Why did God Change His Agreement with Mankind?

Have you ever entered into an agreement (Covenant) and lived to regret it? Regretting it, so much so, that you change the agreement in the midst of it. This is very possible with fallen beings like us; however, God is beyond that! I chose this title deliberately because I had hoped it would get your attention. So many believers have a disconnect with Who God is, and the Old Covenant versus the New Covenant. Some take their thoughts so far that they almost sound like there was one God in the Old Covenant and a different one in the New Covenant.

I understand the confusion because I experienced it early in my Christian walk. I felt led by the Spirit to deal with this as I finish this series on Jesus from the book of Hebrews.

We have one God, Who reveals Himself in three persons. Of course that does not make sense…I know that’s what your thinking…it's normal. How can a finite person (me) fully comprehend an Infinite God? From the book of Genesis all the way to the end of Revelation God takes the most difficult “Truths” and progressively reveals them to us. God’s intent from the beginning was to create a being that He can share Himself with and allow them to experience and enjoy Him. One of those “Truths” is God’s covenant with us that allows us to be forgiven of our sins and re-created into children of God.

Here is our Passage:

Hebrews 8:1–13 Here is the main point: We have a High Priest who sat down in the place of honor beside the throne of the majestic God in heaven. ² There he ministers in the heavenly Tabernacle, the true place of worship that was built by the Lord and not by human hands. ³ And since every high priest is required to offer gifts and sacrifices, our High Priest must make an offering, too. ⁴ If he were here on earth, he would not even be a priest, since there already are priests who offer the gifts required by the law. ⁵ They serve in a system of worship that is only a copy, a shadow of the real one in heaven. For when Moses was getting ready to build the Tabernacle, God gave him this warning: “Be sure that you make everything according to the pattern I have shown you here on the mountain.” ⁶ But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises. ⁷ If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it. ⁸ But when God found fault with the people, he said: “The day is coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. ⁹ This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of the land of Egypt. They did not remain faithful to my covenant, so I turned my back on them, says the Lord. ¹⁰ But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws 

in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. ¹¹ And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already. ¹² And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.” ¹³ When God speaks of a “new” covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon disappear.

God did not regret and change, what He did was begin with a covenant that would serve a purpose to open the door to a covenant that would fulfill all that God desired. The New Covenant is the final revelation of what God knew would be best and bring into harmony His will with a fallen creation.

Here is the basic definition of Covenant: Agreement made between two parties

There was a problem with the Old Covenant, which we will see at the end, but let us first see how much better the New Covenant is:

(1) We have a New Walk

No longer are we walking based on laws that are written outside of us, now we live our life based on the Truth being put inside of us by the Holy Spirit!

Hebrews 8:10 But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people

John 14:15-17 "If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

John 16:13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

(2) We have a New Relationship.

We are now adopted children of God. Not His nation, but His family!  

Hebrews 8:10 But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people

Romans 8:16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.

(3) We have a Complete Revelation.

Concerning the things God desires us to know, we now have a full Revelation through His Word and His Spirit illuminates that revealed Truth so we can fully understand it.

Hebrews 8:11 And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already.

1 Cor. 2:11-12 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.

1 John 2:27 As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit--just as it has taught you, remain in him.

(4) We have a New Forgiveness.

Where as with the Old Covenant the sins of the believer were only covered by the blood of animals. Believers were saved by grace through the faith they had of the future Redeemer that was to come. Now that Christ has fulfilled the debt, the moment we place our faith in Him, all our sins are forgiven and wiped away!

Hebrews 8:12 And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”

Col. 2:13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,

Now to the BIG question?

What was the problem with the Old Covenant? The answer really is simple – look in the mirror. The Old Covenant was made between God and us. We cannot live in perfection, so the covenant could not work. Why would God do that? Again, remember progressive revelation – God, step by step had to guide mankind to the reality that on their own, they could never achieve the perfection required to live in the presence of God for eternity.

He made the Old Covenant with us to lead us to the Truth of the New Covenant!

The New Covenant was made between God Himself only. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. God formulated the plan…He paid for the plan…He guarantees the plan. We cannot subtract from it, we cannot add to it, it is complete. We have the choice to accept it or reject it, that is all. When a person comes to the end of themselves and realizes there is nothing they could do to win God’s forgiveness…the New Covenant is there, waiting for them to Trust in what God did to offer them forgiveness and eternal life. Salvation encompasses much more than eternal destination. It begins the moment you place Faith in Christ. Purpose and a sense of destiny enter your heart. Everything that happens in your life can now be used by God to help you know Him better, yourself better and to see this life from an eternal perspective.

Romans 8:28-29 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

Have you accepted the New Covenant? Trust in what Jesus did for you and receive eternal forgiveness and eternal life!