But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.
The words of Jeremiah 31:31–34 speak of a future covenant of hope. Written to the people of Israel during their time of exile, it fell on especially sensitive ears.* The people of Israel had been operating under the Abrahamic covenant, and were attempting to fulfill their part by living out the Mosaic Law. Their failure to do so sadly landed them in exile.
Before we become lofty, thinking, “there goes the Israelites again, failing to obey God (a theme repeated at different junctures of history), we must realize that we too fail miserably to reach the moral and ethical standards that God has placed before us all. We all need something more than our own effort to connect us to God. God’s response to and provision for our failure is not to reject His people, but to do more for them through the person of Jesus Christ.*
Hebrews 8 contrasts the Old and New Covenant utilizing Jeremiah 31:31–34.* But, why was there a need for a New Covenant? Was the Old Covenant “faulty”? The author of Hebrews is careful to mention that the fault was not in the Old Covenant but in the failure of the people to remain faithful to the covenant.*
Using Jeremiah 31:31-34, the author of Hebrews provides three ways the New Covenant bridges the gap between the Old Covenant and our failure as humans to keep it. These are the “better promises” to which he referes:
“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 a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, “Know the Lord,” because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.”
“I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
All of this is accomplished through the “Great Salvation” that Christ provides (the over-arching theme of the letter of Hebrews).*
George Guthrie summarizes the New Covenant in this way:
It is… grounded in Judaism (8:10). Consequently, any adequate understanding of Christianity must grasp its Jewish roots and the implication of those roots for Christian belief. It is about the internalization of religion, not merely the external practice of religion (8:10). God’s laws are written on the minds and hearts of true Christians. As such, transformation and intrinsic motivation form powerful, foundational elements of Christian life and living. The new covenant is about relationship with God (8:10–11), not merely service for God. Finally, the forgiveness of sins forms the basis for this new covenant relationship (8:12).
The New Covenant invites us to ask the Holy Spirit to answer three questions:
What’s in my heart that guides the way I live?
Do I know about God, or do I know Him?
Have I received His forgiveness, or am I still foolishly attempting to earn it?
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to allow Him to write His Word on your heart by accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Perhaps today God would like you to shift from learning things about God to spending time with Him. Maybe today God would like you to open your heart and allow Him to forgive those things that you think are unforgivable. Perhaps today He would ask you to confess your inability to achieve goodness. Maybe today He would have you receive it.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.
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*Stedman, R. C. (1992). Hebrews (Heb 8:7–13). IVP Academic.
Grindheim, S. (2023). The Letter to the Hebrews (D. A. Carson, Ed.; pp. 398–406). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
France, R. T. (2006). Hebrews. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Hebrews–Revelation (Revised Edition) (Vol. 13, pp. 107–110). Zondervan.
Guthrie, G. (1998). Hebrews (pp. 280–287). Zondervan Publishing House.