Hebrews 8:7

Hebrews 8:7

The battle of the Covenants

It’s a good point that is being made here. In modern parlance we would say, “If it ain’t broke, you don’t need to fix it!” In other words, if the Law, the sacrifices, the rituals and the ordinances of the old Jewish Covenant made with Abraham, Moses and the Israelites was working fine, then God would have not needed to replace it. But it was not working fine. It was constantly failing the people who found it impossible to meet the Covenant’s demands. They had spent centuries examining it in detail and trying to make it simpler and easier to uphold, hence the Mishna (written code of Jewish oral law) and the Talmud (the recorded oral thoughts of centuries of debate by the various Rabbis). The Law had become increasingly complex and, in their attempts to understand it and simplify it, the teachers and the scribes had made it impossible for the people to obey it!

As we have seen, the Old Covenant only covered sins committed in ignorance and the whole system depended upon a fallible and temporary priesthood. How could the blood of bulls and goats cover the intentional sins of the people? Sadly, the entire arrangement was cumbersome and fraught with the failures of those who practiced it. Was this God’s fault? Did He force the Jews to uphold and obey a Covenant that was faulty from Day 1? In some ways, the answer is “Yes.” God knew that sinful people would never meet the exacting demands but at least they tried. And are still trying! And that is the point, they have shown humanity that trying is not enough, as humans we will never attain God’s exacting standards and we will never be able to conquer sin through religious rituals and ceremonies. Everything that happened throughout the Old Testament years was to prepare the Jewish people, and us, for the New Covenant, for the coming of Messiah, for a legal system based on grace and faith rather than obedience and effort. For every man and woman who seeks the attention and favour of their gods by hard-earned diligence and religious practices needs to look at the Jews, who have been the most diligent of all, and conclude that there must surely be a better way. The New Covenant does not just expose the frailties of Judaism but of every religious faith known to the world! The Lord our God has instituted a way of relating to Him that far surpasses the requirements of every dogma and doctrine known to man, that is why the gospel can and should be taken to every nation, person and culture. They all need a better covenant!

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