Hebrews 8:8

June 29, 2020 - Pastor Jacob Kanda

Hebrews 8:8 says “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.”

The book of Hebrews references the New Covenant more than all the other New Testament books combined.

God found fault with the nation Israel (physical descendants of Abraham) under the Mosaic Covenant. The nation did not live up to its conditions. He made the New Covenant that would have the complete remedy for the sin problem of Israel.

The word “behold” calls attention to an important announcement, the proclamation of the New Covenant for Israel.

Note that the focus of the New Covenant is God’s “I will.” The onus of keeping the covenant is upon God. The covenant depends on God’s faithfulness to keep His Word. The words “I will” occur six times in verses 8–12. God will personally carry out the terms of the New Covenant.

The word “new” means new in character and it implies that it is better. This covenant will bring a permanent solution to the sin problem that the Mosaic Covenant did not. It was a covenant with Israel first.

The prophecy of Jeremiah 8 predicted the end of the Mosaic Covenant. God made that covenant obsolete (He 8:13). The old became old even before the time of Christ.

The purpose of bringing in the New Covenant was not that the church would fulfill it because it was made with “Israel” and “Judah.” The full specifics of the New Covenant will be fulfilled in the future Millennium beyond the church age. The church does enter some of the blessings of this covenant, however.

The time when God will save Israel is yet in the future (Isa 59:20–21; Ro 11:26–27). Hebrews applies an aspect of the New Covenant to the church (salvation), but this does not deny its primary application to the nation of Israel.

In Hebrews 8:6 Jesus was Mediator of a “better covenant.” Verses 8 and following show that since the New Covenant was prophesied, the first covenant was flawed, so believers in the church benefit from the blessings of the New Covenant. Christ as High Priest and Mediator of the New Covenant enables believers to “draw near” to God (He 7:25); we benefit from Christ’s priesthood and the covenant to which it was tied (He 8:1; 7:25–27).