A New Covenant

 Read Hebrews 8

Jeremiah 31:31-34

 

We talk about the Old Covenant and the New Covenant, but what exactly is a covenant?

As is often the case, there are a range of meanings. They range from general cordiality to true community and even to being shackled together. When the covenant is with others, it might be something along the lines of Joe and I have an agreement. If I am out of town for a week, he cuts my grass. If he is gone, I cut his. It works most of the time. We’ll see how long it lasts.

When the covenant comes from God it’s more of a fetter—a shackle.  It’s a done deal and it’s binding until God says it’s not. We sometimes refer to it as an unbreakable agreement.

There’s a range of meanings, but a covenant that is from God is big stuff. It’s more than that nudge that you felt inside to take some food to that family down the street or just to check on your neighbor that you haven’t seen for a while.

Those are important but a covenant from God binds so many generations together.

God has made more than 2 covenants. We know of one with Noah. We know of the covenant with Abraham. It wasn’t too long ago that we studied these.

But when people refer to the Old Covenant, they are generally speaking about what might be called the Mosaic Covenant or the Sinai Covenant.

The covenant was not the law itself but compliance and perhaps even obedience to the law was required for salvation. Full compliance was not possible and was never achieved until Jesus fulfilled this covenant for us.

Here is the formula for salvation under the Old Covenant. Score 100% on playing by the rules and you will be blessed. Fortunately, if you couldn’t do this, there is a rule by which you could make up for that, every year until you die.

Exactly what salvation looked like in the mind of the Hebrew people is a topic for another time.

Salvation under the New Covenant was completely by grace and we receive it by faith. It was and is a gift of God. We have no corresponding obligation to receive salvation.

We should understand that God has great expectations for you as his disciple. You finally get to live the way God designed you to live without fear of being kicked to the curb for your mistakes, even those that come of ill intent or laziness.

Here’s the Okiespeak. God’s grace extends even to I knew better, but… God’s grace has covered more than a few hold my beer stunts.

So the old was conditional and the new is without condition. This concept of salvation coming as a gift was a tough cookie to swallow, at least if you were a God-fearing Hebrew 2000 years ago.

The author inserts what should have been familiar text to the Hebrew people. These excerpts should have taunted the readers. You see. We were told a new covenant was coming.

For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said:

“The days are coming, declares the Lord,

    when I will make a new covenant

with the people of Israel

    and with the people of Judah.

It will not be like the covenant

    I made with their ancestors

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.

This is the covenant 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.

I will be their God,

    and they will be my people.

No longer will they teach their neighbor,

    or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’

because they will all know me,

    from the least of them to the greatest.

For I will forgive their wickedness

    and will remember their sins no more.”

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

There was a problem with the Old Covenant. What?  The people didn’t comply with it, perhaps they never could. God’s promises were intact but the people could not obey God and his directives and were continually in a cycle of atonement.

The former covenant was conditional. Our new one comes without condition. Yes, we repent and believe but there are no hoops through which we must jump for our salvation.

This was unthinkable to so many Hebrew people. The author here is asking why.

Why did you not see this coming? Consider the Torah and the prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah as well as some of Paul’s letters in our time.

Were we not paying attention when God said, Heads Up Guys. The day is coming when I will give you a new covenant.  

It may have been a hard sell to the Hebrews 20 centuries ago, but we have the benefit of hindsight. We know the story of God’s redemptive love that came to us in Christ Jesus.

We should be strong in our faith knowing so much of the story. We have a better covenant, just as God planned it.

In this covenant, we are not dependent upon laws that mitigate the evil in our hearts. We are to give our hearts and minds to the Lord and he will write his laws upon them.

This New Covenant stuff is a really good deal, and as it so happens, has always been a part of God’s plan.

Amen.