Coaches & Facilitators – BT6:  God teaches the Least to the Greatest, the Last before First!

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Hebrews 8:11 cites Jeremiah 31:34 because it radically distinguishes the New (a) Covenant (b) from the old covenant (c), for the definition of chadash and kainos for “New” means “fresh, completely different-in-kind, unprecedented, sharing nothing with its predecessors, unique, and thus superior”  In Jeremiah 31:31-32 God clarifies this: “I will make a New (a) Covenant . . . absolutely-in-fact-NOT and in-possibility-NOT (d) like the covenant that I had made . . . My [previous] covenant they (the Jews led out of Egypt) broke.”  <Notes> a) chadash, kainos: fresh, completely different-in-kind, unprecedented, sharing nothing with its predecessors, unique, and superior, b) essentially the NT, c) essentially the OT, d) the rare ou me, the strongest negative possible.

A key, radical difference is that the “Law of God” will no longer be commandments written on stone or paper for God’s people to learn from human teachers, read, studied, debated, or memorized in order to know the Lord.  This time, according to vv. 31:33-34, God says: “I will put My torah/nomos law/instruction/principles WITHIN them – I will write it on their HEARTS, . . . and/coupled absolutely-in-fact-NOT and in-possibility-NOT (a) shall actually each person teach his neighbor (b) and/also each person [teach] his brother (family members) to experientially, relationally know (e) the Lord, for My people shall ALL mentally ‘see’ to perceive/know (c) Me – from the least of them to the greatest.”  In fact the NT explains that the kingdom of God comes to the so-called “the least or last” first, and the so-called “greatest or first” last (d).  There is much written about who these people are, which we will explore now in the next BLOG Topic, but also see One Teacher and The Least Among You. <Notes> a) again, the rare ou me, the strongest negative possible, b) fellow Jews, c) eido, d) Matthew 20:8, 16; Mark 9:35, 10:31; Luke 13:30, e) ginosko. See also Knowledge, New Covenant Ways, and Only 2 Commandments.

Reflections:

As Christian musicians, are we going to lead people back to the old covenant or a completely different-in-kind New Covenant?  Do we still insist that God’s instruction is still on paper that needs to be taught by us, or do we trust that God desires to teach us ALL directly inside our hearts?  Do we also recognize that God is going to do this with those we likely think are “the least among us?”

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Spiritual Education, Church leaders, Church equippers, New Covenant not like old covenant, God now writes His instruction directly on our hearts NOT thru bible-writings, NOW the least among them know God before the greatest, God is now the only Teacher