JAC Online

Hebrews 8:13: The Old Covenant, New Covenant, Milkshakes, and Coming of Age.
by Captain Michael Ramsay

“By calling this covenant ‘new,’ he has made the first one obsolete;
and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.”

What is this old covenant that is now obsolete?

This old covenant was very important to the Hebrew people. Their whole society was founded upon it. It was more important than but not entirely dissimilar to the Canadian Constitutional Act of 1982 and 1867, the American Declaration of Independence or even the Magna Carta and its very important Habeus Corpus clause. There were a number of activities, ceremonies and cultural traditions related to this old covenant that were cherished by the Hebrews such as circumcision (this actually relates to Abraham’s covenant but often is seen in light of the Mosaic covenant; John 7:22, see Genesis 17:11); ceremonial hand-washing; worshipping at the Temple; priests and Levites who had various jobs relating to the covenant; Sabbath (this has its roots even before Moses, in creation itself; see Genesis 2:2, Exodus 20:11, Hebrews 4); the Ten Commandments; the Law and the prophets (see Exodus 20, 34; Deuteronomy 5, 10); frequent sacrifices and much more.

Between all of these things relating to Moses, the election of the Hebrews for the task of proclaiming salvation to the world (see Genesis 12:3), the Temple and the Torah (even though the Israelites did not live up to the terms of this old covenant): these ceremonies were very significant to the people. They loved them. It was like a number of things are to some of us who have been involved with The Salvation Army for a while: the band, timbrels, Songsters, Soldiers, Officers, uniforms, League of Mercy (Community Care Ministries), thrift stores, emergency disaster work, community and family social work, evangelism, social justice, etc. Even more than that: Moses, election, the Temple, Torah, all their ceremonies and holidays were as important to them as is to us: our national anthem at sporting events, birthday parties, Sunday church services, New Years celebrations, Christmas, Christmas Eve, and Easter. It would be as difficult for the Hebrews to imagine life without the ceremonies of the old covenant as it would be for us to imagine winter without Christmas.

The application of the old covenant covered every aspect of the Hebrews’ lives. The rituals of the old covenant were as important to people then as a child’s birthday party and all that it entails are to us here today. Hebrews 8:8-13 is saying that God has taken this whole important system that developed out of this covenant with the Israelites (like Christmas trees, Easter eggs, nativity scenes, and birthday presents to us), crumpled it up like a piece of paper and thrown it into the garbage. This would be even more devastating for the Hebrews than if God took all of our Christmas traditions, crumpled them up and tossed them in that same garbage can. God says that their very important covenant is old. Jeremiah says that they need a new one. The author (or homilitician) of Hebrews says that it is obsolete and should be thrown away and even replaced. Can you imagine how difficult that would be for the Hebrews of that day and age to accept?

What happened to this ‘old covenant’? Why is it obsolete?

So what happened then? Why was all that the people knew and loved in the old covenant simply crumpled up and tossed away? Hebrews 8:13 records that this old covenant is now obsolete and even at the time this sermon to the Hebrews was originally preached it was already aging and fading away. Why was it fading away already? How is it obsolete? What happened to this covenant? The terms of the covenant were broken. The Israelites broke them. The covenant was a conditional contract and Israel broke the conditions of it. Like we see in the children’s story, Jeremiah (www.sheepspeak.com./jeremiah.pdf),[1] ancient Israel turned their backs on God. Israel turned their backs on their fellow YHWH worshipers. They betrayed the Lord and they betrayed each other. It would take much too long to run through all or even many of the times that Israel (the Hebrews) defied God or how they broke their covenant. One of the key ways, however, would be their neglect of the disenfranchised:[2] the poor, the widow, the immigrant (see for example, Exodus 23:6,11, Leviticus 19:10,15, 23:22, 27:8, Deuteronomy 15:7, 15:11, 24:12-15, 1 Samuel 2:8, Psalms 22:26, 34:6, 35:10, 82:3, Isaiah 61:1, Ezekiel 16:49, 18:12, 22:29, Amos 2:7, 4:1, 5:11-12, 8:4-6, Zechariah 7:10, Matthew 6:19-21, 19:13-26, 25:31-46).[3] One comment pertaining to this that I would point us towards is in the New Testament Gospels themselves. Remember when Jesus was asked about the old covenant and the Law? What did He say summed up the whole Law and the prophets? Love God and love your neighbour (Matthew 22:36-40; see also Luke 10:25-28, Exodus 20, 34, Leviticus 19:18, Deuteronomy 5, 10). How does one love one’s neighbour? By looking after the most vulnerable in society, by turning the other cheek, and by bringing others to the Lord (see Matthew 6:19-21, 19:13-26, 25:31-46). Micah 6:8 says that we are to ‘love justice, love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God’. The Hebrews didn’t do this. They did not live up to the terms of the agreement.

An important point to remember here is that this old, ‘obsolete’ covenant wasn’t exactly cancelled rather it was completed (fulfilled) by the advent of Christ (John 19:30; see also Leviticus 26:42-44; Deuteronomy 7:9; Judges 2:1; Matthew 5:17-20, 24:35; Luke 16:17, 27:33; Romans 3:3-4, 31, 7:1-6). Remember that by definition covenants, when made with the Lord remain in place until they are fully completed (See Leviticus 26:42-44; Deuteronomy 7:9; Judges 2:1; Matthew 5:17-20, 24:35; Luke 16:17, 27:33; Romans 3:3-4, 31, 7:1-6; Hebrews 10:23; see also JAC issues 40, 52, 56, 59, 62). This old covenant wasn’t forsaken. It was completed or even renewed like a library book or a rented movie. When the allotted time for borrowing a book or a movie is completed, it can be renewed. We must not forget though that, as there is a penalty to pay if we fail to live up to the rental terms – if we are late or damage the book/video there are fees to pay - so too there was a penalty that Christ paid on our behalf before He renewed our covenant[4] (see Jeremiah 31:31ff, Ezekiel 36:16ff, Joel 2:28ff, and also Deuteronomy 10:16; 30:6; Jeremiah 4:4; 6:10; 9:25; Ezekiel 44:7). Let me explain by exploring a couple of more questions.

Was there anything wrong with the old agreement itself?

Was there anything wrong with the old covenant, the old agreement that is now obsolete? Yes and no.[5] No, in that the old covenant was certainly fair: God promised that He would look out for His chosen covenant partners and He did. He let them enter His rest so long as they loved Him and their brothers and sisters. It is like any of us who are parents saying, “all right children, we can all go for a milkshake at the Land of Milk and Honey Ice-Cream Parlour after dinner so long as you kids don’t fight and don’t give me a bad time.” This seems fair.[6] The problem is that the children of Israel just wouldn’t stop fighting and they weren’t very nice to their Father either. They were always fighting. They were always hurting each other. And they didn’t even bother to obey their curfew. They were likely to not even come home at all. Instead they would stay out all night in the hill country with the Baals when they should have been spending the night safely in the protection of their Father’s house. And when they did come home the children of Israel would fight amongst themselves about all of this and more too. They didn’t show their love for their Father or for their brothers or their sisters.

A big part of the problem with Israel’s disobedience was that God promised them the metaphorical milkshakes from the Land of Milk and Honey Ice-Cream Parlour IF they would just be good. And even though they didn’t deserve it, God really still wanted to give them their Land of Milk and Honey milkshakes (see for examples Isaiah 3:1-6; 8:16-22; 9:1-7; Jeremiah 31, Amos 9, Micah 2:1-11-13; 5:1-4). Not only that: He wanted to drink the milkshakes with them in the Land of Milk and Honey Ice-Cream Parlour, Himself. He wanted to spend this quality time with His children. He wanted to have fun with them. He wanted to give them all of this and much more but they just wouldn’t stop fighting and they just wouldn’t listen to Him so He just wouldn’t give them their reward.

This was the purpose of the milkshake incentive. The purpose of the Law, the old covenant, was to bring people closer to God so that they could experience His Salvation. God’s Law, His old covenant – that He set up so that His children could come for the eternal milkshake with Him – this Law, that was created for good, actually wound up preventing His children from getting the milkshake that God wanted to share with them. Because they were bad and they didn’t deserve this milkshake, God was very sad. God kept His part of the covenant. God wanted to enjoy that milkshake with them in the Land of Milk and Honey Ice-Cream Parlour but they just wouldn’t co-operate (See Romans 3:3,4). This old covenant failed to bring people into a Salvific relationship with God (Hebrews 8:7-9; see Hebrews 4, Numbers 14 and Deuteronomy 1; see also Galatians 3-4). God’s chosen people, the children of Israel failed Him; the Law therefore did not provide for their (our) salvation (see Galatians 3 and Romans 2:1-14).

What is this new covenant?

Since this old covenant did not give us the Heavenly milkshake, what about the new covenant? What is it? Can God use the new covenant as a way to share the milkshake of eternal life with us? What is this new covenant that is God’s seemingly new idea? First we should note that it is not really a new idea at all.[7] God knew all along that He would eventually implement this new covenant. He knew this even before He put the old one in place that this new one was to be enacted through Jesus’ incarnation, death, and resurrection (see Genesis 15:7-21; Jeremiah 34:18-20; Romans 7:1-7).[8] Jesus’ death fulfils the old covenant: it is finished (John 19:30). The old one – as bad as we were at living up to it - was not thrown out before it was finished; it was only discarded after it was completed on the cross.

It is like with our children. Our daughters are still pre-teens but we know that someday there will be curfews and guidelines for using the car but there is no need for those to come into place just yet. We know this new structure will eventually be coming to our home; it is not here yet but it is inevitable. Likewise, God knew that this new covenant was inevitable even before He made the old one.[9]

As far as my children are concerned, even further down the road relating to these curfews and guidelines for driving the car that we will eventually have for our girls: there will come a time when even these rules will no longer be needed. Our children will grow up and be ready to have a relationship with us, and the world, as responsible adults. If we do our job as parents, then our children will grow up to love God, read their Bibles, love their neighbour and clean up after themselves – all on their own, without our rules to make them do it. They will do their chores and assignments as adults living and working in the world without us needing us to enforce our old house rules. This is what the Law and the old covenant is like; it was only good until the enactment of the new covenant at the advent of Christ (Galatians 3:24-25). The advent of Christ is like humanity’s coming of age – it is our growing up, our leaving the Law’s home for the final time (Galatians 4:4).[10]

Paul tells us in Galatians 3:23-25 that the old covenant and the Law were needed but that the people were being imprisoned and guarded by the Law. He says that the Law –depending upon your translation -was our guard, our disciplinarian, our custodian, or some translations even say our schoolteacher. In Galatians 4, the Apostle Paul goes on to explain the Law as if it were this guardian servant who is the tutor of a small child. The guardian servant only has any authority until the child is grown, then the child has authority over her servant. And now we are here today; we are like the twenty-something year-old son or daughter who is making her way in the world today without our tutor, without our teacher, without our parents’ house rules but still with our Heavenly Father’s very real love. This is what the new covenant is. We no longer have the house rules to follow but because God raised us well, we can read our family history (the Bible) and because we are His children we can live the way He would have us live and this is good (1 Thessalonians 5:12-24). And the really good thing is that – just like a an adult child of a Christian parent – if for some reason we do become confused in life, we can always come to God. God is even closer than a phone call away; God is as close as a prayer.