Hebrews 8:7-8
I’ve heard it said that the first Covenant, the Old Covenant, was with fault. Those making this statement usually believe this means Torah observance is no longer required under the second, New Covenant.
I once spoke to a fellow about this issue, and turned to Hebrews 8 in my Bible and asked if he would read verses 7-13 for me. He began to read verse 7, "For if that first covenant had been faultless" and he stopped. He said, "You see, that first covenant, that old covenant was not faultless." I agreed with him, but asked him to continue to read the passage to see where the fault was found.
You see, the text tells us in verse 8 that the fault found with the first covenant was not with the law, but with *the people* the covenant was made with. Verse eight begins by saying, "But finding fault with His *people* (HCSB)" or "For finding fault with *them* (NASB)." The people of Israel had pledged to keep all the words of Yahweh at the inauguration of the first Covenant (Exodus 19:1-8). They failed to keep their end of the Covenant, so fault was found in them.
Fault is found in me and you too. We’ve all sinned, and even after we become believers, we still sin. I think we can get better at obedience with practice and maturity, but at the end of the day we are frail creatures.
So what does Yahweh do? Does He change His law? Does He lower His standard and then see if the people can live up to the lower standard? No, He doesn't change His law, He changes the hearts and minds of His people. Hebrews 8:9-12 goes on to speak of how Yahweh would write the law on the hearts and minds of His people under the New Covenant. Ezekiel 36:26-27 speaks of a day when Yahweh will cause us to walk in the Torah because He has changed our hearts and minds. Yahweh's Torah is perfect. Our sins against the law is where the fault is found.
I once spoke to a fellow about this issue, and turned to Hebrews 8 in my Bible and asked if he would read verses 7-13 for me. He began to read verse 7, "For if that first covenant had been faultless" and he stopped. He said, "You see, that first covenant, that old covenant was not faultless." I agreed with him, but asked him to continue to read the passage to see where the fault was found.
You see, the text tells us in verse 8 that the fault found with the first covenant was not with the law, but with *the people* the covenant was made with. Verse eight begins by saying, "But finding fault with His *people* (HCSB)" or "For finding fault with *them* (NASB)." The people of Israel had pledged to keep all the words of Yahweh at the inauguration of the first Covenant (Exodus 19:1-8). They failed to keep their end of the Covenant, so fault was found in them.
Fault is found in me and you too. We’ve all sinned, and even after we become believers, we still sin. I think we can get better at obedience with practice and maturity, but at the end of the day we are frail creatures.
So what does Yahweh do? Does He change His law? Does He lower His standard and then see if the people can live up to the lower standard? No, He doesn't change His law, He changes the hearts and minds of His people. Hebrews 8:9-12 goes on to speak of how Yahweh would write the law on the hearts and minds of His people under the New Covenant. Ezekiel 36:26-27 speaks of a day when Yahweh will cause us to walk in the Torah because He has changed our hearts and minds. Yahweh's Torah is perfect. Our sins against the law is where the fault is found.