HF190 - Hebrews 8:7-13 (#15 - The New Covenant)
To: Hebraic-Foundations@YahooGroups.com
From: "Pastor Buddy Martin" <Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org>
Date: Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Subject: Bible Study HF189 - Hebrews 8:1-6 (#15 - The Heavenly Tabernacle)
Hebraics,
It is in this study that we begin our journey into the very heart and substance of the new covenant. It is also in this study that we will hear direct language concerning the soon disappearance of the temple sacrifices. Let's continue on.
This is Bible Study HF190 - Hebrews 8:7-13 (#15 - The New Covenant)
Heb 8:7 "For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second."
Here the term 'first covenant' has regard to the covenant of Moses and not the covenant of Abraham, or any other covenant found in the former testament. The covenant of Moses was a restricted land covenant that applied only to the people of Israel. It was a temporary covenant. This is the covenant that the Hebrew people had been under for a great many centuries. It would complete its purpose with the coming of Messiah. Jesus said, "The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed unto John; since that time the gospel of the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it." (Luke 16:16)
Heb 8:8 "For finding fault with them, He says, 'Behold the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will effect a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the House of Judah..."
The fault of the covenant of Moses was with the people and not simply with the covenant itself. The covenant of Moses was made for an earthy people. The covenant of Christ was made for a heavenly people, that is, the people of the new creation. The new covenant had to be entirely new so as to fit a spiritual people of the new creation. This is why Jesus said that you cannot put new wine into old wine skins. (Mat9:17)
The next thing we need to note is who the new covenant is made with. It is made with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. While it makes note of both Israel and Judah, it should be understood that the term 'Israel' is a generic term that speaks of all the covenant people of the Old Testament.
All this brings up a good question - If the new covenant is made with the house of Israel, then should Christians consider themselves as being of the house of Israel? The answer is 'yes' if we look at this with the idea of there being an earthly natural Israel and also a heavenly spiritual Israel. The point at hand is that while believers in the new covenant do not take the name 'Israel' to themselves, when we enter into the new covenant, we have entered into a covenant made with what Paul calls 'the Israel of God.' (Gal6:16)
One way to realize this is to keep in mind that the new covenant had its implementation on the temple mount in Jerusalem, solely with the people of Israel, and later expanded to include peoples of all the nations of the world, We simply need to remember that God said through the prophet Isaiah that his new covenant people would be called by another name. Peter said that the name is 'Christian.' A Christian is one who has received the Messiah of Israel as Lord and Savior.
Heb 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.'
Here comes the beginning language that sets the new covenant apart from the covenant of Moses. The apostolic writer is quoting from Jeremiah 31:31-34, where God speaks through the prophet in saying that the new covenant would not be like the covenant of Moses. The new covenant will be a covenant that settles itself on the finished work of the cross. It will be a covenant of the Spirit and not of the letter. It will be a covenant of pure grace where our righteous works have no place in the scheme of salvation. The new covenant will be totally unlike anything that the people of God have ever known. It will be an eternal covenant, sealed it the blood of Jesus, ratified in heaven, and overseen in its entirety by the Spirit of God. It will be a covenant where everything is provided by God.
Heb 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 on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.'
The apostolic writer is drawing attention to the spiritual transformations that belong to the new covenant. Paul speaks to this when he compares how the unbelieving Jew compares to the believing Jew when it comes to reading the sacred writings. He writes:
"But their minds were hardened [the unbelievers]; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ. But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; but whenever a person turns to the Lord [the believers], the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit." (2Co3:14-18)
Paul's point is that the new covenant is a spiritual covenant and when true believers read the sacred Scriptures, they see all that belongs to Jesus, and these things that belong to the new covenant are inscribed in their hearts and minds.
Heb 8:11 "'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.'
Here is a major distinction. In the former covenant if you wanted to hear from God, you generally sought out a prophet. But even this was a shaky area since Israel's history was replete with false prophets. (Similar today.) Jesus Himself tells us what the distinction of the new covenant is. He said, "I have other sheep, which are not of this fold [Israel proper]; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd." (John 10:16)
And again, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish..." (v28)
Heb 8:12 "'For I will be merciful to their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.'
Now we come to the struggle that spells out the heart of the new covenant. God can be merciful to our failures, our iniquities, and our sins because Jesus made Himself accountable for all these things. This is what a guilt offering means, and this is what the term 'the finished work of the cross' has reference to. Jesus bore the sins of our entire life in His body on the cross. Certainly this is not permission to sin. What it says is that God can now work with us by the measure of pure grace, and that He can deal with us gently while all the time helping us to walk in a manner that is pleasing to Him. (Another great area for discussion.)
Heb 8:13 "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 expression 'becoming obsolete' has regard to that which is no longer functional, in the sense of decaying. It is about to disappear. Another clear reference to the soon coming destruction of 70 a.d.
The study is open. This study contains a number of areas for good discussions.
Think about it.
Buddy
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Lawrence "Buddy" Martin
email: Bro.Buddy <at> ChristianChallenge.Org
Web: http://www.ChristianChallenge.org
Forum: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hebraic-Foundations/
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"See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled." (Heb12:15)