Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;
WhatsApp
Copy
WhatsApp
Copy
For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.
WhatsApp
Copy
For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:
WhatsApp
Copy
Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.
WhatsApp
Copy
But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.
WhatsApp
Copy
For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.
WhatsApp
Copy
For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:
WhatsApp
Copy
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 continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
WhatsApp
Copy
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
WhatsApp
Copy
And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
WhatsApp
Copy
For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
WhatsApp
Copy
In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.
WhatsApp
Copy
Chapter Study & Analysis
Overview
Hebrews 8 summarizes the "sum" of the argument: we have a High Priest set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens. This introduces the New Covenant, which is established upon "better promises" and written on the heart.
CONTEMPORARY APPLICATIONS
1. Minister of the True Tabernacle: Christ serves in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man (v. 2). Our worship is directed toward the heavenly reality, not just earthly shadows.2. A Better Covenant: The New Covenant is superior because it is based on God’s grace rather than human performance (v. 6-8). It provides the internal power to obey that the old Law could not give.
3. Law Written on the Heart: God promises, "I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts" (v. 10). True Christianity is an internal transformation of the desires, not just an external adherence to rules.
Practical Lessons
FORMAL PRAYER
Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for the New Covenant established upon better promises. Write Thy laws upon our hearts and minds, and be merciful to our unrighteousness, remembering our sins and iniquities no more, for Christ’s sake. Amen.