Daily Thought

Not only here does the writer refer to the terms of the new covenant, vv. 8-12, quoting from Jeremiah chapter 31 verses 31 to 34, but he does so later, Heb. 10. 16, 17. In this chapter the new covenant is to be made with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah, vv. 8, 10, and points to a future day, cp. Rom. 11. 26, 27, whilst in chapter 10 ‘the Holy Ghost also is a witness unto us’, vv. 15-17, cp. 1 Cor. 11. 25. There was an old covenant which offered life to those who kept the law. There God demanded, ‘Thou shalt’, and the promise of life could not be fulfilled unless they kept the commandments. Two parties were involved: God who gave the law, and Israel who said they would obey. The terms of the covenant told the Israelites what to do, and not to do, but did not impart the power to comply. The trouble was also with the people to whom it was given - ‘finding fault with them’, Heb. 8. 8. ‘I took them by the hand’, v. 9, the Lord says, and when their sense of divine help and power was fresh, they obeyed. However, they soon turned to revolt and turn God from them. This was their custom - ‘they continued not’. The old covenant was based on man’spromise to obey. The new covenant tells us what God will do. By making it an unconditional covenant of grace, God avoids any possibility of failure, since fulfilment depends upon Him alone, and He cannot fail. He assumes the entire responsibility for fulfilling its terms - ‘I will’, vv. 10-12. Because Christ is the Mediator of this covenant, He will unfailingly carry out its conditions. It is referred to as a ‘new covenant’, different in kind and quality. Because it provided in Christ’s death a sacrifice which procured for sinful man redemption from sin’s bondage, cleansing from its defilement, and remission from its guilt, it was calculated to succeed where the first had failed. So it is called a ‘better covenant’, founded upon better promises. It is a better covenant because it has a better Mediator. The mediator of the old covenant was Moses, 3. 1-6, Gal. 3. 19. The Mediator of the new covenant is Christ. He is the surety of the covenant because He is the pledge of its fulfilment. As Mediator He is the One through whom its terms are carried out.