CHRIST’S COVENANT … NEW, NEVER OBSOLETE
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introduction
Have you ever thought about the technology that we have and how much we take that for granted? Think about it, we have smart phones, tablets, laptops....things when some of us were growing up, only saw in movies as ideas. One thing that I’m always reminded of is Dick Tracy and his watch that he used to communicate with the other detectives. That was not even a realistic possibility growing up! Now we have smart watches that do much more than that!
When you think about the evolution of music, you had records, then cassette tapes, then CDs, then digital downloads. This is true of almost anything technologically speaking.
We constantly are waiting for the next new thing to come out. The latest upgrade that has been talked about for months. Then when something new comes out, we look at what we have and it’s an outdated piece of junk.
Everything becomes obsolete-everything man-made, human, or earthly that is. Anything that is dependent upon breakable parts, corruptible materials, or environmental conditions will eventually break down, deteriorate, or become irrelevant. This might be why Christ warned us about these things.
“Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.
Anything that is subject to change or corruption is not worthy of trust.
But what is true in the physical is also true in the spiritual. This is the point of this chapter. The author demonstrates that the Mosaic covenant-established under specific conditions, for a specific people for a specific time-was never meant to last forever.
He quotes an OT prophesy that anticipates the replacement of the old covenant with new, showing these Jewish readers that one has become obsolete and has been replaced by another that will never pass away.
Now the main point of what is being said is this: We have this kind of high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister of the sanctuary and the true tabernacle that was set up by the Lord and not man.
The author is summing up his previous positions by saying “Now the main point of what is being said is this”:
We have a great High Priest who is greater than those of the old covenant (8:1).
Our High Priest sits in the heavens at the right hand of God. (8:1)
He ministers in the true tabernacle made by God, not by man (8:2)
The phrase true tabernacle is not meant to contrast something genuine with something counterfeit. The old, earthly tabernacle where the Levitical priests performed the sacrifices wasn’t false. It points to the reality that stands behind the copy.
What do I mean by this, think of a photograph of your family. It is a visual representation of your real, flesh and blood family. The earthly tabernacle and priesthood are representations of the real, heavenly tabernacle and priesthood.
The question is, where did the heavenly tabernacle come from? The Lord Himself pitched that tent. We need to remember that heaven was created by Him. The earthly tabernacle-the holy tent of meeting- was put up and taken down by human hands. The heavenly tabernacle was put up by God himself and was designed to be permanent.
For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; therefore, it was necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. Now if he were on earth, he wouldn’t be a priest, since there are those offering the gifts prescribed by the law. These serve as a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was warned when he was about to complete the tabernacle. For God said, Be careful that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown to you on the mountain. But Jesus has now obtained a superior ministry, and to that degree he is the mediator of a better covenant, which has been established on better promises.
The Aaronic, Levitical priesthood served in the sphere of “a copy and shadow of the heavenly things”. The author means this in a literal way. He asserts that Moses commanded the earthly tabernacle to be built as a symbolic representation of the heavenly sanctuary he saw on the mountain.
Be careful to make them according to the pattern you have been shown on the mountain.
“Our ancestors had the tabernacle of the testimony in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses commanded him to make it according to the pattern he had seen.
The earthly tabernacle is an earthly representation and just a representation of the heavenly reality.
Just as a shadow is cast by something real, the rituals of the old covenant are an indication of a greater reality that stand behind it. If Christ really is a High Priest, it’s necessary that He actually have something too offer-gifts and sacrifices.
These can’t be offered in the same way the earthly ones are offered in the earthly sanctuary established under Moses. In fact, while Christ was on this earth wouldn’t have even been qualified to be a priest. Why is this?
He wasn’t from the tribe of Levi. This means he couldn’t offer gifts in that old covenant system according to the law.
But, in 8:6, the problem is resolved.
But Jesus has now obtained a superior ministry, and to that degree he is the mediator of a better covenant, which has been established on better promises.
Christ is a High Priest and offers both gifts and sacrifices, but not in the earthly tabernacle. He has a more excellent ministry as the eternal High Priest in a heavenly tabernacle. Following this logic, Christ must be the mediator of a better covenant based on better promises.
For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion for a second one. But finding fault with his people, he says:
See, the days are coming, says the Lord,
when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah—
not like the covenant
that I made with their ancestors
on the day I took them by the hand
to lead them out of the land of Egypt.
I showed no concern for them, says the Lord,
because they did not continue in my covenant.
For this is the covenant
that I will make with the house of Israel
after those days, says the Lord:
I will put my laws into their minds
and write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
And each person will not teach his fellow citizen,
and each his brother or sister, saying, “Know the Lord,”
because they will all know me,
from the least to the greatest of them.
For I will forgive their wrongdoing,
and I will never again remember their sins.
By saying a new covenant, he has declared that the first is obsolete. And what is obsolete and growing old is about to pass away.
The logic of the author is pretty compelling:
Christ is superior in His person and work because...
He has a ministry superior to that of the old covenant priesthood because...
He is Mediator of a covenant that is superior to the old covenant because...
His new covenant was established on superior promises.
At this point in the argument, the final assertion requires a biblical defense. Let’s again look at what the readers of Hebrews is dealing with. They are Jews who were most likely raised in the sacrificial system. They have been apart of that community in a culture where Judaism is the way of life. They have turned away from this and have decided to follow Jesus. The problem is that they are constantly being bombarded with the temptation to turn back to what is familiar and in some cases, if not all, to avoid the consequences of leaving their original beliefs. The peer pressure was real. These unbelieving Jews who were dedicated to their rabbis and their teachings of the Mosaic covenant. Any challenge to that system would be the target of criticism and attack.
Because of this, the author gives the defense through scripture of the OT that foretold of the new covenant to prove his point.
He quotes Jeremiah:
“Look, the days are coming”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. This one will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt—my covenant that they broke even though I am their master”—the Lord’s declaration. “Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days”—the Lord’s declaration. “I will put my teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know me, from the least to the greatest of them”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “For I will forgive their iniquity and never again remember their sin.
The point is to demonstrate from the Old Testament scriptures themselves that the covenant under Moses was imperfect and required replacement by a new covenant that was faultless.
For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion for a second one.
Faultless doesn’t mean the old covenant wasn’t sinful, it was insufficient. It could not accomplish salvation nor bring about perfect righteousness. It did what it was intended to do, which was to serve as a standard and a reminder of human sinfulness.
What should we say then? Is the law sin? Absolutely not! But, I would not have known sin if it were not for the law. For example, I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, Do not covet.
But in the sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year after year.
It also served to hold back wickedness among God’s people until the coming of the Messiah.
Why, then, was the law given? It was added for the sake of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise was made would come. The law was put into effect through angels by means of a mediator.
The new covenant with Israel and Judah was not like the old covenant established at Sinai after Exodus. If it was to be superior covenant, it couldn’t be like the Mosaic one that was so easily broken over and over again.
Through the Jeremiah quote, the author in Hebrews 8:10-12 gives at least four ways in which the new covenant is superior to the old.
First, the new covenant offers internal motivation and power instead of external lists.
For this is the covenant
that I will make with the house of Israel
after those days, says the Lord:
I will put my laws into their minds
and write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
The old covenant, with hundreds of commandments, statutes and ordinances, was addressed to a people with hard, unregenerate hearts. They were obligated to keep the commandments whether they felt like it or not. They were motivated by external consequences whether positive or negative.
But with the new covenant, it involves an internal transformation by which the laws are written on people’s hearts. When we submit to God and His will, the result is faith, love and not fear of judgment.
Second, the new covenant is based on a close relationship instead of a distant fear.
For this is the covenant
that I will make with the house of Israel
after those days, says the Lord:
I will put my laws into their minds
and write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
God gave the Law to the people from a distant place-the top of Mount Sinai, through Moses, on tablets of stone and from the lips of priests and prophets. As a result, the people did not enjoy a close, Father-child relationship with God because of their constant disobedience.
But, the new covenant involves a new relationship of intimacy, fellowship, and mutuality. It resembles the face to face relationship God had with Moses that was described as a close friendship.
The Lord would speak with Moses face to face, just as a man speaks with his friend, then Moses would return to the camp. His assistant, the young man Joshua son of Nun, would not leave the inside of the tent.
Third, the new covenant provides confidence and assurance instead of insecurity and uncertainty.
And each person will not teach his fellow citizen,
and each his brother or sister, saying, “Know the Lord,”
because they will all know me,
from the least to the greatest of them.
In the old covenant system, there were some who knew the Lord intimately and personally; others in Israel knew him as the judge and lawgiver who would smite them if they sinned. So, what this means is that there was mixed company of believers and nonbelievers-who all had the external sign of circumcision.
When people enter into the new covenant community, it isn’t by that external sign. It’s by the inner transformation of the new birth. This means that these new members can have confidence in their relationship to God, knowing him intimately and loving him truly. This brings assurance of salvation and security concerning one’s place in the family of God.
Finally, the new covenant emphasizes forgiveness and mercy instead of failure and wrongdoing.
For I will forgive their wrongdoing,
and I will never again remember their sins.
The sins and shortcomings that-without the sacrificial system,-separated an unholy, guilty people from a holy, perfect God were no basis for an eternal relationship. If you are familiar with the OT stories, the Israelites would take one step forward and two steps back.
Under the new covenant, sin and guilt is erased for all time. Through the work of Christ, they are recipients of mercy and grace...this means their sins are never brought to mind.
With all these contrasts, the message is clear and compelling: The new covenant renders the old one obsolete.
By saying a new covenant, he has declared that the first is obsolete. And what is obsolete and growing old is about to pass away.
The sacrificial system was still in operation at the time Hebrews was written but the inauguration of the new covenant meant that the old one was growing old and was ready to disappear. This ultimately would happen in a dramatic and violent way when the Roman army would destroy the temple and put an end to its sacrifices during the Jewish revolt of AD 70.