Tag: Old covenant versus new covenant

Digging in Deeper: Hebrews 12:18-24

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“For you have not come to what could be touched, to a blazing fire, to darkness, gloom, and storm, to the blast of a trumpet, and the sound of words. Those who heard it begged that not another word be spoken to them, for they could not bear what was commanded: ‘If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.’ The appearance was so terrifying that Moses said, ‘I am trembling with fear.’ Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God (the heavenly Jerusalem), to myriads of angels, a festive gathering, to the assembly of the firstborn whose names have been written in heaven, to a Judge, who is God of all, to the spirits of righteous people made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which says better things than the blood of Abel.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

For twelve chapters now, and seven months, we have been joining the author of Hebrews on an explanation and exploration of why God’s new covenant in Christ is greater than the old covenant He made through Moses with the people of Israel. Here, just before his big lightning round finish, he sets the two covenants against each other one last time. This contrast, though, is different from all the rest. Let’s take a look at what he says here and what it means for us.

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Digging in Deeper: Hebrews 8:7-13

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“For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion for a second one. But finding fault with his people, he says: ‘”See, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah – not like the covenant that I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. I showed no concern for them,” says the Lord, “because they did not continue in my covenant. 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 into their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And each person will not teach his fellow citizen, and each his brother or sister, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least to the greatest of them. For I will forgive their wrongdoing, and I will never again remember their sins.”‘ By saying a new covenant, he has declared that the first is obsolete. And what is obsolete and growing old is about to pass away.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Think about your phone for a minute. Is it the first phone you’ve ever owned? My guess is that unless you’re a teenager with a fairly new device, the answer to that question is no. It’s probably not even the second phone you’ve owned. If I’m remembering correctly, my current device is my sixth. Of course, the fact that I can’t even remember very well says something all by itself. Why did you buy a new phone when you did? It could be your old one broke or was lost or stolen, but I suspect there’s a better chance it simply became old and obsolete. Let’s talk today about old phones and God’s covenant with Israel.

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Morning Musing: Hebrews 8:3-6

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“For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; therefore, it was necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. Now if he were on earth, he wouldn’t be a priest, since there are those offering the gifts prescribed by the law. These serve as a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was warned when he was about to complete the tabernacle. For God said, ‘Be careful that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown to you on the mountain.’ But Jesus has now obtained a superior ministry, and to that degree he is the mediator of a better covenant, which has been established on better promises.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

There’s an old adage that says, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” The idea, of course, is that by copying something, you are making a statement as to the worth of the thing. Whatever else you think about it, you think it is worth making more of it. OF course, this isn’t always the case. Sometimes you make a second version or an update of something because the first thing wasn’t perfect, and you wanted to make improvements in it. In the world of computer programming, the first version of something is called the “beta” version and is always intended to be replaced by the superior full version. When it comes to our relationship with God, the first covenant of Law was always intended to be replaced by the second covenant of grace. The new covenant is the main version, and the Law was the beta. This is something the author of Hebrews begins unpacking here and for the next little while. Let’s explore it with him.

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Digging in Deeper: 2 Corinthians 3:7-11

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“Now if the ministry that brought death, chiseled in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites were not able to gaze steadily at Moses’s face because of its glory, which was set aside, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? For if the ministry that brought condemnation had glory, the ministry that brings righteousness overflows with even more glory. In fact, what had been glorious is not glorious now by comparison because of the glory that surpasses it. For if what was set aside was glorious, what endures will be even more glorious.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

What is the relationship of followers of Jesus to the Old Testament? Let me put that another way. What does the old covenant have to do with members of the new covenant? That sounds different and probably would generate different responses, but it’s the same question. And it is a question that has generated no small amount of response and debate over the centuries of the church. It is also a question we aren’t going to be able to answer rigorously in this one post. But Paul’s words here do afford us the opportunity to do something thinking about it. Let’s take a few minutes together today and do just that.

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