Tag: Hebrews 8
God Says: “I will”
Scripture reading for October 23: Hebrews 8
““For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put My laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.” In speaking of a new covenant, He makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.” Hebrews 8:10-13
When God speaks a Word, we can believe it and know that it is true. God Alone has the ability to know all things and all power to bring what He has spoken to pass. According to Solomon, not one Word of any of God’s promises to Moses had failed! (1 Kings 8:56) When God makes a promise or oath, He swears by Himself, as there is no one higher in authority. (Hebrews 6:13) The Old Covenant contained the Law and was given to Israel. It was conditional upon their obedience. If disobedient they must make sacrifices as prescribed by law as necessary to cover the sins. But this ‘Old Covenant’ was becoming obsolete and was passing away to be replaced by a New Covenant based on better promises, a better Sacrifice, and the perfect High Priest Who would mediate for sins,
Jesus Christ, as God’s Son, would come to earth to show God the Father’s mercy towards sinners. He would perfectly fulfil and obey the first covenant and offer Himself, body and blood, as the final sacrifice for sins by death on a cross. He would raise from the dead establishing a New Covenant through faith in His sacrifice and the Father’s Gift to each believer of the Holy Spirit. Jesus would mediate this New Covenant seated at the Father’s right hand. The Holy Spirit would enable each person to know God personally and His law would be written on their hearts. Their sins would be cast away and remembered no more! Through faith as a Gift from God, the “I will’s” of the New Covenant become eternal reality. Amen!
Do you struggle to believe the promises in this passage that God makes when He says, ‘I will’? If you dared to believe these promises and live by faith, how would your life be different? Which of the ‘I will’ statements is most encouraging to you right now?
Prayer: Amen! Thank You for Your amazing proclamations of Your finished work on our behalf! Thank You that You are my God and that I know You through faith in Jesus Christ. Thank You for Your great mercy to forgive my sins and remember them no more. Thank You for Your laws on my heart. Amen!
The Best Promises!
Scripture reading for October 24th: Hebrews 8
Key Scriptures for over-comers: Hebrews 8: 6, 10-12 “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. . . . This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. 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 brother, saying ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
Our great High Priest, Jesus Christ, is also mediator of a new and better covenant. The Old Covenant was written on tablets of stone and brought revelation of man’s sinfulness. This new covenant is written on the hearts of His people. They are adopted in to God’s family! All sin and wickedness is forgiven and on top of that, God will not even remember those sins!
Observations for over-comers: Believers are new creations, adopted into God’s family and freed from condemnation, sin, and guilt through faith in Jesus Christ! What Good News we have to share! “You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call on You!” Psalm 86:5
Jesus: Priest of the New Covenant
Scripture reading for October 23rd: Hebrews 8
“The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle, set up by the Lord, not by man.” (Hebrews 8:1-2)
Jesus was a High Priest of the Order of Melchizedek. He is alive and seated at the throne of heaven at God’s right hand, a place of eternal honor. He now serves, not in a humanly constructed sanctuary or temple, but in the actual Tabernacle in Heaven. He offered one sacrifice–His own blood and body–for the sins of all men and women and sat down, his work of sacrifice now finished!
In contrast, the High Priests of the Order of Aaron were men who offered gifts and sacrifices prescribed by the law of God. The did this in a copy of the heavenly temple given to Moses on the Mount Sinai when he received the Ten Commandments, part of the Old Covenant. Under this Old Covenant, the people were obligated to keep or obey God’s law and offer sacrifices of blood when they failed unintentionally. The problem with this covenant was that the people disobeyed and broke the covenant. The Law could only reveal sin, it could not deliver men from sin! The blood sacrifices could only cover sin, not cleanse the inner man from sin and guilt.
But now, Jesus Christ is the mediator of the New Covenant. By faith in Him and His Blood, all who believe will be saved from sin’s penalty: death! We can know God personally and have His law written inside. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” (Hebrews 8:12)