Hebrews 8:9Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

He is not speaking, he says, of some ancient covenant. So that they could not think this, he also defines the time.

He does not simply say, "according to the covenant which I made with their fathers," lest they think of the covenant made with Abraham or with Noah.

Rather, he defines exactly which covenant: "Not like the covenant," he says, "which I made with their fathers at that time," those living at the time of the Exodus.

Therefore he adds, "when I took them by the hand, to lead them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord."

"Not like the covenant which I made with their fathers at the time when I took them by the hand, to lead them out of the land of Egypt" (Jer 31:32).

So that no one would think that the covenant made with Abraham is being annulled, he added, "at the time when I took them by the hand."

For He says, I wish to annul the covenant spoken of in Exodus, the covenant given on Mount Sinai to your fathers, who cast the calf. But the covenant with Abraham received its fulfillment in Christ.

For He says, "In your seed all nations shall be blessed" (Gen 22:18), that is, in Christ.

"For they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord" (Jer 31:32). Do you see that the beginning of evil is from us?

They, He says, did not continue, and therefore I disregarded them. By contrast, good things and benefactions have their beginning from Him. As though offering His defense, He gives the reason why He leaves them, namely their instability.

"Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the wilderness, when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt." Since they did not continue in My covenant, not fulfilling its commandments, I also disregarded them. I did not accomplish what had been promised in it for the fulfillment of its commandments.

Since this was sufficient to strike down those who clung to the way of life under the law, he calls the prophet Jeremiah as witness to what has been said and declares:

"For finding fault with them, He says: Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah."

"Not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand, to lead them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord."

"For this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they shall be My people."

"Not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers" (Jer 31:32). For the Son, as the Word of God, legislated both the old and the new covenants.

So that the Jews could not think that the phrase "not according to the covenant" referred to the covenant made with Noah or Abraham, he next added a clear distinguishing mark.

"On the day when I took them by the hand, to lead them out of the land of Egypt." That is, the covenant I made at the time when I took them by the hand, to lead them out of Egypt.

Like a guide, I led them along the way as by the hand, through the pillar of fire and cloud. He also indicates the reason why the first covenant was annulled.

What, then, is the Apostle's final word concerning the fate of that covenant, in comparison with which Christ's covenant proved better throughout the preceding arguments? First comes Jeremiah's prophecy (Jer 31:31-34). To soften for the feeling and hearing of the Hebrews the severe judgment concerning the old covenant, the holy Apostle first cites in deliberate detail the words of the prophet Jeremiah about the coming of the desired times of the New Testament. Then he concludes delicately and gently: "By the prophetic words about the new covenant, the Lord showed the oldness of the first. And what is becoming old and aging is near to vanishing away."

That the New Covenant is higher than the old is explained at once by the Apostle. For a time he leaves aside the comparison of Christ and the Levitical priests with respect to ministry.

If the first covenant had attained its purpose, the Apostle says, God would not have taken care to establish a new one.

Yet God was plainly preparing a place for this new covenant, as may be concluded, for example, from Jeremiah's prophecy about the new covenant (31:31-34).

The Prophet had already proclaimed the insufficiency of the covenant made at Sinai. He spoke of a new covenant, which would not be something external for the people of God, like commandments written on tablets of stone.