Free Bible Commentary
“Hebrews 8:7-13”
Categories: Hebrews“For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second. 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; 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. 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 on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be My people. And they shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen, and everyone his brother, saying, “know the Lord,” for all will know Me, from the least to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.’ When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.”
---End of Scripture verses---
The Hebrews author had just explained that Jesus is the fulfilment of Psalm 110, thus changing the old priesthood and the old law, making them obsolete (Hebrews 7:11-12). In today’s verses he picks up on the idea he introduced in Hebrews 7:22—namely that a change in God’s covenant coincides with a change in His law. The writer quotes from the Old Testament once again to allow the Holy Scripture to make his argument and his point for him. That’s really what all good teachers of the truth must do—get out of the way of the Bible and let God speak for himself through it. In verses 7-12 the writer quotes Jeremiah 31:31-34 to do just that.
Jeremiah prophesied about a time when God would enact a “new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah” (verse 8). The problem with the old covenant was twofold. It did not adequately provide for the forgiveness of sins (verse 12), and most of the people involved possessed the wrong kind of heart (verse 10). God lovingly led Israel by the hand out of the land of Egypt as a Father leads his children away from harm and into a place of safety. But, most of that rebellious clan did not love Him back. They did not “continue” in God’s covenant relationship. God did his part, but they refused to do their part.
The only way for people to be a part of the new Israel (verse 10) and enter into the new covenant relationship with God is to possess a heart that is willing and able to internalize His word and truly come to “know” Him in a loving, obedient way (verse 11). God spoke through Jeremiah saying, “I will give them a heart to know Me, for I am the Lord; and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart” (Jeremiah 24:7).
The old Israel was comprised mostly of individuals that were God’s people in name only. Most knew about God but never came to know Him on an intimate level. God will no longer call a people and then beg them to come to know Him (verse 11). In Christ Jesus (the new and better way) that true, intimate knowledge precedes entrance into His covenant and kingdom, and, in fact, is the distinguishing mark of a member of the new House of Israel.
In the new covenant, God provided the permanent solution to the problem of sin, as indicated by the prophecy of Jeremiah 31:34. Jesus is the answer to our greatest problem—the sin that separates us from fellowship with God (Isaiah 59:1-2). The right sacrifice has been made and the Good News of Him appeals to the right (good) heart. When Jeremiah foretold of the coming of a “new covenant” God was announcing the eventual termination of the first one (verse 13). In Christ Jesus He has rendered His previous law and covenant with physical Israel “obsolete”.
Please read Hebrews 9:1-10 for tomorrow.
Have a blessed day!
- Louie Taylor
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