Jul 5, 2015

Covenant Theology - Hebrews 8


In Hebrews 
        ...Jesus, is our High Priest!
Chapter 8 :  The "new deal"

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.





New International Version
Chapter 8: The High Priest of a New Covenant
1Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, 2and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being.
3Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. 4If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. 5They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”a6But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.
7For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. 8But God found fault with the people and saidb :
“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. 9 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.
10This 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.
11No 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. 12 For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”c 13By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.




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  •        The Abrahamic Covenant: (Genesis 12: 1-3) 1The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. 2“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
  • The "Replacement Theology" people say that "the church" has "replaced" ISRAEL.  There is one word for that teaching: WRONG! ~ Do your own research.  God is a Covenant-Keeper...God never changes a covenant! Oh and by the way...Israel is not occupying the land, they OWN it...and they don't need anyone's permission to defend themselves.


  • The Mosaic Covenant: (Exodus 19) The Mosaic Covenant is a conditional covenant made between God and the nation of Israel at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19-24).  It includes the Ten Commandments(Ex. 20).  It is sometimes called the Sinai Covenant but is more often referred to as the Mosaic Covenant since Moses was God’s chosen leader of Israel at that time. The pattern of the covenant is very similar to other ancient covenants of that time because it is between a sovereign king (God) and his people or subjects (Israel). At the time of the covenant, God reminded the people of their obligation to be obedient to His law (Exodus 19:5), and the people agreed to the covenant when they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do!” (Exodus 19:8). This covenant would serve to set the nation of Israel apart from all other nations as God’s chosen people and was as equally binding as the unconditional covenant that God made with Abraham because it is also a blood covenant. The Mosaic Covenant is a significant covenant in both God’s redemptive history and in the history of the nation of Israel through whom God would sovereignly choose to bless the world with both His written Word and the Living Word, Jesus Christ.


  • The Mosaic Covenant was centered around God's giving His divine law to Moses on Mount Sinai. In understanding the different covenants in the Bible and their relationship with one another, it is important to understand that the Mosaic Covenant differs significantly from the Abrahamic Covenant and later biblical covenants because it is conditional in that the blessings that God promises are directly related to Israel’s obedience to the Mosaic Law.  If Israel is obedient, then God will bless them, but if they disobey, then God will punish them. The blessings and curses that are associated with this conditional covenant are found in detail in Deuteronomy 28. The other covenants found in the Bible are unilateral covenants of promise, in which God binds Himself to do what He promised, regardless of what the recipients of the promises might do. On the other hand the Mosaic Covenant is a bilateral agreement, which specifies the obligations of both parties to the covenant.


  • The Mosaic Covenant is especially significant because in it God promises to make Israel “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:6). Israel was to be God’s light to the dark world around them. They were to be a separate and called-out nation so that everyone around them would know that they worshiped Yahweh, the covenant-keeping God. It is significant because it is here that Israel received the Mosaic Law that was to be a schoolmaster pointing the way towards the coming of Christ (Galatians 3:24-25). The Mosaic Law would reveal to people their sinfulness and their need for a Savior, and it is the Mosaic Law that Christ Himself said that He did not come to abolish but to fulfill. This is an important point because some people get confused by thinking that keeping the Law saved people in the Old Testament, but the Bible is clear that salvation has always been by faith alone, and the promise of salvation by faith that God had made to Abraham as part of the Abrahamic Covenant still remained in effect (Galatians 3:16-18).


  • Also, the sacrificial system of the Mosaic Covenant did not really take away sins (Hebrews 10:1-4); it simply foreshadowed the bearing of sin by Christ, the perfect high priest Who was also the perfect sacrifice (Hebrews 9:11-28). Therefore, the Mosaic Covenant itself, with all its detailed laws, could not save people. It is not that there was any problem with the Law itself, for the Law is perfect and was given by a holy God, but the Law had no power to give people new life, and the people were not able to obey the Law perfectly (Galatians 3:21).


  •        Old Covenant v.s. New Covenant
  • The New Covenant:  “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel - after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.    ~Jer. 31  /  Hebrews 8:10
            (Jeremiah 31, and here restated again in Hebrews 8:10) 

  • In this chapter, the writer of Hebrews announces God's "new deal"—a new covenant, or agreement, between God and humanity. It's not that the Old was "bad" or "wrong"...it is just that the NEW IS FAR BETTER!  This is a MAJOR point of the writer in Hebrews, so don't miss this point!
  • It offers far superior promises to those of the "old deal" (Old Testament laws and regulations)



  • I want to include an Old Testament look at a few covenants God made with his people; otherwise we cannot fully appreciate the significance of the "New Covenant" that we find here in Chapter 8.  Each of these covenants are "eternal" in that they are still in as much effect as they were when God made them.  God is the "Covenant-Keeper" with his people; He keeps his promises.  
  • How does a Covenant differ from a contract? 
  • In simple terms, a covenant is an agreement between two parties, as is a contract.  Significant though, is that a contract is based on mis-trust, while a covenant is based on trust.

  • Covenant of Grace: The covenant of grace promises eternal life for all people who have faith in Christ. It is part of the primary covenants in the Westminster Confession of Faith. He also promises the Holy Spirit.  The Covenant of Grace, promised eternal blessing for belief in Christ and obedience to God's word. It is seen as the basis for all biblical covenants that God made individually with Noah, Abraham, and David, nationally with O.T. Israel as a people, and universally with man in the New Covenant. 

  • Without faith, it is impossible to please God. ~Hebrews 11:6

·         Davidic Covenant: (2 Samuel 7:12-16)
(This is God talking to David through the Prophet Nathan) "When your time comes and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up after you your descendant, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. I will be a father to him, and he will be a son to Me.  When he does wrong, I will discipline him with a human rod and with blows from others.  But my faithful love will never leave him as I removed it from Saul; I removed him from your way.  Your house and kingdom will endure before Me forever, and your throne will be established forever." (~ 2 Samuel 7:12-16)

  • The Davidic Covenant refers to God’s promises to David through Nathan the prophet and is found in2 Samuel 7and later summarized in1 Chronicles 17:11–14and2 Chronicles 6:16. 
  • This is an unconditional covenant made between God and David through which God promises David and Israel that the Messiah (Jesus Christ) would come from the lineage of David and the tribe of Judah and would establish a kingdom that would endure forever. 
  • The Davidic Covenant is unconditional because God does not place any conditions of obedience upon its fulfillment. The surety of the promises made rests solely on God’s faithfulness and does not depend at all on David or Israel’s obedience.
  • The Davidic Covenant centers on several key promises that are made to David. First, God reaffirms the promise of the land that He made in the first two covenants with Israel (the Abrahamic and Mosaic Covenants). This promise is seen in2 Samuel 7:10, “I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore.” God then promises that David’s son will succeed him as king of Israel and that this son (Solomon) would build the temple. This promise is seen in2 Samuel 7:12–13, " I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name.”

  • But then the promise continues and expands: “I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (verse 13), and “Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever” (verse 16). What began as a promise that David’s son Solomon would be blessed and build the temple turns into something different—the promise of an everlasting kingdom. Another Son of David would rule forever and build a lasting House. This is a reference to the Messiah, Jesus Christ, called the Son of David in Matthew 21:9.

  • The promise that David’s “house,” “kingdom,” and “throne” will be established forever is significant because it shows that the Messiah will come from the lineage of David and that He will establish a kingdom from which He will reign. The covenant is summarized by the words “house,” promising a dynasty in the lineage of David; “kingdom,” referring to a people who are governed by a king; “throne,” emphasizing the authority of the king’s rule; and “forever,” emphasizing the eternal and unconditional nature of this promise to David and Israel.

  •  The New Covenant:  “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel - after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. ~Jer. 31
 (Jeremiah 31, and restated again in Hebrews 8:10) In this chapter, the writer of Hebrews announces God's "new deal"—a covenant, or agreement, between God and humanity. It offers far superior promises to those of the "old deal" (Old Testament laws and regulations).
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Questions:
·         "We do have such a high priest" (v. 1) refers to the description of Jesus in 7:23-28. What additional facts do you learn about him (vv. 1-2)?
·         What is Christ's heavenly ministry (vv. 3-6)?
·         Verse 6 looks back to prove Christ's superior ministry and ahead to prove that we have a superior covenant with God. The key is "better promises." What was the problem with the first covenant (vv. 7-12)?
·         What guarantees God's "new deal" (v. 12)?
       (See also vv. 1-3; 9:14.)




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*Note: www.gotquestions.org was helpful to research these covenants.
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