SCRIPTURE: HEBREWS 8
BIBLE VERSES:
“This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts.
I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,”because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickednesS and will remember their sins no more.” (Hebrews 8:10-12)
THE HIGH PRIEST OF A NEW COVENANT (vs.1-13)
God set us a High Priest who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord. (vs. 1-2)
The Jewish priests in the temple ministered at a sanctuary that ia a copy and shadows of what is in heave but Christ in heaven minsters in the original sancutary. That is why the ministry of Jesus is superior with better promises (v. 6)
GOD MADE A NEW COVENANT WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AS FOLLOWS: (vs. 10-12)
- I will put my law in their minds and write them in their hearts.
- I will be their God and they will be my people.
- A man will no longer teach a neighbor because they will know me.
- I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.
THOUGHTS:
HOW IS THE NEW COVENANT BETTER THAN THE OLD COVENANT? (By Warren Wiersbe)
- Superior Priest (v. 1) – Christ is a King-Priest sitting in the throne in heaven who had finished his work of redemption.
- Superior Place (vs. 2-5) – Christ is ministering in heaveling sanctuary not from the earth.
- Superior Promises (vs. 6-13) – (A)-Promise of grace (vs. 6-9) – God’s grace enables us to be free from the bondage of sin; (B)-Promise of an inner changes (v. 10) – The Old Covenant was written with the finger of the Lord on the tablets of stone, but the New Covenant was written by the Spirit in the human heart and mind.
- Unlimited Blessings (v. 11) – All people will know God when he established his Kingdom.
- Eternal Blessings (v. 13) – The New Covenant was established by the shedding of Christ’s blood on the cross. He became the mediator of the New Covenant. This New Covenant will endure forever.
Under God’s New Covenant, God’s law is inside us. It is no longer an external set of rules and principles. The Holy Spirit reminds us of Christ’s words , activates our conscience, influence our nature and desires and make us want to obey His will.