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In the Book of Galatians, the Apostle Paul speaks of
two great Covenants. He uses two women, Sarah and her
maid Hagar as allegories to illustrate how different
these Covenants are. The children of one are in slavery
and the children of the other are free. One of these
Covenants corresponds to Mt. Sinai and the earthly
Jerusalem, and the other to the Heavenly Jerusalem. One
corresponds to the Book of the Law and the another to
the Ten Commandments. One is represented as flesh and
the other is represented as spirit and of the promise.
The children of one are born only of the flesh and the
children of the other are born of the spirit according
to the promise made to Abraham. To mix the two Covenants
together constitutes a false Gospel. Bible
Translation: NASV
DEFINITIONS
Covenant: A
covenant is an agreement between two or more parties.
When you purchase a house or perhaps an automobile you
enter into an covenant agreement with the seller. He
agrees to certain terms of the sale and you agree to
certain terms of the sale. If either party violates the
terms of the agreement they can be held liable. In this
case the contract is ratified by the signature of both
parties. In the Case with the Sinai Covenant and the 613
Laws written upon animal skins, it was ratified by the
blood of sacrificed animals. In the case of the New
Testament (Abraham’s Covenant) Covenant, it was ratified
by the sacrificial blood of Jesus.
Book of the Law: Sometimes
called the “Book of the Covenant” or the “Law of Moses.”
A body consisting of 613 laws given to Moses at Sinai,
which he wrote upon animal skins. Jesus mentioned some
of these laws in Matthew 5 when He said, -“You have
heard it said, “An eye for and eye, and a tooth for a
tooth.” These
laws were added after God spoke the Ten Commandments
directly to the children of Israel. This Book, or scroll
of the Law was placed on the outside of the Ark, while
the Ten Commandments were placed inside the Ark, under
the Mercy Seat.
COMMENTARY: In
his letter to the Galatians, the Apostle is addressing a
fatal heresy which was spreading through the Church. He
identifies it as a false Gospel which ultimately severs
one from Christ! The Galatians were Gentile converts to
Christianity and had no background in Judaism. There
were certain Jewish converts to Christianity which held
the belief that the new Gentile Christians should be
circumcised and directed to keep the whole Law of Moses.
Paul vehemently disagreed with this teaching condemned
the practice of mixing the Covenant of Promise with the
Sinai Covenant. It is easy to see in Scripture that God
expects His children to obey His Commandments, but it is
equally plain that those who go back to the “whole law”
are severed from Christ. How can one know what Laws are
a part of Abraham’s Covenant of Promise (New Covenant)
and which are not?
ABRAHAM’S COVENANT
OF PROMISE
Genesis 15:18 / Genesis 17:15-21 /
Exodus 19:1-17 / Hebrews 7:5 / Hebrews 4:21-31
❖ God made a Covenant of Promise with _______________
and his descendants
Scripture__________
❖ Who was the son promised to Abraham? __________
Scripture__________
❖ Was this Covenant offered to Israel at Sinai after the
Egyptian captivity?__________
Scripture__________
❖ God said -“If you will obey _____ V
_ _
_ _ and keep My Covenant. . .”
Scripture__________
❖ Entering Abraham’s Covenant would make all Israel a
kingdom of _____________
Scripture__________
❖ Did Israel become a kingdom of priests, or did only
the sons of Levi become priests? __________
Scripture__________
Commentary: If
Israel had entered into Abraham’s Covenant of Promise
then God would have made them a whole nation of priests.
Since Israel never became a nation of priests we must
conclude that they did not enter into that Covenant but
received different, temporary one at Mt. Sinai.
❖ Did Paul tell the Galatians that two women represented
these two Covenants? __________
Scripture__________
❖ Who were these two women? __________ and
___________
Scripture__________
❖ One of them bears children who are slaves and one
bears children who are __________
Scripture__________
❖ Who is the free woman? __________
Scripture__________
❖ Who is the slave woman? __________
Scripture__________
❖ The Covenant which proceeded from _____ ________ produces
children who are slaves
Scripture__________
❖ The Sinai Covenant corresponds to what earthly city? _______________
Scripture__________
❖ Abraham’s Covenant of Promise corresponds to what
Heavenly City? __________ _________
Scripture__________
❖ The Galatian Christians were _______
_________ because
they were children of promise
Scripture__________
❖ Which Covenant produces children born according to the
flesh? __________
Scripture__________
❖ Which Covenant produces children who are born
according to the spirit? __________
Scripture__________
❖ The Scripture says “Cast out the ______________ and
her son.”
Scripture__________
❖ Are the children of the bondwoman heirs with the
children of the free woman? __________
Scripture__________
Commentary: A
couple of important points, -Paul was a Jew and had once
been a son of the bondwoman, in that he was born of
Abraham, according to the flesh. But after Paul was
called by Jesus, he was born again of the spirit and
became a son of the free woman. God had taken him from
Sinai and the present Jerusalem to the Jerusalem above.
Though he was born a son of Jacob, (born according to
the flesh) he was now a son of Isaac which made him a
child of promise.
Notice what Jesus told Nicodemus who was a Jewish
teacher, -“Truly, truly,
I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit
he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5) Nicodemus
wanted to know if Jesus was the promised Messiah who
would usher in the Kingdom of God. Jesus was letting
this Jewish teacher know that it was not enough to be
born of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to be an heir of the
Kingdom, but that he must be born again of the spirit to
enter into the Kingdom. End
of Commentary
Philippians 3:2-11 / Romans 9:1-8 / Galatians 3:26-29 /
2 Corinthians 5:16-17 / Galatians 3:3
❖ Paul called the children of the flesh the false ___________________
Scripture__________
❖ Paul called the Philippian Christians, who were
Gentiles, the _______ circumcision
Scripture__________
❖ Though Paul was physically an Israelite, he put no
confidence in the __________
Scripture__________
❖ Are all Israel descended from Israel (Jacob)?___________
Scripture__________
❖ Are they a child of God because they are a physical
descendant of Abraham?___________
Scripture__________
❖ Paul wrote, -“It is not the children of the flesh who
are the ____________
____ ________”
Scripture__________
❖ It is the children of _____________ who
are regarded as children and heirs of the Kingdom.
Scripture__________
❖ If you ___________ to
____________ then you are Abraham’s descendants and
heirs
Scripture__________
❖ Paul said -“You are all one in ___________ _____________”
Scripture__________
❖ There is neither ________ nor
Greek in Christ
Scripture__________
❖ Those born of the spirit, Abraham’s true heirs, have
become a new _____________ in
Christ
Scripture__________
❖ Israelites began in the flesh, but Gentile Christians
began in the ___________
Scripture__________
THE LAWS OF THE
COVENANTS
Genesis 26:4-5 / Exodus 19:5 / Exodus 20:1-21
❖ God blessed Abraham because he kept God’s charge and ________________
Scripture__________
❖ Did entering Abraham’s Covenant require obeying God
voice?___________
Scripture__________
❖ Did the Israelites hear God’s Voice at Sinai? ___________
Scripture__________
❖ What did God declare to Israel that day? ______
_______ ________________
Scripture__________
❖ The people’s reaction was that they _____________ and
stood at a ______________
Scripture__________
❖ Did Israel refuse to listen to God and ask that Moses
intercede for them? ___________
Scripture__________
❖ Moses pleaded with them saying, -“Do not be afraid,
God has come to ________ you”
Scripture__________
Commentary: God
was offering Israel Abraham’s Covenant of Promise by
which they would become a whole nation of Priests who
would intercede between God and the other nations. By
backing away from God in fear, refusing to listen to
God’s voice and requesting that Moses speak to God in
their behalf, -they failed to enter into Abraham’s
Covenant. As a result of this, Moses went back upon Mt.
Sinai and received additional Laws which were added
because of this transgression and other transgressions
which later followed. This eventually came to consist of
613 Laws called the “Book of the Law”, the “Book of the
(Sinai) Covenant” or simply the “Law of Moses.” These
Laws were added to the Laws and Commandments which
already existed in Abraham’s Covenant.
Deuteronomy 4:13-14 / Galatians 3:6-29 / Genesis 26:4-5
/ Deuteronomy 4:13-14 / Deuteronomy 10:1-9 /
❖ God declared those in His Covenant to perform. . . ______
______ __________________
Scripture__________
❖ Did God declare that the Ten Commandments was His
Covenant? ___________
Scripture__________
❖ Does God require those in the Covenant of Promise to
perform them? ___________
Scripture__________
❖ “The Lord commanded me ___
______ ______ to
teach you (additional) statutes. . .”
Scripture__________
❖ The Sinai Covenant came ________ years
after God made His Covenant with Abraham.
Scripture__________
❖ The Sinai Covenant does not ___________ a
Covenant preciously ratified by God
Scripture__________
❖ The promises were spoken not to Abraham’s natural seed
but to _________ the
true Seed
Scripture__________
❖ What Law was added because of transgressions? ______
________ ___ _____ ______
Scripture__________
❖ These Laws were designed to keep Israel under custody
until _________ should
come
Scripture__________
Commentary: This
was not a bad custody but a protective custody. It is
the same type of protective custody you find in fenced
in playgrounds. The fences are there to protect the
children and insure that they don’t wander off and
become lost. Had Israel entered into Abraham’s Covenant,
which is what Christians call the “New Covenant”, they
would have received the indwelling of the holy spirit
and would not have needed the 613 Laws of the Book of
the Covenant. The holy spirit would have guided and
directed their steps and would have spiritually
magnified the Ten Commandments. This Covenant was
offered to Israel again on the Day of Pentecost in 31
A.D. when Peter stood and delivered the Gospel to Jews
from all over the world. (Acts 2) Only a remnant
believed and received the Gospel, and even now Israel is
still in need of salvation. There is no eternal life in
the Sinai Covenant, life is only offered in the Covenant
of Promise.
❖ Are these Laws contrary to the promises of God? ___________
Scripture__________
❖ The Gospel was preached to ______________ beforehand,
saying “All
nations will
be blessed”
Scripture__________
❖ The Book of the Law was a _________ to
lead Israel to Christ
Scripture__________
❖ Did the Ten Commandments exist during Abraham’s time,
before these 613 added Laws? ____
Scripture__________
❖ God made the Covenant with Abraham, did he keep God’s
Commandments? _______
Scripture__________
❖ What did God declare was His Covenant? _____
______ ________________
Scripture__________
❖ God instructed Moses to build a box of acacia box, and
called it an ________
Scripture__________
Commentary: The
Ark of the Covenant was a wooden container overlaid with
gold which was made to hold the terms of the Covenant of
Promise. The lid, called the Mercy Seat was made of pure
gold and represented the throne of God.
Deuteronomy 10:1-9 / Deuteronomy 31:24-26 / Deuteronomy
9:10
❖ What did Moses originally place inside the Ark of the
Covenant? _____
_____ ___________
Scripture__________
❖ What were these Commandments written onto? __________ of
___________
Scripture__________
❖ The Ten Commandments were written by the very ___________ of
God
Scripture__________
❖ Who wrote the Book of the Law? ___________
Scripture__________
❖ Was the Book of the Law placed inside the Ark of the
Covenant? ___________
Scripture__________
❖ Where did Moses instruct the book to be placed? ____________ the
_______
Scripture__________
Commentary: The
fact that God wrote the Ten Commandments into tablets of
stone shows that they have an enduring nature. The Book
of the Law given by God but written by Moses onto animal
skins shows a temporary nature. As Paul told the
Galatians, these Laws were added because of
transgressions until the Promised Seed (Jesus) should
come. God, Himself refers to the Ten Commandments as
“His Covenant.” The fact that the Ten Commandments were
sealed inside the Ark, under the Mercy Seat also shows
an enduring nature. And the fact that the Book of the
Law written on animal skins and placed outside the Ark
suggests a temporary nature. This also shows that these
Laws are terms of another Covenant, the Sinai Covenant
which was given only because Israel failed to enter into
Abraham’s Covenant. Though a person is saved by grace
through faith, let us not fail to see that both
Covenants contain Commandments and require faithful
obedience to God.
Matthew 5:17-19 / Matthew 5:21-28 / Matthew 19:16-19 /
Matthew 5:38-45
❖ Did Jesus speak against keeping the Commandments? ___________
Scripture__________
❖ Did Jesus give deeper meaning to them saying, to lust
breaks the 7th Commandment? _______
Scripture__________
❖ Jesus said these Commandments would be in force until _________ and
_________ passed away
Scripture__________
❖ Did Jesus teach that to be angry unjustly breaks a
Commandment of God? ___________
Scripture__________
❖ Did Jesus teach that keeping the Commandments were
necessary for eternal life? ___________
Scripture__________
Commentary: The
Book of the Law included “An eye for an eye”, “A tooth
for a tooth”, and as Jesus put it, “You have heard it
said, “love your Neighbor and hate your enemy.”
❖ Did Jesus speak against extracting “an eye for an
eye?” ___________
Scripture__________
❖ Did Jesus teach against hating your enemy? ___________
Scripture__________
❖ Did Jesus make a clear distinction between the two
body of Laws? ___________
Hebrews 9:1-28 / John 6:48-51 / Romans 8:11
❖ The Book of the Law was ratified and sprinkled with
the blood of ________ and
_________
Scripture__________
❖ But Jesus appears at the Mercy Seat of the Heavenly
Tabernacle with His own ___________
Scripture__________
❖ Apart from the Tablets, we find that a golden jar of ___________ was
also placed in the Ark
Scripture__________
❖ Apart from the Tablets, we find that Aaron’s ________ which
budded was also placed in the Ark
Scripture__________
❖ The Golden Jar of Manna represented who? ___________
Scripture__________
❖ Aaron’s rod represented the ________
__________ because
it quickens what was once dead
Scripture__________
Commentary: In
the Ark of the Covenant we find Manna representing
Jesus, the Savior of those who believe, Aaron’s rod
representing the holy spirit which brings to life that
which is dead, and the Ten Commandments which is God’s
standard for living. To be saved and become a Christian,
one must repent of breaking God’s standard for living,
receive Jesus as their personal Savior and submit to Him
as their Lord, and receive the holy spirit which imparts
God’s presence and eternal life, and walk obediently
before the Lord.
The Covenant promised to Abraham and the Sinai
Covenant both contained Laws. The Covenant promised to
Abraham is the Christian Covenant. The Sinai Covenant
came 430 years after God ratified the Covenant of
Promise with Abraham. The Sinai Covenant contained Laws
which were added to the existing Laws of Abraham’s
Covenant because of the transgressions of the people. To
understand what Laws are a part of the Christian
Covenant we must identify what Laws existed before Sinai
and what Laws were temporarily added because of
transgressions. In Lesson Six we learned that the Ten
Commandments existed not only before Laws were given at
Sinai, but from the very beginning of creation.
Noah lived before
Abraham and long before Moses
Genesis 6:19-22, 7:2-5 / Genesis 8:20-21
❖ Concerning the food Laws of Lev. 11 - Did Noah know
about clean and unclean meats? ______
Scripture__________
❖ Did God tell Noah to take one pair each of unclean
animals on the Ark? ___________
Scripture__________
❖ How many pairs of each clean animal did Noah take
aboard? ___________
Scripture__________
❖ When Noah built an altar to the Lord, did he offer a
clean or unclean animal to God? _________
Scripture__________
Commentary: These
Scriptures show that God made animals which were clean
to eat and animals which were unclean to eat in the very
beginning. The food Laws existed before the Sinai
Covenant and therefore were not Laws added because of
transgressions.
What about the Holy Days
of the Lord commanded in Leviticus 23?
Genesis 1:14 / Genesis 2:1-3 / Leviticus 23:1-4 / Exodus
20:8-11 / Exod. 12:1-32 / Exod. 13:1-10/ Luke 2:41 /
John 7:37-39 / Acts 18:21 (KJV) / Acts 20:6 / 1
Corinthians 5:7-8 / Zechariah 14:9-21
❖ God made the lights in heaven for ________ and
for __________ and for _______ and ______
Scripture__________
❖ The first appointed time of the Lord was the Sabbath.
Was it given before Sinai? ________
Scripture__________
❖ Did God tell Israel to _______________ the Sabbath
Day, as if they had forgotten
Scripture__________
❖ Where did Israel keep their first Passover service? ___________
Scripture__________
❖ Did Israel keep their first Feast of Unleavened Bread
before they reached Sinai? ___________
Scripture__________
❖ Jesus is the Mediator of the New Covenant, did He keep
the Holy Day Feasts? ________
Scripture__________
❖ Did the Apostles and the early Church, including the
Gentile converts keep the Feasts? ______
Scripture__________
❖ Will all mankind keep the Feasts of the Lord under the
millennial reign of Jesus? ___________
Scripture__________
FINAL COMMENTS
Christians are the “true
circumcision”, the true “Israel of God”, “Abraham’s
offspring indeed”, because they have entered into the
Covenant promised to Abraham. Natural Israel failed to
enter into this Covenant and because of transgressions
were given the Sinai Covenant. Christians are obligated
to keep the Laws in Abraham’s Covenant but not the 613
Laws of the Book of the Covenant (Sinai Covenant) added because
of transgressions. These Laws are not bad anymore than
Hagar was bad, they are just not a part of Abraham’s
Covenant, and Paul said not to mix the two Covenants
together. The Laws contained in Abraham’s Covenant are
the Ten
Commandments, the Biblical
Holy Day Festivals and
the Food
Laws. Jesus and His Apostles observed these Laws
and they will we established upon the whole earth at the
return of Jesus in His Glory. The same Apostle which
told the Galatian Gentiles that if they received
circumcision they would be obligated to keep the “whole
Law” (Book of the Law) and would be severed from
Christ,(Gal. 5:2-4) told the Corinthian Gentiles
-“Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing,
but what
matters is
the keeping of the Commandments of God.” (1
Cor. 7:19) |
