John 7:37-39 "37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified."
Isaiah 55 says:
“1Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
NOTE: Scripture compares Torah to wine, water, milk, and even the Ruach.
2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.3 Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
my steadfast, sure love for David. my steadfast, sure love for David.4 Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples.5 Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know, and a nation that did not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you."
QUESTION
What is this "everlasting covenant"?
It may be significant that Isaiah mentions David. Note the similarity with the following passage in Ezekiel 37:
Ezekiel 37:24-26 "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. 25 They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your ancestors lived. They and their children and their children’s children will live there forever, and David my servant will be their prince forever. 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."
Also significant is how Scripture compares water to both Torah and the Spirit. And this is something that we see in the prophecies dealing with the New Covenant:
Ezekiel 36:24-28 "24 “‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. 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. 28 Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God.
Jeremiah 31:9 "...I will lead them beside streams of water..."
Jeremiah 31:12They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will rejoice in the bounty of the Lord— the grain, the new wine and the olive oil, the young of the flocks and herds. They will be like a well-watered garden, and they will sorrow no more" Jeremiah 31:31-33“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors 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 people 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.
I believe it is in reference to the Messiah's superior and eternal redemption for sin.
ReplyDelete• Hebrews 9:11-12 HCSB Now the Messiah has appeared, high priest of the good things that have come. In the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands (that is, not of this creation), 12 He entered the holy of holies once for all, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.
At the author of Hebrews states in the following two verses, in contrast to the Old Covenant animal sacrifices, which only had a limited effect, the death of the Messiah has an eternal redeeming effect. This has three amazing consequences: 1) Yeshua only needed to make this sacrifice once for all (Romans 6:10; Hebrews 7:27; 9:12); 2) a person who has His sacrifice applied to his sins is forgiven once and for all (Hebrews 10:10); 3) the Spirit inhabits that person (1 Corinthians 3:16), sealing them to the day of Redemption (2 Corinthians 1:22; 5:5; Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30) and assuring them of the permanence of their salvation (Psalm 33:4; John 3:16; 5:24; 10:27-30; Romans 6:23; Ephesians 1:13-14; Ephesians 2:9; Hebrews 10:17; 1 John 5:13; 1 Peter 1:23).
This stands in brilliant contrast to what Old Covenant saints experienced as evidenced by David’s concern:
• Psalms 51:11 HCSB Do not banish me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me.
This bequest of the Godhead grants us access to the Kingdom, which one day will be ruled by the Son of David (1 Chronicles 22:9-10), but over which Kind David himself may serve as regent. I think that Hashem’s promise through Solomon was that David’s throne will remain established before the Lord forever (1 Kings 2:45).
ReplyDeleteSorry...one more thing I forgot to demonstrate was that we have been granted access to the Kingdom. This can be seen in: Mark 4:11; 9:47; 10:14; 15:43; Luke 6:20; 7:28; John 3:3, 5; Acts 14:22; Galatians 5:21-24; 1 Thessalonians 2:12
ReplyDeleteCajun,
DeleteIt is mind-blowing to consider that Yeshua is G-d and that the only way we can have salvation is by "drinking" His blood, by entering into mystical union with Him. Who can fathom such a mystery? I even had a hard time typing that sentence! But I believe it. Because I have felt the Ruach in my heart.
SIDE QUESTION:
What do you make of Isaiah 55:13 from the Septuagint? It says:
"And instead of the bramble shall come up the cypress, and instead of the nettle shall come up the myrtle: and the Lord shall be for a name, and for an everlasting sign, and shall not fail," (Isaiah 55:13).
What do you make of that bit about "...and the Lord shall be for a name..."?
Do you think this parallels Acts 15:14, "Simon [Peter] has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles."
Without belaboring the issue of Ezrach’ again that I’ve dealt with numerous times before elsewhere, Hashem is forming a people whose purpose is to declare His praise.
Delete• Isaiah 43:21 HCSB The people I formed for Myself will declare My praise.
• Jeremiah 13:11 HCSB Just as underwear clings to one's waist, so I fastened the whole house of Israel and of Judah to Me"--this is the LORD's declaration--"so that they might be My people for My fame, praise, and glory, but they would not obey.
Mt. Zion and Jerusalem is the diadem of this nation of royal priests (1 Peter 2:9-10).
• Jeremiah 33:9 HCSB This city will bear on My behalf a name of joy, praise, and glory before all the nations of the earth, who will hear of all the good I will do for them. They will tremble with awe because of all the good and all the peace I will bring about for them.
All those who have been grafted on to the holy nation have been granted the privilege of glorifying Him throughout all the generations as the Son glorified Him during His incarnation.
• Ephesians 3:20-21 HCSB Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think--according to the power that works in you-- 21 to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
How do we know that the Lord intends for a spiritual, concept of Israel to be this monument (the Hebrew here שֵׁם (shem) is used in the sense of “monument”) to His grace? The very next chapter in Isaiah has this to say:
• Isaiah 56:3-5 HCSB No foreigner who has converted to the LORD should say, "The LORD will exclude me from His people"; and the eunuch should not say, "Look, I am a dried-up tree." 4 For the LORD says this: "For the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, and choose what pleases Me, and hold firmly to My covenant, 5 I will give them, in My house and within My walls, a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters. I will give each of them an everlasting name that will never be cut off.
Note: Or more literally, “a permanent sign that will not be cut off.”
We glorify Him and bear His name well when we put our spiritual gifts to work and do mitzvoth that point others toward His grace.
• John 15:8 HCSB My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be My disciples.
• 1 Peter 4:10-11 HCSB Based on the gift they have received, everyone should use it to serve others, as good managers of the varied grace of God. 11 If anyone speaks, his speech should be like the oracles of God; if anyone serves, his service should be from the strength God provides, so that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To Him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.