“Now therefore so shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the LORD of hosts…I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and…I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.
I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: But my mercy shall not depart away from him. (II Samuel 7:8-15)
When the Prince of El stopped voluntarily representing YHVH to the world, the only way El could continue to maintain a permanent Father relationship with Israel was through disciplining his children.
“My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.” (Proverbs 3:11-12. Hebrews 12:5-6)
Thy first father / chief priest, high priest hath sinned, and thy teachers / of religious studies have transgressed against me. Therefore I have profaned [ un-sanctified, stripped of appointed positions to serve God] the princes of the sanctuary, and have given Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches.” (Isaiah 43)
If we are to believe what the Bible says about the throne of the seed of David lasting for ever, then we have to also believe what the Bible says about the priesthood of the seed of Aaron lasting for ever, as well as the rest of the Mosaic law specifically stated to last “forever”.
Yes, the letter to the Hebrews states that Jesus was called of God to be a priest, and therefore “the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.” (Hebrews 7:12)
But we can’t interpret “a change also of the law” to mean the entire Mosaic code was tossed out when Jesus died on the cross. We certainly don’t believe that the Ten Commandments were discarded.
Keep the distinction between individual laws and and the entirety of a covenant.
Most of all, remember that the Mosaic covenant was just the latest in a series of covenants to the Hebrews and included all the prior covenants to the Adams, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob etc. Read the post on Melchizedek Moses if this is a new concept.
“For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood...For there is verily / truly a disannulling of the [singular] commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof. For the [singular] law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did [make perfect]; by the which we draw nigh unto God…by him that said unto him, The LORD sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec…because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.
Apply hermeneutics. The commandment / law that was changed, even disannulled, has something to do with the Melchizedekian priesthood. This law preceded, is not unique to, simply continued under, the Mosaic law. It goes back to the beginning of time, and applies to all of Adam’s race. As detailed in the post The Order of Melchizedek, this immutable law of nature causing death was given to the first Melchizedek, Adam.
“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion…And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Genesis 1:26, 2:16-17)
This is not some arbitrary wrath of God. This is a law of nature over which mankind was put in charge, and therefore mankind has to deal with. All around us we see the consequences of death spreading from human failure to nurture life.
When the violation of the first law, like a trip wire, triggered the death knell throughout creation, merciful Creator God enacted another law.
“And Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked / vulnerable, i.e lost some kind of hyper dimensional covering exposing his newly corrupted mortal state and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat…And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this…I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise / apply crushing blow to thy head…Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God [kill animals to] make coats of skins…
It was only by allowing the death sentence of the the first law to be transferred to another living being that the first law could be effectively disannulled.
- “And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain [Hey, I’ve got a better idea!] brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
- And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof.
And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect.” (Genesis 3-4)
The exchange of life for life should come as a logical observation, not as a spiritual mandate. We know that humans must sacrifice another life in order to maintain human life. Having our meat cut up into unrecognizable shapes and wrapped in plastic allows us to overlook that fact, but it’s still a fact nonetheless.
Until the Redeemer came to earth in “the latter day”, “in the end of the world” to sacrifice his fully human blood, YHVH allowed the use of certain animal’s blood which, like the human female mitochondria, passes down YHVH’s original life force through the maternal mitochondria.
The change / disannulling of the law of sacrifices was, naturally, the one requiring regular animal sacrifices to atone for sin once the perfect, accomplished sacrifice of the Seed of the Woman had been made.
Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself…
For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth. Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood.
Keep in mind – that first testament of death following transgression of the law was the killing of animals for the Adams. A blood sacrifice was proven, through the rejection of Cain’s bloodless sacrifice, that the only way to overcome death was to transfer it to another victim.
As the passage continues, we need to recognize that Moses simply continued, perhaps reinstated, details of, this law, but he most certainly didn’t initiate it. The reason this passage focuses on Moses is because it is refuting an argument being made at that time regarding the Mosaic law.
For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you…without shedding of blood is no remission.
It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;
- For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world [not just since the founding of the nation of Israel]:
- but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.” (Hebrews 9)
The great change from the old to the new covenant is
- not giving up the practice of the law,
- but the permanent presence of God’s Spirit empowering the practice of the law.
It is the same change as an engagement promise to a marriage vow.
“Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah…I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And…they shall all know me / be united with me under the terms of the new covenant, which was impossible under the previous covenant due to sinful state…for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Jeremiah 31:31-34)
“And the Redeemer shall come…unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD. As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee…shall not depart…from henceforth and for ever.” (Isaiah 59:20-21)
“the Spirit of truth…dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you…At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will…manifest myself to him.” (John 14:17-21)
Just as marriage vows require more from each partner than engagement promises, so the new covenant of union between God and individual humans demands greater, not less, commitment from each partner than the old.
“Thus saith the LORD God; I will…assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel…And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you…That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them…” ( Ezekiel 11:17-20)
YHVH’s vow to permanently indwell and empower humans to obey laws clearly establishes that the humans’ commitment to the covenant is to obey the laws!
“For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Romans 8:3-4)
“For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 7:22-25)
Living righteously is the reality of salvation. Think about it. A drug addict who goes to church and repents and prays for deliverance from heroin addiction then goes back to his dealer for more smack can excuse his actions on the basis that he is covered by grace, but he’s not saved from the current effects of his sin in this life, is he? What makes you think he is saved from the effects of his sin after death? This addict has to collaborate with God for salvation from heroin addiction by a conversion – a changed heart attitude about the awful effects of heroin on himself and his family, and turning away from his drug crowd and joining a rehab and support group to be successful in maintaining sobriety.
Becoming free from gluttony, sexual immorality, jealousy, or any of the destructive forces, AKA sins, involves a personal struggle in which the individual applies the supernatural grace and power of God that has been placed at his or her disposal to use, or not, as the individual chooses. Changes are not just zapped into us without any effort on our part. It’s like a drive-through car wash. It’s easy enough to just sit in the car while the machines wash the outside clean, but at some point you have to get out and vacuum the inside yourself.
This is not legalism, a demand to follow a list of dos and don’ts in order to be righteous. Biblical codes of law were never given to make one righteous. Laws simply clarify which behaviors are harmful to self or society. Even before a law is enacted to impose punishment as a deterrent to certain behaviors – like fines for failure to wear seatbelts – the naturally destructive consequences of those behaviors exist – like injury and death from failing to wear seatbelts.
“For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.” (Romans 5:13)
Obeying laws simply promotes a good life. This is true across the board for all people, saved or not. Apply the following truth to Adam’s wife’s situation, who was in a perfect relationship with God.
- “…the commandment [don’t eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil] which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.
- For sin [my own desire for self exaltation], taking occasion by the commandment [here’s the first opportunity to demonstrate I don’t need anyone to be the boss of me!], deceived me [using distorted thought processes like denial, rationalization, justification of self],
- and by it slew me [suicide]. Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.” (Ro 7:10-12)
“But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” (Jam 1:14-15)
Human nature is incapable of obeying all laws all the time. It is simply our nature to take charge ourselves. This totally makes sense when we recognize that’s how God designed us – to have dominion. The key to being able to actually have dominion is to be plugged into the power source. We get into trouble when we disconnect from God. That is the sin / self-destruction – rejecting God’s authority and power in our lives.
The only commandment that makes one righteous is being in right relationship with God.
“Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love /identify with the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.” (Mattew 22:36-38)
The rest of the laws safeguard and improve the quality of life of someone who is now capable of obeying them because they are already in a relationship with the LORD thy God, therefore empowered by him.
“Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.” (Deuteronomy 6:1-6)
King David was not saved through strict obedience to the law. He was a murderer and adulterer who was justified despite his crimes. He could claim to be righteous “in God’s eyes”, not because he of some religious mumbo jumbo absolving him of his sin, but because he did not depart from God’s judgments and statutes when he at 1) acknowledged their existence, their rightness, 2) that he had broken them, 3) he repented and 4) accepted God’s punishment for justice.
It was only in that context that David, or any of us, can have a right-eous relationship with God. This is the key difference between Saul, who was rejected, and David, who was forgiven. When faced with his sin, Saul denied and blamed others (I Samuel 15), but David confessed, repented, and did works “meet / appropriate for repentance.” (Matthew 3:8)
- And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken [comply with instructions] than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.” (I Samuel 15:1-23)
- “And Nathan said to David…Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house…And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.” (II Samuel 12:7-13)
“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest…thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.” (Psalm 51:1-6)
Years later a similar situation occurred with a woman who committed adultery, and the Son of God dealt with it the same way that God has dealt with sinners since day one – believe Yahweh’s Promise to provide salvation and act on that belief.
“And [the legalistic religious leadership] brought unto him a woman…and…say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now…the law commanded us, that such should [die]: but what sayest thou?…He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her…And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst…And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying…If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:3-32)
Faith in action has always been the means of salvation from sin. This is obvious if you understand “salvation from sin” as eliminating destruction from our lives.
“If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. [The result of this inner contest of wills is one of two options:]
- And unto thee shall be his desire [if you do not well],
- and thou shalt rule over him. [if you choose to do well]” (Gen 4:7)
This is true in the physical resurrection of the body at the Second Coming, but also evident in the spiritual resurrection now.
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” (Romans 5:1-2)
This grace wherein we stand is NOT God overlooking our faults. We are deliberately, antisocially oblivious to the ripple effects of damaging behaviors if we choose to believe that a loving Father can just brush off our bad behavior as inconsequential. It is because we love our children that we teach them rules like not crossing the road or eating candy just before dinner. Grace is the insight God gives us to understand the significance of our harmful behaviors and to repent-rethink our values, and the parental support to change our ways and to offer reconciliation with those who we have offended and lost valuable relationships.
“God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law [of sin and death], To redeem them that were under the law [of sin and death]. (Galatians 4:4-5)
“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:” (Romans 8:2-3)
Faith in action is not the same concept as salvation through works. We don’t change our behavior in order to get saved, we change our behavior because we are saved from destructive behaviors / sin.
The ultimate freedom from sin goes beyond relying on one’s own willpower, and is experienced as the fulness of life under God’s protection and provision, freed from destructive forces of sin, the destroyer by whatever name described.
“I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, [as opposed to being locked up under siege or incarcerated] and find pasture [sustinance, life sustained]. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and hat they might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:9-10)
“Abundant“ life sounds like quite the understatement for what is also called “everlasting” life, but is also a clarification that this is a quality of life far richer than simply length of days.
Kingdom Come 