UBF Daily Bread

A NEW COVENANT

Passage: Hebrews 8:1~13

Key verse: 11

The High Priest of a New Covenant

8 Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest,^(A) who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,^(B) ²and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle^(C) set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being.

³Every high priest^(D) is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices,^(E) and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer.^(F) ⁴If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law.^(G) ⁵They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy^(H) and shadow^(I) of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned^(J) when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”^[a]^(K) ⁶But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant^(L) of which he is mediator^(M) is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.

⁷For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another.^(N) ⁸But God found fault with the people and said^[b]:

“The days are coming, declares the Lord,
    when I will make a new covenant^(O)
with the people of Israel
    and with the people of Judah.
⁹It will not be like the covenant
    I made with their ancestors^(P)
when I took them by the hand
    to lead them out of Egypt,
because they did not remain faithful to my covenant,
    and I turned away from them,
declares the Lord.
¹⁰This is the covenant^(Q) I will establish with the people of Israel
    after that time, declares the Lord.
I will put my laws in their minds
    and write them on their hearts.^(R)
I will be their God,
    and they will be my people.^(S)
¹¹No longer will they teach their neighbor,
    or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,^(T)
    from the least of them to the greatest.
¹²For I will forgive their wickedness
    and will remember their sins no more.^(U)”^[c]^(V)

¹³By calling this covenant “new,”^(W) he has made the first one obsolete;^(X) and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.

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Footnotes

Hebrews 8:5 Exodus 25:40
Hebrews 8:8 Some manuscripts may be translated fault and said to the people.
Hebrews 8:12 Jer. 31:31-34

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

1. Jesus is priest of the true tabernacle (1-5)

The system of worship given in the Law of Moses prescribed many different types of sacrifices and offerings, and it gave precise instructions for how to build the tabernacle (tent) and its furnishings. This tabernacle was a symbol of the real, spiritual tabernacle, which is God's throne room in heaven. The priestly service Jesus performs is not in a copy, but in the true tabernacle, where he sits at the right hand of God.

2. A new covenant (6-13)

The new ministry carried out by Jesus comes with a new covenant, which makes the old covenant obsolete. The blessings of the new covenant were prophesied by Jeremiah and are quoted here. Fundamentally, it would be based on forgiveness of sins (12). God writes this covenant on our hearts by the Holy Spirit and we can have a one-to-one relationship with God.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your priestly service that cleanses me of all my sins. Help me know you in a new covenant relationship.

One Word: A better covenant.