The Messiah and the Covenants of Israel (Continued)

A Proper Appreciation of the Law would lead to an appreciation of the Messiah

So, in the letter to the Galatians he spelt out the purpose of the Law. It was a schoolmaster to lead the Jewish people to their Messiah.If the Jewish people had accepted their Messiah, they would have had a graduation ceremony. Then, no longer under the tutorship of the Law, they could have enjoyed all the privileges and responsibilities of sons of God, as Paul indicated: “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons”. (Gal. 4:4,5) They would have entered into that condition of grace that the Church now enjoys, for we “are not under law but under grace”. (Rom. 6:14) Alas, the leadership of the nation failed their finals. The Law had given the Sanhedrists power over the people and they did not want to relinquish it. Moreover they considered themselves patriotic Jews by defending not only the Mosaic Law but also the extrapolated laws of the teachers, now preserved for us in the Mishnah. They even accused the Messiah of breaking the law, He who had come to fulfill the Law and redeem them from the Law. But God is very gracious. Although nationally, because of the failure of their ruling body, the Jews did not pass their exams, the grace of God made it possible for individuals to graduate. Peter exhorted all who heard him to separate themselves from the national decision taken by the Sanhedrin. Then they could be saved. Saul, the Pharisee, (in some ways a special case) graduated in the school of the Messiah. Moreover, he gave private tutorials and led others to faith in Yeshua HaMashiac (Jesus the Messiah). Believers said of him, he is preaching the “faith which he once tried to destroy.” (Gal. 1:23) So Rabbi Saul, champion of Law and works, as he testified: “And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers”, (Gal. 1:14) became the Apostle Paul, champion of grace and faith: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God”. (Eph 2:8)

Furthermore, in his letter to the Galatians he urged the readers to “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage”. (Gal. 5:1) To paraphrase his argument - now that you have been saved by grace, do not think that you remain a child of God by works. That path makes the cross of Christ of no effect. By the time we come to his letter to the Colossians, his theology of the crucified Messiah is more mature.  There he declared that the Messiah dealt a fatal blow to the Law: “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way” (Col.2.14). So, for those who have put their faith in a crucified Messiah, the curse of the Law is negated by the action of the cross.

Anne Ross Cousin wrote

–Death and the curse were in our cup,

–O Christ, ‘twas full for Thee!

–But Thou hast drained the last dark drop,

–‘Tis empty now for me.

–The bitter cup, love drank it up;

–Now blessings’ draught for me.

To Summarise

The Law was given:

         to provide an ethical, moral and social structure to Israel as a nation.

                  to emphasize the righteousness of God and the sinfulness of man.

to demonstrate the grace and mercy of God (through the sacrificial system);

to lead them to recognize the grace and mercy of God when the Son of God came as their Redeemer and sin bearer.

 

However, the Law is now no longer the pattern for righteous living. For that we need to look to the Messiah, who not only fulfilled the Law but also died to remove the curse of the Law.

The Messiah and the Covenants of Israel (Continued)

By the Law comes the Curse

So the Law was brought in so that the curse could be pronounced on the Law breaker. In God’s grace, under Law, He provided the sacrifices and priesthood to deal with any infractions committed. Nevertheless, “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed  is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.’” (Gal. 3:10) The curse of the Law is more clearly defined in Deuteronomy 28, but see also Leviticus 26. “But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you”.

 “Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country.

“Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

“Cursed shall be the fruit of your body and the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.

“Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out”. (Deut. 28:15-19)

 

From the application of these passages arose the practice of giving up habitual offenders to a ‘cherem’ or curse. The Jews expressed it as giving them up to Satan. These obdurate law-breakers would lose the protection that God provided for His people. They would, like Job, be exposed to the activity of Satan, and could suffer a similar fate to Job. An offender who resisted correction and exhausted all remedy contained in the Law would become ‘a curse among his people’.  Jesus was brought face to face with some such individuals: a paralytic:[1] a woman who washed His feet with her tears. (she is described as a sinner).[2] To both of these Jesus said, “your sins are forgiven you”. The paralytic was also healed. A similar case to the paralytic was the disabled woman who was bent over, and could not stand up straight. The cause of this infirmity was identified by the Messiah: “… ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?” (Luke 13.16) In forgiving their sins, healing their bodies and delivering them from Satan, Jesus was clearly anticipating the full benefit of His sacrificial death. This multi-layered act of redemption can only be explained by the fact that, among other things, they were delivered from the curse of the law.

 

But what happened at Calvary to make this sophisticated act of redemption possible? How were they, and indeed us, delivered from the curse of the Law? The answer is - by the act of substitution. Christ was pronounced ‘cherem’ instead of us. Paul writes, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), (Gal. 3:13)

The Crucified Christ deals with the curse of the Law

Here then, is one reason, why the death of the Messiah had to be by crucifixion. A ‘cursed’ Messiah, might be despised by the Jewish people, but nevertheless was absolutely necessary for them. The Jewish people were under the ‘curse of the Law’ because they could not keep it. R. Levi said if they could only keep the Sabbath fully for one day, then Messiah would come.[3] But they could not perfectly keep the Law, even for only one day. The wider application of the curse also applies.  The argument is, that if the Jews could not keep it, and they had every advantage, there is no way the Gentiles could have escaped the curse. “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” (Rom. 3:19) Paul was very clear. He said that returning to the Mosaic covenant only led to bondage, the curse and death. “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.”  (Gal. 3:10 cf. Deut.27.26) No-one is justified by the Law,[4] for ‘there is none righteous, no not one’. (Rom.3.10)

More Next Time

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[1] Recorded in Matt.9; Mark 2; and Luke 5

[2] John 7.37 ff

[3] Midrash Rabbah on Ps.95.7

[4] Gal.2.16

The Messiah and the Covenants of Israel (Continued)

The inferiority of Law compared to Promise

We must also note that Paul added two further elements in explanation of the purpose of the Law, i.e. “it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator”. (Gal. 3:19) This additional clause is designed to show the inherent inferiority of the law in terms of the way it was given and administered, that is, through angels and a mediator. Paul’s meaning is clear: the law is not on the same par with the covenant of promise (that is the Abrahamic covenant) not only because it was chronologically limited but also because it was handed down by angels with a man acting as a go-between. The Hebrew text of Exodus chapter nineteen, which contains the scriptural account of the giving of the Law, does not refer to angels, but it does describe Mount Sinai as surrounded by thunder, lightening, a thick cloud, and billows of fire. (Exod. 19:16–19) Later Old Testament texts, notably the Septuagintal version of Deut 33:2 and Psalm 68:18 interpret these natural phenomena to mean that a large number of angels, the fiery hosts of heaven, accompanied God in his giving of the law at Sinai. The participation of the angels in the giving of the law was not merely a piece of pious Jewish folklore, for it is confirmed elsewhere in the New Testament[1]. Paul accepted it and repeated it not for the purpose of enhancing the law by associating it with the glory of angels but rather to indicate how superior ‘promise’ is to ‘Law’ since the latter required a creaturely mediation.

    The Law was not only mediated by angels but also Moses. The people themselves asked for a mediator. They said to Moses, you go to the Lord and relay to us what He says - we dare not come close. And in Pauline theology, Moses the mediator stands in contrast to Christ. As Paul explains more fully in 2 Cor. 3:7–18, the ministry or covenant negotiated by Moses was characterized by death and condemnation and it is “fading away”; on the other hand, the new covenant that Christ has ushered in is marked by life, justification, and a radiance of “ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

Paul did not intend to denigrate Moses as a person but rather to show again the transitory and totally inadequate character of the Law as a system of salvation. The Epistle to the Hebrews picks up on one of Paul’s favorite themes, that of servant and son, and applies them to Moses and Christ in precisely this way: “Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house … but Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house” (Heb 3:5–6;). But there is more: Paul gives another purpose to the giving of the Law. It is tied up with the phrase, “it was added because of transgressions”. In other words it was to bring the realization that sin was exceedingly sinful. Those that break God’s law will suffer the curse. It was the case with Adam. He sinned and suffered the curse. But where there is no law there is no imputation of sin.[2]

More Next Time

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[1] cf. Acts 7:38, 53; Heb 2:2

[2] Rom. 5.13

The Messiah and the Covenants of Israel (Continued)

The Purpose of the Law

The Mosaic code with its commandments and judgments was designed, among other things, to be a finger-post to point the nation of Israel to their Messiah. Since Israel was to be a theocracy, incorporated into the code were the regulations regarding worship. There were instructions for the erection of a Sanctuary, the ordination of a priesthood, a description of the offerings they were to bring, and a diary of festivals that were to be celebrated when Israel was to come before the Lord and acknowledge His mercy and His grace. Besides the immediate purpose of regulating the worship of the individual Israelite and the nation as a whole, these also had another purpose. They too were to prepare them for their Messiah.

The Time Limit on the Law of Moses

If the Law was added until the seed came as Paul said, then this means that the Law had a limited duration. Just as it had a point of origin on Mount Sinai, so also it had a point of termination—Mount Calvary. ‘Seed’ is used as a name for Christ, echoing Paul’s earlier identification.  “Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ”. (Gal. 3:16) So the age of the Law is over. This truth is a part of Paul’s theology. The texts, “you are not under law”, (Rom. 6:14) and “you … have become dead to the law through the body of Christ”. (Rom. 7:4) encapsulate his teaching on the subject. School is out – Messiah has come – childish things are to be put away. What this means is: “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes”. (Rom. 10:4) There was nothing wrong with the Law. The law was “holy, and the commandment holy and just and good”. (Rom. 7:12) But salvation could not come by the Law, because no-one could keep it.

Again, I repeat, the age of Law is over. So Paul interpreted the law eschatologically in terms of (i) its fulfillment and (ii) its cancellation, in the Messianic mission of Jesus. The Messiah “wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us”. He took “it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross”. (Col 2:14)

This section of Galatians is brim full of this idea that Christ’s work on the cross brought an end to the Mosaic Law. Words like ‘until’; ‘before’; ‘no longer’; ‘formerly’; ‘but now’. Things changed with the coming of the Messiah and His death by crucifixion. To repeat, “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes”. (Rom. 10:4)

While the Abrahamic covenant is eternal, the Mosaic covenant was for a particular purpose and ceased when that purpose matured.

More Next Time:

The Messiah and the Covenants of Israel (Continued)

First let me apologise - it has been several weeks since this blog was updated. This is because I have been unwell - but I am back at my desk now and can continue with our studies.

The Messiah and the Mosaic Covenant

When we considered the Mosaic Covenant we made some suggestions as to the purpose that God had in mind when He offered and signed it. But that was an examination of the subject from an Old Testament viewpoint. Now we are in the dispensation of grace we must consider if we have more light on the subject. The answer is ‘Yes’. If we ask, ‘what was His purpose?’ we have answers readily provided by the apostle Paul, a man personally instructed in the ways of God, for he asked and answered that very question.

“What purpose then does the law serve?” (Gal. 3:19) His immediate answer is in two parts. (1) It was added because of transgressions, and (2) till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made.

The Law was added because of transgressions

As the context in Galatians makes clear, the law Paul is referring to, is the Law of Moses, which was ‘added’ 430 years after the Abrahamic covenant. It was not added to alter the provisions of the Abrahamic covenant, but rather added in order to accomplish some supplementary purpose. This meaning is further clarified when we look at the parallel verse in Rom. 5:20: “The law was added so that the trespass might increase.” In the Roman letter the word for ‘added’ (pareisēlthen) means literally “came in by a side road.”  The main road is the covenant of promise—inviolate, irrevocable. The law does not lead away from the main road, but leads back to it. It points to the same destination.

The phrase, “because of transgressions,” can mean one of two things depending on whether the preposition ‘charin’, translated either “because,” or “on account of,” is given a causal (looking backward) or telic (looking forward) force. In the former case the Law would mainly have a preventive function. It this instance it would mean the Law was designed to curb or hold in check misdeeds that were already being done, in other words, to keep a bad situation from getting even worse. But if “because” is given a telic meaning, the opposite would hold true. The Law would have a provocative purpose, its function being not to prevent sins but actually to increase them, in other words, to make an already bad situation much, much worse.

The preventive and provocative functions correspond to the civil and spiritual uses of the law as developed by Luther. Luther suggested that God ordained civil laws for the purpose of restraining evildoers. Just as a rope or chain prevents a wild animal from attacking an innocent bystander, so too the law with its “thou shalt nots” and penal code prevents sinful humanity from going on a rampage and completely destroying itself. The civil use of the law helps to sustain human society. Luther referred to the state as the “left hand of God”. But as important as the civil use of the law may be for the ordering of human society, it is at best a stopgap measure completely unable to render one righteous before God. The chief and proper use of the law, Luther said, is its provocative function, actually to increase transgressions, to make a terrible situation even more desperate, and thus to reveal to human beings their sin, blindness, misery, wickedness, ignorance, hate and contempt of God, which would ultimately lead to death, hell, judgment, and the well-deserved wrath of God. As Paul wrote, “… by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Rom. 3:20); it was added “because of transgressions” (Gal.3.19).

The Law was added until the Seed should come

The second main reason that Paul identified, is its use to prepare the Israelite nation for their Messiah.  Paul wrote – it was added until “the Seed should come to whom the promise was made” (Gal.3.19).

Now the giving of the Law was strategically located at the birth of the nation - at the time when they enjoyed full freedom from slavery and when they had tasted the full effect of the power of God. They had been removed from the immediate influence of Egypt, especially the idolatry, and were, at that time, most open to new ideas. In other words, as a nation, they were in their infancy, and they could accept God as their Father, indeed God said, “Israel is My son, My firstborn” (Exod. 4:22). And like an infant they had to trust God to feed them and to lead them. This idea of Israel being a nation in its infancy is very important. As such it was necessary for it to be placed under a tutor, and the Law is described as such, a schoolmaster that had been commissioned to fulfill one main purpose - to lead them to Christ, their Messiah, the ‘Seed’. All activities, all lessons, all events, indeed the sum total of their education was to be directed to that purpose (Gal.3.24).

Here is a nation that is to be trained. The whole penal, social and sacerdotal code was designed to impress upon them that (i) sin brings punishment; (ii) social injustice will not be tolerated (iii) but God is merciful and the mercy of God is always available. The calendar was so ordered that every member of every generation received full instruction on how to be a member of God’s society. Moreover, if they learned their lessons well, they would be permitted to be instruments in God’s hand, to demonstrate to the other nations of the world, the benefit of being subject to the rule of the beneficent God of Israel.

More Next Time:

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The Messiah and the Covenants of Israel (Continued)

The Messiah and the Abrahamic Covenant.

The Abrahamic Covenant was very wide ranging. Through Abraham it promised three main benefits – blessings (which must be assumed to be both spiritual and material), a multi-national posterity and a homeland for the Hebrew nation. All this was to be achieved through a ‘seed’, a line that would be fathered by Abraham and continue through his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob. The Land Covenant elucidated further the Jewish homeland element in the Abrahamic covenant (including the material blessings that would accrue to the inhabitants); the Davidic Covenant brought a further limiting element to the ‘seed’ aspect in conjunction with promising wide ranging influence; while the New Covenant identified the spiritual section of the blessings promised.

The Covenant Summarized

 

Any Messianic claimant would need to have the appropriate ancestry – of the seed of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, of the tribe of Judah, of the family of David but not through Jeconiah.[1] Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God and Israel’s Messiah, had impeccable lineage. He was of the stock of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and the tribe of Judah. It is true that Joseph, the stepfather of Jesus, did come through the line of Jeconiah and was therefore disqualified, but he was not the father of the Messiah. Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit. This means that His birth fulfilled the most difficult and mysterious condition suggested by the T’nach – He was born of a virgin. In Genesis 3.15 the mysterious conqueror of Satan would be the ‘seed of the woman’. Jesus, a true seed of the woman, qualified to fill that description. Moreover, Mary’s lineage, which now becomes critical since she is His only earthly parent, is given in full in Luke’s gospel, and satisfies every condition, even to being of the family of David without being tainted by the curse on Jeconiah’s lineage. Although Isaiah had said centuries before the birth of Jesus, that a virgin would conceive, it is only in hindsight we are able to see that ultimately there was only one with the necessary qualifications to be the Messiah of Israel, that is, the Son of God who was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, and a true ‘seed’ of the woman. Jesus of Nazareth is the Immanuel[2] of Isaiah’s prophecy, the ‘Seed’ of Abraham,[3] the ‘Seed’ and Son of David[4] and Son of God.[5]

There has never been any question that Jesus was a Jew, a true son of Abraham.[6] He was circumcised on the eighth day[7] and redeemed according to the Law.[8] Both his mother and step-father were Hebrews with a long and honorable lineage.  In addition, His dress, His actions, His teaching, all testify to the thorough Jewishness of His person. He was law abiding in the sense that not only did He act in a responsible manner as a member of the community but He also did what was required to fulfill the Law of Moses. There are some Scriptures that teach us that He wore the appropriate clothes. In the episode where a woman needed a healing touch, she decided that if she could reach the hem of His garment she should be cured. The Greek word is ‘kraspedon’ sometimes translated ‘fringe’. The Hebrew equivalent is ‘zizith’.  What is in view here are the fringes woven on to the outer garment that was worn by Jewish men. These fringes were four blue tassels worn in obedience to the injunction of the Law in Numbers 15:37–41 and Deuteronomy 22:12. Matthew again refers to them in 14:36 and 23:5. They consisted of four threads passing through the four corners of the garment and meeting in eight. One of the threads was longer than the others. It was twisted seven times round the others, and a double knot formed; then eight times, then eleven times, then thirteen times. The thread and the knots stood for the five books of the Law. The idea of the fringe was two-fold. It was meant to identify a Jew as a Jew and as a member of the chosen people, no matter where he was; and it was meant to remind a Jew every time he put on and took off his clothes that he belonged to God. Jesus had these fringes on His clothes.

We also know that He celebrated the feasts according to the instructions laid down in the Pentateuch. We have record of His visits to Jerusalem for Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread and we know He attended the Temple at the Feast of Tabernacles. Indeed, Jesus Himself said, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” (Matt. 5:17) And that fulfillment was more than just being an obedient law abiding Jew - the will of God required Him to fulfill all that the Law required for the salvation of the Hebrew nation. This included all that the Pentateuch designated for the expiation and propitiation of sin; and all that was designated for the cleansing and purification of the sinner. Moreover, His death had to be accomplished in such a way that all prophecies and types laid down in the T’nach, which relate to the designated sacrifices, were satisfied perfectly. The designated sacrifices being – the Passover Lamb, the Lamb of the Sin Offering, the Offerings of the Day of Atonement and the Red Heifer, etc. When Jesus said it was laid on Him to ‘fulfill the Law’ ‘fulfill’ was used in its fullest sense.

So it was that Jesus was the ‘fulfillment’ of all that the Law was designed to accomplish. He was the only fully, Law abiding Hebrew that ever lived, and therefore the only One who could ultimately deliver the Jewish nation from the bondage of the Law.

There is a yet more vital element to this aspect of the proper lineage. Others also claimed to be descendents of Abraham but Jesus added yet one more qualification. Only those who did the will of God could be counted a true descendent of Abraham. John the Baptist implied it first. He said, “do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones”. (Matt. 3:9; Luke 3.8) In other words, he indicated that the proper ancestry was insufficient in itself; they needed to be fulfilling the revealed will of God, which, in the context of the Baptist’s preaching, was to repent and receive Jesus as their Messiah. The essence of this is repeated in the debate between Jesus and His Jewish listeners in John 8.38-45. But the will of God for the Messiah was to complete the mission for which He had been commissioned. This means that there could only have been one claimant to the title of Messiah, the One sent by the Father.  

What is the sum of this? that if Jesus’ claim to be the Messiah is to be upheld, He not only had to have the right lineage but also has be a faithful Son of Abraham and do the will of God. This He did. He said, “I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me”. (John 5:30) and, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work”. (John 4:34) That He was successful is evident. In His life He had the confirmation by the three Bat Kohls, the essence of which was, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matt. 3:17; cf. 17.5; Mark 1.11; 9.7; Luke 3.22; 9.35; John 12.27,28). And after His death He had the vindication of the resurrection for it was God who raised Him from the dead.[9]

More Next Time:

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[1] Jer.22.24-30

[2] Isa.7.14 ; Matt.1.23

[3] Gal.3.16; Heb.2.16

[4] Also called ‘seed’ in Acts 13.22,23; Rom.1.3; 1 Tim.2.8; but ‘Son of David’ in Matt. 1.1; 9.27; 12.23; 15.22; 20.30,31; 21.9,15; Mark 10.47,48; Luke 3.31; 18.38,39;

[5] Matt.8.29; 14.33; 27.54; Mark 1.1; 3.11; 15.39; Luke 1.35; 4.41; 8.28; John 1.34; 1.49; 3.18; 9.35-37; 11.27; 20.31; Acts 8.37; 9.20; Rom.1.4; 2 Cor.1.19; Eph.4.13; Heb.4.14; 1 John 4.15; 5.5,10; Rev.2.18

[6] Matt.1.1

[7] Luke 2.21

[8] Luke 2.22

[9] Acts 13.30, 34; 17.31; Rom.10.9; Gal.1.1; Eph.1.20; Col.2.12; 1 Pet.1.21

The Messiah and the Covenants of Israel (Continued)

The Messiah and the Covenants of Israel

Sinclair Patterson wrote: “Take away from Christianity the name and person of Jesus Christ and what have you left? Nothing! The whole substance and strength of the Christian faith centres in Jesus Christ. Without Him there is absolutely nothing.” This is also the case with the Covenants of Israel. Without the Messiah, there would be no true seed of Abraham through which the Abrahamic Covenant could be realized. Without the Messiah there would never be any single individual Israelite who could have fulfilled the Mosaic Covenant. Without the Messiah, the Land of Israel will never be fully recovered for the Hebrew nation. Without the Messiah there will never be a righteous reign by one of David’s line, and without the Messiah there could never be a New Covenant providing forgiveness of sins and a new heart of obedience for the Jewish people.

Let us state clearly, the Covenants of Israel have held the nation together. Without the Covenants they could easily have lost their individual identity when dispersed among the other nations. It is the covenants that have molded their identity and been at the heart of their history. They have controlled its people, and given them purpose. For them, they hold the revealed will of God - how they should act, where they should live, what their future is. They give the nation its purpose and form. They are glue that holds the Jewish race together. The substance and strength of Israel rest in their Covenants with God, and the Messiah is the substance and strength of the Covenants.

Because the Covenants themselves are inter-twined and each one either progresses from the previous agreement or supplements it, it is difficult to consider them in isolation. Similarly, when we look at the relationship of the Messiah to the Covenants we will have difficulty in treating His relationship with each covenant separately, which means we will inevitably have to repeat some truths more than once when they apply in more than one instance.

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