the One Covenant series
A Brief History
by haRold Smith
a citizen of the Commonwealth (Ephesians 2:19)
"...'BY MYSELF,'
I have sworn,' declares YaHoVeH, 'because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your
seed
as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your
seed
shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your
seed
because you have obeyed my voice'." Genesis 22:15-18
"Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his
seed
It does not say, 'And to
seeds
referring to many, but referring to one, 'And to your
seed,
who is the Messiah. This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by YaHoVeH, so as to make the promise void. For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but YaHoVeH gave it to Abraham by a promise. Why then the Law? It was added because of transgressions, until the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator." Galatians 3:16-19
"For I say that the Messiah became
a servant of the Hebrew people,
(to the circumcised) in order to show YaHoVeH's truthfulness by making good His promises to the Patriarchs (the Hebrew Fathers), and in order to show His mercy by causing the Gentiles to glorify YaHoVeH - as it is written in the
Tanakh
(Original Writings),
'a servant of the Hebrew people,
Because of this I will acknowledge you among the Gentiles and sing praise to your name'." Romans 15:8-9
While there are many covenants made in scripture, there is but One Covenant that YaHoVeH made with Himself. Like a diamond and the Character of YaHoVeH, we find there are several facets to this Covenant; but, there is only One Covenant that has to do with YaHoVeH Himself, His Plan and His Purpose toward mankind. That Purpose is to bring Life out of death and to make that Life accessible to anyone who would come to Him with a humble and contrite spirit by accepting Him for who
He says He Is (click on highlighted words to view content).
From the beginning, the YaHoVeH's unchanging, underlying motivation has been to bring all mankind to LIFE - not life to mankind
(Hosea 1:10).
YaHoVeH is the source of LIFE and
1John 1:5
says that LIFE IS Light
(see Who Is The Word scripturally).
Thus, we see YaHoVeH's desire for a people, a family to live in His Life and thereby become a testimony,
a Light to the Nations
- the rest of mankind. What rest of mankind you say? Words mean things. To properly understand scripture from YaHoVeH's perspective, we must constantly be reminded that ALL the books of scripture were written by Hebrews influenced out of a Hebrew culture that produced a unique Hebrew perspective being conveyed primarily to a Hebrew audience which understood the nuances of the Hebrew language. To properly understand what these words mean necessitates viewing them from the Hebrew perspective they were written in - not our current English culture. "Reading the scriptures in a translation is like kissing your new bride through a veil" (Haim Nachman Bialik, Hebrew Poet, 1873-1934).
In all scripture there are only two demarcations of people - Hebrews and "others." These "others" are called
Gentiles
- those outside of YaHoVeH's Kingdom who worship gods other than the Holy One of Israel. The term "Gentile believer" is
oxymoronic
and does not exist in a Hebraic world view (see how that
Perspective
is worked out among us). The Hebrew apostle Sha'ul (Paul) spoke to how these demarcations have been resolved in the Body of Yeshua in
Galatians 3:14
(explore the difference between the Body of the Groom and
the Bride).
The tradition of man would seek to re-write history in order to uphold and to fit into its own artificial paradigm what it wants us to believe. The human race is not one - as much as that humanistic approach would like you to think it is. YaHoVeH is the Elohim of Israel - not of mankind
(see what it scripturally means to Become Human).
So, then, the question arises, "Just what is this covenant spoken of in scripture and what does scripture tell us it really means to be in a
covenant relationship)
with YaHoVeH?"
It was Adam,
the first Hebrew,
that the original words of scripture tell us was formed (not created) in the Image, the Essence of the Nature and Character of LIFE as a statement to the rest of mankind of what it means to live in and be One with
the Present Presence
of LIFE. Yeshua is called the
last Adam
because IN Yeshua resides THE Life of YaHoVeH that was lost by the first Adam. THE Life He exampled in the flesh in obedience to the Father's Words was
the Light
of men. Yeshua exemplified with His life the choices required to continuously abide in the Presence of LIFE - whereby, the choices of Adam resulted in a
separation
from that LIFE. Separation from Life is called death. Bringing Life out of death is and always has been the Purpose of the Father
(see what it is to have Salvation and Eternal Life).
The story of the formation of Adam is NOT the story of the general creation of mankind. That general creation took place in
Genesis 1
where we are given an "overview" of the creation of the heavens and the earth where "in the beginning" YaHoVeH created "mankind" - many and in general, male and female.
Genesis 6:1-6
and the First Book of Enoch 7:1
speak of the evil of mankind that became prevalent in the world after creation, thus necessitating YaHoVeH's desire to demonstrate in a select people a more excellent way of Life - a
Light to the Nations.
If there was no one else around except those coming out of the Garden - then why was it necessary to place a mark of protection on Cain that he not be killed by others as recorded in
Genesis 4?
And how is it that he took a wife from the land of Nod, outside of the land of Eden, before Adam and Eve had given birth to other sons and daughters as recorded in
Genesis 5
- eliminating the possibility of an
incestual marriage
to a sister? And, if Adam was the first of mankind, then why is the lineage in that chapter (and expanded on in
Luke 3:23-38)
descriptive only of Hebrews? You have to admit, at the very least, these questions place that Christian theology (for that is where it originates) in some real murky waters.
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...the garden of delight
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Genesis 2
picks up the story but with the focus upon a particular place on the already created earth - the Garden of Eden (v.8 - in Hebrew,
gan 'aden
meaning "garden of delight"). Here we are even given specific directions about where this Garden was located in the earth (v.10-14) and told of a particular man YaHoVeH had formed there -
Adam,
the first of the Hebrew people. It was into this particular person YaHoVeH breathed the Breath of LIFE
(in Hebrew neshama
khah'ee)
- the spark of divine connection.
Leviticus 17:11
tells us the Life is in the Blood and it is the Blood that makes atonement (brings us into at-one-ment with the Father) by the Life contained therein. The Life YaHoVeH breathed into Adam was His very Essence - now contained in Adam's Blood. In the same way as my son looks and acts just like me because of my DNA coursing in his blood (in spite of how much he would wish it otherwise), in like manner Adam was fashioned into the likeness and image of YaHoVeH because He carried within Him the vital components of the Father's DNA -
the Essence of His Presence.
From the passage of this DNA we can determine (then, just as we can now) that YaHoVeH is not black, European or female. He is Hebrew and He is male. His "male" is Spirit - not as we consider ordinary man, but having to do with His Nature. The female subsequently came from the bone of the male which carried in its marrow the same DNA of the Father. If you are a woman reading this, the immediate temptation is to interject "Greek-think hierarchy"
(see my big, fat Greek Mindset part 1
and part 2 to find out what that is)
into the equation of man and woman and interpret this statement as a subservient, discriminatory role assigned to women. That is not what is being said - not here nor in scripture, despite what men may want you to believe to the contrary to satisfy their own legalistic agenda. Each gender has a different function, but they are both equal in the eyes of YaHoVeH because, together, they comprise ONE flesh - an illustration in flesh of the relationship created in and with the Creator. It is a mystery, but the union of husband and wife is the physical proclamation of how this same unity can exist between men and the One True Elohim of Israel
(Ephesians 5:25-33
- see what it means to,scripturally, be One Flesh).
Genesis 5:1
begins with the "generations of Adam" and those generations are meticulously chronicled again in their entirety in
Luke 3:23-38;
only this time from Yeshua back to Adam, the first son of YaHoVeH - not the first of mankind. It is to the Hebrew people descended from Adam through Jacob
(who was renamed ISRAEL)
that YaHoVeH entrusted that Seed spoken of in the verses leading into this article that would manifest itself as the "Light to the Nations." That Seed was proclaimed beginning with Adam
(Genesis 3:15),
established in the loins of Noah
(Genesis 9:9),
ratified before Abraham
(Genesis 22:15-18),
sealed in the Kingship of David
(2Samuel 7:12-13,
Psalm 89:3-4),
and culminated in the Life of Yeshua
(John 7:42),
the second son
through whom, by way of, the Covenant was fulfilled (completed and made whole - not ended) and the doorway to Life was restored for any who would choose to keep the
Words of YaHoVeH
manifested in the
Life of Yeshua.
There are only two places where scripture records the Breath of Life being breathed into men. The first was with Adam in Genesis 2, and the second was when the Resurrected Spirit, Yeshua, breathed
on the disciples
just after the Resurrection as the pre-cursor to the outpouring of the Breath of Life at
Shavu'ot
(renamed Pentecost) on as many as would call upon the Name of YaHoVeH
(see Without to Within).
When that "Breath of Life" is breathed into us through our embrace of the Life of Yeshua, we get His LIFE - His DNA. It is
a mystery
how it happens, but His Hebrew Blood begins to course through our veins and we become as He Is - part of His Hebrew Body
(Ephesians 5:30,
1John 4:17).
It is we who are
grafted into
His Hebrew root, the root of Jesse - not the other way around.
The Hebrew phrase
ruach
ha
kodesh
(reading right to left is Hebrew for "the holiness of spirit" - something that is
cultivated
within an individual by that individual) has been used inadvertently as a substitute for the English "Holy Spirit" appearing in their bibles. This is incorrect as there is no capitalization in Hebrew; thus, there is no personification, no third person
"Holy Spirit".
What is the holiness of spirit? Holiness is the Nature abiding in Spirit, Who is YaHoVeH. The Hebrew word translated as the English "holy" is
kodesh
which means to be "set apart". When Yeshua said to "be perfect even as your Father is perfect" in
Matthew 5:48,
He was not giving us something to do that was beyond our reach - nor was He telling us anything new. He was not giving us a
"new" command.
He was actually quoting
Leviticus 19:2
(found in the Torah) which says, "You shall become holy, as I, YaHoVeH, your Elohim am holy". The Way to become holy is in the keeping of YaHoVeH's Words - which "sets us apart" from the rest of the world. There are many "saints" recorded in the Tanakh (renamed OT). The Hebrew word
kadosh
translated "saints" in the Tanakh and a variation of kodesh, is describing those who comprise
the family of YaHoVeH
- those who abide within
His Kingdom.
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...becoming Life
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There was no death in the Garden. If there was no death - what necessitated eating from the tree of Life? Once Life has been given, Life must be sustained. Eating, the partaking of something to sustain Life, is a choice of our will.
YaHoVeH gave no command to "eat of every tree" - what He gave was the opportunity to eat
(Genesis 2:16).
What was the only thing that could result in death in the Garden? The conscious choice of partaking (eating) of the tree of the KNOWLEDGE between what was good and what was evil was the only thing that would bring death. Death
separates
us from the provision of His Life because the determination of what is good now rests with us. Before that knowledge was acquired - everything had been "Good" because everything came from YaHoVeH, the Source of Provision.
What caused a separation to occur was their
self-determination
- the determined choice to fill a perceived void. In other words, what the Father says is sufficient is seen as lacking in some regard and, therefore, needs to be filled - so, we become determined to fill it out of our own innovation.
"Now therefore,
IF you will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant
then you shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: And you shall be unto me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."
Exodus 19:5-6a
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Adam and, subsequently Eve, began in perfect relationship with YaHoVeH.
His Glory
was their LIFE - they were
echad
(Hebrew for "one or unity") with Him. Death occurred from a
deliberate
separation from the Essence of His Spirit because they chose to decide for themselves what was "good" for them to do rather than to simply heed His Voice. To "obey" in this verse of
Exodus 19:5
comes from the Hebrew
shama'
- but, in Exodus 15:26
this same Hebrew word is also found to be translated "hearken" or "hear". In Hebrew, to hear IS to obey, to obey IS to hear. Whether you hear what is spoken or not is measured by how you obey what you hear. Conversely, how you obey determines whether or not you heard what was said. Yeshua said of those who hear, who know Him in this fashion, no man is able to snatch them out of His Hand or out of the Hand of His Father
(John 10:27-29).
YaHoVeH's Essence
is a revelation of the Character of His Nature entrusted to a particular, peculiar people - they are not just a set of
morality guidelines.
It is to the
salvation
of the Elohim of Israel that Yeshua calls us to come boldly into by embracing the Life He Lived - which is the Light of men, the Light to the Nations. But remaining in that Life is conditional, it must be accompanied by heeding and obeying His Voice and by keeping His Commandments - the fruit of the tree of Life which sustains Life.
As Yeshua was hanging on the tree before His death, He told the thief hanging alongside Him. "Today, you will be with Me in paradise"
(Luke 23:43).
This English word "paradise" is translated from the Greek word
paradeisos
It is a word whose origin is not to be sought for in either Greek or Hebrew but in the languages of eastern Asia. It is a word primarily used of the plantations, kept gardens and places for animals which surrounded the palaces of Persian kings. It is a word the translators inserted thinking it more appropriately described a Greek view of what "heaven" must be, but not comprehending that heaven is not a place but
a state of being.
There is no word for paradise in the Hebrew - there is only "gan 'aden", the state of being the Father cultivated with a particular man to be a delight to Him. It was here YaHoVeH fashioned Adam - to abide in His Presence. As a Hebrew understanding this perspective of the Father, Yeshua was telling the man on the cross next to him that with the offering of His obedient Blood; the Garden, the place of delight to the Father, where we choose to abide in the Present Presence of eternity, of Today, had been restored
(Hebrews 3:12-15).
How was that accomplished? Just by Him dying? Where is the Power in that? Part of the definition of the Essence of the Father given us in
Exodus 34:1-7
is that of truth - where He says the sins of the fathers are passed on to subsequent generations. All of the generational sin collected from Adam forward was literally transferred upon Yeshua, tempting Him at every juncture. Do you wish to stop generational sin from progressing in your lineage? Then follow Yeshua's example - don't do it anymore. The way generational sin is broken is by not passing it down to the next generation by our behavior. Yeshua said the authority given to Him by the Father has been given to those who follow and adhere to His example of Life
(Luke 9:1-2,
and as "power" in Luke 10:17-23).
The Greek word used for the English word "authority" in these passages is
exousia
and means "the power of choice" The restoration of the Garden is the restoration of the power of choice to remain in the Present Presence. It is in His Presence we are given rest in the freedom from the power of sin and death
(Exodus 33:14).
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...the exchange
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Yeshua became the
Kinsman Redeemer
to the family of YaHoVeH - Israel.
The tainted blood that had caused a
separation
from the Present Presence had now been exchanged with
His Own Blood,
restoring the House of Israel to its original intention. When He said, "It is finished", He was speaking of the fulfillment of the restoration of the Covenant, the Promise the Father had made with Himself to be extended through this Hebrew people to the rest of mankind - the "Light to the Nations". The Blood which had been infected with self-determination has now been cleansed by the
Blood of selfLESSness
- the very Blood of the Source of LIFE. In the Present Presence, we are freed from the law of sin and death that captivated us and made us slaves to its ultimate consequences. However, we are not free from the
instructions
about how that Life is sustained - that identify the differences between what constitutes death and what is LIFE. The Light of YaHoVeH's Nature, exemplified by the Life of obedience Yeshua showed, IS the
Light of Salvation.
YaHoVeH used the same unction that gave Life to Adam in the beginning to resurrect Yeshua from death - neshama khah'ee, the Breath of Life. Yeshua's offering of an obedient life cleared the enmity created by
the sacrifice to self-determination
and cleansed the way for the restoration of the DNA of the Blood to its original, pristine condition. That Blood transcended death and now possesses
the gates of that enemy.
What we give ourselves to is what we serve and what we serve is what we
worship
- thus the necessity for the Tree of Life in the midst of the Garden of Delight to sustain Life. This same Spirit of selfLESSness now dwells, abides in those who choose to give themselves to YaHoVeH's Words
(John 14:23-24,
1John 3:23-24).
By our embrace of the Life Yeshua exampled before us, those Words are now written on our hearts instead of tablets of stone - BUT THEY ARE THE SAME WORDS OF LIFE given to us by a Spirit Who loved us and gave Himself for us that, by embracing what He tells us is His Life, we might be free of the law of sin and death.
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a Brief History, a discussion
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"Blessed are they that
do His commandments,
(who wash their robes in righteous behavior), that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through
the gates into the city." Revelation 22:14
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The One Covenant Series
Part One, A History
Part Two, What's New?
Part Three, Fulfillment
Part Four, the Flaming Sword
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???Questions???
Please feel free to email me at harold@hethathasanear.com.
While not claiming to have all
the answers, it would be an honor to partake with you of what Spirit is uncovering.
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