In our studies we have come to the investigation of Hebrews 8:8-13, which is a quotation from Jeremiah 31:31-34. As we have often noted, one must turn back to the original passage from which a quotation is taken and study it in its natural setting in order to see its full import. This necessity is especially true with reference to our passage, a misunderstanding concerning which has been the occasion of certain serious errors. In this case, however, we shall have to go back to the original covenant into which the Lord entered with Abraham and view it. Next, we must take note of the covenant of works for which Israel clamored at the time of the Exodus and which is known as the Old or Sinaitic covenant. The information which we derive from a study of these two covenants furnish the necessary background for the understanding of the new covenant promised by Jeremiah and mentioned by the writer of Hebrews.

In Genesis 12:1-3 we have the call which God gave Abraham when he was in Haran. This, however, was his second call, as we learn from Acts 7:1-5. Originally the Lord called him out of Mesopotamia. He immediately went to Haran. When his father was dead, the God of glory appeared to him giving him the call mentioned in Genesis 12, at which time He made a sevenfold promise. They are as follows: (1) "I will make of thee a great nation," (2) "and I will bless thee," (3) "and make thy name great," (4) "and I will bless them that bless thee," (5) "and him that curseth thee will I curse," (6) "and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed," (7) and the land promise implied in the statement of verse 1, "unto the land that I will show thee," and mentioned in verse 7, "... Unto thy seed will I give this land."

Some time after Abraham reached the land (but we cannot say how long) God entered into a covenant with him which, of course, was confirmation of the promises recorded in Genesis, chapter 12. An examination of Genesis, chapter 15, shows that this covenant was one of pure grace. In introducing the matter to Abraham, God instructed him to look at the stars of the heavens. He then assured him that his seed would be just as numerous. Abraham believed God. His faith was counted to him for righteousness (Gen. 15:6). This promise was ratified by Abraham's cutting a covenant with the Lord. He did this by taking a heifer three years old, a she-goat of the same age, and likewise a ram, which he cut into halves, but the birds connected with this covenant were not severed. At the close of the day there was the appearance of a smoking furnace and a flaming torch that passed between the parts. This visible manifestation was a symbol of God's presence in the ceremony. According to the ancient oriental custom the contracting parties to a covenant passed between the severed parts of the victim. This fact bound them to keep the provisions of the said compact.

But in this instance Abraham did not pass between the parts. God's presence alone did that. Nevertheless it was a covenant into which the Almighty entered with Abraham. The fact that the Lord alone passed between the parts but did not require Abraham to do so shows that this covenant was of grace and unconditional.

When God brought Israel to Mount Sinai, she exchanged grace for law. The Lord promised her that, if she would obey His voice indeed, and keep His covenant, she should then become His own possession and a kingdom of priests (Ex. 19:5-6). Instead of realizing her inability to keep the law and all its requirements she answered, "All that Jehovah hath spoken we will do" (Ex. 19:8). God took the people at their word and thus entered into a covenant of works with them.

On account of the sinful nature of the human heart, no one can observe the law perfectly, for James declares, "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is become guilty of all" (James 2:10). The godliest people of Israel were keenly sensitive to their imperfections and confessed their sinfulness. The heart cry of these pious ones is heard throughout the Psalms. The sum and substance therefore of the Sinaitic covenant was that of works and merit.

As we have seen above, in Jeremiah 30:31-34, God promised to make a new covenant with Israel which would be different from the one into which He entered with her when He brought her forefathers out of Egypt. In Jeremiah, chapters 30-33, the prophet spoke of the time of the Tribulation, of her being delivered out of it, and of the establishment of the great millennial kingdom of our Lord upon the earth. It is true, however, that he did blend a description of the return of the Jews from the Babylonian captivity with that of her world-wide regathering in the end-time. Nevertheless, in these chapters the prophet was focusing his attention upon things which we know are yet in the future.

Moreover, an examination of these chapters shows conclusively that the prophet was speaking of Israel nationally and of her turning to God. This is quite evident from the language, "Behold, the days come saith Jehovah, that 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 that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt ..." (Jer. 31:31-32). The covenant which God made at Sinai was with Israel nationally and not with the people of Israel as individuals. In the same way, the Lord promises to enter into a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. After the disruption of the nation upon the death of Solomon the kingdom of Israel was divided into the kingdom of Judah (the tribes of Judah and Benjamin) and the kingdom of Israel (the ten northern tribes). Though the breach thus made had been healed by Jeremiah's time, he still spoke of the twelve tribes constituting the Chosen People in terms of the period of the disruption. When therefore we read the verses quoted by Paul in Hebrews regarding the making of the new covenant with Israel, we see that the Lord was speaking of a future time when He will thus enter into relationship with the entire nation of Israel.

Since these verses in the Old Testament mean exactly what they say: namely, that God will yet in the future enter into covenant relationship with Israel, we may be sure that He said what He meant and meant exactly what He said. The question arising in this connection is this: Does Paul interpret these verses as referring to this future covenant or is he applying it in a spiritual sense to believers at the present day? In order to answer this question intelligently, we must recall the fact that in Hebrews 3:1 the writer called upon his readers to consider Jesus as the Apostle and High Priest "of our confession." As has been noted in this series of articles, the Hebrew believers had already considered Jesus and had accepted Him as such. This language therefore would not have been appropriate in addressing Christians. Moreover, as we have also seen in chapters 3 and 4, the writer drew a parallel between the Israel of Moses' day which came up to the border of the Promised Land but refused to enter in because of unbelief and the generation of Israel of his own day who had likewise been evangelized but had through unbelief refused to accept Jesus and the gospel message. Thus, a study of these chapters, as we have already seen proves that the writer was discussing Israel's national conversion and not that of the individual.

In keeping with the whole tenor of the Epistle to the Hebrews, we must interpret chapter 8:8-12 as having the same significance as it does in its original setting of Jeremiah 31; namely, that it is a promise which the Lord holds out to Israel nationally. A thorough study of the Epistle to the Hebrews brings the conviction that this letter was God's final call to the Jews of the first century to accept Jesus as Saviour and Messiah.

This new covenant, when it is made, will be upon the basis of grace, as was the Abrahamic covenant. As a matter of fact, it will be the fulfillment of that original covenant. At that time all Israel will accept the Lord Jesus Christ and will be regenerated. The Lord speaks of the results of regeneration as His putting His laws in their minds and writing them upon their hearts. When Israel nationally accepts the Lord, all will know Him from the least to the greatest. The parents will carry out literally the injunctions to teach their children the law of the Lord when they arise in the morning, when they sit in their homes, and when they lie down at night. The children then being properly taught from infancy will accept the Lord and His salvation as soon as they can understand the message and will be saved. Thus all from the least to the greatest will know Him at that time.

According to verse 13 of our passage, the old Mosaic covenant of works was ready to vanish since God had already established a new covenant—of grace through the Lord Jesus Christ—with all (both Jew and Gentile) who will accept. But let us not suppose that this new covenant under which we are now living is the new covenant mentioned in this quotation from Jeremiah, chapter 31.

Verse 13 of our passage leads us to believe that the Epistle to the Hebrews was written a little before A.D. 70, when the Temple was destroyed and the whole Levitical system vanished—until it shall be reestablished in the Millennial Age, with certain omissions and modifications.