A NEW AND BETTER COVENANT
Hebrews 8:9-12 NKJV
9 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord. 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 11 None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
Better has been the theme of late. And that makes perfect sense, seeing that better is the theme of the book of Hebrews. Jesus is better than angels, Moses, and the Aaronic priesthood. Today, we are looking at a new and better covenant.
God made a covenant or agreement with the nation of Israel when He delivered them and brought them out of Egypt. This is the covenant God made through Moses and started the entire Judaic system of sacrifices and offerings. This was the covenant that God gave to Moses on the tablets of stone. And this was the covenant that Israel constantly strayed away from. God said that Israel did not continue in His covenant, and God disregarded them.
It would be too easy to assume that after Israel strayed from God’s covenant, that God would be done with mankind and certainly done with Israel. But God was not done. He established a new covenant with Israel. And according to verse six of this chapter, this new covenant is better and established on better promises. This new covenant is available to everyone who receives Jesus as their Lord and Savior—an agreement with the Creator of the universe and what an agreement.
With this new covenant, God is no longer writing on tablets of stone but is putting His laws in our hearts and minds. The old covenant never offered the new birth and a chance for a completely new start. So, this new covenant starts with a new heart. And God is our God, and we are His people. This means more to me as a Gentile. No longer are only those born with a lineage traceable to Abraham God’s people. Now, people from every nation, tribe, and tongue can belong to God and become His very own children. And God is our very own Father.
Now, with our new and better covenant, we don’t have to have someone explain God. We don’t have to find someone who knows the Lord to pray for us. Now everyone, not simply a chosen few, can know the Lord. From the most likely to the least likely, we can all have a relationship with God.
And this last condition may be the best. Under the old covenant, offerings for sin had to be made every year. Every year, there was a reminder of the sin that separated man and God. But under our new and better covenant, we are no longer kept in memory of our sins. God is merciful to our unrighteous condition and our sins and mistakes, He remembers no more. This is what happens when someone becomes a new creation in Christ. The old truly has passed away. What a more better deal. What a better covenant.
PRAYER
Dear Father, thank You that I can take part in your new covenant with mankind. Thank You that I can know You and You are working in my heart to will and to do of Your good pleasure. Thank You that You have forgiven me of all my sins, never to remember them again. Thank You for sending Jesus and establishing a better covenant with better promises.