THE NEW COVENANT

Passage: Hebrews 8:7-13

Key verse: 11

NIV

7 For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another.(A) 8 But God found fault with the people and said[a]:

“The days are coming, declares the Lord,
    when I will make a new covenant(B)
with the people of Israel
    and with the people of Judah.
9 It will not be like the covenant
    I made with their ancestors(C)
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.
10 This is the covenant(D) 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.(E)
I will be their God,
    and they will be my people.(F)
11 No longer will they teach their neighbor,
    or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,(G)
    from the least of them to the greatest.
12 For I will forgive their wickedness
    and will remember their sins no more.(H)”[b](I)

13 By calling this covenant “new,”(J) he has made the first one obsolete;(K) and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.

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Footnotes
  1. Hebrews 8:8 Some manuscripts may be translated fault and said to the people.
  2. Hebrews 8:12 Jer. 31:31-34
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

7 (A)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:[a]

(B)“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 (C)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 (D)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 (E)all know me,
    from the least of them to the greatest.
12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities,
    (F)and I will remember their sins no more.”

13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And (G)what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

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Footnotes
  1. Hebrews 8:8 Some manuscripts For finding fault with it he says to them
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

1. The inadequacy of the old covenant (7-9)

The old covenant was mediated by Moses on Mount Sinai (Ex 24). The laws given there were a part of God's training program to make a nation of slaves into a kingdom of priests (Ex 19:5,6). The Israelites agreed to obey God's laws, and God promised to bless them and give them victory and abundance in the Promised Land. But the people disobeyed the laws and compromised with the culture and religion of Canaan. The covenant of law could not help them; it only condemned them.

2. The new covenant (1

-13)

Jeremiah spoke about the new covenant; Jesus established it with his own blood, shed for the sins of the world. The Holy Spirit, given to all who repent and believe, writes God's law on our hearts. The new covenant enables each person to have a personal relationship with God (11). God promises to forgive our sins (12). We may know the Lord, and this is eternal life (Jn 17:3).

Prayer: Lord, thank you for keeping your promise and establishing the new covenant in Jesus' blood.

One Word: Bound in love by the new covenant