Hebrews 8:8-13

For he finds fault with them when he says: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt.  For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.  For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord:  I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.   For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”  In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

There are many covenants between the Lord and Israel.  Some of them are conditional and other are unconditional.  The one referred to in this passage is what we call the Mosaic covenant because it was communicated through Moses to Israel as they had left Egypt and were preparing to enter The Promised Land.  This passage is a quotation of Jeremiah 31 that God gives to the nation of Israel in the midst of them being taken into a captivity that in many ways continues to this day.  It is quoted here to demonstrate at least three ways that this New Covenant is superior to the Mosaic Covenant.

THE NEW COVENANT IS UNCONDITIONAL:  The Mosaic Covenant was full of conditions.  In essence it said “if” you obey me I will bless you.  It also said “if” you disobey me I will curse you.  The New Covenant has no “ifs” it is simply a promise from God that He is going to do.  The promise is not based on man’s obedience or his performance of some act.  The promise is simply based on the sovereign plan of God.  Israel did experience God’s blessing as a result of their faith and obedience, but they repeatedly broke God’s covenant and therefore they were taken into captivity and spread throughout the face of the earth.  God is always faithful to His promises and when the people rebelled, the judgment He promised came.

THE NEW COVENANT IS TRANSFORMATIONAL: The content of the Mosaic Covenant was, in essence, physical blessings of prosperity and peace for the nation.  The New Covenant certainly includes peace and prosperity, but the essence of the promise is salvation for the soul.  The New Covenant that is fulfilled in Christ is to bring about forgiveness of sin and freedom from the tyranny of sin that controls our hearts and minds.  He promises to imprint His Law on the hearts of the people so that all who receive this promise will love God, obey God and experience the joy of living as God intended us to live.  As a result of the New Covenant, we will be conformed to the image of Christ.  This is a promise far more valuable than bumper crops and absence of war.

THE NEW COVENANT IS SUBSTITUTIONAL: The New Covenant replaces the Mosaic Covenant.  This happens all the time.  We trade in an old model for a new one.  We replace our obsolete computers with one that is more powerful and efficient.  The Mosaic Covenant served a purpose and taught valuable lessons, but it was powerless to save.  The New Covenant replaces it with the promise of salvation and transformation that we desperately need.

APPLICATION: Praise the Lord for His unconditional love and determined will to save mankind from the blight of sin.  Rejoice in the hope of knowing that we will be made perfectly holy through the power of Christ.  Live in light of the promises of God today, trusting Him for salvation and allowing Him to transform our hearts in the here and now.

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