July 5, 2023

Hebrews 8
A Heavenly Priesthood 8 Now the main point of what is being said is this: We have this kind of high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, 2 a minister of the sanctuary and the true tabernacle that was set up by the Lord and not man. 3 For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; therefore it was necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. 4 Now if He were on earth, He wouldn’t be a priest, since there are those offering the gifts prescribed by the law. 5 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. 6 But Jesus has now obtained a superior ministry, and to that degree He is the mediator of a better covenant, which has been legally enacted on better promises. A Superior Covenant 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion for a second one. 8 But finding fault with His people, He says:
Look, 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— 9 not like the covenant that I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by their hands to lead them out of the land of Egypt. I disregarded them, says the Lord, because they did not continue in My covenant. 10 But 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. 11 And each person will not teach his fellow citizen, and each his brother, saying, “Know the Lord,” because they will all know Me, from the least to the greatest of them. 12 For I will be merciful to their wrongdoing, and I will never again remember their sins. 13 By saying, a new covenant, He has declared that the first is old. And what is old and aging is about to disappear.

Wayne Yates
This chapter gives us a comparison of the Old Testament Covenant given to Moses and the New Testament Covenant, Jesus. The old was given about 1446BC and the new around 33AD. The old was received at Mt. Sinai and the new at Mt. Zion. The Old was based on fear and dread (Ex. 19:17-24) and the new was based on love and grace. Old demanded works and new required belief in Jesus Christ. Old was the sacrifice by the blood of animals and new was the sacrifice by the blood of Jesus on the Cross. Priesthood of the old was from the lineage of Aaron, while the new from the order of Melchizedek. Old was written on stones by God and new was written by God on the hearts of His people as foretold in Jeremiah 31:31-34. The old ends in bondage and the new a true freedom of forgiveness based on accepting Christ as our Savior. Old, the Holy Spirit was rarely used, but in the new it is given to all mankind who receive it by faith. The old was dedicated to the descendants of Abraham, while the new was available to all nations and races on earth. The old made nothing perfect and the new will eventually bring perfection to God’s people. The old was designed to prepare the way for the new covenant and the new covenant was designed to last for eternity.