Overcoming Defeat at Judgment Summary

Righteousness and submission to the covenant are followed by judgment. Disobedience and the breaking of the covenant are also followed by judgment. A judgment can come on a personal, national, or global level and often comes in a physical form as a result of something that is spiritually right or wrong.

Defining Sin

We can define sin in many different ways. The two most common are 'missing the mark' and' 'transgression of the law'. It is startling how little man makes sin out to be. The fact that the One Most High has created a means by which a sinful person can transfer their sin onto another and then live in righteousness is an incredible act of Mercy. For mankind, sin entered our lives in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve disobeyed the instructions of the Almighty. The Scriptures clearly state that because of the sin of Adam and Eve, we too are born into this fallen world and have sin in our lives. When there is a judgment, there is also a level of justice being done. A person can choose not to be with Elohim by following after idols and false gods. They can also choose to be prideful and selfish by only doing what they want rather than obey the One Most High. If this is done, then He lets them have the separation from Himself that they have demonstrated they want.

Sacrifice

However, there is more to this relationship. Something must be done to allow a person who has broken the covenant to be able to return and have relationship with the Almighty once again. This has been accomplished through the covenant sacrificial system. The covenant laws, when obeyed, will help a person stay righteous and pure and close to the Almighty. When the covenant laws are broken such as by sinful action, then the priesthood and the sacrifices are there to re-turn the person to righteousness. These are a foreshadowing of the work of the Messiah, who is the true High priest. The fact that the One Most High has created a means by which a sinful person can transfer their sin onto another and then live in righteousness is an incredible act of mercy. In modern society, most do not recognize or understand the depth of a sacrifice. Not only the physical cost of the animal used in the sacrifice, but the emotion involved in laying one's hand upon the animal as it dies in your place is incredible. Yet this is mild compared to the loss of relationship and fellowship with the One Most High.

The Tabernacle

Another of the great themes of the Scriptures is the amount of detail surrounding the building, use, and destruction of the Tabernacle and Temple. Its importance is difficult to overstate because this represents the Almighty dwelling with His people. If the people obey and come close to Him then He is there dwelling among them. If they disobey and choose another to trust, then He removes His house from among them.

One of the great battles of which to be aware is that with legalism. Legalism is an attempt to obey the laws, follow certain traditions or rituals, or follow some other practice in order to earn one's own salvation. The focus has been taken off of the Messiah as a replacement and as atonement and, instead, the individual works to try and perfectly keep the covenant relationship going by their own efforts. This is a dangerous trap and one which people easily seem to slide into. This is something that must clearly be marked off within discussions of the covenant because too much emphasis can be placed on the covenant laws as an end in themselves rather than remembering that they only serve as guidelines in how to have a relationship. How the laws are observed may influence blessing and cursing, but they do not repair a broken relationship.