Why did we need a new covenant?
Oct 23, 2010
The Base for Grace: part seventeen in a study of the book of Hebrews
By Mike Gaudet
God issued a new covenant.
What was wrong with the old one?
"But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises. For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said: 'The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord." Hebrews 8:6-9
New and improved!
In the case of the covenant God made with the world, the description fits.
A covenant is a treaty or agreement. Vulnerable nations seeking protection entered into covenants with powerful nations that could provide it. Once ratified, covenant documents detailing the following were given to each party:
- The parties entering into the agreement.
- The history of the relationship between the parties.
- The promises or commitments made by the party offering protection.
- The stipulations or commandments accepted by the party seeking protection.
- The penalties for not complying with the stipulations/ commandments.
The Old Covenant is the covenant established between God and the Israelites from Mount Sinai. The Ten Commandments are the stipulations that the Israelites agreed to honor in exchange for God's protection. The blessings are the rewards for compliance. The curses are the punishments for non-compliance.
The Israelites promised to obey the covenant demands. God responded with covenant blessings when they did so and with covenant curses when they did not. God kept His part of the agreement. He always fulfills His covenant promises.
Because "they did not remain faithful" to His covenant, God promised to "make a new covenant." This new covenant would "not be like the covenant" He made with the children of Israel. It would be superior. It would be "founded on better promises."
God replaced the old covenant in order to offer a covenant with "new and improved" promises.
"For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with (the people). In the original language of the Bible the words "the people" are not found. The Greek text simply says God found fault with "them." The NIV Bible translated "them" as "the people." This is not the point. God is not talking about people in the context. He is talking about promises. The passage says that God found fault with the promises, not with the people. This is why He founded the New Covenant on "better promises."
The New Covenant is "superior" because it contains new promises.
- "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts."
- "I will be their God and they will by my people."
God promises to insure responsiveness to His will by inscribing His demands on His children’s hearts rather than on tablets of stone. He promises that the New Covenant would establish a bond that could not be broken.
The New Covenant is "superior" because it contains no curses.
- "I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."
God promises that "wickedness" and "sins" will no longer bring punishment and curses. When God promises to "remember their sins no more" He is not talking about divine amnesia. God is assuring us that sin will not prompt Him to impose covenant curses. Children of God need not fear God's retribution and judgment. Curses are not included in the New Covenant.
It can be confusing to read the Bible. God seems to change. In the first half of the Bible He is harsh and punitive. In the second half Jesus reveals God to be gentle and fatherly.
These differences, however, do not represent a change in God. They reflect a change in the covenant He operates by.
It is essential to understand that God has established a new covenant. He no longer commands us to keep His commandments in order to earn His blessings and avoid His curses. God sent His Son so that the fear of His judgment could be replaced by the assurance of His love.
God does not change in the Bible.
His covenant does.