Steve wrote:Except for where he states he will make a new covenant and his law will live in our hearts.
You are speaking of Yermeyah.Jeremiah 31:31.
First in context this starts in chapter 30 and ends at the end of Chapter 31...consisting of a dream and interpretation....and when reading it that way there is NO WAY one could take it any other way that it's yet future. So at best you could say that there WILL BE a New Covenant, but this does not equate to their being a New Covenant presently. Also this Covenant will be cut with Yahudah and Yisrael, and as you pointed out the Towrah will be written on our hearts, again this has yet to occur.
Second the word chosen is Chadash. And while chadash CAN mean new, its primary meaning is renew. It is used to speak of the rebuilding and restoring of the temple, of cities etc.
TWOT wrote: ḥādaš is used in the sense of “repair” or “rebuild” referring to cities (Isa 61:4), the temple (II Chr 24:4, 12), and the altar (II Chr 15:8). It is also used figuratively. Under Samuel the kingdom was renewed at Gilgal (I Sam 11:14). David wanted a right spirit, equivalent to a clean heart, renewed within him (Ps 51:10 [H 12]). The prophet asked for renewal as of old (Lam 5:21). God renews the face of the ground, that is, gives it new life (Ps 104:30), and he renews one’s youth (Ps 103:5).
In certain context it can also mean New. So Context is the key to determining the meaning of the word. In the context of Yermeyah we are told that the only difference between this covenant and the covenant cut with Yisraelites brought out of Egypt is that the Torah would be written on their hearts. Since the Torah contains the Covenant this would suggest a renewing of that covenant with addition of the Towrah being written on their hearts.
Furthermore in the context of Yahowah consistently stating that His Covenant is eternal, for all people, all places and all times. The idea that His covenant was being done away with and a New Covenant would be brought is absurd.
So in the Context of Yermeyah and the whole of Scripture it makes the most sense to render chadash as renewed and not new.
But if you choose to ignore that you still have to deal with the fact pointed out earlier that this is speaking of still future events and therefore as of today there is no New Covenant. Compound that by the fact that when it is renewed it the Torah will be written on hearts instead of parchment and the idea that there is a New Covenant which invalidates, does away with or in any way lessens the Torah of Yahowah is completely idiotic and irrational.
Steve wrote:And as for the Yahudym/Jews, it is best to distinguish them. Most people do not think of Ephraim or Naphtali when the former is mentioned.
While I agree that they should be distinguished for clarities sake, I doubt 1 in a million people think of Ephraim or Naphtali when you speak of Yisrael/Israel. The average person today lumps all the tribes into one group Jews/Israelites.