“WHAT IS HERMENEUTICS?”(part four)

Intro:

Hermeneutics is the science of Biblical interpretation.

2Pe 1:20  Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
2Pe 1:21  For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

and we must “rightly divide” the Bible.

1Co 10:32  Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:

God spoke to these three groups of people in the Bible and we cannot take what God told one group to do and misuse it on another group.

There is only one interpretation of scripture but there may be many “applications” of that same scripture.

The Bible is alive and is meant for all generations!

1Pe 1:23  Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, [by the word of God, which (liveth) and abideth for ever].

We have discussed “Dispensations” in an earlier lessons. This lesson will introduce us to the Covenants of God.

Covenant means a contract between God and man.

Note: Covenants bring BLESSINGS. The Dispensations brought “Judgement”.

1.) THE TYPES OF COVENANTS:

A.) There are “unconditional” covenants.

They depend on God and not man.

B.) There are “conditional” covenants.

They depend on Man.

2.) The SIGNS of the Covenants:

A.) The Rainbow:

Gen 9:11  And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.
Gen 9:12  And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:
Gen 9:13  I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
Gen 9:14  And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:
Gen 9:15  And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.
Gen 9:16  And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.
Gen 9:17  And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.

Compare to this scripture:

Rev 4:2  And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
Rev 4:3  And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: [and there was a rainbow round about the throne], in sight like unto an emerald.

and this one:

Rev 10:1  And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:

God does not forget His Covenants! He places one for us to see here on Earth and He has one in heaven and with him. So when we see Him we will know He always keeps His promises.

B.) The Sabbath day, (the 7nth day) not Sunday or Monday, but Saturday.

Exo 31:16  Wherefore [the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant].

This covenant was to the Jews only and not the Church.

Lev 16:30  For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD.
Lev 16:31  It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, [by a statute for ever.]

This Statute was for the Jews only and not the Church.

Exo 20:11  For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

This law was for the Jews only not the Church.

C.) Circumcision:

Gen 17:9  And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.
Gen 17:10  This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.
Gen 17:11  And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.
Gen 17:12  And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.
Gen 17:13  He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
Gen 17:14  And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.

This covenant is also not for the Church.

Gal 6:15  For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.

Col 3:11  Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

In fact:

Rom 3:1  What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision?
Rom 3:2  Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.

They gave us our Bible.

Rom 2:28  For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29  [But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.]

WHO IS THE TRUE JEW?

Circumcision means that sinful flesh must go.

Rom 8:8  So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

Rom 8:10  And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

3.) THE EDENIC COVENANT:

A.) THE CONTENTS OF THE COVENANT:

1.) To “Dress” and “Keep” the garden.

Gen 2:15  And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

Note: There were no thorns and thistles then and God did all the planting.

2.) He was not to eat of a certain tree.

Gen 2:16  And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
Gen 2:17  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Note: Food was everywhere all this took was an act of obedience. A simple test.

3.) Man was to have “fellowship” with God.

Gen 3:8  [And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day]: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

Note: God came down in the cool of the day but there was no sweating until after Adams sin.

Mankind is stupid. No wonder God used the term “sheep”.

O that men should be so stupid grown, as to forsake the living God.

4.) THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT:

A.) The Contents:

Note: This was an “unconditional” covenant.

1.) God promised He would make of him a great nation.

Gen 12:1  Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
Gen 12:2  And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
Gen 12:3  And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

Gen 17:1  And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
Gen 17:2  And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.
Gen 17:3  And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,
Gen 17:4  As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
Gen 17:5  Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.

Note: Abraham was from Iraq.

Israel is God’s time piece as compared to my watch as my time piece.

2.) Abraham would have millions of descendants.

Gen 22:16  And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
Gen 22:17  That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
Gen 22:18  And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

3.) God would bless them “Physically and Spiritually”.

Gen 25:7  And these are the days of the years of Abraham’s life which he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years.

Luk 1:68  Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,

Note: In 70 ad Titus destroyed Jerusalem and Israel.

Note again:

Isa 66:8  Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.
Isa 66:9  Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the LORD: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God.
Isa 66:10  Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her:

On May 14th, 1948 the Nation of Israel was reborn in what is called Palestine. The Bible called it Canaan Land.

4.) God said He would make the name Abraham great.

Rom 4:16  Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,
Rom 4:17  (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
Rom 4:18  Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.

Note: Abraham is referred to in the Bible over 3000 times. Only our Lord Jesus is referred to more times than that.

5.) God told Abraham (I will bless those that bless you and curse those that curse you).

Gen 12:3  And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

5.) THE MOSAIC COVENANT:

A.) THE CONTENTS:

Note: The Church is not under the Mosaic Covenant.

The Church:

Mat 26:28  For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

Heb 9:15  And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

Heb 8:13  In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.

1.) It is based on the Moral Law: (we say the ten commandments)

Exo 20:3  Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Exo 20:4  Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
Exo 20:5  Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
Exo 20:6  And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
Exo 20:7  Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
Exo 20:8  Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exo 20:9  Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
Exo 20:10  But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
Exo 20:11  For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Exo 20:12  Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
Exo 20:13  Thou shalt not kill.
Exo 20:14  Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Exo 20:15  Thou shalt not steal.
Exo 20:16  Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
Exo 20:17  Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.

2.) The Civil law:

Leviticus chapter 11 entire chapter.

Lev 11:2  Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth.
Lev 11:3  Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat.
Lev 11:4  Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: as the camel, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.
Lev 11:5  And the coney, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.
Lev 11:6  And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.
Lev 11:7  And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you.
Lev 11:8  Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you.
Lev 11:9  These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat.
Lev 11:10  And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you:

Kosher: Ritual objects that meat the standard of Jewish Law.

3.) The “Ceremonial Law”.

Note: The Religious Rituals and ordinances.

It is particularly applied to the forms and rites of the Jewish religion; as the ceremonial law or worship, as distinguished from the moral and judicial law.

a.) These gave direction to the High Priest in cleanness, sin free, proper dress, etc.

b.) The Laws of the Priesthood. [Had to be in the blood line of Aaron].

Note: The Church is in the blood line of Jesus.

613 Jewish Laws.

B.) The Conditions (IF) {Conditional}:

1.) Exo 19:5  Now [therefore], if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
Exo 19:6  And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

2.) Lev 26:14  But [if] ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments;

Note that word “if”

Lev 26:15  And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant:
Lev 26:16  I also will do this unto you; [I will even appoint over you “terror”], consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
Lev 26:17  And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.

Diaspora: The Dispersion

Lev 26:33  And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.

C.) The fulfillment:

1.) Deu 28:37  And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee.

Note: Almost everyone hates the Jew. The word Jew was originally a slang word meant to discredit them.

There are three names used in the New Testament to designate this people,

(a.) Jews, as regards their nationality, to distinguish them from Gentiles.

(b.) Hebrews, with regard to their language and education, to distinguish them from Hellenists, i.e., Jews who spoke the Greek language.

(c.) Israelites, as respects their sacred privileges as the chosen people of God. “To other races we owe the splendid inheritance of modern civilization and secular culture; but the religious education of mankind has been the “gift” of the Jew alone.”

2.) Deu 28:49  The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand;
Deu 28:50  A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor shew favour to the young:

Note: The Roman Empire.

Amen