Clearly this verse shows the New Covenant has begun, because the wordage is quite clear, redemed from the sins of the first Covenant, showing how, because the death occured, while showing the Covenantal change. SH.
Hebrews 9:15 Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.
The New Covenant can be declared/initiated even though aspects of it may not come up until certain points....just as one can declare they're going to buy a house and they get the deed/contract signed, making the home legally theirs, but the house is still in need of many things (i.e. furniture, decorating, organization of who lives in what rooms, etc). All of those things will occur later, even though it is declared/considered to have occurred--but they take place in stages.
We've already experienced one stage of the plan when it comes to the Lord initiating His cleansing of our souls through the Power of His Shed Blood ALONE:
John 1:29
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming towards him and exclaimed, "Look, that is the Lamb of God who is to take away the sin of the world!
Romans 8:3 CJB For what the Torah could not do by itself, because it lacked the power to make the old nature cooperate, God did by sending his own Son as a human being with a nature like our own sinful one [but without sin].
God did this in order to deal with sin, and in so doing he executed the punishment against sin in human nature,
Hebrews 9:28 ESV so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time,
not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
His first coming dealt with sin--with it being declared by Christ " it is finished." His second coming does not deal with sin, but with redemption, being forever in the presence of God, collectively......and when He returns the world will see redemption in all ways. But until then, we've already experienced His Holy Spirit being placed inside of us (As apart of the New Covenant) to seal us ( Ephesians 1:13 ESV,
Ephesians 4:30 ESV )
What has been made clear, if reading through the Book of Hebrews and other texts, is that the New Covenant has been initiated and we are no longer bound to walk fully in the Mosaic Covenant since that specific Covenant could never offer what Yeshua alone can bring in the New Deal He gives. He fulfilled the Law in order to make room for New Law to be initiated, honoring the OT in what it pointed to while taking others to Himself (As the Destination) and leading them into something beautiful....like driving an old car that has much value since it helps with many things (i.e. transportation primarily) and yet getting out of that one in order to walk into another NEW Car that has much of the same
schematics as an older program except new parts are included that allow one to go much further than what the Older Car enabled them to do.
As said before, I've always tended to see the Law of Moses through the eyes of Christ in the same way one would see the laws of the U.S if going to D.C. For there've been many developments within our nation's history.....and some things that've progressed. Whereas some things that changed NEEDED to do so due to their not being just (as with laws concerning slavery, for popular example), not all things that changed were a sign of something negative occurring previously. For something progressing doesn't mean what used to occur before is somehow bad. To say such would be no more logical than saying that the artwork or artifacts in a Museum such as Smithsonian National Musuem in Washington D.C are somehow "bad" because we don't use them as often anymore. They retain their status of "good" and are still appreciated as the foundation for other developments---but they are not what we still seek to operate in.
It's the same way with other things in life that others experience....and it can alter. For just as a change from something before doesn't mean that it was "bad" in the past, something being good from the past doesn't mean that it is automatically good in the present or that its always applicable to every setting. I'm reminded of curfews...as a 7:00pm curfew being beneficial for children at a certain age doesn't mean that it stops being considered as "good" when more freedoms are given for the children as they grow older. Some things remain constant, such as the fact that being responsible (the purpose behind curfew) and learning boundaries....even though a child looks back acknowleding the previous curfew was beneficial/can be learned from while the new/extended freedoms are ALSO good. But if the child is required to walk in the same way as they were when they were truly a child, then it'd be destructive---and you'd end up having grown up children in the house who are not able to function on their own even when they're being told by the parents to be "adults" while still being placed under things which were given for a season.
I'm reminded of what occurred with the religious leaders trying to trap Jesus by discussing the laws of Moses in regards to divorce (
Deuteronomy 24:2-4 /
Deuteronomy 24 )---as they were focused on what Moses gave in the law and the Lord brought them back to the focus of how things were MEANT to be....and why laws were given (
Matthew 19:7-9 /
Matthew 19,
Mark 10:4-6/
Mark 10 ) Where they had actually glorifed one aspect of what Moses said, the Lord made clear that a specific law was never given because the Lord wanted others to walk in that for all time...but rather, it was given since the people were corrupt/wouldn't honor him and a system had to be given to restrain the damage that could be done to others when marriage wasn't upheld.
The same thing goes for laws made about polygamy, as the Law stated that a man could take another wife as long as he still provided for his first wife (Exo.21:10). And for others who had multiple wives:
- Jacob married Leah and Rachel (Gen.29:23-30; 31:17; 32:22) and then he married Leah and Rachel's handmaids, Zilbah and Bilhahand (Genesis 30:1-24; 37:2)
- Judge Gideon had many wives and a concubine (Judges 8:30-31)
- Elkanah married Hannah and Peninnah (1 Sam.1:2)
- David married Abigail and Ahinoam (1 Sam.25:42-43; 30:18), then later took more wives (2 Sam.5:13) at Jerusalem (1 Chron.14:3)
- In 2 Sam.12:7-8, God gave David these multiple wives as a blessing, just as anointing him as king over Israel, protecting him from Saul, and giving him the house of Israel and Judah were also blessings from Him
- Ashur married Helah and Naarah (1 Chron.4:5)
- Shaharaim married Hushim and Baara (1 Chron.8:8)
- Abijah had 14 wives (2 Chron.13:21)
- Jehoiada the priest had 2 wives (2 Chron.24:3).
Many other examples besides that....but it is not necessarily the case that polygamay was something that ALL were to assume they were to support simply because Moses said something about it in the law---as the Lord Jesus again made clear that God's original intention was for ONE man and ONE Woman to become one.
For anyone to say that the Mosaic code is to be adhered to and yet say it was okay to marry multiple women in our time when in a Messianic Fellowship.....that'd be a bit bizzare when we have more revelation than they did previously. And if the person was not dealt with in the fellowship because he was at least "focusing on the law of Moses", that'd be akin to saying that owning slaves today is permissible because many of the founding Fathers who made the Constitution also had them. .....and many of those individuals focused on the Mosaic Code on slavery, although they perverted alot of stuff (as discussed
here and
here and
here).
Of course, with polygamy, there are some Jewish camps that would not have an issue with it...such as the Indian Jews apart of
Bene Israel. The Jews there are said to be descendants of the survivors of an ancient shipwreck. An excellent book on the issue is known as "Burnt Bread and Chutney"...and as the author explains in the preface, the Bene Israel “evolved quite uniquely, without many of the holidays, rituals, and rabbinic rulings introduced meanwhile in the general Jewish Diaspora. …They adopted the local language, Marathi, and manners of dress like the sari, along with some of the other Indian customs; they… mostly kept to themselves. They maintained the few ancient Jewish rituals which could be passed on.” At the same time, they absorbed Indian influences in prayer melodies and rituals, fasting, pilgrimages, and caste-like ways....who in some parts are known for still practicing polygamy still as did many of the patriarchs (Abraham, Jacob, etc) and David did---thus angering others there.
One can go here for more (as well as
here). Additionally, one can
go here for more on the subject...but that is another story.
All of that is said to indicate how many things in the Mosaic Law were never given to be done for all time, as many of them were done due to restraint for people who neither had his Spirit...or the same kind of relationship that we have today---and with the Lord Yeshua, who came and gave clarity on what was meant in the Law, as well as alluding on what was yet to come with differing Laws (updates) for new people, that is something that can never be forgotten.
Hebrews 7:11
[ Jesus Like Melchizedek ] If perfection could have been attainedthrough the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the law was given to the people), why was there still need for another priest to come—one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed also. 13 He of whom these things are said belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served at the altar.
Verse 11 of Hebrews makes clear that "if it had been possible to reach the goal....", that is, being renconciled with God and able to be eternally in his prescence, as Yeshua is now. In order for sinful human beings to reach this goal, they must indeed be perfect by having their sins forgiven by God. The author shows later that this can never come about through the Levitical priesthood---but it can come through Yeshua's priesthood..
And on the issue, people forget how there was once accusations by the Jews that Jesus came to change the customs of Moses--as seen in Acts 6:13-15 Acts 6 --though the Tanak itself records at least one change in the Torah, the addition of the festival of Purim....and also that a prominent Jewish tradition speaks of a change in the Torah when the Messiah comes. The logical necessity for such a transformation is demonsrated by verses 11-14
In Hebrews 7...and the scriptural basis for the transformation is found in Psalm 110:4, quoted in Hebrews 5:6, Hebrews 6:20 and Hebrews 7:17. The context makes clear that no change or transformation in the Torah is envisioned other than in connection with the priesthood and the sacrificial system. The issue is one of retention of the basic structure of Torah, as Christ said when he made clear He came to FULFILL the Law/it's requirements.
For those who are teachers of the Law/Torah, there must be an understanding of the new dynamics that we have available in the Kingdom---and that doing so, as Matthew 13 describes, is indeed like bringing out old treasures into new things as well.
The Word makes plain that the weakness of the Old Covenant was that it is a ministry of death (2 Corinthians 3:18 )..whereas the New Covenant has better promises (Hebrews 9:5 ), is a more glorious covenant (2 Corinthians 3:18 ) and it is kept by faith rather than our own works. It is a blessing to have the Torah/see it revealed from the OT into the NT...the NEW Torah, seeing that its an extension of the older one/remixed contract...in which we're now privileged to understand both the "new" revelation from Jesus and how it fulfills the "old" promises in the OT.....for when it comes to the distinction between Regressive and Progressive Revelation, as said best elsewhere, “The New Testament is in the Old Testament concealed. ..The Old Testament is in the New Testament revealed”....God is awesome..
John 1:17
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
Romans 8:1
Life Through the Spirit
3For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature,] God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering.[]
Galatians 6:2
Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Philippians 3:8-10
What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
What the Torah describes is the reality of priorities as opposed to abolishment on all things in the NEW Covenant
And the scriptures seem to give many other examples of such..as it relates to a reestablishment of priorities.
and getting it wrong....let each person have their own convictions about Torah and dont try to lable them one way or another
