08/21/2026
When studying the Bible, it’s best to avoid jumping from one verse to another in different books. Each book should be read in its entirety and interpreted according to its intended meaning, rather than by imposing verses from other books—unless the book itself references another. This holistic approach, known as exegesis (or as I like to call it, common sense), allows the text to interpret itself instead of forcing our own beliefs onto what we are reading.
Before using the term “new covenant” to support any position based on our own interpretation of scripture, we should first understand what the New Covenant truly is. Jeremiah and Ezekiel clearly describe what this covenant looks like.
Jeremiah 31:31-33 (LSB): “Behold, days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when I will cut a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I cut with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, but I was a husband to them,” declares Yahweh. “But this is the covenant which I will cut with the house of Israel after those days,” declares Yahweh: “I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
Ezekiel 36:24-27: And I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your uncleanness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to do My judgments.
Four important points of the New Covenant as revealed to the prophets:
Yahweh is the author and propitiation of this covenant.
He is cleaning us from our sins, through His Salvation (Yeshuati).
He will transform our hearts and keep writing in them His Law.
He will give us of His Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh) who will provoke us to walk in His laws, ordinances and judgements.
If your interpretation of scripture goes against the prophecy of the New Covenant, it means you’re misunderstanding what you’re reading. Neither Yeshua nor the apostles contradicted this prophecy. Yeshua’s purpose was to take from us the responsibility of governmental enforcement of the law and its interpretation.
In the book of Hebrews, the main theme isn’t the replacement of the Law, but rather the replacement of the priestly function.
Hebrews 10:5-10 (LSB): Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, “SACRIFICE AND OFFERING YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, BUT A BODY YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR ME; IN BURNT OFFERINGS AND sacrifices FOR SIN YOU HAVE TAKEN NO PLEASURE. THEN I SAID, ‘BEHOLD, I HAVE COME, IN THE SCROLL OF THE BOOK IT IS WRITTEN OF ME, TO DO YOUR WILL, O GOD.’” After saying above, “SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS AND BURNT OFFERINGS AND sacrifices FOR SIN YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, NOR HAVE YOU TAKEN PLEASURE in them” (which are offered according to the Law), then He said, “BEHOLD, I HAVE COME TO DO YOUR WILL.” He takes away the first in order to establish the second. By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
If this verse suggests that the entire law has been abolished because Yahweh never requested it, as many Anti-Torah believers interpret, then why does He say He will accept our sacrifices in the age to come? (Isaiah 56:6-7)
Isaiah 56:6-7 (LSB): “Also the foreigners who join themselves to Yahweh, to minister to Him, and to love the name of Yahweh, to be His slaves, everyone who keeps from profaning the sabbath and takes hold of My covenant, even those I will bring to My holy mountain and make them glad in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.”
First, we need to understand where the idea the author of Hebrews is trying to convey comes from, which means going back to the source he references—Psalm 10.
Psalms 40:6-8 (LSB): Sacrifice and meal offering You have not desired; My ears You have opened; Burnt offering and sin offering You have not required. Then I said, “Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me. I desire to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my inner being.”
Sacrifices were not a requirement but rather a practice with many purposes, beyond just atoning for sins. They also served as a way to provide food for the priests, the poor, widows, and orphans, though they were not necessary for salvation. At the same time, David is quoting from a scroll, likely the scroll of Samuel, where the prophet confronted King Shaul, saying:
1 Samuel 15:22-23 (LSB): And Samuel said, “Has Yahweh as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of Yahweh? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and insubordination is as wickedness and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of Yahweh, He has also rejected you from being king.”
This is also affirmed by the prophets; in the scroll of Jeremiah, Yahweh wasn’t rejecting the sacrifices themselves, but rather the heart behind those offering them.
Jeremiah 6:19-20 (LSB): Hear, O earth: behold, I am bringing evil on this people, The fruit of their plans, Because they have not given heed to My words, And as for My law, they have rejected it also. For what purpose does frankincense come to Me from Sheba And the sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, And your sacrifices are not pleasing to Me.”
For those trying to push the belief that Yahweh has done away with His Law by using these passages from Hebrews, they fail to see that the context given by the author actually contradicts their interpretation. Hebrews is not challenging the validity or authority of Yahweh’s Law; rather, it questions the hearts of the priests. They are performing the sacrifices, but their hearts are far from Yahweh. Why, then, is Yahweh rejecting our sacrifices?
Jeremiah 6:19 (LSB): Because they have not given heed to My words, And as for My law, they have rejected it also.
The main idea in the book of Hebrews is that God no longer sees us as capable of carrying the responsibility of passing final judgment on sinful acts or sinners. Why? Because time and again, we’ve shown that we are sinners ourselves, which disqualifies us from doing so. On our own, we can’t walk according to His ways—we need His Holy Spirit.
That’s why the Levites (the First) are no longer the ones carrying out final judgment with stones, as we see in the Gospel account where Yeshua challenged the leaders of the people, saying, “Whoever is without sin, cast the first stone.” We can’t do it, because we aren’t righteous on our own. Now Yeshua is our High Priest (the Second). While our priests may present us before Yahweh, it is Yeshua who will give the final judgment in the age to come. Still, we are called to walk in His ways, and we have no excuse, because the Law of God—once given through Moses, now the Law of Christ—is no longer on a distant stone hidden in an ark, but is being written in our hearts.
Using the “Law of Christ” as an excuse to abandon our responsibility to follow Yahweh’s way is why Yeshua said that in the last day many will come to Him and say:
Matthew 7:22
‘Lord, Lord, in Your name did we not prophesy, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name do many miracles?’
To what He said in the day of final judgement:
Matthew 7:23
‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’
Notice that Yeshua will not criticize them for being “legalists”; instead, He will judge them for failing to follow the Torah (Law, Teaching)—an act of “lawlessness.”
Legalism is a concept said to have been introduced by the Roman Catholic Church to remove Yahweh’s laws and Jewish elements from the Scriptures during the Council of Laodicea #29. It’s like a board of directors taking control of a company from its founder. Over time, the Church shifted into a political power rather than simply being a gathering of a community.
That is why Yahweh calls on each of us to protect ourselves from deceptive teachings like those of Marcion, Valentinus, and Ptolemy.
Deuteronomy 11:16-17 (LSB): Beware lest your hearts be deceived, and you turn away and serve other gods and worship them, and the anger of Yahweh will be kindled against you, and He will shut up the heavens so that there will be no rain and the ground will not yield its fruit; and you will perish quickly from the good land which Yahweh is giving you.
Shalom, Shalom
When studying the Bible, it’s best to avoid jumping from one verse to another in different books. Each book should be read in its entirety and interpreted according to its intended meaning, rather …
