The Daily Fountain Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 5 November 2020 – Superior Covenant
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Topic: Superior Covenant
Read: Hebrews 8:1-13 (NKJV)
- Now [this is] the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,
- a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.
- For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore [it is] necessary that this One also have something to offer.
- For if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law;
- who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, “See [that] you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”
- But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.
- For if that first [covenant] had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.
- Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah —
- “not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the LORD.
- “For this [is] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
- “None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.
- “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
- In that He says, “A new [covenant,”] He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
THE MESSAGE:
The writer of Hebrews has tried to prove in the previous chapter that Jesus’ priesthood is better than that of other priests (verse 22). In this chapter, he expands on that idea with reasons why Jesus’ priesthood is better:
- A Superior High Priest: The High Priest of this new covenant – Jesus Christ – is not busy offering sacrifices. Instead, He did it once and for all when He offered up Himself and is now seated in the place of authority (verse 1).
- A Superior Heavenly Sanctuary: As High Priest, Jesus serves in the heavenly sanctuary, the “true tabernacle set up by the Lord” rather than in one made by humans (verse 2).
- A superior Foundation and Promise: The ministry of Jesus is “founded on better promises” (verse 6). God recognised that the old covenant was not effective. The writer quotes Jeremiah 31:31-34 in which God promises a new covenant (verses 7-9) to support this point.
The new covenant would not only govern people’s outward behaviour, but would transform their lives by making profound changes in their hearts and minds. It will restore relationship with God and help them to know Christ through the mercy and forgiving grace of God (verses 11-12). You can be part of this new covenant by experiencing divine transformation.
PRAYER: “Lord Jesus, I acknowledge You as the Author of this superior covenant. I yield my life to You. Transform me to Your own glory. Amen.
