Written ~ 11-20-2024
Read Hebrews Chapter Eight
Hebrews 8
The way Hebrews chapter eight starts us off is awesome! It’s a wonderful reminder of what we have studied so far in Hebrews and something we should keep in our hearts at all times!
Hebrews 8:1-2…
1 “Here is the main point: We have a High Priest who sat down in the place of honor beside the throne of the majestic God in heaven. 2 There He ministers in the heavenly Tabernacle, the true place of worship that was built by the Lord and not by human hands.”
With our human minds it is sometimes quite a feat to fully grasp who our Lord is! But that can’t give us an excuse not to fully worship His majesty with all our hearts, minds and souls!
Look at the next set of verses…
Hebrews 8:3-6…
3 “And since every high priest is required to offer gifts and sacrifices, our High Priest must make an offering, too. 4 If He were here on earth, He would not even be a priest, since there already are priests who offer the gifts required by the law. 5 They serve in a system of worship that is only a copy, a shadow of the real one in heaven. For when Moses was getting ready to build the Tabernacle, God gave him this warning: “Be sure that you make everything according to the pattern I have shown you here on the mountain.”
6 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.”
What we see here on earth is just a vague copy of what is in heaven. Even now the “system of worship we serve” is only a copy, a shadow of the real one in heaven.
God gave Moses a pattern by which to build the tabernacle, all its furnishings and coverings, but the real tabernacle the one made by God’s Holy Hands and it is present only in heaven.
So, the old covenant, the old priesthood, the old way of sacrifice was just a copy, a shadow of the real covenant, the real priesthood, the real sacrifice and those are only found in Jesus.
All of the promises we read about starting from page one of our Bibles are wonderful! And we should cling to each and every one of them! But none of them bring Salvation! Not until the moment Jesus was born in human flesh, walked this earth in perfection, died on a cross for the sins of the world and conquered death by rising from the dead, does a new, and far superior standard to God’s promises become available. That’s a pretty awesome revelation, wouldn’t you agree!
Hebrews 8:7…
7 “If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it.”
As for me, I am thrilled beyond expression that Jesus accomplished everything He did here on earth to become that second, brand new, perfect covenant, I cannot imagine us worshiping and sacrificing the way the old covenant required.
Let’s look now at God’s point of view…
Hebrews 8:8-12…
8 But when God found fault with the people, He said:
“The day is coming, says the Lord,
when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel and Judah.
9 This covenant will not be like the one
I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
and led them out of the land of Egypt.
They did not remain faithful to my covenant,
so I turned my back on them, says the Lord.
10 But this is the new covenant I will make
with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord:
I will put My laws in their minds,
and I will write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be My people.
11 And they will not need to teach their neighbors,
nor will they need to teach their relatives,
saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’
For everyone, from the least to the greatest,
will know Me already.
12 And I will forgive their wickedness,
and I will never again remember their sins.”
WOW.
Aren’t you glad we fall under the second covenant? As believers and followers of Jesus Christ we have the benefit of living under this new covenant. We must remain faithful to this new covenant. Verses 8:10-12 say that God’s law will be put in our minds, they will be written on our hearts, we will be forgiven of our sins, and they will never again be remembered!
If God’s Word has already been put in each human mind and is already written on each and every heart… think of it this way… It sounds like God’s Word has actually already been placed within us and then when we give our lives over to Jesus and accept Him as Lord and Savior that Word gets ignited! When the Holy Spirit takes up residence in our hearts, it’s like He turns on a light switch and illuminates what’s already in our minds and on our hearts. That’s why when we read the Scriptures it brings an impactful refreshing and confirms the information our hearts and minds already know!
In the Book of Ecclesiastes right in the middle of verse 3:11 it says, “…God has planted eternity in the human heart…” that excerpt might be taken a little out of context… but it sprang to my mind and I like how it shows we already have the knowledge of God and eternity “planted” within us.
Just think…if the Israelites had followed and obeyed the first covenant without flaw, today we would not have the second covenant! So, in a way, we should be grateful to the disobedience and wickedness of the people of Israel, because now, we get to have Jesus and a new covenant!
The Life Application Study Bible footnotes have a great explanation for verses 8:8-12, so I am going to share what it says, truly, I really couldn’t say it any better…
- This passage quotes Jeremiah 31:31-34, which compares the new covenant with the old. The old covenant law was given by God to Israel. Now God has provided a new and better covenant, one of grace, in which Christ offers to forgive our sins and bring us to God through His sacrificial death. This new covenant reaches beyond Israel and Judah to include all people. Because it is written on our hearts and in our minds, it works at a deeper level to guide and transform us than any system of external rules and regulations could. It offers a new way to receive forgiveness – not through animal sacrifices, but through faith. Have you entered the new covenant and begun walking in this better way? Do you find God’s truth coming alive in you?
- Under God’s new covenant, He has written the law on our hearts, and adherence to an external set of rules and principles is no longer required. The Holy Spirit reminds us of Christ’s words, activates our consciences, influences our motives and desires, and makes us want to obey God. Now doing His will can become something we truly desire with all our hearts and minds.
- If our hearts have not been changed, following God’s rules will be unpleasant and difficult. We will rebel against being told how to live. The Holy Spirit, however, gives us new desires, helping us want to obey God (see Philippians 2:12-13). With new hearts, we find that serving God is our greatest joy.
In the above paragraph, two verses in Philippians are referenced, I want to write out those verses because they really do give another wonderful addition to our study today… (I’m sure you already know, but this is the Apostle Paul speaking…)
Philippians 2:12-13…
12 “Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. 13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.”
Do you see what Paul said there? God gives us the desire to please Him. It also says, God gives us the power to please Him. It’s difficult, impossible really, to obey rules when our consciouses don’t line up to what the Scriptures teach. Salvation and the transformative changes it brings is the key to acquiring the desire and the power to please the Lord in everything we do. If we continue to go through life by either rebelling completely against receiving the free gift of Salvation or if we live a Christian life by our own rules and standards… it will become impossible to have that deep reverence and obedience that God desires from all of us. The people of Israel missed it! They didn’t follow the Word of the Lord and because of it, disaster was brought upon them many times over! All the examples, all the warnings from Scripture are placed there for us to learn from. If we continue to ignore the Words that come straight from God’s heart, we are pretty much asking for disaster to be brought upon us as well. Are there things in your life that you really do need to give up so you can have DEEP reverence for God? God has given us an incredibly wonderful gift! His own Son! He did away with an old way of doing things by sacrificing His own Son. When we have this kind of knowledge, we have to respond, there is nothing more important than what Christ Jesus did for us. When we continue to ignore that fact because we feel our lives and the way we choose to live them takes precedence…boy…we really are just like the Israelites aren’t we?
It says in Hebrews 8:9b, “They did not remain faithful to My covenant, so I turned My back on them, says the Lord.” If you (or someone you know) are living a prodigal, back-slidden, lukewarm Christian life or have yet to receive Salvation, it’s not the old covenant you are not being faithful to, it’s the new covenant, it’s Jesus who you are not being faithful to…
Hebrews 8:13…
13 “When God speaks of a “new” covenant, it means He has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon disappear.”
God knew that the old covenant would not be an everlasting oath between Him and the people of Israel. So, God introduced His Son to the world. When the prophet Jeremiah wrote the words that are quoted in Hebrews 8:8-12 it was around six hundred years before Christ came to earth. He was warning the Israelites to return to the Lord! The new covenant had not been given yet… but guess what, it’s here now and we have the opportunity to cover our hearts, minds, and our entire lives with this new oath from the Almighty God! If we accept His Son and obey His instructions we will live under a new covenant, one that brings complete forgiveness, freedom from guilt and shame and everlasting life.
Where do you stand today?
Do you stand with the Israelites with rebellion and disobedience in your heart? Do you stand on a fence, with wavering loyalty and reverence? Do you stand with unfaithfulness to God’s covenant?
Or… Do you stand with Christ? Do you stand firm in your knowledge of Scripture? Do you obey the law God has written on your heart and in your mind?
Salvation is standing, waiting for any of you who have not yet reached out for it… why not have today be the day where you say enough is enough, I need Jesus! I need the new covenant to cover my life! If this is you, say the following prayer!
Dear Jesus, You know my heart, everything I have done and said. Please forgive me for all of my sins. I believe You are the Son of God. I believe You came to earth to die on the cross for my sins. I believe You rose from the dead to give me freedom from sin and death. By faith through believing in Who You Are, I accept You as my Lord and Savior. Come into my life, cleanse my heart white as snow. Breathe life into me. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Shine Your light through me. And use me for Your Glory. Amen.
- If you solemnly prayed this prayer, tell at least one person, so they can share in your joy!! I rejoice with you! All the angels in Heaven rejoice with you!
- It is very important to me that those who might be reading these journal pages of mine and don’t yet know the Lord Jesus Christ, that you make that decision. Today. Your heart and mind may not understand everything you have been reading, but if you open your heart to the truth of who Jesus is, you will be saved from sin and death. By the Power of the Holy Spirit you will be amazed at how quickly after giving your heart to the Lord your eyes and ears will be opened to the truth.
~AMEN~