HEBREWS 8:7-13

^NAS  Hebrews 8:7-13 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second. ⁸ For finding fault with them, He says, “Behold, days are coming, says the Lord, When I will effect a new covenant With the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; ⁹ Not like the covenant which I made with their fathers On the day when I took them by the hand To lead them out of the land of Egypt; For they did not continue in My covenant, And I did not care for them, says the Lord. ¹⁰ “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 I will write them upon their hearts. And I will be their God, And they shall be My people ¹¹ “And they shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen, And everyone his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ For all shall know Me, From the least to the greatest of them. ¹² “For I will be merciful to their iniquities, And I will remember their sins no more.” ¹³ When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.

THIS WEEK WE BEGIN THE SECOND HALF OF THE GREAT CHAPTER 8…

FROM THE EXCELLENT COMMENTARY OF SCHNEIDER, THIS WEEK’S BLOG WILL BE A CONCISE OVERVIEW OF THE CONTEXT OF THE PASSAGE, YET AGAIN ANOTHER SUMMARY OF THE MOST RECENT VERSES…

“IN 8:6 WE ARE TOLD THAT JESUS IS A MEDIATOR OF A BETTER COVENANT, AND IN 8:7-13 THE AUTHOR EXPLAINS WHY THE NEW COVENANT IS BETTER THAN THE OLD, CITING JEREMIAH 31:31-34…

^NAS  Jeremiah 31:31-34 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, ³² not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in 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. ³³ “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. ³⁴ “And they shall not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

“THE NEW COVENANT IS BETTER THAN THE OLD ONE FOR A NEW ONE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN INSTITUTED IF THE OLD WAS ADEQUATE (v. 7). The defectiveness of the old covenant is demonstrated by the weakness and sin of the covenant people under the old administration, for the promise of a new covenant witnesses to the deficiency of the old (v. 8). In the old covenant the Lord delivered Israel from Egypt,

But Israel did not remain faithful to the covenant stipulations…

^NAS  Hebrews 8:9 Not like the covenant which I made with their fathers On the day when I took them by the hand To lead them out of the land of Egypt; For they did not continue in My covenant, And I did not care for them, says the Lord.

“THE NEW COVENANT IS ENTIRELY DIFFERENT, FOR NOW THE OBEDIENCE OF COVENANT MEMBERS IS A DIVINE WORK.

“THE LORD WILL WRITE HIS LAW UPON THE HEARTS OF HIS PEOPLE AND WILL BE THEIR GOD…

^NAS  Hebrews 8:10 “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 I will write them upon their hearts. And I will be their God, And they shall be My people.

“SINCE GOD WILL WRITE HIS LAW ON THE HEART, IT FOLLOWS THAT EVERY MEMBER OF THE COVENANT IN THE NEW ADMINISTRATION WILL KNOW THE LORD…

^NAS  Hebrews 8:11 “And they shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen, And everyone his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ For all shall know Me, From the least to the greatest of them.

“THERE WILL BE NO UNCONVERTED MEMBERS IN THE NEW COVENANT, THEIR NEW LIFE WILL BE BASED ON THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS…

^NAS  Hebrews 8:12 “For I will be merciful to their iniquities, And I will remember their sins no more.”

“THE RIGHT CONCLUSION TO DRAW, THEN, THE COMING OF THE ‘NEW’ MEANS THE DISMISSAL OF THE OLD.

“THE NEW AND THE OLD ARE INCOMPATIBLE, THOUGH THE OLD IS FULFILLED IN THE NEW; THE OLD HAS PASSED AWAY SINCE THE NEW HAS ARRIVED.” – Schneider

I DON’T KNOW IF ONE CAN MAKE IT ANY CLEARER THAN THAT.

THE NEW IS NOT THE TRANSFORMATIO OF THE OLD; IT IS ENTIRELY NEW. THE OLD IS GONE.

– Professor Thomas A. Rohm