Hebrews 8:6-13: The New Covenant
2023-02-25
Hebrews 8:6
The more excellent ministry of Jesus is not that He is went into the holiest in the earthly temple, but rather went into holiest in heaven. There He is our mediator and advocate. The earthly high priest could not offer any of this. Jesus’ ministry is the most excellent of all.
The covenant is better also, not that the Old Testament is any less the Word of God than the New. The new covenant is better because it served us better than the old. We see this in Romans 7, “For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin” (Romans 7:14).
The covenant was established on better promises also. When we look at promises mentioned in the former parts of this book, we see that the promises of the New are superior to that of the Old. This includes the promise of the land of Israel (Hebrews 4:1) and the promise of the birth of Isaac (Hebrews 6:15). The promises of Jesus include the new birth, the resurrection and a new heaven and earth. These are better than the figures of the Old Testament.
Hebrews 8:7
The old covenant has fault in the sense that it could not help us. There was a built-in sacrificial system if people sinned, but that never took care of our real problem: we are in a permanent state of sin before God. It condemned us, but never converted us, healed us, or changed our plight before God. We saw this previously, that the Law teaches us that we are sinners. We often use this to show the unsaved that they need a Savior, and the Old Covenant truly shows us this.
After reading the Old Testament, we get the sense that the narrative is not over. There are things left undone. There is a Savior that will restore things to the way they should be. There is sin that needs to be taken away. Consider Isaiah 11:1-10 for one example. The sevenfold Spirit is upon the Lord Jesus Christ. He will be a judge of righteousness. He will know the hearts of people. He will destroy the wicked and save the poor of the land. He will be fully righteous in every way. We see how life as it was in Eden. Animals will be no more predators, but all will be vegetarian. Children will be able to play with snakes. The entire world will know the Lord, and the Gentiles will know Him just as His people Israel do. We see this in part today, but it will be fulfilled completely in good time. Jesus has brought restoration between us and God by the paying for our sins. He will remove us from the presence of sin in the future.
Hebrews 8:8
Here, and in the subsequent verses, Paul quotes from Jeremiah 31:31-34. We will look at the passage here before we look at the passage in context in the Old Testament.
“For finding fault with them, he saith...” Who is speaking? This is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one who spoke the words concerning the New Covenant in Jeremiah 31. It is He who found “fault” with the old covenant for the reasons we spoke of previously.
The covenant was made “with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.” This implies a reunification with Israel and Judah. Most of Israel (i.e., the northern kingdom), was scattered throughout the world. There are some mentions of people who were known to be of the tribes other than Judah, Benjamin, and Levi in the New Testament, but most people mentioned after the exile are from those three tribes. By the time Jesus came, the people of the northern kingdom were mostly a memory. God would not make a covenant with people who did not exist anymore. Here is a discussion on Samaritans and the northern tribes after the exile.
Where do we (who are not Jewish) fit in with this? Did Jesus only come for Israel and Judah? See the discussion here.
Hebrews 8:9
This new covenant that the Lord made was something different, both in nature and circumstances. The first covenant was when Israel came out of Egypt. This would refer to the covenant made at Sinai. The people arrived at Sinai in Exodus 19:1. The Ten Commandments were given in Exodus 20, and many other statutory laws and various commandments were given there.
The new covenant was given because of the lengthy failure of the people to follow the old. “...they continued not in my covenant” even though they said they would: “All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD” (Exodus 19:8).
Recall that in previous narratives, the Lord had issued a law concerning the gathering of the manna. Consider Exodus 16:3-5, 14-28. This is before the Law was given. He gave very easy guidelines concerning the manna, or the bread from heaven. Gather it five days at so much per person. Gather double on the sixth day. Do any preparation work for the seventh day. Do not save any for the next day, except on the sixth day. Pretty simple. No hundreds of particularities like in the Law of Moses.
However, we see that the people violated every rule. They complained, which was not new with them. They were told to gather an “omer” for every man, but many gathered more or less than the specified amount. The Lord corrected this by making it all the same for everybody. Some kept the leftovers on days other than the sixth day, and it became wormy and gross. Some went out on the seventh day expecting manna, but none came.
They violated each of the laws. If they could not keep these simple instructions, what made them think they could keep the elaborate details given at Sinai? This would have been fresh in their minds; it was three months from Egypt to Sinai. However, they were very quick to say, “All that the LORD hath spoken we will do.” The old covenant was dependent on both God’s promises and human performance, but we see human failure repeatedly throughout the Bible. Their failure caused the favor of God to depart from them: “and I regarded them not.” This is the reason that any such covenant that depends on human performance will fail, because by nature we fail and are at enmity with God.
Hebrews 8:10
The nature of the new covenant is something that of inward change, not outward conformity. The commandments of God, including moral standards and godly righteousness, is going to be hardwired into a new creature. The mind and heart are affected. This is the regeneration that the Lord speaks of. “But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:4-5).
The seat of emotion and desire as well as human volition are changed. If the root is changed, the fruit will be changed also. “Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit” (Matthew 7:17-18). And again, “O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things” (Matthew 12:34-35).
What is the result, but a restored, unbreakable relationship with God? “...and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.”
Hebrews 8:11
Because of the rebirth and the new nature given to the people of the new covenant, there is a knowledge of the Lord we know intuitively. I say this with a lot of caution. Believers can interpret the Bible because of the indwelling Spirit and new nature (1 John 2:20). See the discussion here.
The caution is that some may take this to mean we can stay away from the church and its teaching. The truth of “we are the church” devolves into “I by myself am a church that does not need others.” The church body keeps us doctrinally accountable in this way. “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ” (Ephesians 4:14-15).
The other danger is that we feel the need for the church to spoon-feed us every last little jot and tittle of Scripture and not read the Scriptures on our own. If we have the Spirit, then we can learn a lot on our own and can advance much further than if we were to only learn a few hours on Sundays and Wednesdays.
This is true from least to greatest. The newborn Christian and the saint of half a century have the same new nature and Spirit. This is likewise true of the Christian today and the apostles of the first century. This is true of the Gentile and Jewish person who believe on Christ.
Hebrews 8:12
There are two stages here: mercy and no remembrance. Mercy is God’s withholding the judgment that our sin deserves. He is holy and without unrighteousness. “To shew that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him” (Psalm 92:15). Because of His holiness, He is the enemy of every sinner. “And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation” (Exodus 34:6-7). The mercy shown us is contingent upon the Lord Jesus Christ in that our sin was punished on Him.
How can God forget our sins? Can He ever truly forget? The record of our sins was destroyed on the cross. “And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged” (Genesis 8:1). Had God forgotten Noah and those in the ark? Rather He was about to act on His promises. Likewise, God would have acted on His judgment on our sin, but rather did not.
“As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalms 103:12). Consider the implications of this. If you keep going north, you eventually start going south. But as you go west, you never start going east. An infinite chasm separates us and our sin.
Hebrews 8:13
It is this new covenant that superseded the old. We discussed previously how we are no longer under the Law. Is it completely gone? “...Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.” What is the role of the Law but to show people their sin? “But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient...” (1 Timothy 1:8-9). “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20). Therefore, when the eternal state comes in, the Law vanishes, because there will be nobody left to get saved.
Jeremiah 31 in Context
The phase “Behold, the days come” appears three times in the chapter, and numerous places elsewhere. The middle occurrence found in Jeremiah 31 refers to Hebrews 8:8-12, as we have discussed. The chapter is seasoned with great promises about the Lord’s love for His people. Understand this is written at a time when the Chaldeans were ravaging Judah and Jerusalem.
The first occurrence of “Behold, the days come” is in Jeremiah 31:27-30. Unlike the times of judgment, now the Lord shall nurture His people. Likewise, though He judged groups of people for sin, such as in the case of the Babylonian captivity, the individual will be judged, not the group. The great white throne judges individually, not collectively. Individuals must be saved, not groups. Those saved individuals are put into a new nation and new family.
Now consider Jeremiah 31:35-40. After the declaration of the new covenant, we see God’s affirmation that He will never destroy His people again. The last occurrence of “Behold, the days come” says that the land that was destroyed will be built up again. The ultimate fulfillment of this is the New Jerusalem from heaven that God built.