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16 Hope of Israel Ministries BIBLE Correspondence Course Lesson 44
WEAKNESS and inability to do what YEHO- mandments He gave them -- ONLY IN THE
VAHs other laws required. LETTER. He required no more than the fulfill-
Each time an Israelite transgressed the ing of the law in the LETTER to receive the ma-
law and his sin had to be atoned for by burden- terial promises of the Old Covenant.
some work, it impressed upon his mind that he This Old Covenant -- commonly mis-
had FAILED to keep the law. It acted as a named the Old Testament -- contained only
schoolmaster to teach and impress this upon MATERIAL PROMISES. Promises of material
him. blessings such as wealth, health, crops, etc. -- IF
The sacrifices were also a schoolmas- they would obey YEHOVAH God.
ter in that they pointed forward to the time This Covenant was NATIONAL -- to Is-
when the Messiah would come to offer himself rael only -- no other nations were promised these
once and for all time to atone for the sins of the blessings. It was TEMPORAL -- there was NO
world. The various washings pictured the promise of ETERNAL life if they obeyed YE-
cleansing work of the holy spirit which HOVAH God in the letter.
YEHOVAH God would send to clean us up from The Old Covenant, then, was NATION-
sin. They pointed to the time when YEHOVAH AL, MATERIAL, and TEMPORAL.
God would make it possible for all to have the 3. Did YEHOVAH God offer the mate-
love and POWER of YEHOVAHs holy spirit rial benefits of this material Old Covenant to
within them so they, unlike the ancient Israelites many succeeding generations of Israel? Deuter-
and others then and today, can keep the spiritual onomy 7:9.
law of YEHOVAH God -- the Ten Command- 4. But to a new generation, 40 years later,
ments. was YEHOVAH STILL FINDING IT NECES-
The old sacrificial laws, which were SARY to point out the blessings for being obedi-
added to the other statutes YEHOVAH God had ent to the law? Deuteronomy 28:1-14. Did He
Moses write, are NO LONGER required to be still find it necessary to warn them of what
fulfilled by man today. Instead, the Messiah has would happen if they did not obey? Verses
become our sacrificial Lamb (John 1:29) as ex- 15-68. Scan these verses and summarize.
plained above. 5. Were other nations (the Gentiles) to
But the great spiritual law of YEHO- rule over Israel if they broke their part of this
VAH God, THE ROYAL LAW OF LOVE -- as covenant? Leviticus 26:14, 17, 33.
given to Adam and Eve, with its ten points, and 6. Did the House of Israel keep the Old
later repeated and amplified by civil statutes at Covenant, or were the people scattered among
Mount Sinai -- stands fast forever! (Psalm the Gentiles as a punishment for not keeping the
111:7-8.) Old Covenant? Ezekiel 20:23, 24 and 11:16.
But we desperately need YEHOVAHs HOW LONG did YEHOVAH give the people of
HELP to keep it! Israel TO LEARN to keep His law without His
REMEMBER THIS! If Old-Covenant holy spirit, before He scattered them?
Israel had received the holy spirit which imparts COMMENT: These people were given
the love needed to fulfill the law of YEHOVAH every incentive to live by the law. For over
God (Romans 5:5; 13:10), they would have SEVEN HUNDRED YEARS they were given
been able to keep these laws. BUT nowhere in this chance. But THEY FAILED!
the Old Covenant can you find where Their failure is a LESSON TO ALL
YEHOVAHs holy spirit of love and power was PEOPLE. YEHOVAH God wants us to learn
promised to these people. from it.
YEHOVAH asked the Old-Covenant Is- They were NO different from people to-
raelites to keep the law -- the ten spiritual com-
The Meaning of Marriage -- Part One
