Hebrews 8

Bible Passage:  Hebrews 8

I admit that reading and writing on Hebrews is extremely tough.  The lessons that the author of Hebrews wants us to learn may elude us on the 1st and even 2nd and 3rd reading.  The writers/blog posters for the previous chapters have done a marvellous job in leading us through the 1st 7 chapters.

However, I won’t pretend I understand what I am reading today completely.  So please feel free to share your insights and lessons for me….

A Brief Summary

For now, I will just briefly summarise the chapter ….

The author has established that Jesus is our High Priest who sits at the right hand of God and ministers to us.  Christ is the supreme sacrifice – so much so that we not longer need human priests to make atonement or sacrifice for us.  Jesus completely redeems us!

Furthermore, Jesus is far better than any old priestly laws.  The things we read about in the Old Testament were merely a shadow of the things to come – copies or mere representations.  Jesus now supersedes and fulfills the laws of Moses so that we now go directly to God.

This is the far better New Covenant.

So why would we want to return to follow the old covenant then?  If the original covenant had been flawless – and worked … then why would Christ come to the world, die and be raised for us?

The author quote extensivly from Jeremiah in this chapter – and the passage tells us that the old system would pass away and a new and better one would come and supersede it. This promise that all the devout Jews were waiting for was and is fulfilled in Christ!

And just as God led His people then, He will also do the same for us personally now.  He will write His law in our hearts and minds, give us His Word and Spirit so we will have all we need, and lead us with His Mighty Hand. He will be our God and we will be His people; we can know Him and He will empower us to make Him known to others too.

He is a God of love and forgiveness, and He speaks to us now.

What Does He Speak To Me Today?

When I read about the New Covenant and Old Covenant, I am reminded of the Holy Communion.

Each time when we partake of the Holy Communion, we are told that we are partaking in the blood of the New Covenant…

How does that connect with today’s passage for me?

Reading the verses quoted from Jeremiah in this chapter, it tells us that the Hebrews did not remain faithful and they did not honour or trust in God. This resulted in them falling into distress and captivity.  However, God being merciful and gracious, sent Jesus to show us the way… and our faith is now more personal and eftective.

The point of it all is that Jesus wants us to honour and live for Him.  We are not to break His commandments nor betray His trust by living foolishly in sin!

Jesus makes intercession; the question is, how are we responding?

We are now partakers of this New Covenant…. but is our faith in touch with this Covenant so much that we can be intercessors and mediators in the lives of others as well?  Or do we just focus on ourselves… our hurts and circumstances that we see ourselves in and simply have no gratitude for what Jesus has done for us.

Our faith is not seen in our actions.  His love is not reflected in us.  Our hearts remain stone hard … and the Word of God cannot be written into our hearts of flesh…

Many a times when I read about how the Israelites let God down in the Old Testament, I would wonder… how could they?  They know so much the laws of God and have seen God in action so many times… and yet… they did not honour the covenant that God established with them.

And now I wonder… can we be guilty of this as well?  We know the Word of God so well as we are in the true church.  But our actions and our love (or lack of it) – betray the fact that we too do not uphold our side of the covenant.

May God help us all and forgive us for our weaknesses.