Hebrews 8 - New Deal
As a Christian, you have unique abilities the rest of the world lacks.
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Hebrews 8 (ESV)
1 Now the point in what we are saying is this:
we have such a high priest,
one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,
2 a minister
in the holy places,
in the true tent
that the Lord set up,
not man.
3 For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices;
thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer.
4 Now if he were on earth,
he would not be a priest at all,
since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law.
5 They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things.
For when Moses was about to erect the tent,
he was instructed by God, saying,
“See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.”
6 But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry
that is
as much more excellent than the old
as the covenant he mediates is better,
since it is enacted on better promises.
7 For if that first covenant had been faultless,
there would have been no occasion to look for a second.
8 For he finds fault with them when he says:
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord,
when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,
9 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt.
For they did not continue in my covenant,
and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws into their minds,
and write them on their hearts,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
11 And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.
12 For
I will be merciful toward their iniquities,
and I will remember their sins no more.”
13 In speaking of a new covenant,
he makes the first one obsolete.
And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
Hebrews 8 Summary
REMIND ME OF WHAT A COVENANT IS AGAIN: Check out our Dig Deeper post on Hebrews 8 from two years ago for a quick refresher.
Hebrews 8 has two main points. First, the temple worship system set up in the Old Testament, consisting of priests and sacrifices were just copies and shadows of heavenly things (v5). In other words, they were just pointing ahead to Christ, who is our true high priest, that is, the one who represents us before God.
Second, God had always had a covenantal relationship with His people, but it never worked out the way it was supposed to. God certainly was faithful on His part: He will be our God, but people have always failed to fulfill their obligation to be His people. That's what's so amazing about the new covenant that God has established: the promise remains the same, but the fulfillment has been achieved in the perfect obedience of Christ.
Dig Deeper
Those outside of the covenant "cannot please God," because their minds, governed by sin, are "hostile to God and do not submit to God's law" (Romans 8:7-8).
Yet as participants in this new covenant, our lives have undergone a quantum shift. It's not just our hearts that have been regenerated (made new / born again), but our mind and will has as well! Here's how v10 puts it:
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
This means that as a member of this new covenant, you can please God! You can think like Him and love like Him and live the way He designed you to live!
Be sure to take advantage of these unique abilities you've been given.
AAA Prayer:
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father who sits on the throne of Majesty in heaven (v1)
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that God's law will be in your mind and written on your heart, so that He will be your God and you will be a strong member of His people (v10)
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
