[spjackson1]

Greetings Dr Jewell,

I am so very grateful for the opportunity of this lecture series to receive a unified thread of information regarding ancient Western Civilization. I look forward to implementing your classes into my children’s homeschooling. Your clear articulation is much appreciated.

I have a comment in regards to the special relationship that the Hebrews shared with Jehovah: You mentioned that it was unconditional and everlasting and yet Jehovah could revoke their position with Him if they were disobedient. May I humbly suggest that these circumstances are two different covenants? Judaism is a very unique religion in that the Israelites are the only people to whom God made verbal communication and covenants with.

The special relationship status that the Israelites have with Jehovah are indeed unconditional and everlasting through the Abrahamic covenant in Genesis 12. Jehovah Himself made a unilateral confirmation of that covenant without a condition from Abraham. Signifying that He alone will keep it.

While the promises of material and spiritual blessings are made through the Mosaic covenant. This covenant was made bilaterally between Jehovah and the Israelites with the understanding that if they follow His laws, He will bless them, and if they rebel against His laws, He will chastise them. The subsequent history of Israel is evidenced on their commitment to this agreement.

I only mention this because it doesn’t make sense if its both unconditional and everlasting if it can be revoked.

Again thank you and look forward to learning more.

Steve Jackson

[Jason Jewell]

Hi Steve, and thanks for your thoughtful comment. I hope you are able to get a lot of mileage from this material.

Can you point me to the time marker where I said the covenant was unconditional? What I remembered saying was that the covenant was designed to last forever but was conditional on the Hebrews’ obedience. The context in which I intended the remark to be understood was in its temporal ramifications stemming from what happened on Sinai.

I recognize there is a longstanding theological argument among different Christian “camps” over the covenantal status of Jews in the Christian dispensation. For the purposes of this lecture series, I’m not advocating a particular position on that question.

I hope this helps to clarify what I said in the lecture.

[spjackson1]

Thank you for the response Dr J. The time range that I was referring to is around the 14 minute mark until 15:50. I appreciated your summary and timeline of the Hebrews, I just wanted to clarify that there are actually several covenants the Hebrews made with God. While the Mosaic covenant was conditional based on their obedience to the mosaic law code, the Abraham covenant which selected the Israelites to have a “special status” with God was unconditional and everlasting.

I certainly recognize this strays a little into theological debate than your lecture is intended for, but in my opinion understanding this position of the Hebrews is at the core of many ancient and current events that shaped western civilization.

Again, thank you.

[Jason Jewell]

Yes, theologians identify a number of covenants between God and men in the Old Testament (Adam, Abraham, Moses, David, etc.), and each has been interpreted as having an impact on not only the Hebrew people, but also on the Christian church and even the entire world. To keep things as simple as possible in this lecture, I was just trying to deal with the Mosaic covenant.

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