Posts Tagged ‘New Covenant’

Scripture reading for November 7th: Hebrews 8:1-13

The old covenant was the law of Moses.  The old covenant was mediated by the Levitical priesthood and required sacrifices of the blood of animals for breaking the law of God.  The Old Testament Scriptures told of the temporary nature of this old covenant and spoke of a new covenant that God was going to make in the last days.

“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)  But when Jesus Christ rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, He went to serve in the true tabernacle.  The earthly temple was only copy and shadow of what was real in heaven.  (Hebrews 8:5-6)  Moses was instructed to make everything according to the pattern give him by God on Mt. Sinai.

The old covenant was obsolete and passing away and the new covenant that God had spoken about through the prophets was now established for the new High Priest!  “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 neighbor, or a man 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.” (Jeremiah 31:33-34), (Hebrews 8:10-12)

This covenant brought a personal relationship with God to each person.  Instead of tablets of stone, God would write His law on their hearts and minds.  Sins would be totally forgiven and the record wiped clean.  This new covenant is far superior to the old covenant and the High Priest is out of this world!

The real value of the new covenant is in enjoying it now.  Have you gone to Jesus Christ and humbly asked Him to forgive you of your sins?  Will you let Him wipe your record clean and then give you power to live with His law on your heart and in your mind?  Today is the right day!

Scripture reading for August 12th: Jeremiah 30-33

Out of all the gloom and doom of Jeremiah’s messages come words of hope and a glorious future!  Their God would not abandon His people forever, but would have pity on them.  He would be their God and they would be His people.  (Jeremiah 31:1-2)  Those who survived the siege would find favor in the desert and God would come to them.

“The Lord appeared to us in the past saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving kindness.  I will build you up again and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel.  Again you will take up your tambourines and dance with the joyful.” (Jeremiah 31:3-4)  God’s love is not fickle.  His love is everlasting and  His tender mercies draw His people back to find comfort and hope.  God would build them again in their land and restore their joy.

Now God promises restoration and a gathering of His people from the lands where they were scattered.  This writing of Jeremiah mirrors Isaiah 35 where the redeemed of the Lord come back with singing to Zion.  “Then maidens will dance and be glad, young men and old as well.  I will turn their mourning into gladness instead of sorrow.  I will satisfy the priests with abundance and my people will be filled with My bounty,” declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 31:13-14)

“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.  . . ” “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord.  “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be My people.  No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” (Jeremiah 31:31, 33-34)  This new covenant promised writing of the law on hearts and minds instead of on stone.  It promised personal relationship with God for each person.  Best of all it promised forgiveness of sins and a blotting out of any memory of those by God.  Restoration would be something new and better!  Praise the Lord.

Scripture reading for December 14th: Hebrews 8-10

I love new things!  Sometimes old things are nice to collect, but new things are nicer to use because they have all the latest technology and all the parts are new.  Everything we were used to with the old has to be relearned with the new things.  Sometimes this shift is difficult for us because we are set in our ways.  This is what happened to many Jewish believers in the time of the letter to the Hebrews.  The author spent some time and effort explaining the new covenant and how it was so much better than the old covenant.

The old covenant had laws and regulations for those who broke those laws.  The old covenant had promises for those who obeyed and warning for those who didn’t.  Moses was the mediator of the old covenant and Aaron and the Levites were the high priest and priesthood.  These were men who had failings themselves and eventually died.  The old covenant had a mobile tabernacle carried by the Levites, and God could only be visited at prescribed times by a certain few people.  In fact, only Aaron the high priest could go into where God’s dwelling place was in the Holy of Holies.

Under the new covenant, things were much easier and better.  Jesus Christ is the mediator of this new covenant.  He revealed it to us by His life, teaching, and sacrificial death on a cross.  He was God’s Son, not just a servant.  He was perfectly obedient to the old covenant while here on earth and then became the sacrifice for laws broken under the old covenant.

His sacrifice was better because His body and blood were without sin.  He offered it once for all to put away sin.  (Hebrews 9:14)  His blood was offered in heaven on the heavenly mercy seat when He rose from the dead.  He lives forever and is able to be a perfect high priest of a different order, that of Melchizedek.  (Hebrews 6:20)  He can identify with us because He is a man and has lived here on earth, experiencing our temptations. (Hebrews 4:15-16)

When we trust in Christ and His sacrifice for us, God gives us a new heart and sends His Spirit to live in us.  (Hebrews 8:10-12)  We become priests of the new covenant here on earth–a kingdom of priests!  Our sins are forgiven and erased from God’s memory.  We become the new dwelling place of God, living stones in His new body the church.  We become children of our Father and can approach Him boldly without fear to find help in times of need or just to worship and have fellowship.

New covenant people love to gather together and encourage each other.  We know Jesus Christ is coming soon!  We want to be ready and reach as many as possible before the full reality is unveiled when He appears!  (Hebrews 10:19-25)

Scripture reading for August 12th: Jeremiah 30-33

“The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying:  “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.”  Jeremiah 31:3

“While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, the Word of the Lord came to him a second time:  “This is what the Lord says, He who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and established it–The Lord is His name:  ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’ “  Jeremiah 33:2-3

God loves His people!  He always has and always will love them!  He draws His people to enter into a love relationship with Him by cords of loving-kindness.  He knows that love must be freely given by His people and that they must be drawn back to Him from the world and it’s enticements.  God’s love will ransom them from the hand of the enemy. (Jeremiah 31:11)  He will cause them to take up the tambourine and dance with the joyful!  (Jeremiah 31:4, 13)

God then speaks to Jeremiah of a time that is coming when He will make a new covenant with Israel and Judah.  This covenant will be different than the old one made with those who came out of Egypt.  This covenant would include God writing His law on the human heart and mind.  God would personally be their God and each person would personally know God.  His forgiveness of sin would be experienced by all and God Himself would remember it no more.  (Jeremiah 31:31-34)

These visions of restoration came to Jeremiah at a most unlikely time in the history of the nation.  The nation was surrounded by the  Babylonians and Jeremiah was confined to the courtyard of the guard under house arrest.  In the natural, it did not look good.  But in the midst of the troubling time, God’s word brought hope and encouragement to Jeremiah and His people.  God would allow the destruction of the Temple and city and send the people into captivity but He promised restoration and the coming time of the New Covenant.

The condition for great revelation is calling on God in faith in the midst of trial and trouble!  The amazing promises of great things given to Jeremiah included the promise of the righteous “Branch” that would sprout from David’s line.  (Jeremiah 33:14-16)  This “Branch” would bring salvation to Judah and peace and safety to Jerusalem.  His name would be “The Lord our Righteousness”.  This “Branch” is none other than Jesus Christ!  He is the salvation of His people, and their righteousness!  He brought the “New Covenant” in His own blood that would enable eternal forgiveness of sins and the law written on hearts.  He was the embodiment of the everlasting love of God in human flesh and draws us with His loving-kindness!  These are great and unsearchable things revealed to those who call on Him!  What a wonderful promise!

Scripture reading for July 8th: Proverbs 14-17

According to God’s Word, there is a definite connection between the heart and the tongue.  The heart is the source of everything that the tongue speaks. The heart isn’t just the organ that pumps the life blood of a person, however. According to Jesus the heart of man is the source of  “evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly.”  (Mark 7:21)   These ungodly sins come from the heart and then the mouth speaks and directs a person into the trouble.

As we read today’s proverbs, there are several that relate to the heart and the tongue.  This ancient wisdom of Solomon is relevant for us today.  Proverbs 14:3 states that “a fool’s talk brings a rod to his back but the  lips of the wise protect them.”  “The tongue of the wise commends knowledge but the mouth of fools gushes folly.”  (Proverbs 15:2)    Proverbs 17:20 talks of a man with a perverse heart and a deceitful tongue.  The heart and tongue lead this man into trouble and lack.  Punishment awaits those with perverse hearts and lips that speak lies and folly. In fact, the Lord detests all who are proud of heart and He promises punishment! (Proverbs 16:5)

The wise person has a heart that is discerning and lips that promote instruction.  (Proverbs 16:21)  The wise man’s heart guides his mouth and brings forth pleasant words that are sweet to the soul and promote healing.  (Proverbs 16:23-24)  It is the fear of the Lord that teaches the heart wisdom,  and humility brings understanding and honor.  (Proverbs 15:32-33)  As we think of Jesus Christ and His own life of humility and living in the fear of the Lord, we see how His heart guided his mouth.  We are reminded of lips that brought healing and pleasant words of instruction.  His parables came from a heart sold out to God.  He only said what His father said, and did what His Father did! (John 5:19)

Do you need a new heart and a clean mouth?  The good news is that a new heart is available today through Jesus Christ!  He is the only one who can help you!  He was totally pure in heart and perfectly obedient to the Father in order to give His life as a sacrifice for us to free us from our sins!  If you will confess your sins to Him,  He is faithful and just and will forgive you of your sins and cleanse your heart.  Today is a great time to do just that!

“This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord.  I will put my laws in their hearts and I will write them on their minds.”  Then He adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” (Hebrews 10:16-17)