Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have
such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty
in heaven, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true
tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being. Every
high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was
necessary for this one also to have something to offer. If he
were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already priests who
offer the gifts prescribed by the law. They serve at a
sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was
warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make
everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” But
in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the
covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new
covenant is established on better promises. (Hebrews 8:1-6)
Have we
sufficiently beat it to death that Jesus is both a High Priest of a Different
Order and that He is superior to every other high priest or religious leader
(or for that matter political leader) who has ever lived? The author of Hebrews
seems to have thought so, because he has moved on to his second point, and it
is one that is still being argued today. We’ll come back to the “copy and shadow”
aspect soon. The author tells us that just as we have a high priest who is of a
different order, so is the covenant that authorizes His priesthood. It is a) different,
b) superior, and c) established on better promises. He’ll guide us through the
latter two. For now, let’s focus on the fact that it’s a different covenant.
There have been a number of covenants between God and man:
1. Adamic Covenant. Found in Genesis 1:26-30 and 2:16-17, this covenant is general in nature. It included the command not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, pronounced a curse for sin, and spoke of a future provision for man's redemption (Genesis 3:15).
2. Noahic Covenant. This general covenant was made between God and Noah following the departure of Noah, his family, and the animals from the ark. Found in Genesis 9:11, "I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." This covenant included a sign of God's faithfulness to keep it—the rainbow.
3. Abrahamic Covenant. This unconditional covenant, first made to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3, promised God's blessing upon Abraham, to make his name great and to make his progeny into a great nation. The covenant also promised blessing to those who blessed Abraham and cursing to those who cursed him. Further, God vowed to bless the entire world through Abraham's seed. Circumcision was the sign that Abraham believed the covenant (Romans 4:11). The fulfillment of this covenant is seen in the history of Abraham's descendants and in the creation of the nation of Israel. The worldwide blessing came through Jesus Christ, who was of Abraham's family line.
4. Palestinian Covenant. This unconditional covenant, found in Deuteronomy 30:1-10, noted God's promise to scatter Israel if they disobeyed God, then to restore them at a later time to their land. This covenant has been fulfilled twice, with the Babylonian Captivity and subsequent rebuilding of Jerusalem under Cyrus the Great; and with the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, followed by the reinstatement of the nation of Israel in 1948.
5. Mosaic Covenant. This conditional covenant, found in Deuteronomy 11 and elsewhere, promised the Israelites a blessing for obedience and a curse for disobedience. Much of the Old Testament chronicles the fulfillment of this cycle of judgment for sin and later blessing when God's people repented and returned to God.
6. Davidic Covenant. This unconditional covenant, found in 2 Samuel 7:8-16, promised to bless David's family line and assured an everlasting kingdom. Jesus is from the family line of David (Luke 1:32-33) and, as the Son of David (Mark 10:47), is the fulfillment of this covenant.
7. New Covenant. This covenant, found in Jeremiah 31:31-34, promised that God would forgive sin and have a close, unbroken relationship with His people. The promise was first made to Israel and then extended to everyone who comes to Jesus Christ in faith (Matthew 26:28; Hebrews 9:15).
(https://www.compellingtruth.org/covenants-in-the-Bible.html
The main two that people think of today are the Mosaic Covenant and the New Covenant, and more often than not, it’s only the Mosaic Covenant that they consider. That’s why those who want to argue against Christianity draw on what they consider silly Old Testament laws, like not eating shellfish or pigs, not wearing clothing of two materials or sowing two crops in a field, or saying no to homosexuality. I mean, if we don’t follow one Old Testament law, why would we think anyone obligated to follow any of them. As I’ve said before with regard to the covenants, the same God is involved with each of these covenants, so we must expect them to be similar, as with the teachings about homosexuality (which is a moral issue) but the details sometimes differ (as with the dietary restrictions). The Old and the New are not the same.
As the author of Hebrews reminds us, if the Old Covenant were good enough. If it were effective in accomplishing all that needed to be accomplished, why would God provide a new? If your boss paid you fifty dollars an hour, gave you thirty days of vacation and ninety days of sick leave, plus twenty holidays a year, a week of personal time, and every weekend off, why would you want a different contract? OK, besides the fact that you’re greedy. Would you agree to a contract that cut all of that in half, especially without any good reason? So, the new and better covenant, administered and enacted by a new and better high priest… that’s what God has offered us. But since the new exists, the old is no longer followed, just as you would not get a new contract doubling your pay, then tell your employer, “No, now wait a second, I insist on working and being paid according to the old contract!”
There have been a number of covenants between God and man:
1. Adamic Covenant. Found in Genesis 1:26-30 and 2:16-17, this covenant is general in nature. It included the command not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, pronounced a curse for sin, and spoke of a future provision for man's redemption (Genesis 3:15).
2. Noahic Covenant. This general covenant was made between God and Noah following the departure of Noah, his family, and the animals from the ark. Found in Genesis 9:11, "I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." This covenant included a sign of God's faithfulness to keep it—the rainbow.
3. Abrahamic Covenant. This unconditional covenant, first made to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3, promised God's blessing upon Abraham, to make his name great and to make his progeny into a great nation. The covenant also promised blessing to those who blessed Abraham and cursing to those who cursed him. Further, God vowed to bless the entire world through Abraham's seed. Circumcision was the sign that Abraham believed the covenant (Romans 4:11). The fulfillment of this covenant is seen in the history of Abraham's descendants and in the creation of the nation of Israel. The worldwide blessing came through Jesus Christ, who was of Abraham's family line.
4. Palestinian Covenant. This unconditional covenant, found in Deuteronomy 30:1-10, noted God's promise to scatter Israel if they disobeyed God, then to restore them at a later time to their land. This covenant has been fulfilled twice, with the Babylonian Captivity and subsequent rebuilding of Jerusalem under Cyrus the Great; and with the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, followed by the reinstatement of the nation of Israel in 1948.
5. Mosaic Covenant. This conditional covenant, found in Deuteronomy 11 and elsewhere, promised the Israelites a blessing for obedience and a curse for disobedience. Much of the Old Testament chronicles the fulfillment of this cycle of judgment for sin and later blessing when God's people repented and returned to God.
6. Davidic Covenant. This unconditional covenant, found in 2 Samuel 7:8-16, promised to bless David's family line and assured an everlasting kingdom. Jesus is from the family line of David (Luke 1:32-33) and, as the Son of David (Mark 10:47), is the fulfillment of this covenant.
7. New Covenant. This covenant, found in Jeremiah 31:31-34, promised that God would forgive sin and have a close, unbroken relationship with His people. The promise was first made to Israel and then extended to everyone who comes to Jesus Christ in faith (Matthew 26:28; Hebrews 9:15).
(https://www.compellingtruth.org/covenants-in-the-Bible.html
The main two that people think of today are the Mosaic Covenant and the New Covenant, and more often than not, it’s only the Mosaic Covenant that they consider. That’s why those who want to argue against Christianity draw on what they consider silly Old Testament laws, like not eating shellfish or pigs, not wearing clothing of two materials or sowing two crops in a field, or saying no to homosexuality. I mean, if we don’t follow one Old Testament law, why would we think anyone obligated to follow any of them. As I’ve said before with regard to the covenants, the same God is involved with each of these covenants, so we must expect them to be similar, as with the teachings about homosexuality (which is a moral issue) but the details sometimes differ (as with the dietary restrictions). The Old and the New are not the same.
As the author of Hebrews reminds us, if the Old Covenant were good enough. If it were effective in accomplishing all that needed to be accomplished, why would God provide a new? If your boss paid you fifty dollars an hour, gave you thirty days of vacation and ninety days of sick leave, plus twenty holidays a year, a week of personal time, and every weekend off, why would you want a different contract? OK, besides the fact that you’re greedy. Would you agree to a contract that cut all of that in half, especially without any good reason? So, the new and better covenant, administered and enacted by a new and better high priest… that’s what God has offered us. But since the new exists, the old is no longer followed, just as you would not get a new contract doubling your pay, then tell your employer, “No, now wait a second, I insist on working and being paid according to the old contract!”
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