Deeper Commentary

CHAPTER 8

8:1 Now in the things of which we are talking, the chief point is this- This is language appropriate to a transcript of a talk or sermon; see on 13:22. Yet despite this, the letter to the Hebrews has a very clear structure; and this is actually the central point of the letter in terms of structure.

We have such a high priest who sat down on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens- The way the Lord sits rather than stands is emphasized, and is another connection with Stephen who saw the Lord standing, passionate in His defence (see on 1:1). The personal existence of God is taught here clearly enough; Jesus is at His right hand, and He has location, rather than being an abstraction or puff of 'spirit'.

8:2 A servant of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man- The Lord Jesus is actively working in Heaven for us. The allusion is to priestly 'service', which was always focused upon bringing others to God and enabling their service. The "true" tabernacle doesn't suggest the Mosaic tabernacle was untrue; but it was but a figure of the ultimate, 'true' Heavenly reality. We note that in His life, the Lord was a servant. A servant of all, the suffering servant. But who we are now is who we shall essentially be. He will again come forth and serve us at the Messianic banquet. And in this life, He is now also a servant in the true tabernacle, which effectively refers to the church. He is indeed the same yesterday, today and for ever. He is active now- serving us. The human priests were serving a copy of the true tabernacle; but the Lord Jesus serves in the true tabernacle (:5).

There is great emphasis in Ex. 26 that the tabernacle was "one", joined together in such a way that taught the lesson of unity. The spiritual tabernacle, the believers, was "pitched" by the Lord God- translating a Greek word which suggests 'crucifixion' (Heb. 8:2). Through the cross, the one, united tabernacle was pitched. To tear down that structure by disuniting the body is to undo the work of the cross. Yet the Greek for "pitched" is literally 'pegged'. This continues the idea of our having the certain hope of salvation as an anchor of the soul. There is a grounding and stability for the person who has that sure hope.

8:3 For every high priest being appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, it is therefore necessary that this high priest also have these to offer- The train of thought about offering gifts and sacrifices is somewhat interrupted until 9:9, creating a parenthesis which is typical of Paul's style. The argument is that He did offer, but one offering- of Himself, and not of endless gifts and animals (9:27,28; 10:12). He was not so much offering the gifts of others, but offering Himself. And yet we can also read this as meaning that He also has something to offer, because that is what being a priest is about. Seeing His offering was once and for all, what He has to offer would therefore be our prayers. "Now has he obtained a more excellent service". But He is a 'servant'; that is repeatedly emphasized. He is active and not passive.

8:4 Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, seeing there are those who offer the gifts according to the law- Clearly this was written whilst the Jerusalem temple was still functioning, before AD70. Because His mediation was a one-off act, the Lord would not be a priest if He were now on earth. He is given the title of priest, as He is given the title "the man Christ Jesus" (1 Tim. 2:5), even though He is not now a man. And the Lord was from Judah, not Levi. Paul is stressing the two different kinds of priesthood, and by noting that there were still Aaronic priests operating, he is implying that their service is worthless compared to that of the Messianic Melchizedek priest.

8:5 Who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, even as Moses is warned when he is about to make the tabernacle. For He said: See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain- The "pattern" is therefore taken by Paul to imply that the tabernacle system was a copy or reflection of the heavenly tabernacle (9:23,24), with the priests reflecting the work of the Angels; hence elohim is used of both priests and Angels. Judaism even called the tabernacle 'the heavenlies', but Paul's point is that it was only a "copy and shadow" of them, and the Lord Jesus is dealing with the ultimate realities which were only dimly reflected in the tabernacle system. The priests 'served' the copy of these things; but the Lord serves us.

8:6 But now has he obtained a more excellent service, as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted upon better promises- The old covenant was mediated by Moses (Gal. 3:19); the Lord Jesus mediates the new covenant to us. That covenant was based upon the promises made to Abraham, but they were only mediated to us in Christ. Those promises envisaged eternal inheritance of the earth for Abraham and his singular seed, Jesus (Gal. 3:16). By baptism into Him we become part of the seed, and heirs according to those promises (Gal. 3:27-29). The new covenant is therefore based upon the promises to Abraham. Those better promises already existed, before the time of the law; but they were only mediated to us when we could become in Christ, part of the seed. And that required the Lord's death as a representative for all men. Now that He has mediated that covenant to us, He continues to serve those within that covenant.

The implication is that the Lord's 'mediation' of the New Covenant is ongoing. In this sense "there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Tim. 2:5 s.w.). We come to "Jesus the mediator of the new covenant" (Heb. 12:24). "He is the mediator of the new covenant" (Heb. 9:15). The New Covenant is therefore an ongoing experience; something is mediated in an ongoing sense. And that something is the Spirit. It is not simply about the future fulfilment of the land promises and eternal inheritance of the earth. It is about "blessing" which Acts 3:25,26 interprets as the blessing of being turned away from sin, which in turn refers to the gift of the Spirit. The following quotation from Jer. 31 develops this; the new covenant is about God's operation upon human hearts through His Spirit. For to be offered eternity is only part of the picture; for man to live for ever, he must be transformed first. And this is all also implicit in the promises to Abraham which are the basis of the new covenant.

8:7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second- "Faultless" doesn't mean it was faulty of itself; the failure was that it could not bring perfection / salvation to men. I noted on :6 that the New Covenant is about the blessing of the Spirit transforming human hearts. The old covenant was not "faultless". But by implication, the new covenant is. Both covenants were inspired by God, and the law of Moses was "holy, just and good". So it is not as if there was a "fault" in the old covenant. But it is through the ministry of the Spirit that human hearts can be "established unblameable [s.w. "faultless"] in holiness" (1 Thess. 3:13 cp. Eph. 3:16). The old covenant could not do this. But the new covenant does.

Who was seeking a place for a second covenant? The reference may be to God, seeking salvation for us (see on :8); or to believers under the first covenant, who sought salvation and moral perfection but not finding it under the first covenant, searched for another. God didn't seek for a second covenant but for a place for it, a way in which it could operate for all men. And that place was in the work of His Son, the seed of Abraham who was the perfect Messianic priest, in whom all men could find a place and have the promises to Abraham's seed, the new covenant, mediated to them. It was God who sought for a man to empower this, and found Him only in Christ (Jer. 5:1 etc.).

8:8 For finding fault with them, He said- The ensuing quotation is from God's words in Jeremiah 31. So it would be God who was the one seeking a place for the second covenant, and who found fault with the old covenant- in that it could not bring about the human salvation He sought. But it could equally be that the "them" with whom God "found fault" were the Judah of Jeremiah's day, which would better account for the plural "them". The answer to the "fault" of the law being unable to bring salvation for sinful man was in the new covenant.

Behold, the days come, says the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah- The mention of both the houses of Israel and Judah would imply that unity between God's people is achieved on the basis of them all being within the new covenant. The cup of the new covenant / testament is therefore the symbol of unity between the redeemed; to refuse it to those who are within the house of God's people is serious indeed, an undoing of God's intention of unity upon the basis of the covenant. The new covenant system of salvation was designed for sinners; those with whom God had "found fault". We note that this is the longest Old Testament quotation to be found in the NT, and Jeremiah 31 is again quoted in Heb. 10 and elsewhere. These words about the New Covenant are therefore to be given their due weight as utterly central to the Christian message. The idea is not that God would think up a new covenant. That already existed in the promises to Abraham. But the exiles of Jeremiah's time were intended to repent, and recognize they could not be justified by God through the old covenant. And so they were to accept the new covenant, which was there all along, but they had refused to accept its huge implications. And the same can be true for us who likewise knew those promises all along, but refused to accept their implications.

8:9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in My covenant, so I paid no attention to them- The old covenant between God and Israel was a two way agreement. God took the initiative in it, He took Israel by the hand. But they refused to remain within the covenant, so it was unable to save them. In order to save God's people, there therefore needed to be another covenant which could save them by grace. The promises to Abraham were just such a one-sided agreement, where God swore to Abraham, passing between the cut pieces of the covenant victim; whilst Abraham was not required to make any response. He just had to believe in God's love. Once the old covenant was broken by Israel refusing to remain within it, it was broken; and God therefore could not look toward them, seeing they had broken the connection between God and themselves. The idea of not continuing in the covenant uses the same word as in Gal. 3:10: "For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse. For it is written: Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do all things that are written in the book of the law". Israel did not continue in obedience, so they did not continue in the covenant.

8:10 For 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 mind and in their heart also will I write them, and I will be to them a God and they shall be to Me a people- This new covenant was not "new". It was 'new for them', but it is the promises to Abraham- which had already promised "I will be their God". A new covenant was needed because Israel had not kept the old covenant, they had broken their covenant relationship (see on :9); God had "found fault" with them (:8). The covenant proposed here was to be written by God in human hearts rather than on tables of stone, to which obedience was demanded. God would "be to them a God" in that this was part of the promises to Abraham (Gen. 17:7,8) which are the "better promises" forming the new covenant (see on :6). This new covenant which was to be made with Israel has now been made with us in this life (cp. :13). The promises which comprised the new covenant were those made to Abraham; but they referred only to Abraham and his one singular seed (Gal. 3:16). Once the seed had come, we are able to be baptized into Christ so that all that is true for Him becomes true for us (Gal. 3:27-29). As the full and totally inclusive representative of all humans, the Lord Jesus thereby opened the way for the promises to Abraham to actually become the new covenant in practice for all who become in Him. The promise to Abraham and his Messianic seed [just two people] that "I will be their God" thereby becomes true for an entire people; "they [who are in Christ] shall be to Me a people". Entry into the new covenant therefore involves God writing upon our hearts, which is done through the work of His Spirit operating directly upon the hearts of all those baptized into the seed (2 Cor. 3:3 "written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God. Not in tablets of stone, but in tablets that are hearts of flesh"). The allusion to the stones of the old covenant is to show that the new covenant is indeed a covenant, but written on hearts and not tablets of stone.

Jer. 31:33 says " I will put My law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it". It is through the work of the Spirit upon the "inner man" (Eph. 3:16) that this is achieved. The same heart-swop operation is described in Ez. 36:25,26. Jer. 31:33 said that God would place His laws in Israel's heart; in Ez. 36 we read that He will place His Spirit in their hearts. It is the Spirit which makes us obedient to the word. Those within the new covenant today receive this same gift of the Spirit; not today in terms of miraculous gifts, but the operation of God on the human heart which brings about the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant to be "their God" (Gen. 17:-8-10).

 

8:11 None of them shall teach his neighbour, and none his brother, saying: Know the Lord. For all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them- Under the new covenant, we are in Christ. We relate to the Father as He does, being in Him. 'Knowledge' in Hebrew thought often effectively means 'relationship'. The relationship possible under the new covenant is not therefore dependent upon the teaching of men, but is a direct relationship with the Father. This kind of knowledge / relationship with God is on the basis that sin has really been dealt with and forgiven (:12).

If we know God in an experiential sense (and not just knowing theological theory about Him), we know that our sins are forgiven. We preach to others "Know the Lord!", exactly because "I will be merciful to their iniquities" (Heb. 8:11,12). It is our knowledge of God's mercy to us which empowers us to confidently seek to share with others our knowledge, our relationship, our experience with God. Forgiveness inspires the preacher; and yet the offer of forgiveness is what inspires the listener to respond. 

8:12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will not remember against them- As noted on :11, this forgiveness is the basis upon which those under the new covenant know / have relationship with the Lord. The sins of men will not be remembered under the new covenant; whereas there was a remembrance of sins made each year by the old covenant (10:3). So God's way of dealing with His sinful people with whom He "found fault" (:8) was to instill obedience to His principles into their hearts, and to not remember their sins. This is all the work of the Spirit. The "blessing" promised to Abraham, in the "better promises" which comprise the new covenant (:6), was of not only forgiveness but also in turning away human hearts from sin (Acts 3:25,26). This work of the Spirit is the only way to bring about human salvation, seeing that giving them laws and demanding obedience thereto just didn't work out in practice.

The idea is that there will be no lack of knowledge of God's ways because the sins of God's people have been forgiven. That experience and showcasing of Divine forgiveness will be the witness which is seen by all men. The knowledge of God will no longer have to be taught in theoretical terms because the experience of forgiveness is to know God. Being under the new covenant means that we will know Yahweh, on account of our sins being forgiven. We will be certain of their forgiveness, not just hoping for the best. So often the prophets use the idea of "knowing God" as an idiom for living a life totally dominated by that knowledge. The new covenant which we have entered is all about 'knowing' God. The knowledge of God elicits repentance, real repentance; and reveals an equally real forgiveness. It is possible for those in Christ to in practice not know God at all. Thus Paul exhorted the Corinthian church: "Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God" (1 Cor. 15:34).

8:13- see on Ps. 102:26.

In that He said: A new covenant, He has made the first redundant. Now what is becoming redundant and growing old is ready to vanish away- The very concept of a new covenant means that an old covenant has been "made redundant". There is now no purpose in attempting to keep the Mosaic law, because it achieves nothing. The old covenant was "ready to vanish away" in that the temple was soon to be destroyed; but there is also perhaps a reference here to how by grace, God allowed there to be a changeover period- even though the old covenant was ended on the cross. We see in this how sensitive and accommodating God is to human conservatism; whereas we tend to be terribly impatient with the slownesss of others to change, finding their conservatism an irritation. He recognized the deep conservatism within human nature, and allowed this changeover period during which the old covenant 'became redundant'; even though it was replaced by the new covenant when the Lord's blood was shed to confirm that new covenant and bring it into operation. As soon as the new covenant was in operation, the previous covenant became 'old'. That happened in a moment, and yet Paul generously says that it is becoming or growing old, as if a process is in view. Likewise in 1:11, the same word used here for "becoming redundant" is applied to how the 'heavens' of the Jewish system were 'becoming old'. And yet the Lord had clearly warned of how the old and new wine cannot be mixed or confused and they are mutually exclusive. The allowance of a changeover period was by grace alone, and it could be argued that the Hebrew had abused it and were turning back to the "old" rather than progressively forsaking it as intended.