that give you trouble.  If a word is puzzling or gives you trouble, study it more.

Another one that I will throw out there is to study words that have been translated in different ways in different translations.  If the NIV translates it one way, the ESV another, the NASB another, that may be a word worth studying (sarx, paraclete).

2) DETERMINING WHAT THE WORD COULD MEAN.  Why do we care about what the word COULD mean?  Because words can mean several different things but will usually only carry ONE of those meanings.  Remember, we don’t go grab our English dictionary but determine what the Hebrew or Greek word is and look it up in a Hebrew or Greek dictionary or lexicon, strong’s concordance.

3) DETERMINE WHAT THE WORD DOES MEAN.  (p145, ibid) “In light of the context, the first thing you must do is to select from the possible meanings the one meaning that best fits your word.  What we said earlier about the importance of context bears repeating: Context determines meaning!”

So let’s do one.  Turn with me in your Bibles to 1 Chronicles 21:1-2 ¹ Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel. ² So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, “Go and count the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan. Then report back to me so that I may know how many there are.”

A few weeks ago we looked at this passage alongside 2 Samuel 24:1  Again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.”

Let’s practice our principle of carefully determining the meaning of words.  Let’s do a brief word study on this word “Satan.” 

We chose satan because it’s puzzling – it’s troublesome.  Why would one passage say God incited David while the parallel says satan?  This is a good reason to do a word study and carefully determine the meaning of the word satan.

At this point, we don’t grab our English dictionary and look up the word satan.  We need to find out what the Hebrew word is so we turn to our interlinear bible.

WHAT IS AN INTERLINEAR BIBLE?  It’s a bible with the Hebrew or Greek text with the English words running parallel to them.  In my Hebrew Interlinear, I look at the verse (Hebrew is right to left).  If you don’t have an interlinear on your shelf, you can find one for free online: www.interlinearbible.org

There are numbers that correspond with each Hebrew word.  This one is 7854.  I then look up the word in a Strong’s Concordance to find the definition or look up the word in a Hebrew lexicon.  Online, you can simply click on the number and it will take you to a page with a definition.

We find that the actual word here translated as Satan is satan.  The definition is: an opponent; the archenemy of good, adversary, withstand.  So this word satan has a range of meanings in Hebrew just as hand does in English.  satan can mean opponent, or the archenemy of good, or an adversary or withstand.  If you continue this word study you will find that in most of the cases in which this word is used in the bible it is translated as adversary and only a handful of times did the translators use “satan.”

Recall our 3-step process:

So we did step 1: determine our word: Satan.  We looked it up in the original language Hebrew and it is satan.

We did step 2: determine what our word COULD mean.  It could mean adversary or opponent or withstand or archenemy of good.

Now let’s do step 3: determine what our word DOES mean.

In 2 Samuel 24:1 we have God’s anger burning against Israel and he incites David to number the troops.  In the parallel text, 1 Chronicles 21:1, we have satan incited David to number the troops.  So God is paralleled with satan.  Remember, context determines meaning.  Let’s see which definition of satan best fits the immediate context and then let’s broaden the context and compare scripture with scripture.

One definition is the archenemy of good.  Is God the archenemy of good?  No, He IS good.  Mark 10:18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.  We know God is good, so this cannot mean that God is the archenemy of Good.  He cannot be both good and the archenemy of good, so that rules out that possibility.

The other options are similar in nature.  Adversary and opponent carry the same idea – one who opposes.  Could this be what is meant by satan in the text?  Could it mean that God was the adversary standing in opposition to Israel?  Is that possible?  It certainly is.  Read the prophets; most of the message was that God was in opposition to Israel.  It’s possible, but is it contextual?  It says that the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, so this is certainly contextual.

Context determines meaning.  This seems to be the likely meaning of satan in this text – adversary, since God was in opposition to Israel, He rose up as their adversary and incited David to number the troops.

Let’s broaden our context and see where this word is used elsewhere.  Numbers 22:22

I’ll read first from the NIV and I’ll read verse 21-22 to give a little bit of context.

New International Version Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab.  But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the LORD stood in the road to oppose (satan) him.

New Living Translation But God was angry that Balaam was going, so he sent the angel of the LORD to stand in the road to block his way (satan).

English Standard Version But God’s anger was kindled because he went, and the angel of the LORD took his stand in the way as his adversary (satan).

GOD'S WORD® Translation God became angry that he was going. So the Messenger of the LORD stood in the road to stop (satan) him.

Darby Bible Translation And God's anger was kindled because he went; and the Angel of Jehovah set himself in the way to withstand (satan) him.

The word translated as oppose, block his way, adversary, against, and withstand is our word H7854 satan.  Here again we have Jehovah as satan.  In this case we see that the context is similar.  Notice the context – God’s anger was kindled sound familiar.  2 Samuel 24 Again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.”

God gets angry and opposes Balaam as an adversary in Numbers.

It seems safe to say that in these parallel accounts of David inciting the troops, God gets angry and opposes Israel as an adversary.  It seems that in Chronicles, satan would have been better translated as adversary than Satan.

When words are puzzling or confusing in the Bible, look up the word in the original language, determine what the word could mean, then determine which of those possibilities best fits the immediate and broader context.  Determine carefully the meaning of words.

The next principle which is closely related is Translation considerations.

As I mentioned earlier the original manuscripts of the Biblical texts were not written in English.  Recall our emphasis of the necessary starting point being the original audience and our illustration of separation from that original audience.  There is a river separating us and that river is characterized by culture, customs, geography, covenant, thousands of years, and language.  The language barrier is part of that river.

I didn’t realize this for years.  I don’t know what exactly I thought, but I saw church leaders holding up the bible in their hand and say this is the Word of God.  So maybe I thought that the finger of God wrote the Bible as we have it in English.  As much as I wish that were the case, it’s simply not.

I remember the first time I was at a church service where the pastor did serious exegesis in which he said the Greek word is such and such.  I remember thinking “I don’t care what the Greek word is.  What does that have to do with anything?”  When I learned that the OT was originally written in Hebrew and the NT in Greek, I realized that what the word was in Greek had everything to do with our study.

The first translation consideration is: THEORY OF TRANSLATION or the APPROACH

When one seeks to translate from Hebrew or Greek into English, they have to decide on the approach.  There are 3 basic approaches:

A)    FORMAL EQUIVALENCE (LITERAL or word for word) as close as possible to the structure and words of the original Greek & Hebrew.  The result is something that sounds closer to Yoda

a.      word order

b.      literal words instead of euphemisms

c.       literal in idioms.

B)     FUNCTIONAL EQUIVALENCE (DYNAMIC EQUIVALENT or thought for thought) focuses less on form and tries to express the meaning of the original text in today’s language.  Here the translator feels a responsibility to reproduce the effect of the text so that its effect on the modern reader is equivalent to the effect on the ancient reader

a.      change order of words

b.      euphemisms for sexual things

c.       change idioms so we can understand

C)     FREE TRANSLATION (PARAPHRASE) technically this is not a translation from the original languages but merely a restatement or explanation using different English words. Here there is great license to interpret to a great degree.

In your bulletins, there is a diagram with a spectrum from paraphrase to dynamic equivalent to literal:

How to read…(p42) “the basic translation for reading and studying should be something in the TNIV/NIV/NRSV range.”

Let’s take a look at an example of how one verse is translated across this spectrum.

(YLT – not on diagram) Proverbs 23:6 Eat not the bread of an evil eye, And have no desire to his dainties,

Recall our discussion of idioms.  We discussed Matt 6, in which the idiom evil eye meant stingy person.  The YLT is a literal translation, which will not interpret idioms, but leave them in their literal form.

(NIV) Proverbs 23:6 Do not eat the food of a stingy man, do not crave his delicacies; 

So you can see how the NIV translators took it upon themselves to interpret the meaning of the idiom.

(The Message) Proverbs 23:6  Don't accept a meal from a tightwad; don't expect anything special.

Next translation consideration: TRANSLATION INVOLVES INTERPRETATION

How to read the Bible for all it’s worth (p19) “For translation is in itself a (necessary) form of interpretation.  Your Bible, whatever translation you use, which is your beginning point, is in fact the end result of much scholarly work.  Translators are regularly called upon to make choices regarding meanings, and their choices are going to affect how you understand.”

In other words, you and I don’t have Greek and Hebrew texts before us.  We have an English translation.  People already translated it for us.  They asked the question: what does this mean?  When they translated it they made decisions that would affect how we understand the bible.  When the original text says satan, translators determined if it should be translated withstand, oppose, accuser, adversary or satan.  When the original text said sarx, translators determined if it should be translated as flesh or sinful nature and those decisions were based on their interpretation.  That is certainly something to consider and shows the importance of word studies.  Since we are working towards rightly dividing the word of truth, we need to realize that our starting point (NIV, ESV, KJV) is actually the end result of a lot of interpretation by scholars.

SUGGESTION: use more than one translation.  I suggest using multiple translations in your study ranging across the spectrum from formal to functional.  How to read the Bible for all it’s Worth (p33) “The trouble with using only one translation, be it ever so good, is that you are thereby committed to the exegetical choices of that translation as the Word of God.  The translation you are using will, of course, be correct most of the time; but at times it also may not be.”

Lean towards the one done by committees – less bias, more balance.

Next translation consideration: TEXTUAL CRITICISM

Grasping God’s Word (p159) “Before the invention of the printing press in the 1400’s all copies were, of course, done by hand.  As you know if you have ever tried to copy a lengthy piece of writing by hand, you make mistakes.  The scribes who copied the copies of Scripture occasionally did the same.  They might omit a letter or even a line of text, misspell a word, or reverse two letters.  At times scribes might change a text deliberately to make it more understandable or even more theologically ‘correct.’  Consequently, the copies we have do not look exactly alike.  Make no mistake, scribes were generally very careful, and you can rest assured that there is no textual dispute about the vast majority of the Bible. (footnote 97% or more of original NT can be reconstructed from existing manuscripts beyond any measure of doubt – OT about 90%) Nevertheless, there are differences in the copies, and we need some way of trying to determine which copy is more likely to reflect the original text.  That responsibility falls to the discipline known as textual criticism.”

So some people dedicate their lives to comparing fragments of copies of manuscripts and seeking to determine what exactly the original manuscripts written by the original authors said before they were copied and disintegrated.  Textual criticism is necessary, but, that’s not something we ever do.  They do that for us and that’s great.

What we do have is FOOTNOTES!  Read your footnotes!!!

FOOTNOTES are the vehicle used to convey to us both of the translation considerations I just listed. 

A)    Translation involves interpretation.  Sometimes, when a word in the original language COULD be translated in one of two ways, the translators will choose the word that they think is best, but put a footnote with the alternative.

B)    There are textual variants.  One manuscript says one thing.  Another says something slightly different.  The textual critics try to determine which one is more likely the original and put that in the text.  They will put a footnote indicating that another manuscript says such and such.

EXAMPLE: Look with me at Mark 3:7-14 ⁷ Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed. ⁸ When they heard all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. ⁹Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him. ¹⁰ For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him. ¹¹ Whenever the evil^[a] spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” ¹² But he gave them strict orders not to tell who he was.  ¹³ Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. ¹⁴ He appointed twelve—designating them apostles^[b]—that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach.

In verse 11, we have “Whenever the evil spirits saw him…”  In my Bible, there is a footnote, a small italicized “a” which corresponds to a footnote at the bottom of the page and reads “Greek unclean; also in verse 30.”  This is honesty on the part of the translator.  The Greek word in the text is unclean.  The translators had a choice to make between leaving it unclean and putting evil.  They chose evil and put a footnote to indicate the alternative.

In verse 14 we have an example of a textual variant.  As the textual critics study the copies and copies of manuscripts in order to determine what the original manuscript most likely read they come across some manuscripts that have certain things that others do not.  In this case, verse 14 varies.  There is a footnote, a small italicized “b” that corresponds to a footnote at the bottom of the page and reads “Some manuscripts to do not have designating them apostles.”  Again, the translators were honest and indicated that in this case there was a disagreement between some of the manuscripts and they make us aware of that through footnotes.  READ YOUR FOOTNOTES!!!

SUMMARY

·         Principle #9 Carefully determine the meaning of words

·         Avoid some word fallacies:

o   English only (by studying the words in original language: Bible originally Hebrew & Greek)

o   Root

o   Selective evidence

·         3 step process

o   Choose words (key words, problem words) Look up word in an interlinear find word # find in lexicon or Strongs

o   What COULD it mean? (be honest unguarded and open to all possible meanings)

o   What DOES it mean? (context determines meaning)

·         Principle #10: Translation considerations

o   Translation theory or approach (formal, functional, free)

o   Translation involves interpretation (right or wrong some things have been interpreted for you already)

o   There are textual variants (thus need for textual criticism not by us but others)

o   USE FOOTNOTES

§  To see other possible alternative interpretations

§  To see other textual variants

o   Use more than one bible in the range from literal to dynamic equivalent

I’d like to end this morning with a word of exhortation.  There is a possibility that the principles I have shared with you this morning might cause doubt or fear in you, stirring up the notion that says, “Not only do I need to keep all of these principles in mind to make sure I interpret the Bible correctly, but now you’re telling me that there are translation issues and I may need to study the original Greek and Hebrew words.  Is there any hope then, for knowing the truth?  This river separating us from the original audience seems impossible to cross because now I realize that our interpretation lies also upon the shoulders of the translators who may or may not have rendered the text accurately.”  I want to encourage you to look at this glass as half full and not half empty. 

·         Don’t be discouraged, but be thankful that you are informed. 

·         And think of it like this: We could be living in a time and place in which we have no access to the Bible in our own language. 

·         Rather than being frustrated at these realities, let’s be thankful. 

·         So let’s praise God for those who have spent their lives studying the Biblical languages and doing the daunting task of textual criticism and translation so that we have before us a wide range of Bible translations and such ease of access to them in our own tongue.

www.ncfgeorgetown.com  Church in Georgetown, Texas. Reformed church Georgetown, Texas Preterist church Georgetown Texas. Pastor David Boone. Full Preterism. Covenant Eschatology. New Covenant Fellowship Georgetown. Page House 10:00 am Loving God. Loving Others. Realized eschatology fulfilled eschatology  Preterist church Austin Texas.  Bible church Austin Texas Second coming of Jesus Christ churches in Austin area

You can watch sermon videos or listen to sermon audio .mp3 at www.ncfgeorgetown.com/media.html

www.ncfgeorgetown.com

rightly dividing the word of truth part 5

rightly dividing the word of truth part 5

The Bible depicts God’s covenant with Israel as a marriage.  (Isaiah 54, Jer 3)  We don’t really think in terms of covenant in our culture, though we do practice covenant making.  Marriage is essentially a covenant.

A covenant is a solemn oath or binding agreement, similar to a contract.

God deals with his people in the form of covenant.  For people in covenant with God, their world revolves around that covenant.  That covenant determines the way they live, what they do, where they go and when, what they eat & drink, what they wear, etc.

We have spent the past few weeks discussing principles of Biblical interpretation.  Recently discussed the relevance of the text to its original audience and the importance of noting the historical-cultural context of the biblical audience; this morning we are going to take a very close look at the covenantal context of the original audience and how that contributes to our interpretation of the Bible as we continue this series in hermeneutics in order that we may rightly divide the word of truth.

This morning’s principle and the 8^th in our series is consider the covenantal context.

New Horizons in Hermeneutics: The Theory and Practice of Transforming | Anthony C. Thiselton  (p 32)  “In the case of the Biblical writings, the persistence of the terms Old and New ‘Testament’ serve to remind us of a covenantal context in which pledge and promise feature prominently.”

In other words, covenant is a prominent feature in the Bible.

Gospel-centered hermeneutics by Graeme Goldsworthy (p 73) “All human history after Genesis 3 is history under both judgment and the redemptive covenant of the Creator.  All human history is thus given its ultimate and true interpretation only when viewed within this framework of covenant and redemption.”

Goldsworthy goes so far as to say the ultimate and true interpretation comes only when viewing the Scriptures within the framework of covenant.

Bible explorer’s guide: how to understand and interpret the bible by John Phillips (p88) “We see eight different covenants in the Scriptures.  They are a remarkable set of contractual agreements drawn up between God and members of the human race.  That is what a covenant is: a contract, a legal agreement between two or more parties.  If we are to rightly divide the word of truth, we must learn to differentiate between these various contracts, their provisions, their parties, and their purposes.”

He lists the 8 as:

1.       Edenic

2.       Adamic

3.      Noahic

4.      Abrahamic

5.      Mosaic

6.      Palestinian

7.      Davidic

8.      New

Then he goes on to say (p89), “Even a casual glance at those divisions shows some differences.  Some of them, for instance, are conditional (“If you will do this or that, then…”).  Others are wholly unconditional (“I will, I will, I will”).  We have an example of a conditional covenant in Exodus 19:5 and of an unconditional covenant in Genesis 17.  Be sure always to note specifically the actual beneficiary, the clauses of the agreement, and the circumstances under which it was made.  Note, too, that some of the covenants have special “signs” or seals attached to them.  The seal of the Abrahamic covenant, for instance was circumcision; the seal of the Noahic Covenant was the rainbow; the seal of the Mosaic Covenant was the Sabbath.”

There are several covenants in the scriptures.  John Phillips sees 8.  Some dispute the covenant with Adam.  I would combine the Palestinian with either the Abrahamic or the Mosaic.  Either way, we are in agreement with the essence of the promises and conditions of these covenants.  Understanding this covenantal framework of the Scriptures is essential to proper interpretation.

Covenants can be unilateral or bilateral – meaning one sided or two sided.  A one-sided covenant is one in which only one person or party is responsible to deliver.  A two-sided covenant involves requirements by both parties. 

Covenants can be conditional or unconditional.  An unconditional covenant is one in which a benefactor says I will do this.  I will, regardless of what you do, I will.  A conditional covenant is one that has contingencies.  If you do this, then I will do that.  If you don’t do this, then I won’t do that.

3 of these covenants seem to have the most impact on our Biblical understanding: the Abrahamic, Mosaic, and New. 

THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT was a covenant that God made with Abram who later became Abraham.  This covenant was a unilateral or one-sided unconditional covenant.  God said I will…

This covenant begins to take root in Gen 12

Gen 12 ¹ The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.

 ² “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

We see God expanding on this in Gen 15

Gen 15: 1-6

¹ After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram.  I am your shield, your very great reward.” ² But Abram said, “O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” ³ And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”

 ⁴ Then the word of the LORD came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir.” ⁵ He took him outside and said, “Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” ⁶ Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

Gen 17:1-8  ¹ When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. ² I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.”  ³ Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, ⁴ “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. ⁵No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. ⁶ I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. ⁷ I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. ⁸ The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.”

Main stipulations

·         Blessing

·         Numerous descendants

·         Inheritance

Abraham was the father of Isaac, who was the father of Jacob aka Israel, whose descendents became the nation of Israel.  In the life of this nation, Israel, we see God begin to fulfill these promises made to Abraham.

Deut 1:6-10 ⁶ The LORD our God said to us at Horeb, “You have stayed long enough at this mountain. ⁷ Break camp and advance into the hill country of the Amorites; go to all the neighboring peoples in the Arabah, in the mountains, in the western foothills, in the Negev and along the coast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the Euphrates. ⁸ See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land the LORD swore he would give to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—and to their descendants after them.”

 ⁹ At that time I said to you, “You are too heavy a burden for me to carry alone. ¹⁰ The LORD your God has increased your numbers so that today you are as numerous as the stars in the sky.

So we see begin to see fulfillment.  Abraham’s numerous descendents were brought into the land as God promised.

On the way into the land, God made another covenant.  In the wilderness, God made a covenant with these Israelites.  This covenant was mediated through Moses.  So this covenant is known as the Mosaic Covenant.  We speak of it as the Old Covenant.

This covenant was a bilateral covenant or a two-party covenant, which means that not only was God responsible for certain aspects of the covenant but also, the people were responsible for certain aspects of the covenant. 

Central to this covenant was God’s Laws, also known as the Law or the Law of Moses.  There were around 600 commands, which were essentially summed up and represented by 10 commandments written on stone tablets.

The Mosaic Covenant was a conditional covenant.  If Israel fully obeyed the Law, God would bless them.  If Israel disobeyed, God would curse them.

Through this covenant, the elements of the Abrahamic Covenant are conditional.

·         If you obey you will be blessed (but disobey, cursed)

·         If you obey I will increase your numbers and multiply you (disobey, destroy you)

·         If you obey I will let you live in the land (disobey, you will be exiled)

Deuteronomy 28  ¹ If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. ² All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God:

 ³ You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.  ⁴ The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. ⁵ Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. ⁶ You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. ⁷ The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven. ⁸ The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.

 ⁹ The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in obedience to him. ¹⁰ Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you. ¹¹ The LORD will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you.

 ¹² The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. ¹³ The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. ¹⁴ Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them.

 ¹⁵ However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you:

 ¹⁶ You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country. ¹⁷ Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed. ¹⁸ The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. ¹⁹ You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out. ²⁰ The LORD will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him.^[a] 21The LORD will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess. ²² The LORD will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you perish. ²³ The sky over your head will be bronze, the ground beneath you iron. ²⁴ The LORD will turn the rain of your country into dust and powder; it will come down from the skies until you are destroyed.

 ²⁵ The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will come at them from one direction but flee from them in seven, and you will become a thing of horror to all the kingdoms on earth. ²⁶ Your carcasses will be food for all the birds and the wild animals, and there will be no one to frighten them away. ²⁷ The LORD will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, festering sores and the itch, from which you cannot be cured. ²⁸ The LORD will afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind. ²⁹ At midday you will grope about like a blind person in the dark. You will be unsuccessful in everything you do; day after day you will be oppressed and robbed, with no one to rescue you.

 ³⁰ You will be pledged to be married to a woman, but another will take her and rape her. You will build a house, but you will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard, but you will not even begin to enjoy its fruit. ³¹ Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will eat none of it. Your donkey will be forcibly taken from you and will not be returned. Your sheep will be given to your enemies, and no one will rescue them. ³² Your sons and daughters will be given to another nation, and you will wear out your eyes watching for them day after day, powerless to lift a hand. ³³ A people that you do not know will eat what your land and labor produce, and you will have nothing but cruel oppression all your days. ³⁴ The sights you see will drive you mad. ³⁵ The LORD will afflict your knees and legs with painful boils that cannot be cured, spreading from the soles of your feet to the top of your head.

 ³⁶ The LORD will drive you and the king you set over you to a nation unknown to you or your ancestors. There you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone. ³⁷ You will become a thing of horror, a byword and an object of ridicule among all the peoples where the LORD will drive you.

That is the essence of the Mosaic Covenant, centered around the Law.  Blessings for obedience to the Law, curses for disobedience to the Law.  This is the covenantal context of most of the bible.

It is introduced in Exodus 20, perpetuated in the rest of the Pentateuch or Torah, dictates the life of Israel in historical narratives, serves as the framework and context of poetic and wisdom literature, and is the central foundation of the prophets, who point back to it. 

Look at how much of our bibles are centered on this covenant!!!  Almost all of it.  It is therefore, very important for us to understand the context of this particular covenant. 

Grasping God’s Word (p333) 

 (p334) “Since the Old Testament law is tightly intertwined into the Mosaic covenant, it is important to make several observations about the nature of this covenant:

1.       The Mosaic covenant is closely associated with Israel’s conquest and occupation of the land

2.       The blessings from the Mosaic covenant are conditional

3.      The Mosaic covenant is no longer a functional covenant

4.      The Old Testament law as part of the Mosaic covenant is no longer applicable over us as law

5.      We must interpret the law through the grid of New Testament teaching”

We must remember as we move into the NT that the MOSAIC Covenant was the covenantal context.  God didn’t make the New Covenant with Israel between the pages of Malachi 4 and Matt 1 and then send his son Jesus to the New Covenant Community.  God sent his son into Israel into a community whose covenantal context was the Mosaic Context.  Gal 4:4 But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law to redeem those under law.  They were under the OC.  That is crucial to keep in mind as we read the gospel narratives.

There is no explicit mention of the New Covenant until the end of Jesus’ ministry.

In fact, Jesus makes it quite clear that his earthly ministry was operative in the framework of the Mosaic Covenant.  Matt 5:17-20  ¹⁷ “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. ¹⁸ I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. ¹⁹ Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Here we have a reiteration and an emphasis on the fact that Jesus’ original audience, his first century contemporaries were under the Old Covenant, under the Mosaic covenant.  He assures them that he didn’t come to abolish the thing that defined and regulated their lives – ie the Law.  Further, he said that not the smallest letter or the least stroke of a pen will disappear from the law until heaven and earth pass away.  So in Jesus day the Law was in effect, they were still under the OC until heaven and earth passed away.  Determining what exactly Jesus meant by this is an important task for the interpreter since it determines when the stipulations of the OC would cease to function as binding on God’s people. 

When would it cease to be true that whoever breaks the least commandment in the Law of Moses would be least in the kingdom?

When we walk through the gospel narrative we do so in the context of the OC seeing that in Judea the priesthood is operating under the OC sacrificial system, worshiping at the Temple, eating according to the dietary laws, observing the Sabbath, celebrating the festivals.  They are living life according to the covenant to which they belong; they are living life as prescribed by the Law.  The Covenantal context for the gospel narratives is Mosaic.

Then at the end of Jesus’ ministry he sent his disciples to find a room prepared for the Passover meal, which by the way, is a meal prescribed by the Mosaic Covenant; it would be the last supper.  He told them to go into the city, find a man carrying a water jar, follow him to the place prepared.

Luke 22:13-20 ¹³ They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover. ¹⁴ When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. ¹⁵ And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. ¹⁶ For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.” ¹⁷ After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. ¹⁸ For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” ¹⁹ And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁰ In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. 

So at this Passover meal at the end of Jesus’ ministry he clearly identifies the shedding of His blood with a New Covenant.  This isn’t the first time they heard the idea of a new covenant.  God introduced the idea around 600 years earlier through the prophet Jeremiah in Jer 31.

The question facing the interpreter is: when exactly was the NC put into effect and when exactly was the OC done away?  Most people agree that it was sometime in the first century.  Some say the NC was inaugurated at the cross.  Others say at Christ’s ascension, others say at Pentecost.  It’s pretty safe to say that it was sometime during that short period.

However, the OC did not end at the moment the NC was inaugurated.  Several passages in the Scriptures indicate that there is an overlap in the Old and New Covenants.  The New was inaugurated.  The Old was still around, still active, but had been rendered obsolete and it was fading and would soon come to an end. 

This seems to be the thrust of the transfiguration Matt 17 as well as 2 Cor 3.  However, the clearest teaching on this besides Matt 5:17-20 is Heb 8 – 10.

Take a look with me at Hebrews 8  ¹ The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, ² and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man.

 ³ Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. ⁴ If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already men who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. ⁵ They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” ⁶ But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises.

 ⁷ For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. ⁸ But God found fault with the people and said:

   “The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. ⁹ It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. ¹⁰ This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. ¹¹ No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. ¹² For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

 ¹³ By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.

So, here, we have the book of Hebrews written around 62 63 AD saying that the new covenant has made the old one obsolete and that which is obsolete, aka the OC was aging and would soon disappear.  So in about 62 AD, the OC was still operative; it was obsolete, but it wasn’t over yet.  It would soon disappear.  There was an overlapping of the covenants, a period in which both covenants were operative simultaneously.

Recognizing this fact that there is an overlapping of the old and new covenants is an important interpretive key that makes sense of the rest of the NT.  The believing Jews were struggling with their identity in Christ and a history under the Law.  The question for them was to what degree is the law still applicable?  As Gentiles were coming into the family of God through faith in Jesus, the question was then, to what degree do we impose the law of Moses on these Gentiles?  Do they need to be circumcised, obey the dietary laws, etc?  A council was actually held in Jerusalem to discuss those issues (Acts 15).

Bottom line: The NT needs to be understood in light of covenant transition. 

So as we come to the Scriptures, we must be aware of the covenantal context of a text. 

Otherwise we may find ourselves attempting to live under the laws of the Mosaic Covenant which were never intended for us.

Duvall & Hays put it well in Grasping God’s Word and we will end with this quote.

Grasping God’s Word (p20) We are separated from the text by a river (culture, history, language).  “If that were not enough, the Old Testament widens the river by adding another major interpretive barrier that separates us from the audience.  Between the Old Testament biblical audience and Christian readers today lies a change in covenant.  We as New Testament believers are under the new covenant and we approach God through the sacrifice of Christ.  The Old Testament people, however, were under the Old Covenant, and for them the law was central.  In other words, the theological situation for the two groups is different.  There is a covenant barrier between the Old Testament audience and us because we are under different covenants.

Thus the river between the Old Testament text and us consists not only of culture, language, situation, and time, but also of covenant.  We have much more in common with the New Testament audience; yet even in the New Testament, the different culture, language, and specific situations can present a formidable barrier to our desire to grasp the meaning of the text.  The river is often too deep and too wide simply to wade across.”

www.ncfgeorgetown.com  Church in Georgetown, Texas. Reformed church Georgetown, Texas Preterist church Georgetown Texas. Pastor David Boone. Full Preterism. Covenant Eschatology. New Covenant Fellowship Georgetown. Page House 10:00 am Loving God. Loving Others. Realized eschatology fulfilled eschatology  Preterist church Austin Texas.  Bible church Austin Texas Second coming of Jesus Christ churches in Austin area

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