Hebrews Chapter 8
We are MADE for better things.
“But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises.”
Hebrews 8:6
Read Hebrews 8
What’s a Covenant?
When we purchased our current house, I submitted reams of paperwork. Every time I submitted one piece, the bank asked for another. One day, when I was especially frustrated, one of the boys asked what was wrong. I said, “I’ve given them everything I have. Next, I guess they’ll want your birth certificates.” Concerned, my son asked why the bank would want his birth certificate. “If we don’t pay back the loan, then I guess they’ll come and get you,” I joked.
Modern day contracts are definitely complicated and intimidating.
A covenant is a contract. It is a binding agreement between two people or groups of people. In a covenant, each side normally makes a promise. For example, when we sign a mortgage contract, the bank is agreeing to loan us the money. We are agreeing to pay it back.
In ancient times, covenants were common between countries and between kings and their people. A king would initiate a covenant by promising certain favors—such as protection from enemies—in exchange for loyalty and payment. The signing of a covenant was often celebrated with special feasts or sacrifices.
God’s covenant with the Israelites was instituted at Mt. Sinai when he gave them the ten commandments. He promised his favor in return for their obedience. As we know from history, this did not work out well. Time and again the Israelites failed God and fell away from him. Time and again, he disciplined them, and they cried out for mercy. Because he loved them, he continued to give them another chance.
The creation of the Old Testament covenant was not a mistake or an accident. God knew exactly what he was doing. He wanted humans to understand that we are incapable of perfect obedience. When we comprehend our inability to earn salvation, we will recognize our desperate need for a Savior.
Old Versus New
Sjon-Paul had a pair of favorite basketball shoes that served him well during his high school career. His last games were played at the end of his senior year in an out-of-state tournament. When Sjon-Paul unpacked his tennis shoes in the hotel room, Ian and I pinched our noses. They stunk so bad, Ian offered to throw them away and buy our son a new pair. Sjon-Paul wouldn’t have it. So, we wrapped them in a trash bag.
Unfortunately, during one of the games, Sjon-Paul’s shoelaces broke. While a friend saved the day by giving him a spare, we went straight to the shoe store afterward and purchased him a new pair. Still, he wouldn’t let us throw the old ones away. For three years, those basketball shoes stayed wrapped in a plastic garbage bag sitting on our garage shelf. Finally, when he wasn’t home, I tossed them.
Old versus New. There is familiarity in the old. Often we are comfortable with what we know, even if it’s well-worn. But there is excitement in the new: experiencing firsts, blazing trails, enjoying the promise of what is to come.
The original Jewish audience was familiar with the old covenant, but the author wanted them to understand the benefits of the new agreement that God had made with mankind. It is different for two primary reasons.
First, the new covenant opens the door for salvation for all people. The Old Testament covenant was between one nation—Israel—and one God. As a result of this special relationship, prejudice arose in the hearts of the Israelites. Gentiles (anyone who wasn’t born Jewish) who wished to love and serve God were limited in how they could do so. Even if they followed all the rules, the Israelites never fully accepted them into God’s family and placed severe limitations on their formal (temple) worship. The new covenant changed all that. God’s gift of salvation was made available to all men and women, from every tribe and nation.
Second, the new covenant takes into account the knowledge of human limitation. We cannot do anything to earn our salvation. We will never be good enough. We will never work hard enough. We will never be able to measure up to God’s standard of holiness on our own. Left to our own devices, salvation is impossible. However, God loved us so much and wanted a relationship with us so badly that He took it upon himself to make a way for us to come to Him.
God laid out the terms for this agreement, and Jesus did all the work. Our part is to admit our inability to save ourselves and to accept what He has done for us.
Sometimes this gets confusing. Some people get mixed up with the terms of the old covenant and think they have to behave a certain way in order to go to heaven. They try to work their way into God’s good graces. Other people take salvation for granted and think they can do anything they want and still be saved because they said some magic words. The truth of the matter lies in the heart.
Unwritten Rules
I used to have a list of rules that I hung on the wall of my kitchen. It was a way to remind the boys of the basic tenants of our home. I don’t remember them all now, but they included things like sharing and being kind. The object, of course, wasn’t that the boys had to read the rules every day. I didn’t even require that they memorize them. My goal was to instill them into their little brains. I wanted them to understand what was expected and to live out those expectations. I wanted the rules to become second nature. I didn’t want them to think, “I shouldn’t take my brother’s toy because that is against the rules.” I wanted them to not take their brother’s toy because they desired to be kind. God desires the same from us. He doesn’t want us to memorize a list of rules that we have to follow. He wants to change our hearts.
God knew from the beginning that we would mess up. He knew Eve would eat that fruit. He knew Cain would kill his brother. He knew that the Israelites wouldn’t be able to keep the ten commandments. He knew we aren’t able to either. God created us, and He knew the seriousness of sin. He knew that it would take more than a list of rules to redeem us. Only a loving, holy God could make a way for imperfect, sinners to come to him.
So, God rewrote the rules, and instead of writing them on stone tablets, he wrote them on our hearts.
What does that even mean?
Do you remember our discussion of the Trinity back in chapter one? Let’s review. Our God is a triune God. He is composed of God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit. All three parts are equally powerful, all three parts one God, and yet each has a unique identity. It’s indescribable and incomprehensible to our limited minds. So, we have to accept it by faith.
Prior to the birth of Jesus, Old Testament worshippers primarily knew only God the Father. Sometimes God the Son appeared in bodily form, usually with a special message. Those who experienced these visitations understood that the messengers were heavenly beings. Sometimes they recognized that they were in the presence of God Himself, but they still didn’t understand the concept of God the Son as we do. In addition, God also sent the Holy Spirit to indwell in Godly men and women. For example, when Samson was filled with the Spirit. However, the Spirit was not a constant presence in the life of all God-followers. He came and went according to the will of God.
In John 15:16-17, Jesus said, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate,[e] who will never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.“
After the resurrection of Jesus, the Holy Spirit came to earth and filled the hearts of the disciples and eventually all believers. When we accept Christ’s free gift of salvation and surrender our lives to his authority, the Holy Spirit comes to live in our hearts as well.
The Gift of Presence
At one point in our lives, Ian was working long hours, and he was under a lot of stress. His supervisor recognized that this was probably wreaking havoc on his employee’s home lives. So, in what he thought was a generous spirit, he sent flowers to the staff wives, signed from their husbands. I was less than impressed. In fact, when I discovered that the flowers were really from the boss instead of Ian, I was very angry. The boss’s gift was a poor substitute for what I wanted—my husband’s presence.
God did not make that mistake. He knew that nothing could serve as a substitute for His presence in our lives.
The old covenant and the new covenant are the same in regard to the problem and the solution. Man is separated from God because of sin. The price for sin is death. Only a perfect sacrifice can permanently pay the price so that we can have an eternal relationship with a holy God.
God wants to provide us with hope on earth and an eternity in heaven with him. He wants to give us blessings upon blessings, but in order to be in relationship with a holy God we need to be holy, and we can’t do that. So, God loved us so much, He made a way. His Son paid the price for us. He negotiated on our behalf. He sacrificed himself, and we reaped the benefits. Then, he went a step further. He placed His spirit in us.
John 3:6 says, “Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.”
John 14:16-18 says, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate,[a] who will never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.[b] 18 No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you.”
The new covenant didn’t abolish God’s law, it fulfilled it. We don’t have to follow a long list of rules and regulations in order for God to love us. He already does. We don’t have to get everything right in order to gain salvation. We couldn’t anyway. But once we are saved, God wants us to reap the blessings of his wisdom. When we commit our lives to Christ, the Spirit writes God’s law in our minds and on our hearts. He indwells in us, and when the Spirit indwells in us, we will want to follow God’s commands.
Better Things
Swirl soft serve is better than chocolate. Pepperoni pizza is better than supreme. A cool autumn afternoon in the mountains is better than a blazing summer day at the beach. We all have ideas of what is better, but God knows what is best.
In Hebrews 8:6, the author says, “But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises.” The new covenant is better.
The new covenant is better because we don’t have to rely on another human to intervene on our behalf. We have personal access to the Father.
It is better because we don’t have to rely on ourselves to pay a price that we can never pay. Our debt has been paid.
It is better because we aren’t trying to figure things out on our own. We have the Holy Spirit living in us, prompting us, teaching us, helping us to discern God’s will for our lives.
Hebrews 8:8-12 is a quote from Jeremiah 31:31-34. It is the prophecy of what would occur after Jesus came to earth. Verses 8-10 are the part of the prophecy that has occurred. Verses 11-12 are as yet unfulfilled.
One day, all believers will live together, and we will no longer be worried about those who do not know Jesus. We will no longer be concerned about our sin or the sins of others. But for now, we live here on earth, with other sinners, some of whom know the Lord and some who don’t.
The new Covenant reminds us that we are MADE for better things. We’re not talking about material things. We are talking about things that are not of this world. We are not here to look good, please people, or build a legacy for ourselves. We are not hardwired to live for temporary pleasures or make ourselves happy. We are MADE to glorify God. We are MADE to seek His will. The world does not hold our secrets for success. There is nothing in this life that is better than what we already have in Christ. When we understand this, we can quit striving for things that mean nothing and start living in a way that prepares us for eternity. Because Jesus paid the price, we are MADE for better things.