Kota Kemuning Church of Christ

Tell Me About the Difference Between the Two Covenants

Written by Roger D. Campbell

Throughout history, the Lord God made a  number of covenants with humans. In this study, we  want to focus on two particular covenants, those  which are described in the Bible as “the first” and  “the second” (Hebrews 10:9).

Certain aspects of those two covenants are  similar; some parts are identical. Other portions are  quite different. Let us observe some of those  distinctions. 

· Because it was given through Moses, in the  Bible the old covenant/law is called “the law of  Moses” (Acts 13:39). The second covenant/law is  called “the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). 

· “The first” was a covenant between God and  one nation, Israel. “And Moses called all Israel, and  said to them: ‘Hear, O Israel, the statutes and  judgment which I speak in your hearing today, that  you may learn them and be careful to observe them.  The Lord our God made a covenant with us in  Horeb’” (Deuteronomy 5:1,2). The law of Moses,  given at Horeb/Sinai, was addressed only to the  Israelites. The new covenant of Jesus applies to  people of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20). 

· The first covenant was a temporary  arrangement. The old law was given “till the Seed  should come” (Galatians 3:19). The Bible identifies  the “Seed” as the Christ. Jesus fulfilled the old law  (Matthew 5:17), then He abolished it when He died  (Ephesians 2:14-16). To say that the old covenant  was abolished means that it no longer is in force.  And the new covenant? It is a permanent setup,  being in force until the end of the world/age  (Matthew 28:20).

· Under the old covenant, God’s special, chosen  people were the Israelites (Deuteronomy 7:6). Under  the new covenant, “the people of God” (1 Peter  2:10) are those who are in the Christ (Ephesians  1:4), that is, Christians. 

· The first covenant was dedicated with the  blood of animals (Hebrews 9:18-20). The new  covenant is sealed/sprinkled, so to speak, by the  blood of Jesus. As He instituted the communion, our  Lord said, “For this is My blood of the new  covenant, which is shed for many for the remission  of sins” (Matthew 26:28). 

· Under the first covenant, God called on the Israelites to offer animal sacrifices (Hebrews 10:4).

God charges those of us who live under the second  covenant to offer up spiritual sacrifices (1 Peter  2:5). Such spiritual sacrifices are acceptable to God  only because Jesus “offered one sacrifice for sins  forever” (Hebrews 10:12). That sacrifice was Jesus  Himself. 

· During the old covenant era, the special day of  the week for Israel was the seventh day. On that day,  called the Sabbath (corresponding to our Saturday),  no Israelites were allowed to work (Exodus 20:8- 11). The special day under the new covenant is the  first day of the week, which is Sunday. It was on the  first day of the week that Jesus rose from the dead (Mark 16:9). Following His return to heaven, the  practice of His disciples was to assemble on the first  day of the week in order to worship (Acts 20:7; 1  Corinthians 16:2).

· God had specific criteria for the priests who  served when the old covenant was in force. In Israel,  only males from the tribe of Levi were allowed to  function as priests (Deuteronomy 18:1).  Specifically, the priests had to come from the family  of Aaron (Hebrews 7:11). The Lord also has a  priesthood under the second covenant — God’s  priests now are Christians (1 Peter 2:5,9), and that  includes sisters as well as brothers in the Lord. 

· Under the law of Moses, God chose a specific  place for the Israelites to go to make sacrifices and  keep their religious feasts (Deuteronomy 12:5,6).  The location which the Lord eventually chose was  Jerusalem (1 Kings 11:32,36). It was to Jerusalem  that the male Israelites were required to go to  celebrate the Passover, feasts of weeks/Pentecost,  and Tabernacles (Deuteronomy 16:1-16). Under the  new covenant, there is no specific geographic  location where God’s people must assemble for  worship (John 4:20-24), nor are there any annual  religious feasts which the Lord has established for  Christians to keep. 

Jesus took away the old law in order to establish  the second, final covenant (Hebrews 10:9). Because  it came from Jehovah, the law of Moses was holy,  just, and good (Romans 7:12). In Bible language,  the second covenant is “better” (Hebrews 8:6,7). Let  us be committed to embracing and practicing the  better one.