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.

THE FOLLOWING SENTENCE IS HOW WE ENDED LAST WEEK’S PART 1. I include it here again for emphasis. I think it is a particularly clarifying sentence. I hope it is or will imminently prove to be for you as well. AS A MATTER OF FACT, I WOULD BOLDLY INCLUDE THIS ENTIRE BLOG IN THESE INTRODUCTORY AND ALSO RESUMPTIVE WORDS…

“AT THE END OF THE DAY, THE AUTHOR FINDS FAULT WITH BOTH THE PEOPLE AND THE OLD COVENANT, THOUGH IN THIS PHASE HE CONCENTRATES UPON THE SIN OF THE PEOPLE.” – Schneider

IT IS MY FERVENT WISH FOR YOU – AND FOR ME – THAT WE DON’T GET LOST IN ALL THIS PURPOSELY REPETITIOUS DETAIL AT THIS MOST IMPORTANT JUNCTURE OF HEBREWS, CHAPTER 8.

CONTINUING FROM SCHNEIDER’S COMMENTARY FOR VERSE 8…

“THE SPIRITUAL STATE OF ISRAEL, I.E., THEIR ENDEMIC REFUSAL TO DO GOD’S WILL, SHOWED THAT A NEW COVENANT WAS NECESSARY.

“THE AUTHOR CITES JEREMIAH 31:31-34 TO SUPPORT THE NOTION THAT A NEW COVENANT IS MANDATORY…

^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 COMES FROM JEREMIAH 30-31, WHERE JEREMIAH PROMISES HOPE AND RESTORATION FOR THE (JEWISH – TAR) PEOPLE AFTER EXILE…

(ANOTHER KEY SENTENCE, WHICH DEMANDS WE EVENTUALLY STUDY THESE CHAPTERS IN JEREMIAH! – TAR)

“EXILE IS NOT THE LAST WORD, FOR THE LORD WILL BRING ISRAEL BACK TO THE LAND AND WILL FULFILL THE PROMISES MADE TO ABRAHAM AND DAVID.

“ISRAEL’S HOPE IS NOT ROOTED IN THEIR PIETY, BUT IN THE LORD’S TRANSFORMING GRACE, IN HIS CHANGING THE HEARTS OF HIS PEOPLE BY HIS POWER.

“THE PROMISE IN EZEKIEL THAT THE LORD WILL PUT HIS SPIRIT IN ISRAEL AND CAUSE THEM TO OBEY HIS LAW RUNS THEMATICALLY ALONG THE SAME LINE…

^NAS  Ezekiel 36:36-37 “Then the nations that are left round about you will know that I, the LORD, have rebuilt the ruined places and planted that which was desolate; I, the LORD, have spoken and will do it.” ³⁷ ‘Thus says the Lord God, “This also I will let the house of Israel ask Me to do for them: I will increase their men like a flock.

“THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROHECY IN JEREMIAH SHOULD BE NOTED, FOR THE OT SCRIPTURES THEMSELVES RECOGNIZE THAT THE OLD COVENANT WAS INADEQUATE. The author doesn’t invent the notion of New Covenant, for the OT promises that new days are coming for Israel and Judah. A new agreement, a new administration, would be enacted with Israel and Judah. Other NT writers as well taught that the New Covenant was inaugurated with the death of Jesus Christ…

^NAS  Matthew 26:28 for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.

^NAS  Mark 14:24 And He said to them, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.

^NAS  Luke 22:20 And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.

^NAS  1 Corinthians 11:25 In the same way He took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

^NAS  2 Corinthians 3:6 who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit life.

“AND THUS HEBREWS FITS WELL WITH THE WITNESS OF THE REMAINDER OF THE NEW TESTAMENT.” – Schneider

I CERTAINLY KNOW THE CASE FOR THE APPLICATION OF THE NEW COVENANT FOR TODAY’S NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH HAS NOT YET BEEN SETTLED; THERE REMAINS MUCH TO BE HUMBLY ARGUED. STILL, I NEVERTHELESS FEEL COMPELLED TO ASK HOW THESE VERSES – PARTICULARLY THOSE POST GOSPELS – ARE TO BE OTHERWISE TREATED? I LOOK FORWARD TO CAREFULLY EXEGETING EACH ONE OF THESE MEANINGFUL VERSES IN DUE TIME.

                                                                                   

– Professor Thomas A. Rohm