Heb 8:7-13 Better Promises
Notes
Transcript
7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.
8 For he finds fault with them when he says: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,
9 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: 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 shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.
12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”
13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
Our neighbor had a very old playset that he was upgrading, as a result, we end up with a leftover old playhouse for Byron. Over the last few years, it has gotten even worse as you can see in the picture. It is in such bad shape because I have no intention for it to last. The funny thing is that Miriam loves to play and be in this playhouse, she loves to sit in the chair that is falling apart. Can we say the stereotypical difference between boys and girls… :) But what if, because of Miriam’s delight in this house I would make it her permanent housing or room? Well, it would be insane, not to mention inhumane! This is the reaction the author of Hebrews is trying to elicit in his readers in this portion of Scripture when he talks about the better promises of the New Covenant that are far greater than the Old Covenant.
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Last week we were studying the first part of this chapter 8 and we were reminded that Jesus is the mediator of a better covenant and that through Him we can draw near to the Majesty in Heaven. Because of Jesus’ priesthood, we have access not to an earthly temple, but to the heavenly one in the very presence of God.
Then the author says in v6
6 But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.
We studied this verse last week, but this verse gives the introduction as to why the author gives this long quote from Jeremiah from v 8-12. That in Christ there is a better covenant, much more excellent since it is enacted on better promises. Last week we didn’t look at what these better promises are because they are described in the verses that we are going to study today.
However, before the author gives the quotation he says the following in v7:
7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.
This at first seems to be saying that the old covenant was bad, or that was something wrong with the old covenant. How is it with fault if God established this covenant?
Allen said “The Mosaic covenant was ineffective in solving the sin problem; the new covenant brought about a permanent solution to the sin problem… God initiated the Mosaic covenant knowing full well it would be ineffective in dealing with the sin problem. The Mosaic covenant was “anticipatory” of the new covenant in the sense that God had always planned for the new covenant. The first covenant did not “fail” but was rather insufficient by design. In this sense the old covenant fulfilled its God-given purpose… The new covenant was “qualitatively” different from the old covenant in that “faithfulness to the person of Jesus determines whether or not one shares in the heavenly blessings, whereas under the old covenant the divine blessing was conditional upon faithfulness to the covenant construed as fulfillment of its demands.” Both covenants originated in the will of God and serve to express the single divine will.”
Thus, if there is no fault in the covenant itself, who has the fault? V8 starts by saying “For he finds fault with them” The personal pronoun “he” is God, and “them” are the Israelites. Later in v9 it says “for they did not continue in my covenant” making it very clear that the fault was with the house of Israel.
The people failed to obey the covenant, the fault, the problem was with the people. However, we cannot point fingers, because “there is none who is righteous, no, not even one” no people group would have been able to keep the Old Covenant without fault. The covenant was not bad in itself, it is sin that affects all of us and makes us unable to obey perfectly. The old covenant was only a shadow of what we know and often take it for granted today, and its purpose was to point to the better and final covenant, which deals with our main problem, our sin. The new covenant is enacted on better promises which the author describes in v8-12 as he quotes Jeremiah 31:31-34.
This concept of the new covenant will be later referred to in Heb 9:15, 10:13; and 12:24. It is also referred to in Matthew, Mark, Luke, Paul also make reference to it in Rom 1 and 2 Corinthians.
Jesus connects the promised blessings of the new covenant in Jeremiah 31 as being initiated by his blood. Luke 22:19-20 “19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood”
The new covenant that was initiated by Jesus’ blood was prophesied in Jeremiah 31:31-34 as it is quoted here in Hebrews.
8 For he finds fault with them when he says: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,
9 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.
Before God promises the new covenant God answers the question of why He is bringing a new covenant “for they did not continue in my covenant” The covenant was made with the descendants of Abraham when they came out of Egypt, more specifically at Mount Sinai when Moses received the law. It was during that time that God revealed how man was to approach God. However, they broke that covenant, as the prophets denounce repeatedly the Israelites’ adulterousness and unfaithfulness to the covenant.
Piper says “The faultiness of the first covenant—the Mosaic law—was not that God gave bad commands, but that the people had bad hearts. There was divine forgiveness and patience in the first covenant. There was the call for faith in the first covenant. There were promises of God's love in the first covenant. But, by and large, these things did not get into the people's hearts. It was mainly external rather than internal. Obedience by will-power rather than by reliance on the Spirit; and ritualistic rather than personal.”
In the same manner, if you are trying to live the Christian life on your own power you will fail. It is impossible by willpower alone. You need to come to the point of realization that even in our own Christian walk we cannot do it on our own. We need Jesus not only for salvation but also for our sanctification. Jesus is our savior, sanctifier, healer and coming King.
With Christ in the new covenant, there is hope, security, and the ability to obey, through Him. In the end, we could summarize all the better promises in the person of Jesus, in the new covenant we get Jesus. But more specifically, God says in v9 that the new covenant is not going to be like the old covenant, then in the next verses, God says what the better promises are in the new covenant.
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: 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.
These better promises could be summarized into three main things. 1 the implanting of God’s law in their hearts; 2 the knowledge of God as a matter of personal experience; 3 the forgiveness of sins.
First, when it says God will put his laws into their minds and write them on their hearts, it does not mean that we will have Scripture memorized. I’m not saying that memorizing is bad, it is a good thing, however, knowing or memorizing Scripture does not guarantee that one will be able to obey perfectly because it is memorized.
Recently I was listening to different scholars discussing the first-century background and context of the New Testament. One of the scholars was a Jewish Rabbi, I was so impressed by his knowledge of the New Testament and of Jesus. I could say that this person’s knowledge of Jesus was greater than most believers, but then I realize that even though he knows so much about Jesus, he is not following Jesus.
Just head knowledge of Jesus and of the New Testament will do no good if it is not implanted in your heart, causing you to want to abandon everything and follow Him. If God’s word is only in your head, and it has no effect on your heart and how you live then you are no better than the Israelites as they followed the old covenant. I’m not saying you need to apply all truths as you know then, rather I’m saying we need to let Scripture be sharper than a two-edge sword separating truth from lies, actions from beliefs. When the word is implanted in our hearts we gain a new heart.
Jeremiah’s words imply the receiving of a new heart by the people—as is expressly promised in the parallel prophecy of the prophet Ezekiel.
Ezekiel 11:19-20 “And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God”
The new covenant was a new one in that it will give a new heart. The promises have not changed: “I will be their God, and they shall be my people,”, was the substance of the covenant of Moses’ day. This promise is repeated in Ex 6:7 “I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God” and then in Lev 26:12 “And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people”. It is repeated several times in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, like 2 Cor 6:16, here in Hebrews, and in it says in Rev 21:3“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God”
The difference is that in the New Covenant, the promise is that God will put His laws into our minds, and write them on our hearts. We are given a heart that is soft and willing to obey and walk in His ways.
What an amazing promise and gift. What was impossible then now is possible. But not because we live now, but rather because of a new heart, the Holy Spirit indwelling in the heart of every true believer. I don’t need to convince you to obey God, God himself, the Holy Spirit will convict and rebuke and guide us into all truth, God’s word. Are you willing to listen to the nudges of the Holy Spirit in your heart? Or are you rationalizing your actions or thoughts in a sense discounting or arguing with the Holy Spirit and or Scripture? Ultimately, you are allowing your heart to be of stone rather than the flesh God wants to give you.
Or are you trying as hard as you can to live the Christian life in your own strength? Have you come to point of realization that if you keep trying on your own you will fail again and again? The amazing thing is that we have Jesus as our Savior and Sanctifier, our job is to surrender completely to Jesus both for our salvation and for our Christian walk. As we surrender, He promised to give us a new heart, having the law written in our hearts, and ultimately having the Holy Spirit to keep our hearts soft and sensitive to His truths. Furthermore, the second better promise of the new covenant is knowing God as v11 says:
11 And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.
Knowing God is a personal experience deeper than how one could know God in the Old Testament. The people of Israel knew their God, because God had revealed himself to them and not the other nations. However, they didn’t have a new heart so often they would forget him. When the generation that entered Canaan under Joshua died, it says in Judges 2:10 “And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel”. Then later on, the prophet Hosea says in Hosea 4:1 “There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land”.
But now in the new covenant, the better promise is that everyone will know the Lord, from the least of them to the greatest. How in the New Covenant do we know God? Through His Spirit in us. Gal 4:6 “because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father”
How do we know that we have His Spirit in us? John 14:15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,
1 John 2:3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.
How do we know we have the Spirit in us? We long to know God more and more, we love Him, and we long only want to obey we do obey His commandments. In our spirits there is longing for God and a cry to God as our Father.
These are amazing, better promises of the new covenant, but there is still more.
12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”
The better promise of the New Covenant listed in v12 is the forgiveness of sin. The forgiveness of sin is an essential and fundamental aspect of the New Covenant. However, this idea was not only found in this prophecy from Jeremiah, but it is also found very similarly in Micah and Exodus.
Micah 7:18-19 “Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.”
Ex. 34:6-7 “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
In the old covenant, there was an annual reminder of sins as Heb 10:3 tells us. In the new covenant, there is no such recalling of sins because there was a single “sacrifice offered up once for all”. Now the assurance of the forgiveness of sins in the New Covenant depends on faith in the perfect sacrifice of Christ, “I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” The reason a holy and just God will not remember our sin is because the just payment for our sin was laid upon Jesus. Our own Steven Ashwell said the following during Sunday School when Jesus was on the cross it was dark for three hours, it took three hours for God to lay on Jesus all the sins of the world, past, present, and future, to lay on Him, and He willingly took it because He loved us.
What amazing, better promises that we have in the New Covenant! God putting in our hearts His laws, so that we will know God and that He will forgive our sins. The old covenant had divine promises, but nothing like these, these are far better and greater. These better promises give the fulfillment of the ancient covenant words “I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”
Sadly, this has become so familiar that we have lost the awe! We have come to just expect this and fail to understand the deep need for holiness and justness that the Israelites lived and knew so well. As familiar as we have come to this is how amazing and unbelievable this truth was to the Israelites!
After such amazing truths, the author continues in v13 saying.
13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
After this long quote, we might have expected the author to elaborate on these amazing, better promises, but instead, he concludes by announcing that by implication of the installation of the new covenant the old becomes obsolete. It is later in chapters 9 and 10 that the author will show how the new covenant promises are fulfilled.
We might wonder why the author now suddenly is talking about the Old Covenant being obsolete. However, when we remember whom the author is addressing we will understand why.
The author is addressing believers who had grown up following the old covenant and were having a hard time now and were tempted to fall back into their former practices. So, after the author presents the better promises of the new covenant, he is turning into the application for them, by telling them that the old covenant was obsolete he was telling them don't fall back into something that is passing away.
However, this does not apply for us today, and I doubt that any of us here is tempted to fall back into Judaism. However, we might easily put our hope in this world, which is trying to make it as comfortable as we can be living in a broken-down playhouse, like Byron's while losing sight of the perfect home that God is preparing for us.
Tripp says better "We all do it because the longing has been hardwired into us by God. We all try to turn this present world into the paradise we dream of...Somehow, some way, we all desire for things to be the way the Creator intended them to be. We are all dissatisfied with the world the way it is, each in our own way. We all feel the pain of living in a world gone bad. We all careen from disappointment to disappointment because reality never seems to rise to the level of our dreams. We all face things in our lives that we wish we could change.
We all examine things and hope that somehow they will get better. Each of us tries to turn this moment into the paradise it will never be, and each of us faces the frustration that results from our failed attempts.
But here's what you have to face. God, for your good and his glory, has chosen to keep you for a while in this broken-down world. He has chosen to employ the hardships of this world to complete the work that he has begun in you. He does not leave you alone. He does not leave you without resources. He blesses you with his new morning mercies. But he has you right where he wants you. This means your marriage, your job, your church, your family, and your friendships will never be the paradise that you want them to be in this world.
But more needs to be said. In his grace, God has granted you a place in paradise. If you're God's child, the final chapter of your story will take place in an eternal paradise beyond your wildest dreams."
As I mentioned before I had a motorcycle accident and almost died. During this time I had an encounter with Jesus and after this encounter for at least a whole week I was depressed and all I wanted to do was to cry because I was here and not with Jesus. It is like having to love to live back in a broken-down playhouse, instead of living in a perfect mansion. The amazing thing about what is to come is that it is going to be perfect and eternal. When we will be in Jesus’ presence we will be with Him forever and ever.
2 Cor 4:7 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.
Rom 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.