Hebrews 8:7-13 New American Standard Bible
A New Covenant
7 For if that first covenant had been free of fault, no [a]circumstances would have been sought for a second. 8 For in finding fault with [b]the people, He says,
“Behold, days are coming, says the Lord,
[c]When I will bring about a new covenant
With the house of Israel and the house of Judah,
9 Not like the covenant which I made with their fathers
On the day I took them by the hand
To bring them out of the land of Egypt;
For they did not continue in My covenant,
And I did not care about them, says the Lord.
10 For this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel
After those days, declares the Lord:
[d]I will put My laws into their minds,
And write them on their hearts.
And I will be their God,
And they shall be My people.
11 And they will not teach, each one his fellow citizen,
And each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’
For they will all know Me,
From [e]the least to the greatest of them.
12 For I will be merciful toward their wrongdoings,
And their sins I will no longer remember.”
13 [f]When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is [g]about to disappear.
Word of God for the Children of God
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Much of chapter 8 is a summary of chapters 1-7.
It was written to Hebrew believers.
These Men and women of the mid first century grew up in the Jewish religious tradition with the priesthood. The sacrifices of animals as a covering for sin.
But now, they were free from all of that.
Because the Messiah had come in Jesus.
He fulfilled the law and was the perfect sacrifice, because He was without sin.
They placed their faith and trust in Him for their salvation, and were no longer under the long failed Old Testament Law.
However,… for many of them, their families still were, their friends still were, that was their community.
Persecution is spreading rapidly and life was way more difficult and dangerous as a Christian, that what they ever remembered in the world of rules and black and white religion.
They were sorely tempted to abandon their faith in Christ, and turn back to their former ways.
The book of Hebrews was written as an encouragement to them to hang on.
It was written for them to gain some perspective, and to learn that Jesus was better than all of that.
Out With The Old, In With The New
This is the “sum” of all that the writer has been saying so far:
“We have such a high priest…” (Hebrews 8:1a).
Jesus, our high priest, is ‘holy, innocent, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens’ (cf. Hebrews 7:26).
He is “seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens” (Hebrews 8:1b; cf. Hebrews 1:3; Hebrews 10:12; Hebrews 12:2).
At the time of our writer’s writing (Hebrews 8:4), the Levitical priesthood was continuing to make offerings and sacrifices: but, even if He was still upon earth, Jesus wouldn’t have qualified to conduct these – He is not of the tribe of Levi (cf. Hebrews 7:14).
No, Jesus’ priesthood is quite another order (Hebrews 7:17): which ensures we lift our eyes above the earthly and temporary into heaven itself (Hebrews 9:24).
Jesus’ “has obtained a more excellent ministry” in proportion to “how much also He is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon far far better promises” (Hebrews 8:6).
The shadow gives way to the reality. “For if that first (covenant) had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for the second” (Hebrews 8:7).
In Hebrews 8:8-12, our writer goes on to quote the ‘new covenant’ text (of Jeremiah 31:31-34) in full. First, the LORD “will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah” (Hebrews 8:8; cf. Jeremiah 31:31).
This new covenant is so much superior to the old, that now the LORD will write His laws upon the hearts of His people (Hebrews 8:10b; cf. Jeremiah 31:33b).
This internalizing of the otherwise impossible law points forward to the giving of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (cf. Ezekiel 36:27). No longer is God’s law written upon tables of stone, but upon our fragile human hearts (cf. 2 Corinthians 3:3)!
Delighting in God’s Will
When God’s people cannot rise to the pinnacle of His standards, the Lord does not lower His standards to match their abilities. Instead, Lord determines to transform His people through the person and work of His Son, Jesus.
According to Old Testament practices, every high priest was appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices on behalf of the people.
But, when Jesus came to fulfill the role of our Great High Priest, He ushered in the new and perfect covenant by offering His own life as the final sacrifice.
By His death and resurrection, Jesus secured a covenant which can never be broken—a covenant that these worlds had looked forward to when the prophet Jeremiah first spoke them (Jeremiah 31:31-32);
31 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant which I made with their fathers on the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord.
A covenant that transforms the hearts of those with whom it is made.
But how does this transformation take place?
Following His resurrection, Jesus ascended into heaven and sat down “at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven” (Hebrews 8:1).
This decisive act not only signified His work was complete but also initiated the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Prior to His death and resurrection, Jesus essentially told His disciples, It is necessary for Me to go away. If I’m here, I’m just here, in this body and in this place. But when I go, when I send the Holy Spirit in all of His fullness, He will not only be with you, but He will be in you—all of you, wherever you are. And He will take the things that are Mine, and He will make them precious to you.
It’s the ministry of the Holy Spirit, then, to transform and renew our hearts so God’s law will be written on them and so that it will be our delight to do His will (Jeremiah 31:33).
Previously, God’s ways were irksome to us.
Previously, His law was only condemnation to us.
But now it has become a joyful reality.
To live in purity, wholeness, and faithfulness has now become our delight.
The new covenant also enables us to know God through His word.
Our knowledge of God doesn’t come primarily through sacraments, a hierarchy of priests, or teachers and pastors.
Instead, all of us, from the least to the greatest, can know God (Hebrews 8:11).
When we genuinely know God personally and intimately, we are assured of our forgiveness; and when we see Christ personally and intimately in His word, we are transformed by the Spirit to become more like Him (2 Corinthians 3:18).
This is the wonder of what Jesus has done as our Great High Priest.
He has secured our forgiveness, and He has sent His Spirit.
In what ways are we struggling to obey God, or even really to want to obey Him?
Ask Him to work through you, by His Spirit, to transform your view of His law and to enable your obedience of it.
What you could never do on your own, you can do as you keep in step with Him.
In God’s strength, grow to deepen relationships, broaden horizons, and find peace and hope for everyday living. Let God pull his weight! We’ll be pleasantly surprised—and overwhelmingly thankful—for the changes that we’ll all see.
In the name of God, the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit …..
Praying …..
Psalm 8 New American Standard Bible
The Lord’s Glory and Mankind’s Dignity.
For the music director; on the Gittith. A Psalm of David.
8 Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth,
You who have [a]displayed Your splendor above the heavens!
2 From the mouths of infants and nursing babies You have established [b]strength
Because of Your enemies,
To do away with the enemy and the revengeful.
3 When I [c]consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have set in place;
4 What is man that You think of him,
And a son of man that You are concerned about him?
5 Yet You have made him a little lower than [d]God,
And You crown him with glory and majesty!
6 You have him rule over the works of Your hands;
You have put everything under his feet,
7 All sheep and oxen,
And also the animals of the field,
8 The birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.
9 Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth!
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 