Covenant in Scripture

Hebrews 8.end – Part I
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March 30th 2014
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Verse by verseTGNN’s Bible teaching series—book-by-book, through the lens of fulfillment and spiritual liberty.

Alright folks, friends, and lovers of God. We are in chapter 8 of Hebrews – a shorty – and I expect to finish it up today. Last week we covered verses 1-8 where the writer was showing again how much better the High Priest Jesus Christ reigns supreme over the former covenant governed by the law written in stone and fleshly high priests from material temples made with hands. We ended with the writer saying (in verse 8):

“For finding fault with them (meaning either the Nation of Israel and or the elements of the material law and high priests), he (God) saith, “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.”

I suggested at the time that the New Covenant with the House of Israel and with the house of Judah includes both the actual houses of Israel and Judah and all of those who have been adopted into it (meaning Gentiles believer who, according to passages like Galatians 3:7 says: “Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.”

In any case the writer says that due to the fault of man in the face of the Old Covenant God said that he would give another, saying: “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant.

Understanding Covenant

What is a covenant? It’s mentioned 272 times in scripture so the concept is important. Basically, it’s a contract or agreement between two parties.

In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word berith is always translated covenant or in a few other cases “confederate.” It is a word derived from a root word which actually means "to cut" and it is actually played out in the ancient practice of cutting or dividing animals into “two parts,” (and the contracting parties passing between them, in making a covenant between them or between the two parts). We see this acted out in Genesis 15:1-21 and again in Jeremiah 34:18-19.

When we get to the New Testament the Greek word is “diatheke” (dee-ath-ah-kay) and it is found 30 times translated Testament as often as it is translated covenant. In other words, we could call our two major divisions of the Bible the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. This is what the writer of Hebrews is saying to the Jewish believers who are tempted to go back to the Old Covenant – there is a new better covenant that God had promised (and delivered).

I’m not so sure testament is a very good word for a number of reasons which I won’t go into but covenant ought to have been maintained, in my opinion, between the Old Testament application of it and the New.

Various Applications of Covenant

Covenant is used in a number of ways. First, it can be a compact or agreement between man and man. Genesis 21:32 describes this. It can be between tribes or nations (as 1st Samuel 11:1 proves this.

In the Old Testament, God was called to witness certain agreements or covenants and because of this, they were called covenants of the Lord. For example, in Genesis 31 Laban and Jacob entered into a covenant, and Laban said:

49 . . . The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.
50 If thou shalt afflict my daughters, or if thou shalt take other wives beside my daughters, no man is with us; see, God is witness betwixt me and thee.”

We might liken God’s role in overseeing the agreements between members of Israel like we would an escrow agency that oversees the two sides of a real estate transaction.

In first Samuel, David and Jonathan made a covenant between themselves but David said in chapter 20 verse 8: “Therefore thou shalt deal kindly with thy servant; for thou hast brought thy servant into “a covenant of the LORD” with thee.”

The LDS often think that they are original in the temple sealings they have their members undergo but actually it is a redundancy as any marriage that invokes the name of God during the agreement between parties is a “covenant of the Lord as He is called forth to oversee, and approve and hold each party accountable to the promises they individually make to each other before God.

In the Old Testament, we read of a very interesting application of the term covenant. Wicked men are spoken of in Isaiah 28 as if they had made a "covenant.

God's Covenants in Scripture

Isaiah 28:15 intimates that the fallen said to themselves,

“We have made a covenant with deathSeparation from God—now overcome. Physical death remains, but it no longer separates us from life with God., and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves.”

But then he follows up and says in verse 16:

16 “Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.

17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.

18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.”

Covenants can exist between people, nations, and apparently, though in a completely deluded sense, with death and hell. Covenant is of course used with reference to God's delivering promises and/or favor to men. We recall that God made a promise to Noah after the Flood, called a covenant in Genesis 9:1-29. In Jeremiah 33:20 we have God referring to “covenants He made relative to the days, the nights and the seasons.”

And of course we have an account of God's covenant with Abraham (Genesis 17:1-27), and covenant at Sinai (Exodus 34:27) and then what is known as “the covenant of the priesthood.” The covenant at Sinai was renewed throughout the history of the Nation of Israel (because Israel was so wishy washy in keeping up the agreement so renewal was necessary).

The Old Covenant and God's Promises

In conformity (or mirroring) human custom, God's covenant is said to be confirmed with an oath and to be accompanied by a sign. When we look to the Old Covenant, we find an ancient example of this in the story of Noah. After the flood, God promised (covenanted) not to destroy the earth by flood again.

In verse 15 he provides the Oath:

Genesis 9:15 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.

And in verse 16 He provides the sign and/or token of the oath saying:

16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.

17 And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.

As a result of this language we see that the covenants God makes are synonymously referred to as “His counsels, oaths, and promises” in the New Testament. We know that when God makes a covenant that it is a total bestowal of a blessing – a grace-filled promise because when He is involved there is no welching or failing so it is always, when men are involved, His blessings upon us, and not our deserving His participation. Covenant is also used in scripture to describe the Sabbath (Exodus 31:16) circumcision (Genesis 17:9,10) and quite generally any ordinance of God.

Covenants of the Bible

So let’s look over some covenants of the Bible. First we have a Covenant of Works. This was the constitution which Adam was placed under at his creation. In this covenant the contracting parties were God the moral Governor, and Adam, a free moral agent, and representative of all his natural posterity (Ro 5:12-19). The promise was "life" (Mt 19:16,17; Galatians 3:12). The condition was perfect obedience to the law (don’t eat the fruit) and the penalty was death (Ge 2:16,17).

We might think of this covenant as a covenant of life or living because the promise associated with it was life or living eternally (given by God) as long as the practice of perfect obedience was kept by Man (the federal head or representative of the Human race). The "tree of life" was the sign and token of that life which was promised in the covenant.

Under Christ this covenant has been abrogated as Jesus fulfilled all its conditions in behalf of the human race and now offers salvation on the condition of faith.

The New Covenant of Grace

Death is still binding and in force, resting on the justice of God and based on the disobedience of all who now, instead of making sinful actions, refuse to simply believe in Christ and His righteousness.

We've talked about the Old Covenant administered by and through Moses, the Law, and the Levitical priesthood. This brings us to the Covenant of Grace (the New Testament or the New Covenant) we just referred to that has been made available to all through Christ.

Conditions of the New Covenant

The conditions of this covenant were:

1. The Father made all needful preparation to the Son for the accomplishment of His work (this is according to Hebrews 10:5). He supported the Son’s work completely (Luke 22:43) and promised a glorious reward in the exaltation of Christ when His work was done (Philippians 2:6-11) which includes the investiture of universal dominion, and the administration of the covenant committed into His hands, along with the final salvation of all His people.

On the part of Jesus, the conditions were:

1. He would become incarnate.
2. As the second Adam, He would represent the new federal head of all humankind by assuming our place and undertaking all obligations and demands found under the violated covenant of "works," which, once Adam fell, also included the works of "obeying the law" perfectly and suffering the penalty for our breaking it.

Then, Christ, the mediator, having fulfilled all the conditions of all the Covenant of Old on behalf of His people (and us), dispenses all its blessings as our mediator, high priest, Savior, and King. Having finished His earthly work, the Holy Spirit comes and draws all to Him, with God Himself continuing to complete—over and over—the demands of this better covenant.

A Promise of a New Relationship

So here the writer is reminding the Hebrews of the day and us of all this (and much, much more that I have certainly missed) saying

Here’s our text for the day:

Hebrews 8:8: For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:
9: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
10: For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
11: And they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
12: For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
13: In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.

Now one last thing before we wrap this chapter up. The word “covenant,” as I have intimated here (rather badly, I believe), is commonly thought of as an agreement between two parties that are equal and who are free to enter into the agreement (or not). We cannot get tempted to think this is the case with arrangements that God makes with man. We cannot lose track of this or we might find ourselves making deals or pacts or agreements with God thinking that this is how it works.

Remember, Noah did nothing to make sure the earth would never be destroyed again. And Abraham did nothing in the Covenant made between He and God. Remember? God said to Him in Genesis 15 beginning at verse 7.

Genesis 15:7: “I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.
8: And he (Abraham) said, “Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?”
9: And he said unto him, “Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
10: And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.

The Covenant and its Significance

When the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.

12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. 13 And God said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; 14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. 15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. 16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. 18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates.”

The Role of God and Man

Abraham did what the Lord instructed him to do, but the actual covenant making – and the actual covenant doing was not from Abraham – he slept – it was all the Lord. In fact, Abraham was long dead while God was working the promises out. See, there is no equality between Man and God and therefore the reliability of the Covenants made are always going to fall in the hands of God. These Old Testament pictures are all pointing to this dispensation of grace where the same principles hold true – He makes them happen, He is the one who bore the brunt of the entire covenant for the redemption of Man – all we do is sleep, trusting in Him and His efficiency and capabilities.

Additionally, no human being is at liberty to reject any proposal which God will make. The word covenant, therefore, is used in a more general sense rather than our holding up our end of the bargain – remember, this is a “better covenant,” right?

The Change from Old to New

(verse 9) . . .

9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.

Not an arrangement or dispensation relating to outward observances and temporal blessings, like I made with their fathers back in the day when the Children of Israel were led out of Egypt, He writes, “because they continued not in my covenant.” In Jeremiah, from the Hebrew, this is written, "while my covenant they brake."

Yes, the Nation of Israel time and time again failed to comply with the conditions on which God promised to bestow blessings upon them. He continued to – over and over again – but the basis for that covenant was bound to be changed. It certainly served historical and national purposes (all things considered) but it was not the better covenant. Because of their utter rebelliousness, as His bride, Jeremiah has God say that under that covenant He regarded them not. Jeremiah's account in Hebrew actually says, “Although I was a husband unto them."

The Futility of the Old Covenant

So let’s try to see it this way. Under the old Covenant, the Lord took a bride and said: “I will care for you, and treat you well and you will be faithful to me.” But under this arrangement, the bride kept failing – running amok with every pagan suitor (nation) she saw. And God forgave and blessed and blessed despite her rebelliousness but under the agreement, He knew there would never be peace, or success, or a chance for love to exist between Him and his recalcitrant wife.

So instead of saying, I have this covenant established and we will continue on with it forever, living in frustration, He said to His adulterous wife:

“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant . . . and it won’t be like the Old One – which certainly proves to make you a failure that I can’t bless and accept unconditionally . . . (verse 10 and 11)

10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will

The New Covenant with the House of Israel

be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, “Know the Lord:” for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

(Verse 10) “For this is the covenant” I will make with the House of Israel (who again, I include believing Jew and Greek – which is true Israel). “After those days,” after the days where the Old Covenant was in place.

Internalizing God's Laws

“I will put (give) my laws into their mind.” The observances of relation will be from the mind, not externally, but from the mind (which is not just the brain or intellect but also from the heart and conscience). Notice who puts the law in the human mind – Him – not us. It is spiritually placed. Where the “laws” of the Hebrews pertained mainly (largely) to external rites and ceremonies and obediences the laws of the “new dispensation” would relate particularly to the inner man, and be designed to control the heart by and through love and faith in God, not fear and rebellion for Him.

Go back to our example of the bride of God. It seems here God says to her: I am going to drop this contract between us based on external factors and instead cause you, bride, to love me from your heart and mind, and in so doing, you will be free and will want to remain with me and me alone. This is the new covenant. No more written rule for you bride. No more writing on tables of stone or brass but directly on your soul itself.

“And I will be to them a God.” This line is powerful and literally from the Hebrew. It means (I didn’t make this up) but it means “He will be to us what “a God” should be, or what it is desirable that men should find in a God. This is a remarkable concept and one the evidences His incomprehensible ways. Did He make a mistake in introducing the first covenant – never. Was He a failure as a God under it? No. Within every bit of His Holy rights and proving historical points along the way.

Characteristics of God's New Covenant

But the Gospel of Grace, the New Covenant – known all along and in-place from the foundation of the world – brought all things into place where holy, just, “omni-everything” eternal God would become a God relative to His children that “would, should, and now could be.” We talk very plainly of human father's acting in a manner appropriate to the character of a father – the best of them are tough, kind, gentle, instructive, fair, hard working, put mother and family first, are honest, defend the home, provide – and in our realm have some really basic concepts that describe human fatherhood.

The meaning here is, if we can fathom is, seems to be that by and through the work of Christ and the Holy Spirit God would be to his people all that is properly implied in the name of God. He would be our Lawgiver, our Counsellor, our Protector, our Redeemer, our Provider, one who Reprimands, Guides, protects from Evil invaders, gives life, takes life, and in the name of incomprehensible love pardons sins, saves souls to the uttermost, is unconditionally there and would NEVER, ever, ever forsake us. It is one of the inestimable facts that the living, all-powerful, eternal God is Good, and True, and because He is just sent His Son who finished it all – once and for all – and now God operates from within all who are His.

Verse eleven is a very important verse to me personally, as the writer continues to explain the results of the New Covenant, saying: 11 And they (real Israel) shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, “Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

The Internal Nature of the New Covenant

When we really allow ourselves to think about it, since the New Covenant is internally driven and written, since God has now written His laws on the hearts of believers and on their minds, and the Holy Spirit reigns from within we all have a relationship with God that is subjectively understood. This is an absolutely TERRIFYING idea to many people as we are traditionally quite comfortable with an external God making rules for everyone to see – and enforce. But if God writes His laws (belief and love) on the

Common Denominators in Our Hearts

Hearts of individuals are presented with some unalterable common denominators (written by God on our hearts) that are exhibited and understood and expressed in as many different ways as there are people.

Lord, I praise you for this wisdom!

No longer is divergent man standing in mass before giant slabs of stone with God saying COMPLY according to these rules, but God, so loving us, has moved in and fully engaged with each of us, intimately teaches us to love Him and each other, allowing liberty in the non-essentials – and when it comes to the two greatest commandments, everything thereafter from the human view is a non-essential.

In His wisdom, God has processionally provided the world with essentials that bring us to Christ, but once He has moved in, the only essential left is love. Because my growth as a believer has been live, behind a pulpit and in front of a camera, I want to publicly apologize to you first, for every expression of non-love that I have ever committed. I do, like a human father and like our loving God, do believe there are times for love to contain pressure, and confrontation, but I could err so much more on gentleness and peaceable approaches and it is in this area that I repent.

I also repent for allowing any non-essential to get in between me and any other human being – ever. I mean here in this passage, and because God has written His law on our hearts and minds, we read that “no one shall be under a necessity of imparting instruction to another or of exhorting him to become acquainted with the Lord,” because they will be from within. With the knowledge of the Lord and of the true religion deeply engraved on the minds of all we find the death of the necessity of the need for human “counsel.”

The New Covenant

Why would we need another to teach us what we have to believe if we really have God and His Law etched upon our individual minds and hearts? I mean, we educate, and we delve into scripture, but again, IF the way God describes His New Covenant we have no right to impinge ourselves upon the liberty others have (or do not have) in Him. Sure, we resort to the Word (the manual) to test all things that come to us, but He is in each of us – I trust this – and there is TREMENDOUS liberty in this fact.

Got a question for you to answer when we finish up here in just a minute but:

Can we go so far as to infer or suggest that in all true believers and participants in the new Covenant lies an acceptable and accurate “knowledge” of the Lord?

The Lord answers this for us saying:

“For all shall know me from the least to the Greatest.”

We could read this two ways – all who believe will from the heart know Him – or all – believers and not – will know Him. I’ll let you chew on that relative to other scriptures. (verse 12 God continues, saying)

12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

Mercy and Grace

We know that under the former covenant that failure and disobedience was often met with affliction – sore afflictions. But under the new God says, “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins and iniquities I will remember no more.” Where the former Covenant was a system where law and justice reigned it was also one where mercy was not the crowning and prevalent attribute. Yes, arrangements were made for pardon but in the new pardoning through grace and mercy is prevailing. The amazing result is that not more sinMissing the mark of faith and love—no punishment, just lost growth or peace. occurs but less. This is where the New Covenant trumps the old in spades. It separates itself from all other systems.

We often hear believers, when confronted with God and His covenant of grace and mercy adding in that we must all remember that “God is also just.” Two points on this and we’ll wrap it up.

First of all, God is just. Absolutely, unequivocally just. And that is why He gave us His Son. Who said, it is finished. I am not so sure believers ever have to threaten (ahem, remind) other believers that God is just. For believers, justice has been had – and God is pleased. And we are free – from bondage and as a beautiful result, from sin.

We preach and teach and remind each other of God’s

God's Mercy and Justice

Unfathomable mercy and grace – characteristics that serve in the lives of believers as antidotes to sin.

God's Justice and Love

Secondly, because God IS just, He would never allow for His Son to suffer for sin and reward those who insist upon rejecting Him. This is why our loving God, by and through His foreknowledge has remedial plans waiting, reparative plans for those most recalcitrant souls. Plans that a loving merciful God would have in place that meet both the demands of justice and the eternal mercy and love He has for all.

Scripture Insights

12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

13 In that he saith, (Or, and when He says, “A new covenant”), he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.

Questions? Comments? Prayer?