JC Blog

“For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said: “The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord” ( Hebrews 8:7-9 )

I’ve struggled in the past while reading these verses because what stands out to me is the last statement saying, “they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord” (vs. 9). The Amplified puts it this way, “for they did not abide in My agreement with them, and so I withdrew My favor and disregarded them, says the Lord” (vs. 9 AMP). These statements seem so foreign to the God I know. It is hard to imagine Him ever saying these things. Setting out to reconcile this idea in my heart has brought wonderful revelation of what this passage is truly saying.

The key lies in the idea that the first covenant was flawed because of mankind’s inability to keep it, not because of God. This is why he found fault with the first covenant and brought about a new one. The first covenant was based on blessings and curses ( Deuteronomy 28 ). It was not like the covenant that God made Abraham and it is certainly not like the covenant that God made with us through Jesus. It was behavioral based. If they kept the commandments they received the blessings listed in the 28th chapter of Deuteronomy. If they disobeyed the commandments they received the curses listed. It was all spelled out, the Israelites were well aware of the terms when they agreed to it ( Exodus 24:3 ).

Of course mankind, being one hundred percent flesh at that time, couldn’t live up to it’s rigorous guidelines. In fact the Israelites are the ones who turned away from their part of the agreement first. This released God from His part, although He always remained faithful to it. This passage in Hebrews is a quote from Jeremiah 31, with a slight difference near the end, “The time is coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them” declares the LORD” ( Jeremiah 31:31-32 ).

The relationship that Israel and God had, was akin to the marital relationship. The covenant agreement was a marriage agreement. Israel continually prostituted themselves with other gods even though the Lord was a husband to them. This led the Lord to give them a certificate of divorce ( Jeremiah 3:8 ). This did not annul God’s relationship with them, it merely made an allotment for Him to usher in a new covenant to include those outside the nation of Israel. Even though He divorced them, he told them to return. so He could establish a New Covenant with them still declaring himself as their husband. “Return, faithless people,” declares the LORD, “for I am your husband. I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion. Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding” ( Jeremiah 3:14-15 ).

He did in fact give us this Shepherd, who is the radiance of God’s glory and exact representation of his being ( Hebrews 1:3 ). Jesus brought with him an understanding and revelation of God that was previously unknown ( John 1:14, II Corinthians 4:6, Colossians 1:15-20, Hebrews 1:1-3 ). In the first covenant, it was the Israelites themselves who caused all their suffering. God wanted to protect us from that because we could never live in the weakness of the flesh, which is why he sent Jesus to usher in a new covenant and give us the Holy Spirit so we could be born again not fashioned after the flesh but after the Spirit of God himself ( II Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 1:13-14, 4:24 ).

The entire point is this; the first covenant had not been without defect. The weakness of the covenant was the people themselves. It wasn’t that God just disregarded them withdrawing His favor on a whim. God found fault with the people because their behavior showed how they choose everything else before God. The people broke the covenant agreement, not God. He is stressing in verse 9 that the New Covenant He ushered in will not be like the previous covenant. In other words, it will not be left to mankind to keep it, the covenant will entirely be dependent on God himself to bring it to pass, to ratify it and to uphold it for all eternity. Mankind can freely enter into it, but our behavior does not affect the terms or the outcome. This is why God found fault with the first in order to usher the second. Then He based the entire thing on His character and His ability to keep it. This is an amazing truth!

"He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God's house" ( Hebrews 3:2 )

The writer of Hebrews is calling our attention to the covenants. He is drawing a parallel between the faithfulness of Jesus compared to the faithfulness of Moses. Both men ushered in God's covenants, Moses with the Law, Jesus with abundant grace. The book of John tells us, “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" ( John 1:17 ). Both were faithful to God with what He had entrusted to them.

Since the original audience of the book of Hebrews was primarily Jewish, this statement would have been quite radical. Moses held a place of honor with the people far above any other prophet in the scriptures because he gave them the Law. Moses proved faithful before God, administering this covenant. In fact God said this about him in Numbers, “When a prophet of the LORD is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams. But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house" ( Numbers 12:6-7 ). Even though the Israelites were hard-hearted, refusing to believe God, wandering the desert for forty years, this didn't nullify Moses’ faithfulness. He remains true to God and the covenant that was made.

Just like Moses, Jesus has remained faithful to the one who appointed Him Apostle and High Priest on our behalf. None of this bears weight on what we do, but everything depends on what He did. He has proven himself a faithful steward with what God entrusted to Him. And now Jesus resides permanently over the house of God administering this covenant of grace. In fact God has sworn an oath to Jesus that He will never change His mind, Jesus is a priest forever ( Hebrews 7:21-22 ). Because of this oath Jesus is the guarantee for a better covenant.

This is why the writer started chapter three reminding us to focus our thoughts on Jesus. Just like Moses, He has proven himself faithful. Understanding the covenant which He is the guarantor will bring us into a deeper revelation of grace. With this understanding, nothing will get in the way of the relationship that God has called us into.

Tomorrow we will look at Hebrews 3:3-4; Jesus is Worthy of Greater Honor than Moses.

Who cares about the laundry list of people Paul is thanking? What application does it have for us today? This seems to be a common question that arises when getting to the close of a book of the Bible. In fact, in many small group settings, a large sigh is heard when chosen to read over the list of names, hoping to pronounce them right and wondering why it matters that it is read at all.

As I ponder over these names of countless individuals that helped and ministered with the Apostle Paul these phrases stand out, "fellow workers in Christ Jesus", "They risked their lives for me," "all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them", "worked very hard for you", "They are outstanding among the apostles", "tested and approved in Christ". These are among the few attributes that Paul gives them when instructing the Romans to accept and greet them in the Lord. They obviously come very highly recommended by Paul and deserve a moment for us to ponder as well.

These men and women helped spread the gospel and preserve the written instructions of Paul in the early push of Christianity. Where would we be without these people risking their lives to share the good news of Christ Jesus? What they did was amazing and unbelievable. They evangelized the known world at that time in thirty years. What Paul said about them is true, not only for the believers in Rome but for us as well. They did work very hard for us, they were outstanding among the apostles, they are tested and approved in Christ! As we read about them we should be grateful that these men and women risked their lives for Christ so that we could know him 2000 years later.

What a great testament to know that what you are doing now could affect someone outside of your time and influence. These people had no idea of their impact in the world, they just loved the Lord and spread His good news. We can do the same. We can live a changed life by our relationship with Jesus. Not worrying about the things we do or don't do, but living in the moment with the Holy Spirit as our guide and teacher. If we listen to His direction and follow His leading then we, like these men and women, can bless the body of Christ and encourage each other in Lord, not realizing its impact on others.

This passage of scripture is utterly amazing and profound! We are witnessing the law of faith in action. Paying special attention to this will help us see results in our own lives. Abraham is the father of many nations because he had the kind of faith that stood firm until the promise was fulfilled.

The Promise was that Abraham would be the father of many nations ( Genesis 17:4-5 ) and that the whole world would be blessed through him ( Genesis 12:3 ). This promise also speaks of the Seed of Abraham as the Messiah ( Galatians 3:16 ). The problem was that Abraham was nearly one hundred years old and impotent. His wife Sarah, was and had always been barren and was also ninety years old. So this verse gives us amazing information to consider when the problem seems to outweigh the promise.

Like Abraham we cannot focus on the problem, instead we need to focus on the promise. The King James Bible puts it this way, "And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb..." ( Romans 4:19 ) The facts were it was impossible for them to have a child. But the scriptures say, he did not consider the facts only the promise. In Hebrews 11, also known as the 'Faith Hall of Fame', it notes that Abrahams faith rose up because he 'considered him faithful who made the promise.' ( Hebrews 11:11 ) and by that he was able to overcome any doubt from the circumstances surrounding the problem.

Abraham, because he knew God, was able to disregard what seemed impossible. Instead of doubting the promise he let his faith override his unbelief. He did not consider why it was impossible he only consider the one who promised him and knew that he was faithful to deliver. To operate in faith, you and I must focus on God's promise to us and discount anything that hinders you believing in that promise.

When we look to God, and focus on him, then circumstances will fade into the background. Today, I pray that you trust God with what he has spoken to you. Believe and consider him faithful to perform his word. In doing so, you, like Abraham and Sarah will reap the benefits of your faith.