NEW COVENANT. Hebrews 8:8-9 The ministry of our Lord is in heaven. If He were on earth, He could not serve as a priest because He was from the tribe of Judah, not the tribe of Levi, from which the Israelite priests came who offered sacrifices according to the law. Daily sacrifices were made for the priests and the people to seek forgiveness for their sins. The perfect sacrifice of Christ, of which the others were examples, permanently ended that need for further priests and sacrifices.
The book of Hebrews was likely written before 70 AD, when Titus destroyed the city and the temple. The Levitical priesthood, which still seems to have been functioning in Jerusalem, was a copy and a shadow that could only serve the shadow, not the substance. The superiority of Christ's ministry over the Levitical priesthood is proportional to the superiority of the second covenant (better) over the first. The tabernacle, with each part symbolizing teachings about the Lord, was a copy and a shadow of heavenly things. It pointed forward to the future reality of heaven. The tabernacle in heaven is not a copy of the earthly one.
The first covenant was ineffective because Israel failed to fulfill the terms of the agreement. The new one is effective because our High Priest is the mediator of this new covenant. The perfection of His Person makes this new one satisfactory to God. The new covenant is effective because it is not conditional upon human obedience to meet the law's requirements. Christ has intervened as the Perfect Man who became the Perfect Substitute and the Perfect Sacrifice. We can be accepted in Christ, who "loved me, and gave Himself for me," and the basis of the covenant is everlasting forgiveness from God and the new birth by the Holy Spirit in us. The blessings of the New Covenant have now been given to us because of the completed work of our Great High Priest. This "Better Covenant" has fulfilled what God desired from His earthly people. God wanted Israel to be a people for Himself, a special treasure, a nation of priests, a people close to Himself. The condition of the law wasn't that they would earn their own righteousness or a place in heaven, but that they would be kept among the nations for God. The law was weak because Israel was too weak to meet its conditions. The quote from Jeremiah 31:31-34 compares the old covenant with the new covenant of grace—God's offer of forgiveness through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. God announced through Jeremiah a new covenant that wouldn’t depend on human faithfulness but would be unconditional and rely only on God to be fulfilled.
It is new for several reasons. It goes to both the Gentiles and the Jews. It is written on the minds and hearts of those who enter into this covenant relationship with God. God initiated all of this because of His mercy, grace, and love toward us. He is the One who said, "I will make a great change; give a new nature; give new power; make a new creation. I will reveal Myself to them, and they shall be My possession, treasure, and delight. They will know me personally, have a personal acquaintance with me, and have experience with me. I will deliver them from the guilt of sin. I will not pass sentence on them because I will pardon them."
He does this for all believers now—Jews and Gentiles alike, who are all one in the body of Christ. This will fulfill the national promises to the Jews during the millennium reign. The introduction of the new covenant renders the old one obsolete and causes it to cease having any place. Dependence on the sacrifice and priesthood of Christ will always be new.
The Holy Spirit gives those in whom He dwells a new desire to obey God. With the new hearts He gives us, we want to please Him, and we find our greatest joy is knowing that we have pleased our Lord. Instead of finding it unpleasant to live in the way God desires, we see it as a blessing and a joy to follow "where He leads me." This happens because God's law is in us. It isn't just a bunch of rules and regulations in a thick book full of instructions. The Bible is how we hear God's personal communication with us. Our consciences are awakened to respond to God's will gladly. When we seek the legalistic ways of the old covenant or try to mix in the ways of the world, what could bring us joy and the blessings of living in fellowship with God becomes boring, and growth stalls.