Paul W. Manuel: Promises Made, Promises Kept (Jer 31:31-37; 33:14-22)

Dr. Paul Manuel—2020

Text:

Jer 31:31 “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. 32 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 broke My covenant, though I was a husband to them,’” declares the Lord. 33 “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put My law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people. 34 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,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

Jer 31:35 This is what the Lord says, He who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the Lord Almighty is His name: 36 “Only if these decrees [of nature] vanish from My sight,” declares the Lord, “will the descendants of Israel ever cease to be a nation before Me.” 37 This is what the Lord says: “Only if the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth below be searched out will I reject all the descendants of Israel because of all they have done,” declares the Lord.

Jer 33:16 In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness.’ 17 For this is what the Lord says: ‘David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, 18 nor will the priests, who are Levites, ever fail to have a man to stand before Me continually to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to present sacrifices.’”

Jer 33:19 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 20 “This is what the Lord says: ‘If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night, so that day and night no longer come at their appointed time, 21 then My covenant with David My servant—and My covenant with the Levites who are priests ministering before Me—can be broken and David will no longer have a descendant to reign on his throne. 22 I will make the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister before Me as countless as the stars of the sky and as measureless as the sand on the seashore.’”

Outline:

I. God intends the New Covenant for His people (31:31-34).

            A.    The NC will be in force into the future and will replace the Old Covenant.
            B.    The NC will include God’s law internally and a relationship with Him personally.
            C.    The NC will include a thorough awareness of God and His pardon from sin.
     II.    God makes the New Covenant with His people forever (31:35-37).
            A.    Just as nature is unalterable, so is the NC.
            B.    Just as nature is unlimited, so is the NC.
    III.    The future government of the kingdom will be united (33:14-18).
            A.    The ruler of Israel and Judah will be righteous (vv. 14-15).
            B.    The offices of David and Levi will be permanent (vv. 16-18).
   IV.    The future administration of the kingdom will be permanent (33:19-22).
            A.    The administration will be unending (vv. 19-21).
            B.    The administrators will be unlimited (v. 22).
      I.    God makes the NC with His people (31:31-34).
            A.    The NC is in force into the future and replaces the Old Covenant.
            B.    The NC includes God’s law internally and a relationship with Him personally.
            C.    The NC will include a thorough awareness of God and His pardon from sin.
     II.    God makes the NC for His people (31:35-37).

            A.    Just as nature is unalterable, so is the NC.
            B.    Just as nature is unlimited, so is the NC.
Those redeemed by God always have the presence of God. The indwelling of God’s Spirit gives you an inclination to obey God. As He says through Ezekiel, “I will…move you to follow My decrees (36:27).

    III.    In the future, the government of the kingdom will be united (33:14-18).
     As the OC was the basis for governance in the administration of the early Israelite nation, the NC will serve as the basis for governance in the Messianic Age when the messiah will occupy the throne.[13] His character will be a decided improvement over some of the nation’s previous rulers. The monarchs in the northern Kingdom of Israel were consistently evil, as were several rulers in the Southern Kingdom of Judah, which hosted the Temple, where people should have known and behaved better.[14] But the character of the kingdom in the Messianic Age will be quite different (and when people will behave better). The capital itself will be called “The Lord Our Righteousness” (v. 16), because it will possess the character of the messiah, who is righteous.[15]
            A.    The ruler of Israel and Judah will be righteous (vv. 14-15).
            B.    The offices of David and Levi will be permanent (vv. 16-18).
   IV.    The future administration of the kingdom will be permanent (33:19-22).
            A.    The administration will be unending (vv. 19-21).

            B.    The administrators will be unlimited (v. 22).

Application: There is no requirement to make amends first, no lengthy process of court appearances to appeal your case (1 Tim 2:5).

Application: The NC guarantees a favorable outcome, ensuring man’s ultimate success and God’s lasting support (Matt 28:20).

Application: Always make your speech measured and appropriate to whatever your situation may be (Eph 4:29).

Application: Regardless of other circumstances, there is no better place you can be than in God’s loving and secure embrace (Matt 28:20).

Introduction: It is important to follow through on the commitments you make, even when they are difficult. (This is for my wife, not as if she needs further proof I should stay out of the kitchen.)

On their anniversary night, the husband sat his wife down in the den with her favorite magazine, turned on a soft reading lamp, slipped off her shoes, propped up her feet, and announced that he was preparing dinner all by himself. “How romantic!” she thought. Two-and-a-half hours later, she was still waiting for dinner to be served. She tiptoed to the kitchen and found it in a colossal mess. Her harried husband, removing something unrecognizable from the smoking oven, saw her in the doorway. “Almost ready!” he exclaimed. “Sorry it took me so long. I had to refill the pepper shaker…and stuffing it through those dumb little holes wasn’t easy.”

It is important to follow through on the commitments you make, even when they are difficult. God has made commitments, even some that are difficult, but He has no trouble keeping them, after all He is God.

Background: Most Christians are familiar with the new covenant from its treatment in Luke’s gospel and in Paul’s epistles to the Corinthians:

[Luke writes:] After the supper [Jesus] took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. (Luke 22:20)

[Paul writes:] After supper [Jesus] took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” (1 Cor 11:25)

He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. (2 Cor 3:6)

The OT also mentions the NC, most notably in the book of Jeremiah, where the prophet describes this last of God’s five contracts with Israel (Manuel 2011). In so doing, Jeremiah provides the most complete treatment of it in scripture.[1]

Jeremiah compares the new (or Messianic) covenant and the old (or Mosaic) covenant. In many ways, they are alike (Manuel 2011):

• The recipients for both covenants are the same—God’s people.

• The regulations for both covenants are the same—God’s law.

• The region for both covenants is the same—God’s creation (on earth versus in heaven).

• The ratification for both covenants is the same—God’s sacrificial meal (Passover).

• The range (duration) for both covenants is the same—permanent (i.e., as long as its recipients live on this earth).

In one way, though, they are unalike:

• The requirement for each covenant is different.

There is no special demand that a person must meet to take part in the old covenant, and many do participate, even gentiles.[2] There is a special demand that a person must meet to take part in the new covenant: Only those who are regenerate can participate in the NC, and many do, including gentiles (e.g., Melchizedek). “The same death of Christ that implemented the new covenant for Israel does so for all sinners for all time” (Feinberg 1989:575). Furthermore, their participation in the NC is automatic. That is, once a person is regenerate, he is immediately enrolled in the NC. Keep in mind that regeneration has always been available, even before the NC is formally inaugurated (Manuel 2007a).

The NT book that gives the fullest treatment to the NC is the book of Hebrews, which explains the need for a new contract:

Heb 8:7 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…. 13 By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.

NB: The problem was not with the OC but with people’s failure to keep it. Moreover, the OC remains in effect today for those who do not avail themselves of the NC.

Heb 9:15 Christ is the mediator of a new covenant… He has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the [old] covenant.

Jer 31:31 “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. 32 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 broke My covenant, though I was a husband to them,’” declares the Lord. 33 “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put My law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people. 34 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,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

The opening clause, “The time is coming,” (v. 31), is an eschatological phrase and is the harbinger of a future period that may portend good or ill for God’s people. In this case, it is good news as the Lord will make a new contract with Israel.[3] This new contract will replace the previous contract, which is still in effect for many Jews, and will be impervious to damage by the very ones who should keep it safe.

One of the features of this new contract is its ability to function in a new environment, not external but internal to the individual (Feinberg 1989:576).[4] Normally, law is a collection of regulations that exist outside a person, as a list of dos and don’ts he must keep. In the NC, law is such an integral part one’s conscience that he does not need a separate list to know what to do. His relationship with God enables him to tap directly into divine inspiration and know what God wants without having to consult a secondary authority.[5]

A regenerate individual does not automatically know every aspect of God’s law, but he is so attuned to God’s will that he knows what God would want him to do in most situations. When he is uncertain, consultation with God’s indwelling Spirit (i.e., prayer) and with God’s written word help to eliminate uncertainty.

Essential to this internal process is not allowing problems to accumulate, but maintaining a clear and guilt-free standing before God at all times. This is what it means to “know the Lord” (v. 34), to realize the great benefit that is available even to the “worst” of sinners (1 Tim 1:15), knowing that the Lord “will remember [your] sins no more” (v. 34).[6]

Furthermore, the NC is inclusive, “from the least of them to the greatest” (v. 34). There is no distinction of class or social position. All benefit equally. Some under the OC may have enjoyed special privilege, or thought they did,[7] being able to afford better sacrifices or more elaborate holiday celebrations. It is not so with the NC. Every believer has the same access to God (Manuel 2007b).

Application: As soon as you become aware of some way you have fallen short of God’s standard, do not dwell on it or savor it, but confess it and forsake it. Take full advantage of the pardon He offers to wipe the slate clean. What should always amaze you is that such a condition is attainable, the possibility to start over:

If we confess our sins, [God] is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

To receive forgiveness, there is no requirement to make amends first,[8] no lengthy process of court appearances to appeal your case. In fact, you have the best legal defense possible:

For there is…one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. (1 Tim 2:5)

Moreover, there is no question if you will be able to afford him; he takes all cases pro bono. This is a better deal than Edgar Snider’s “Never a Fee Unless We Get Money for You.”

Although the lead prosecutor is the judge’s own son, there is no doubt that you will receive an unbiased trial, because “God does not show favoritism” (Rom 2:11), and “the Judge of all the earth” (Gen 18:25) will indeed do right. What could be better than a guaranteed positive outcome? The alternative is to lose in the highest court, where there is no retrial and no appeals process. A loss there is a loss for eternity. By the same token, a win there is a win for eternity, which is a very long time.

The NC is unlike the OC in that it is for those already redeemed, and the NC has a pardon provision built in. Nevertheless, there are important similarities between the two contracts. Like the OC…

God compares two aspects of nature to the NC in order to help people understand how the NC is superior to the OC, with its inherent flaws.

A contract may be subject to change if the conditions that attended its original creation change.[9] In the case of God’s NC, the conditions of its initial creation are immutable. Just as the cycle of seasons repeat each year without fail, so the NC remains in effect without fail. “It is an argumentum ad absurdum, and the saying would have given strong confidence to a people so beset by troubles as Israel was (Thompson 1980:582)

Previously, man’s fallen nature made his need for divine pardon a frequent desideratum. When he taps into the pardon available in the NC, he obtains a means of forgiveness that does not change even when his behavior falls short of God’s expectations. In the OC, a man had to make the necessary sacrifices repeatedly, each time he sinned. In the NC, Jesus’ sacrifice is markedly different. As the author of Hebrews states,

Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people…. because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. (9:28; 10:4)

…and the positive effect of Jesus’ sacrifice is unalterable.

Solomon notes the limit of man’s ability with regard to nature, especially to control the wind (ruach):

As you do not know the path of the wind…so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things. (Eccl 11:5)

Man may understand how air currents wend through the atmosphere, how their passage over a particular land mass affects them, but he cannot control or contain them. Moreover, man is at the mercy of certain wind events, like hurricanes. He may predict them and prepare for them, but he cannot prevent them, another absurd idea (Thompson 1980:603). So it is with the Spirit. This is similar to Jesus’ point to Nicodemus:

The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit. (John 3:8)

At best, man sees the effect of wind, but he cannot limit it, and the positive effect of the Spirit, like Jesus’ sacrifice, is also unlimited:

He is the atoning sacrifice…for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:2)

If man fails to avail himself of Jesus’ sacrifice, there is no other means of pardon: “Salvation is found in no one else” (Acts 4:12).[10]

The NC with its participation of the Spirit (also ruach), helps man meet the requirements of God, so that man need not fear his final meeting with God when he must appear before God’s “judgment seat” (Rom 14:10; 2 Cor 5:10). Ezekiel wrote about the Spirit’s aid in preparation for that event:[11]

[God says,] I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit in you and move you to follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws. (Ezek 36:26-27)

The positive effect of Jesus’ sacrifice, which is unlimited, is that it prepares one for that final judgment by God, ensuring that he will face it secure in his pardon from God.

Application: Although modern science has made great strides in understanding nature, tracking changes and assigning values to those changes, modern science does not control the changes. They are in God’s hands alone. Similarly, the OC tracks changes and assigns values to changes in man’s behavior as he struggles to meet God’s perfect standard. But the OC does not control those changes nor ensure a favorable outcome. The NC guarantees a favorable outcome, ensuring man’s ultimate success and God’s lasting support:[12]

[Jesus said] I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (Matt 28:20)

Even the most stable governments today have some division in them, some aspect of contrary elements. Not so in the Messianic Age with God’s appointed administration.

Jer 33:14 “‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the gracious promise I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. 15 In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land. 16 In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness.’ 17 For this is what the Lord says: ‘David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, 18 nor will the priests, who are Levites, ever fail to have a man to stand before Me continually to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to present sacrifices.’”

As Jeremiah relates earlier…

“The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.” (Jer 23:5)

God has promised that a righteous descendant of David will always occupy the throne, and in the messiah that promise sees fulfillment. In addition…

The kingdom positions of potentate and priest are lifetime appointments, united in the single person of God’s messiah. That rulers’ surrogates presumably occupy lengthy terms in office as well, perhaps for the entire duration of the messianic age. At that time, people will live longer. Isaiah says:[16]

Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; he who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth; he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed. (65:20)

Lifespans during the Messianic Age will be longer, so those in the administration may serve longer as well.

Application: If God affirms that something He has said is true, He appeals to Himself for support, because there is no higher authority:[17]

When God made His promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for Him to swear by, He swore by Himself. (Heb 6:13)

Moreover, unlike man, who is notoriously fickle and unreliable, God is good to His word. In fact,

No matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ” (2 Cor 1:20).

As a child of God, you must try to emulate Him in the words you speak and the commitments you make. Take soberly what comes out of your mouth (Manuel 2002). This does not mean you cannot joke around, but when conditions are serious, phrase your speech carefully:[18]

Do not swear falsely by My name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD. (Lev 19:12)

When a man makes a vow to the LORD or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said. (Num 30:2)

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. (Eph 4:29)

Always make your speech measured and appropriate to whatever your situation may be.

The government of the Messianic Age will be not be a coalition of disparate elements. Unlike other administrations, it will be unified. Moreover…

Man’s abilities, however high an opinion he holds of himself, are limited. Even the great king Nebuchadnezzar, ruler of Babylon, the most powerful monarch in the Ancient Near East, extolled the Lord, recognizing that his own authority was finite:

[God’s] dominion is an eternal dominion; His kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as He pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back His hand or say to Him: “What have You done?” (Dan 4:34-35)

There is a limit to what any man, even the most powerful, is able to do, not so with God. For example, the Lord alone has the ability to control nature; man does not.

There will be no term limits for those in the main positions of the future government, at least for its highest posts. The occupants of those offices will remain in power presumably until they die, or as long as “day and night” (v. 20) continue to cycle. The length of this arrangement is as certain as God’s longevity, which is very long. After all, He is the “eternal” God.[19] Moreover…

There will be an ample supply of candidates for these posts, “as measureless as the sand on the seashore” (v. 22). Moreover, candidates among the clergy will even include gentiles:

I will select some of them also to be priests and Levites,” says the LORD. (Isa 66:21)

God is an equal opportunity employer.

Application: In God’s administration of the Messianic Age, there will be no layoffs or firings. On the contrary, there will be extensive hiring. It is the ultimate job security. Until then, a person may experience setbacks, but even these are temporary, and it is important that a child of God does not confuse separation from employment now as separation from God. He is not easily put off. In fact, even if your situation seems dire, even if you have been separated from a job, you are not separated from God or from His care for you. As Jesus promises, I am with you always, to the very end of the age (Matt 28:20). In other words, there is nowhere and nowhen you can flee from his presence. While you can cut yourself off, no external force can do that to you (Manuel 2013). As Jesus also says, No one can snatch them out of my hand (John 10:28). Regardless of other circumstances, there is no better place you can be than in God’s loving and secure embrace.

Conclusion: The new covenant is God’s commitment to the people He has redeemed, both Jews and gentiles. It embodies the consistency of His dealings with man, that no matter what their situation may be, His people can depend on Him, because His word is reliable: “Promises Made, Promises Kept.” God’s people should be similarly reliable. Are you?

Bibliography

Feinberg, Charles L.

1989 “Jeremiah.” Expositor’s Bible Commentary. Vol. 6. Edited by Frank E. Gaebelein. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House.

Manuel, Paul http://paulwmanuel.blogspot.com

2002 “Not at the Mercy of Your Mouth” (Prov 13:3). [Devotional]

2003 “The New Covenant of Jer 31:33.”

2007a “An Equal-Accessibility Deity.” Soteriology Excursus 3 in A Reader’s Digest Approach to Theology.

2007b “The Practices of Covenant Review and Covenant Renewal and Their Relation to the New Covenant.”

2011 “A Study of Law and Grace: Finding the Proper Balance.”

2013 “Can a person lose his salvation?” An excerpt from the Soteriology unit of A Reader’s Digest Approach to Theology.

Thompson, J.A.

1980 The Book of Jeremiah. NICOT. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

[1]Ezekiel offers a description of the NC, although he does not use that specific term:

Ezek 36:25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws…. 31 Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices.

Ezek 37:21 I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land. 22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms. 23 They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God. 24 My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees…. 26 I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them forever. 27 My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. 28 Then the nations will know that I the Lord make Israel holy, when my sanctuary is among them forever.

[2]God’s plan of redemption is inclusive of both Jews and gentiles:

Isa 49:6 It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.

John 10:16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.

[3]In two instances, the phrase marks bad news:

1 Sam 2:31 The time is coming when I will cut short your strength and the strength of your father’s house.

Luke 17:22 The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.

[4]This is similar to what Moses describes:

Deut 30:5 He will bring you to the land that belonged to your fathers, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. 6 The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.

[5]There is a limit to man’s apprehension of God’s will. While conscience is a good general guide, conscience may not cover every possibility. Conscience needs a supplementary authority, like scripture:

Rom 2:15 They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.

Rom 12:2 Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

[6]David makes a similar declaration about God’s extensive pardon:

Ps 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

[7]God has always shown concern and made provision for the less fortunate:

Exod 22:22 Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan.

Lev 5:7 If he cannot afford a lamb, he is to bring two doves or two young pigeons to the LORD…. 11 If, however, he cannot afford two doves or two young pigeons, he is to bring as an offering for his sin a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering.

Lev 27:8 If anyone making the vow is too poor to pay the specified amount, he is to present the person to the priest, who will set the value for him according to what the man making the vow can afford.

Deu 10:18 He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing.

Deut 27:19 Cursed is the man who withholds justice from the alien, the fatherless or the widow.

[8]Amends may be appropriate and certainly are under the OC:

Exod 22:3 A thief must certainly make restitution, but if he has nothing, he must be sold to pay for his theft…. 14 If a man borrows an animal from his neighbor and it is injured or dies while the owner is not present, he must make restitution.

Lev 5:16 He must make restitution for what he has failed to do in regard to the holy things, add a fifth of the value to that and give it all to the priest, who will make atonement for him with the ram as a guilt offering, and he will be forgiven.

Lev 6:5 Whatever it was he swore falsely about, he must make restitution in full, add a fifth of the value to it, and give it all to the owner on the day he presents his guilt offering.

Lev 22:14 If anyone eats a sacred offering by mistake, he must make restitution to the priest for the offering and add a fifth of the value to it.

Lev 24:21 Whoever kills an animal must make restitution, but whoever kills a man must be put to death.

Num 5:7 He must make full restitution for his wrong, add one fifth to it, and give it all to the person he has wronged.

Matt 5:23 If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.

[9]The Mosaic covenant required periodic reaffirmation (Manuel 2007b).

[10]The salvific act is God’s alone:

Isa 43:11 Apart from me there is no savior.

Hos 13:4 You shall acknowledge…no Savior except me.

[11]Ezekiel refers to the NC under the rubric of a new heart:

Ezek 11:19 I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.

Ezek 18:31 Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit.

[12]The abiding presence of God is a promise He repeatedly makes to His people:

Exod 20:20 The fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.

Deut 31:6 The LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you…. 8 He will never leave you nor forsake you.

Ps 121:7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life.

1 Cor 1:8 He will keep you strong to the end.

Jude 24 [He] is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy.

[13]God repeats His promise of a Davidic descendant at various times:

1 Kgs 11:36 David my servant [will] always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put my Name.

1 Kgs 15:4 For David’s sake the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him and by making Jerusalem strong.

2 Kgs 8:19 The LORD…promised to maintain a lamp for David and his descendants forever.

[14]Several rulers in the Southern Kingdom of Judah, which hosted the Temple, were also evil:

1 Kgs 14:21 Rehoboam son of Solomon was king in Judah…. 22 Judah did evil in the eyes of the LORD. By the sins they committed they stirred up his jealous anger more than their fathers had done. 23 They also set up for themselves high places, sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree. 24 There were even male shrine prostitutes in the land; the people engaged in all the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.

2 Kgs 11:1 When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family.

2 Kgs 16:1 In the seventeenth year of Pekah son of Remaliah, Ahaz son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign…. 2 He did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD his God. 3 He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire, following the detestable ways of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites. 4 He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places, on the hilltops and under every spreading tree.

2 Kgs 21:1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years…. 2 He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, following the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites. 3 He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he also erected altars to Baal and made an Asherah pole, as Ahab king of Israel had done. He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped them. 4 He built altars in the temple of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “In Jerusalem I will put my Name.” 5 In both courts of the temple of the LORD, he built altars to all the starry hosts. 6 He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced sorcery and divination, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the LORD, provoking him to anger. 7 He took the carved Asherah pole he had made and put it in the temple, of which the LORD had said to David and to his son Solomon, “In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my Name forever’…9 Manasseh led them astray, so that they did more evil than the nations the LORD had destroyed before the Israelites…. 11 Manasseh….has done more evil than the Amorites who preceded him and has led Judah into sin with his idols…. 16 Moreover, Manasseh also shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem from end to end—besides the sin that he had caused Judah to commit, so that they did evil in the eyes of the LORD.

[15]The messiah will hold two offices, king and priest:

Ps 110:2 The LORD will extend your mighty scepter from Zion; you will rule in the midst of your enemies…. 4 The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”

[16]Ezekiel calls the political leader in the Messianic Age “prince,” presumably to distinguish him from the (messianic) king:

Ezek 34:24 I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them.

Ezek 45:7 The prince will have the land bordering each side of the area formed by the sacred district and the property of the city…. 22 The prince is to provide a bull as a sin offering for himself and for all the people of the land.

Ezek 46:17 If the prince makes a gift from his inheritance to one of his sons, it will also belong to his descendants.

Ezek 48:22 The property of the Levites and the property of the city will lie in the center of the area that belongs to the prince.

Ezekiel calls the religious leader in the Messianic Age “priest,” presumably because no further distinction is necessary:

Ezek 44:21 No priest is to drink wine when he enters the inner court…. 25 A priest must not defile himself by going near a dead person; however, if the dead person was his father or mother, son or daughter, brother or unmarried sister, then he may defile himself.

Ezek 45:19 The priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the temple, on the four corners of the upper ledge of the altar and on the gateposts of the inner court.

The messianic human surrogate is mortal and will not necessarily live forever:

Ps 89:3 You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant, 4 ‘I will establish your line forever and make your throne firm through all generations.’”

The messianic ruler himself, though, is eternal:

Ps 110:4 The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”

Isa 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.

[17]The consistent testimony of God’s people is that He keeps His word:

Josh 21:45 Not one of all the LORD’S good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.

1 Kgs 8:20 The LORD has kept the promise he made…. 56 Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses.

2 Pet 1:4 He has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world.

2 Pet 3:13 In keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

[18]The NT especially condemns improper speech:

Eph 5:4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place.

Col 3:8 Rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.

1 Tim 6:4 He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions.

2 Tim 2:14 Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen.

2 Pet 2:18 They mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error.

Jude 16 These men are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.

[19]“Eternal” is a common OT designation of God:

Gen 21:33 He called upon the name of the LORD, the Eternal God.

Deut 33:27 The eternal God is your refuge.

Isa 26:4 The LORD, is the Rock eternal.

Jer 10:10 He is the living God, the eternal King.