The Old Covenant
The Bible contains two sections. The first section is called the Old Covenant. The second section is called the New Covenant.
You will hear the Old and New Covenants also called the Old and New Testaments. Either one is correct and both words are used interchangeably in the Bible. I will be using ‘covenant’ in this post.
A covenant is simply an agreement. (Later, you will learn about the different covenants God made with human beings and how they are being played out in the world today.) The most famous covenant is the one God made with a man named Abraham.
“This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your seed after you; every man child among you shall be circumcised. And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant between me and you. … and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.”
The Old Covenant is the part of the Bible that Jewish people hold sacred and forms the basis of Judaism. It begins with the Book of Genesis and ends with the Book of Malachi.
The first five books of the Old Covenant are referred to as the Torah, which means law. These five books are also referred to as the Law of Moses. Moses is a prophet of God that was given the Ten Commandments and later, hundreds of other laws that would govern the lives of the Jewish people. The law of Moses also includes seven prophetic feasts, one of which is the Passover.
“And you shall observe this thing for an ordinance to you and to your sons for ever.”
If you stick around, you’ll learn how the Jewish Messiah made it possible for the feast of Passover to be kept for ever!
The Old Covenant is filled with God’s instructions to mankind. It also includes the history of the Jewish people, Hebrew poetry and prophetic writings (prophecies). Many of these prophecies have already come to pass, some are taking place right now, and some will occur in the future.
Ironically, it is all the writings of the Old Covenant that form the basis of the New Covenant writings.
When the Jewish Messiah referred to the Word of God, He was referring to all the writings of the Old Covenant. The New Covenant was not written until after Jesus died, compiled by His Jewish followers who understood the Old Covenant very well.
-Jo
Bible passages: Genesis 17:10-13, Exodus 12:24
Tags: abraham, bible, feast of passover, jewish people, judaism, law of moses, old covenant, old testament, religion, torah
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