Today's Passage: Hebrews 8

What an awesome passage!  We are nearing the end of the second part of Hebrews which has focused on what Jesus has done.  In this chapter we find a clear description of the turning over of covenants.  A lot of people fall into the trap of thinking that the reason there is a new covenant is because the old one failed.  This is not true and that's why the writer of Hebrews quotes Jeremiah 31.  You see in Jeremiah 31 we find the prophesy of the Messiah and the reason He is/was coming... To complete the old covenant.  So Jesus' coming did create a new covenant, but did so because the old one had been completed and had become of no use or "obsolete". 

It's important that we understand this and not just say that God changed His mind.  That would imply that God's original plan didn't work or that He just thought of a better plan.  Both of these options would indicate that God is not the all knowing, all powerful God of the universe.  Instead the completion of the old covenant and the start of the new was and always has been part of His plan.

We find another hot button topic in verse 11 of this chapter.  It says: No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.  Some get confused by this verse and think that when we accept Christ we will miraculously gain all knowledge about God.  Instead what the writer is saying is we no longer need to speak to God through a priest because Jesus has assumed that role.  So we all can communicate with and hear from God directly.  Now don't be mistaken it is wise to surround yourself with people that challenge and teach you about God, it is just not necessary to have them talk to God for us. 

So we have a new covenant because Jesus completed the old one, and we can now have a personal relationship with God because Jesus, who experienced temptation as a man, has taken over the role of high priest.  What an amazing plan our God has!