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 days are coming, declares the Lord,
when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
and with the people of Judah.
It will not be like the covenant
I made with their ancestors
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
Something was wrong with the Old Covenant, the Law of Moses. The prophet Jeremiah foretold of its end, and the author of Hebrews is telling us clearly and unambiguously that the end has come. I’m always amazed that more of us can’t seem to comprehend this. So many Christian doctrinal traditions treat the New Covenant as little more than addendum to the Old. Others add elements of the Old into the New almost on a whim; how clear does it need to be? Recently, I posted an item on “The iMonastery” that deals with a little of the history of this, and if you are interested, you can find it here.
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
This is the rest of the quotation from Jeremiah 31:31-34, note that he described features of the New Covenant that were never present in the Old. Notice also that this entire quotation is cited by our author here in Hebrews as an accomplished fact, and not something still off in the future, as some would claim it to be today. If you still aren’t convinced, there is one more verse in this chapter:
By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.
Hebrews 8:13
The Old Covenant is called “obsolete and outdated.” OK, do you really want to go there? It will “soon disappear” but it still hasn’t?
Within 10 years, probably less than 5, but it isn’t completely certain what the exact year was when this was written, the Romans sacked Jerusalem, destroyed the Temple and scattered the people who were fortunate enough to survive the siege, and the Old Covenant has not been practiced from that day until this. Gone are the sacrifices, the offerings, the priests, the tabernacle, the holy place and all the rest of the system that was completely, totally and utterly replaced by the work of Jesus Christ, our great high priest who reigns even now at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven… and all of that was foretold centuries before by the prophets.
As amazing a chapter as Hebrews 8 is, chapter 9 is even better!
Life Project Blog 
Boom boom. You have my full attention. Old – gone. New – now. Compelling and unambiguous. Thank you.
Easy for you to say… it’s getting me in trouble in certain places!
The intuitive places, or the counter intuitive places? 🙂
Uh huh…
God is good and His prophetic plan is always filled, God Bless!
Amen and thanks!
Thank you for your lessons on this subject. It is important to understand these two covenants. Continue the good work!
Standing on the Promises of Christ my Lord!
Pamela “Penny” Kohl
Thanks Penny!
You are going to town on this scripture reading. lol. vw.
Guilty as charged.
🙂
I always enjoy the blog Don, and I found it funny that we so recently wrote on the same topic (sort of). Thank you for being so faithful in sharing.
I will pray for you as you appear to have stirred some controversy. But it is always good when we get a chance to be challenged by scripture.
Thank you Mitchell, I appreciate your remarks; it’s great to hear from you again!. As for controversy, i guess certain passages make that hard to avoid and I try to remain faithful to the text as best I can without being obnoxious about it by respecting others’ views. I guess not everyone likes it that way! 🙂
Im enjoying these writings. You are making it exciting to read!
Bless you Elaine!
Oh, Don – ” I’m always amazed that more of us can’t seem to comprehend this.” Just as I am continually amazed that more of us don’t understand Jesus’ continual commands for us to love one another. We seek to fit God into a box of our own making, which which binds us into captivity of our own making. Too many people are afraid to be set free by the power and majesty of God’s grace. I think it is just that simple and just that sad.
Susan, I think you are on to something there…