You speak as if God failed the first time and had to correct Himself later. That is not what Jesus taught.
When Israel failed to enter the Land and possess their inheritance, was that
God's failure? No, He desire was for them to in and take what was theirs. However, the scripture says: …18 And to whom did He swear that they would never enter His rest? Was it not to those who
disobeyed? 19
So we see that it was because of their unbelief that they were unable to enter
Jesus said plainly, “Think not that I came to destroy the law or the prophets: I came not to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass away from the law, till all things be accomplished”
The moral commands do continue because those have always been God's will for humanity. In fact, such truths were
already present in man and were intuitively understood from the day God first made us (Romans 2:14). Thus, even before anyone had actually been murdered, God was able to reason with Cain about it. That being said, many of the PRACTICES God gave to encourage Israel to approach and worship Him
did not continue. For instance, the Laws concerning the design of the Temple and the priesthood, and the system by which the Jews approached and worshiped God had became a hollow charade because the people's heart was not in it (Isaiah 1:13-15) This is why, I believe, God eventually put an end to the Temple, the sacrifices and the priesthood
(Matthew 5:17–18 ASV). Heaven and earth are still here. So the Law is not destroyed.
Fulfill does not mean abolish. It means to bring to fullness, to complete its purpose. A seed fulfills its purpose when it grows into a tree, but the life inside it is the same. Jesus did not say the commandments were obsolete. He warned that whoever breaks the least commandment and teaches men so “shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:19).
God wants of us what He has always wanted - t
hat we should be like Him (made in His image) and that, because of this, we might fellowship with Him. You make some good observations here such as when you say
Fulfill does not mean abolish. It means to bring to fullness, to complete its purpose. This is why following the
letter of the Law is
inadequate and insufficient. Under the terms of the New Covenant, MESSIAH, who is the living image and exact representation of the Father, is the image, and the template He wants to shape us into.
You quote Hebrews. But even there, God says what the New Covenant is. It is not the removal of His law. It is this: “I will put my laws into their mind, And on their heart also will I write them” (Hebrews 8:10 ASV, quoting Jeremiah 31:33). The law is not erased. It is written deeper.
I agree with you on this. Under the New Covenant, the
essence of the Law is meant to be inscribed on our inner being.
…3For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man, as an offering for sin. He thus condemned sin in the flesh, 4 so that the righteous standard of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:3-4)
The destruction of the Temple in AD 70 was judgment, just as Jesus foretold (Luke 19:43–44; 21:6). It proved His authority. But it did not mean God changed His moral standard.
I do not believe God gave up His moral standards. The New Covenant gave us a way to fulfill the moral commands through the indwelling Holy Spirit
Jesus said, “If thou wouldest enter into life, keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:17). He did not say they would soon disappear. The priesthood changed because Messiah is our High Priest forever “after the order of Melchizedek” (Psalm 110:4). That was written long before the Temple fell. This was always God’s plan, not an emergency adjustment.
Hebrews 8:13 tells us:
By calling this covenant "new," he has made the first one OBSOLETE and what is obsolete and outdated will
SOON DISAPPEAR.
Our differences here are with the author of the
Book of Hebrews who said making a NEW Covenant with us automatically makes the prior covenant OBSOLETE. This was not about God's moral imperatives but about how we can approach and relate to God. When he says the Old would "soon disappear" I think he was referring to a specific event which was the destruction of the Temple. With no Temple there would be no more sacrifices. Without that Mosaic Judaism ceased, being replaced by the counterfeit model of Rabbinic Judaeism
