Mount Zion plays a major role in the Old Testament. Zion was Israel’s capital city, established by King David. It was from Zion David defended the nation. More importantly Zion is where the temple was located, where God would dwell among his people. Ps. 132:13 For the LORD hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation. This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it. In Solomon’s day the Temple was built. The harmony expressed when the Temple was dedicated became a high point in Israel’s history. The generation of those who prospered from the temple in there midst, were not children of war, but of peace as Solomon’s name signifies. These were the children of Zion. Mount Zion in prophesy was spoken of as a happy mother of children. Isa. 66:8 as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. The children of Zion would be the inheritors of the Land. In this study we will consider some of the events which lead to the establishment of Zion giving it a prominent place in the Old Testament.
We find no direct mention of Zion before David, but from Abraham’s day the foundations were being laid. In Genesis Abraham and his descendants where promised Canaan as an everlasting inheritance. Inheriting Canaan meant much more that taking possession of land, by inheriting the land they where inheriting a relationship with God. They would be his people, he would be there God. Canaan was a land of Milk and Honey because God would dwell there with his people.
In Genesis 17 the Lord placed conditions upon Abraham’s inheritance, telling him “walk before me, and be thou perfect”. Abraham’s separation to God was signified by the covenant of circumcision. In Gen. 26 the Lord reaffirms the promises to Isaac explaining “Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws”. Keeping God’s commandments, like circumcision, showed a separation from the unclean practices of surrounding nations and like circumcision established a bond between God and Abraham. Because Abraham kept God’s commandments God was now affirming the promises to Isaac his son.
One question may arise; will future generations keep God commandments as Abraham did? In Genesis 18 the Lord speaking to Abraham expresses confidence that Abraham will instruct future generation to keep God’s commandments. “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him”. I believe understanding how Abraham will command his children after him, will help us to better understand mount Zion importance’s.
Abraham passed his faith to his son Isaac, Jacob and Joseph and others followed this same path. In the days when Jacob was old during a time of famine the Lord told Jacob in a dream to leave Canaan and go down to Egypt where Joseph was ruler. This may seem strange why not stay in the land promised to Abraham? Abraham learned, in Genesis 15, his descendents would depart from Canaan for a season and return, but not before the iniquity of the Amorites was full. After dwelling in Egypt for generations, Abraham’s descendents became slaves to Pharaoh, many lost sight of the promises and commandments given to Abraham. Even so Egypt may have been a better place for Abraham’s descendents then amidst the moral decline of Canaan. In the days of Moses the Lord took notice of Israel, Exodus 2:24 And God heard their (Israel’s) groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. Acts 7:17 when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt.
After leaving Egypt Israel came to Mount Sinai, here a covenant was made between God and Israel which bound Israel to teach the commandments of God. This law covenant would help the nation hold to the same statutes and commandments which Abraham kept. It would not be left to the wishes of the father to teach the son, instruction was bound by law. The covenant set aside the tribe of Levi as a priestly tribe who would instruct the nation in the keeping of the law (Mal 2:4-7) and also make atonement for offenses against the covenant. By keeping God’s commandments Israel could assure themselves that God would go among them and prosper there way to take the land. In Leviticus, Moses stressed the importance of keeping the law, stating if they did not keep the law, the land they were to inherit would thrust them out. Lev 20:22 Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: that the land, whither I bring you to dwell therein, spue you not out. Deu 11: 8 Therefore shall ye keep all the commandments which I command you this day, that ye may be strong, and go in and possess the land, whither ye go to possess it; 9 And that ye may prolong your days in the land,,… The futility of entering the land without the Lord can be seen in Deu. 1:42-44 And the LORD said unto me, Say unto them, Go not up, neither fight; for I am not among you; lest ye be smitten before your enemies. (43 So I spake unto you; and ye would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD, and went presumptuously up into the hill. 44 And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you, as bees … Keeping the Law Covenant was the means by which Israel could inherit the land. The priesthood would have the role of bringing the nation into compliance. Israel’s stay in the wilderness was in many ways a preparation for entering Canaan.
Up to this time there is no mention of Zion. The original promises to Abraham make no reference to Zion either. Israel had the law at Mount Sinai. God was now dwelling among them, showing they were his people. Zion would not be known until long after Israel had taken the land in David’s day, what need was there for Zion? While in the wilderness the Lord dwelt with the nation in a portable tent. After the land was taken from the Canaanites, Zion became the location of the temple, a more permanent place for God to dwell. As it was important for God to be among them to take possession of the land, it was also important that God find a fixed dwelling, for Israel to keep the land. For God to find a fixed dwelling among his people the law would have to be fixed in there hearts. The permanence of God’s law in the hearts of his people was the permanence with which God would dwell among them. Even dwelling in the land was no guarantee of blessings. At times Israel, while in Canaan, became servants to other nations. God’s presence among them had everything to do with bringing about the fulfillment of the blessings promised to Abraham. By establishing a stronghold where the commandment of God would always be taught, the nation would be assured future generations would receive the promised blessings. 1 Chro. 28:8 …keep and seek for all the commandments of the LORD your God: that ye may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you for ever. Having God’s commandments in the heart as Abraham did was the key to success. Zion would have a major place in upholding that law.
When considering the establishment of Zion we cannot help but see the important role Mount Sinai played. It was from Sinai the commandments were given, it was at Sinai God began to dwell among his people as a nation. The priesthood and tabernacle established at Sinai would guide the nation in the keeping of the law, until the temple was established. The covenant at Mount Sinai provided not only the law but a shadow of what would be established at Zion. Just as the commandment went forth from Sinai, in greater fashion the same commandment would go forth from the temple at Zion.
We can better see how Mount Sinai and Mount Zion relate when we consider the dedication of Solomon’s temple. After the temple was constructed, the tabernacle other then the Ark of the Covenant, was no longer needed. The Ark of the Covenant embodied the Law and was the very container which carried the original tables given to Moses. The Ark with two smaller cherubim constructed at Mount Sinai was placed in the Most Holy of the temple under the two larger cherubim constructed at Mount Zion. How different the circumstance surrounding Moses who received the pattern in the wilderness at Mount Sinai and David who received that pattern for the temple at Mount Zion. From distant times and circumstance there may seem little in common yet the Ark of the Covenant finds perfect rest in the most holy of the temple. The moment when the Glory of God filled the temple exemplify the statement made to Abraham “Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws” 2 Chron 5:13 It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD. Notice the words “one sound” these two Hebrew words appear together only one other place in the Bible; Ex 24:3 And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do. The harmony with which Israel accepted the covenant at Mount Sinai “one voice” would not be pictured as lighting permanently upon the hearts of the nation until the tables of the law given at Sinai found rest in the temple at Zion. One voice at Mount Sinai became a rolling chorus of one sound at Mount Zion. From the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai unto the dedication of the temple at Zion we find an institution put in place for instructing the descendents of Abraham so that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he has promised.
The taking of Canaan and the establishment of the Temple at Zion could not have happened without Israel’s adherence to the Mosaic Law. From a New Testament standpoint this may seem a problem. Mount Zion in the New Testament and prophetically in the Old Testament is connected with Sarah and the promises given to Abraham. Zion is spoken of as our Mother just as Sarah is. The passage in Isaiah 54:1 which speaks of Zion “Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear” is applied to Sarah in Galatians 4. It would be hard to understand that the Law given to Moses as being the means by which Mount Zion is established or bearing children. On the contrary Sarah in Geneses is given the dominant place over Hagar who is associated with Mount Sinai and the Law of Moses in Galatians. To have the Law of works be the means by which Zion is established seems to contradict both Genesis and Galatians which say the promises come by faith. How should we understand the role the Law of Moses played in the establishment of Zion as seen in the Old Testament? In the second part of this study we will consider this issue.
A New Law and A New Man
In Hebrews we learn Joshua was unable to bring Israel into there inheritance. Israel entered Canaan but never entered the relationship with God they sought. Heb 4:8, 9 For if Jesus (Joshua) had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. A continual problem was Israel’s inability to keep God’s commandments. It was not many years after the temple was built the nation departed from the commandments. The temple did not bring any lasting fulfillment to the promises. A way was needed to fix God’s commandments in the hearts of his people. Israel had long practice circumcision a sign showing their separation from the unclean practices of the gentiles and that they were the inheritors of the promises given to Abraham. Moses makes reference to a new kind of circumcision in Deuteronomy, circumcision of the heart. Deu 10:16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked. These words describe the need to remove the rebellious carnal nature of man for a heart fixed on the higher principals contained in God’s commandments. Because the hearts of the people were not circumcised, Moses predicted Israel would soon go astray and be cast out of the land. Moses also prophetically spoke of a time when God would circumcise the heart of his people. Deu 30:6 And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. The prophet Jeremiah tells us how this will take place. Jer 31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: 33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. From Jeremiah we learn of a new covenant that will accomplish what the Mosaic Law covenant was unable to do, write God’s law in their hearts forgive their sins and they become his people.
The covenant Jeremiah speaks of replaces the Law Covenant, and in every way surpasses the Mosaic Law. In 2 Cor 3:6-9 the glory of the New Covenant is described as a glory that “excelleth” making the glory of the Mosaic Law no glory at all. “For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth”. This excelling glory of the New Covenant can be seen when we consider that the New Covenant is established by Jesus. Jesus brought a clearer representation of God than had ever been seen by man. Moses a fallen man at best could only convey a corruptible message which would fade in glory. Jesus as a man was the expressed image of God and of him it could be said “if you have seen me, you have seen the father”. Jesus’ life and words reflect the true nature of God. Once accepted by God the words Jesus spoke to Israel became the New Covenant just as the words Moses spoke became the Law Covenant. John 17:8 For I (Jesus) have given unto them the words which thou (God)gavest me...
Also the New Covenant excelleth because it is established with Jesus’ own blood, this makes forgiveness of sin possible “for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more”. Forgiveness of sin makes it possible for God to pitch a tabernacle for his spirit in the hearts of his people. Jesus then as high priest can by the spirit of God write the law in the hearts of his people; “I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts”. Paul in Romans 7:22 calls this the Law of God after the inward man. 2 Cor 3:3 Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart. The Strong’s Concordance says this of the Hebrew word covenant “a compact (because made by passing between pieces of flesh)”. The Mosaic covenant made a separation between Israel and all other peoples of the earth, the New Covenant makes a separation in God’s people from the carnal mind which rebels against the law of God Rom. 8:7, this separation enabling each to walk after the spirit. As Jesus writes the words of God in the hearts of his people, the law works like a two-edged sword to circumcise the heart. Heb 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow… Circumcision of the heart creates a new Israel who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit who are able to by faith inherit the promises Israel was unable to inherit under Joshua.
The importance of the true circumcision can be seen in Isaac. Sarah was very careful to make sure that her son Isaac was the sole inheritor of all promised to Abraham. For this reason Sarah had Hagar and her son cast out. But it was not sufficient that Isaac have Abraham and Sarah as parents, to receive this inheritance circumcision was required. Gen 17:7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. 8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. 9 And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. 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 17:14 And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off…
We read in Genesis Sarah’s descendents will be as numerous as the stars of heaven and the sands of the sea. Being children of Abraham and Sarah shows each have the same faith as Abraham and Sarah but each must be circumcised as well. As the children of faith are brought forth each will be set apart to God by a covenant that separates between the flesh and the spirit. The antitypical Melchisedec will accomplish this by writing the law of God in the hearts of his people. This will then make inheriting the promises given to Abraham possible.
One further note: In the first part of this study we considered how the law given at Mount Sinai had such an important role in establishing Mount Zion, and that Mount Sinai in the New Testament is associated with Hagar and the righteousness which comes by works. It is nature to wonder why the Mosaic Law is enthroned in the temple on mount Zion which mount we connect with Sarah and children of faith. The bases of Israel relation with God was the Law of Moses represented by the two tables kept in the Ark of the Covenant. One possible explanation is that the covenant made with Israel at Mount Sinai prefigured the New Covenant. Before Moses instituted the Law Covenant he first read the words given him by God to all Israel then he sprinkled the people with the blood of bulls and goats to ratify the covenant. Jesus in like manner brought the words of God to all Israel then with his own blood appeared in heaven to ratify the New Covenant sprinkling only a remnant who accepted the covenant. Heb 9:19 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, 20 Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you. Jesus in a similar manner states in Ma 26:28 For this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. The writer of Hebrews also compares the sprinkling of the blood of the Mosaic covenant with that of Jesus. Heb 9:13,14 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? If the covenant made at Mount Sinai foreshadowed the New Covenant this would suggest a close relationship between Mount Zion (Sarah) and the New Covenant represented by the temple on Mount Zion. Because the New Covenant is a covenant of the spirit 2 Cor 3:6 and not of the letter it does not pose a problem by bringing righteous by works as the Mosaic Covenant does. Those under the New Covenant are under the blood of Jesus and there righteousness is from God. The antitype of the tables kept in the Ark of the Covenant would be the words of God which Jesus delivered to Israel as a man. The words of Jesus would be that new standard by which all men will we judged. “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” John 12:48. Upon the heavenly Mount Zion will stand a new temple with a new law not after the flesh but after the spirit that will ensure all the myriad of sons of Abraham will have the law of God in there heart.
We find no direct mention of Zion before David, but from Abraham’s day the foundations were being laid. In Genesis Abraham and his descendants where promised Canaan as an everlasting inheritance. Inheriting Canaan meant much more that taking possession of land, by inheriting the land they where inheriting a relationship with God. They would be his people, he would be there God. Canaan was a land of Milk and Honey because God would dwell there with his people.
In Genesis 17 the Lord placed conditions upon Abraham’s inheritance, telling him “walk before me, and be thou perfect”. Abraham’s separation to God was signified by the covenant of circumcision. In Gen. 26 the Lord reaffirms the promises to Isaac explaining “Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws”. Keeping God’s commandments, like circumcision, showed a separation from the unclean practices of surrounding nations and like circumcision established a bond between God and Abraham. Because Abraham kept God’s commandments God was now affirming the promises to Isaac his son.
One question may arise; will future generations keep God commandments as Abraham did? In Genesis 18 the Lord speaking to Abraham expresses confidence that Abraham will instruct future generation to keep God’s commandments. “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him”. I believe understanding how Abraham will command his children after him, will help us to better understand mount Zion importance’s.
Abraham passed his faith to his son Isaac, Jacob and Joseph and others followed this same path. In the days when Jacob was old during a time of famine the Lord told Jacob in a dream to leave Canaan and go down to Egypt where Joseph was ruler. This may seem strange why not stay in the land promised to Abraham? Abraham learned, in Genesis 15, his descendents would depart from Canaan for a season and return, but not before the iniquity of the Amorites was full. After dwelling in Egypt for generations, Abraham’s descendents became slaves to Pharaoh, many lost sight of the promises and commandments given to Abraham. Even so Egypt may have been a better place for Abraham’s descendents then amidst the moral decline of Canaan. In the days of Moses the Lord took notice of Israel, Exodus 2:24 And God heard their (Israel’s) groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. Acts 7:17 when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt.
After leaving Egypt Israel came to Mount Sinai, here a covenant was made between God and Israel which bound Israel to teach the commandments of God. This law covenant would help the nation hold to the same statutes and commandments which Abraham kept. It would not be left to the wishes of the father to teach the son, instruction was bound by law. The covenant set aside the tribe of Levi as a priestly tribe who would instruct the nation in the keeping of the law (Mal 2:4-7) and also make atonement for offenses against the covenant. By keeping God’s commandments Israel could assure themselves that God would go among them and prosper there way to take the land. In Leviticus, Moses stressed the importance of keeping the law, stating if they did not keep the law, the land they were to inherit would thrust them out. Lev 20:22 Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: that the land, whither I bring you to dwell therein, spue you not out. Deu 11: 8 Therefore shall ye keep all the commandments which I command you this day, that ye may be strong, and go in and possess the land, whither ye go to possess it; 9 And that ye may prolong your days in the land,,… The futility of entering the land without the Lord can be seen in Deu. 1:42-44 And the LORD said unto me, Say unto them, Go not up, neither fight; for I am not among you; lest ye be smitten before your enemies. (43 So I spake unto you; and ye would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD, and went presumptuously up into the hill. 44 And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you, as bees … Keeping the Law Covenant was the means by which Israel could inherit the land. The priesthood would have the role of bringing the nation into compliance. Israel’s stay in the wilderness was in many ways a preparation for entering Canaan.
Up to this time there is no mention of Zion. The original promises to Abraham make no reference to Zion either. Israel had the law at Mount Sinai. God was now dwelling among them, showing they were his people. Zion would not be known until long after Israel had taken the land in David’s day, what need was there for Zion? While in the wilderness the Lord dwelt with the nation in a portable tent. After the land was taken from the Canaanites, Zion became the location of the temple, a more permanent place for God to dwell. As it was important for God to be among them to take possession of the land, it was also important that God find a fixed dwelling, for Israel to keep the land. For God to find a fixed dwelling among his people the law would have to be fixed in there hearts. The permanence of God’s law in the hearts of his people was the permanence with which God would dwell among them. Even dwelling in the land was no guarantee of blessings. At times Israel, while in Canaan, became servants to other nations. God’s presence among them had everything to do with bringing about the fulfillment of the blessings promised to Abraham. By establishing a stronghold where the commandment of God would always be taught, the nation would be assured future generations would receive the promised blessings. 1 Chro. 28:8 …keep and seek for all the commandments of the LORD your God: that ye may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you for ever. Having God’s commandments in the heart as Abraham did was the key to success. Zion would have a major place in upholding that law.
When considering the establishment of Zion we cannot help but see the important role Mount Sinai played. It was from Sinai the commandments were given, it was at Sinai God began to dwell among his people as a nation. The priesthood and tabernacle established at Sinai would guide the nation in the keeping of the law, until the temple was established. The covenant at Mount Sinai provided not only the law but a shadow of what would be established at Zion. Just as the commandment went forth from Sinai, in greater fashion the same commandment would go forth from the temple at Zion.
We can better see how Mount Sinai and Mount Zion relate when we consider the dedication of Solomon’s temple. After the temple was constructed, the tabernacle other then the Ark of the Covenant, was no longer needed. The Ark of the Covenant embodied the Law and was the very container which carried the original tables given to Moses. The Ark with two smaller cherubim constructed at Mount Sinai was placed in the Most Holy of the temple under the two larger cherubim constructed at Mount Zion. How different the circumstance surrounding Moses who received the pattern in the wilderness at Mount Sinai and David who received that pattern for the temple at Mount Zion. From distant times and circumstance there may seem little in common yet the Ark of the Covenant finds perfect rest in the most holy of the temple. The moment when the Glory of God filled the temple exemplify the statement made to Abraham “Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws” 2 Chron 5:13 It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD. Notice the words “one sound” these two Hebrew words appear together only one other place in the Bible; Ex 24:3 And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do. The harmony with which Israel accepted the covenant at Mount Sinai “one voice” would not be pictured as lighting permanently upon the hearts of the nation until the tables of the law given at Sinai found rest in the temple at Zion. One voice at Mount Sinai became a rolling chorus of one sound at Mount Zion. From the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai unto the dedication of the temple at Zion we find an institution put in place for instructing the descendents of Abraham so that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he has promised.
The taking of Canaan and the establishment of the Temple at Zion could not have happened without Israel’s adherence to the Mosaic Law. From a New Testament standpoint this may seem a problem. Mount Zion in the New Testament and prophetically in the Old Testament is connected with Sarah and the promises given to Abraham. Zion is spoken of as our Mother just as Sarah is. The passage in Isaiah 54:1 which speaks of Zion “Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear” is applied to Sarah in Galatians 4. It would be hard to understand that the Law given to Moses as being the means by which Mount Zion is established or bearing children. On the contrary Sarah in Geneses is given the dominant place over Hagar who is associated with Mount Sinai and the Law of Moses in Galatians. To have the Law of works be the means by which Zion is established seems to contradict both Genesis and Galatians which say the promises come by faith. How should we understand the role the Law of Moses played in the establishment of Zion as seen in the Old Testament? In the second part of this study we will consider this issue.
A New Law and A New Man
In Hebrews we learn Joshua was unable to bring Israel into there inheritance. Israel entered Canaan but never entered the relationship with God they sought. Heb 4:8, 9 For if Jesus (Joshua) had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. A continual problem was Israel’s inability to keep God’s commandments. It was not many years after the temple was built the nation departed from the commandments. The temple did not bring any lasting fulfillment to the promises. A way was needed to fix God’s commandments in the hearts of his people. Israel had long practice circumcision a sign showing their separation from the unclean practices of the gentiles and that they were the inheritors of the promises given to Abraham. Moses makes reference to a new kind of circumcision in Deuteronomy, circumcision of the heart. Deu 10:16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked. These words describe the need to remove the rebellious carnal nature of man for a heart fixed on the higher principals contained in God’s commandments. Because the hearts of the people were not circumcised, Moses predicted Israel would soon go astray and be cast out of the land. Moses also prophetically spoke of a time when God would circumcise the heart of his people. Deu 30:6 And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. The prophet Jeremiah tells us how this will take place. Jer 31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: 33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. From Jeremiah we learn of a new covenant that will accomplish what the Mosaic Law covenant was unable to do, write God’s law in their hearts forgive their sins and they become his people.
The covenant Jeremiah speaks of replaces the Law Covenant, and in every way surpasses the Mosaic Law. In 2 Cor 3:6-9 the glory of the New Covenant is described as a glory that “excelleth” making the glory of the Mosaic Law no glory at all. “For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth”. This excelling glory of the New Covenant can be seen when we consider that the New Covenant is established by Jesus. Jesus brought a clearer representation of God than had ever been seen by man. Moses a fallen man at best could only convey a corruptible message which would fade in glory. Jesus as a man was the expressed image of God and of him it could be said “if you have seen me, you have seen the father”. Jesus’ life and words reflect the true nature of God. Once accepted by God the words Jesus spoke to Israel became the New Covenant just as the words Moses spoke became the Law Covenant. John 17:8 For I (Jesus) have given unto them the words which thou (God)gavest me...
Also the New Covenant excelleth because it is established with Jesus’ own blood, this makes forgiveness of sin possible “for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more”. Forgiveness of sin makes it possible for God to pitch a tabernacle for his spirit in the hearts of his people. Jesus then as high priest can by the spirit of God write the law in the hearts of his people; “I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts”. Paul in Romans 7:22 calls this the Law of God after the inward man. 2 Cor 3:3 Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart. The Strong’s Concordance says this of the Hebrew word covenant “a compact (because made by passing between pieces of flesh)”. The Mosaic covenant made a separation between Israel and all other peoples of the earth, the New Covenant makes a separation in God’s people from the carnal mind which rebels against the law of God Rom. 8:7, this separation enabling each to walk after the spirit. As Jesus writes the words of God in the hearts of his people, the law works like a two-edged sword to circumcise the heart. Heb 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow… Circumcision of the heart creates a new Israel who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit who are able to by faith inherit the promises Israel was unable to inherit under Joshua.
The importance of the true circumcision can be seen in Isaac. Sarah was very careful to make sure that her son Isaac was the sole inheritor of all promised to Abraham. For this reason Sarah had Hagar and her son cast out. But it was not sufficient that Isaac have Abraham and Sarah as parents, to receive this inheritance circumcision was required. Gen 17:7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. 8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. 9 And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. 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 17:14 And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off…
We read in Genesis Sarah’s descendents will be as numerous as the stars of heaven and the sands of the sea. Being children of Abraham and Sarah shows each have the same faith as Abraham and Sarah but each must be circumcised as well. As the children of faith are brought forth each will be set apart to God by a covenant that separates between the flesh and the spirit. The antitypical Melchisedec will accomplish this by writing the law of God in the hearts of his people. This will then make inheriting the promises given to Abraham possible.
One further note: In the first part of this study we considered how the law given at Mount Sinai had such an important role in establishing Mount Zion, and that Mount Sinai in the New Testament is associated with Hagar and the righteousness which comes by works. It is nature to wonder why the Mosaic Law is enthroned in the temple on mount Zion which mount we connect with Sarah and children of faith. The bases of Israel relation with God was the Law of Moses represented by the two tables kept in the Ark of the Covenant. One possible explanation is that the covenant made with Israel at Mount Sinai prefigured the New Covenant. Before Moses instituted the Law Covenant he first read the words given him by God to all Israel then he sprinkled the people with the blood of bulls and goats to ratify the covenant. Jesus in like manner brought the words of God to all Israel then with his own blood appeared in heaven to ratify the New Covenant sprinkling only a remnant who accepted the covenant. Heb 9:19 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, 20 Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you. Jesus in a similar manner states in Ma 26:28 For this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. The writer of Hebrews also compares the sprinkling of the blood of the Mosaic covenant with that of Jesus. Heb 9:13,14 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? If the covenant made at Mount Sinai foreshadowed the New Covenant this would suggest a close relationship between Mount Zion (Sarah) and the New Covenant represented by the temple on Mount Zion. Because the New Covenant is a covenant of the spirit 2 Cor 3:6 and not of the letter it does not pose a problem by bringing righteous by works as the Mosaic Covenant does. Those under the New Covenant are under the blood of Jesus and there righteousness is from God. The antitype of the tables kept in the Ark of the Covenant would be the words of God which Jesus delivered to Israel as a man. The words of Jesus would be that new standard by which all men will we judged. “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” John 12:48. Upon the heavenly Mount Zion will stand a new temple with a new law not after the flesh but after the spirit that will ensure all the myriad of sons of Abraham will have the law of God in there heart.
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