BETTER PROMISES
"But now He – Jesus – has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises." (Hebrews 8:6)
"In that He says, 'A New covenant,' He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away." (vs. 13)
We live in an age of planned obsolescence. Manufactures do not make things to last forever. Makers of I-phones do not plan for this year's model to endure. Every year they come out with something new to replace the old model. It is a part of the plan to sell I-Phones. There may be nothing wrong with the old phones, but people will discard them to acquire the new one. The old phone was good for its time but with new technology, it does not fill the bill.
The Mosaic Covenant of the Old Testament was never meant to last forever. It was planned obsolescence. God, in His wisdom, established the Old Covenant to be observed until the New Covenant came.
So when the writer to the Hebrews says that the New Covenant is based on better promises, what does he mean? I don't have all the answers, but let's think of a few. Perhaps as you meditate, you will think of more.
1) The Old Covenant was based on continual sacrifices for the atonement for sin. The New Covenant is based on the perfect sacrifice of the Lord Jesus that made the continual sacrifices unnecessary. No longer would bull, goats and lambs be offered daily. If I was a bull or a goat that was marked for sacrifice, I would think that would be a good thing. The fact is that I don't have to pay for my sins. Jesus paid the price once and for all.
2) The Old Covenant worship was external. It was based on offering physical sacrifices. The New Covenant is internal since God comes to dwell in us in the person of the Holy Spirit. The promise of the gift of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit was not available under the Old Covenant.
3) The Laws that God gave in the Old Covenant were written on stone. The laws of the New Covenant are written on our hearts (vs. 10; 10:16).
4) Under the Old Covenant, the hope of life after death was Sheol – the place of the dead. Sheol was divided into two parts: Hell (or Hades) and Abraham's bosom. People who died in faith went to Abraham's Bosom. There was no provision for us to go to Heaven to be in the presence of God. But under the New Covenant, Abraham's Bosom has been emptied as Jesus led captivity captive after His resurrection, and He took them to heaven (Ephesians 4:8; Psalm 68:18). Now we are assured that "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord" (II Corinthians 5:6-8).
5) Under the Old Covenant, sin was covered by the shedding of the blood of sacrificial animals. Under the New Covenant, sin is not just covered. It is cleansed, wiped clean never to be remembered again through the shedding of the blood of Jesus.
6) As was mentioned in a previous meditation, under the Old Covenant, there was a wall of separation between man and God, signified by the woven veil that divided the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle and the Temple. Only the High Priest could enter that sacred place once a year. But now the way has been opened so that everyone came come to God's throne through Jesus. As Jesus said, "No one comes to the Father but by Me."
The Old Covenant was not bad. But it was only a copy and shadow of the things to come (vs. 5). Jesus made the Old Covenant obsolete and fulfilled the law. We are abundantly blessed to live in the New Promises.
I'm sorry this is so long, but I couldn't help it!!! 😏
Love, Dad
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