Hebrews 8:7

For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. Same reasonings as in Hebrews 7:11. FAULTLESS - perfect in its parts, so as not to be found fault with as wanting anything which ought to be there: answering all purposes of a law. The law in its morality was blameless [ amoomos (G299)]; but in saving us defective, and so not faultless [ amemptos (G273)]. SHOULD NO PLACE HAVE BEEN SOUGHT - as it has to be now, and as it is in the prophecy, Hebrews 8:8. The old covenant would have anticipated all man's wants, so as to give no occasion...

7._For if that first, etc. _He confirms what he had said of the excellency of the covenant which God has made with us through Christ; and he confirms it on this ground, because the covenant of the Law was neither valid nor permanent; for if nothing was wanting in it, why was another substituted for it? But another has been substituted; and from this it is evident that the old covenant was not in every respect perfect. To prove this he adduces the testimony of Jeremiah, which we shall presently examine. But it seems hardly consistent to say, that after having said that no place would have been sought for the second covenant, had the first been faultless, he should then say that the people were at fault, and that for this cause the new covenant was introduced as a remedy; and thus it appears unjust, that if the blame was in the people it should be transferred to God’s covenant. Then the ar...

7-13 The superior excellence of the priesthood of Christ, above that of Aaron, is shown from that covenant of grace, of which Christ was Mediator. The law not only made all subject to it, liable to be condemned for the guilt of sin, but also was unable to remove that guilt, and clear the conscience from the sense and terror of it. Whereas, by the blood of Christ, a full remission of sins was provided, so that God would remember them no more. God once wrote his laws to his people, now he will write his laws in them; he will give them understanding to know and to believe his laws; he will give them memories to retain them; he will give them hearts to love them, courage to profess them, and power to put them in practice. This is the foundation of the covenant; and when this is laid, duty will be done wisely, sincerely, readily, easily, resolutely, constantly, and with comfort. A plentiful...

Verse Hebrews 8:7. _IF THAT FIRST HAD BEEN FAULTLESS_] This is nearly the same argument with that in Hebrews 7:11. The simple meaning is: If the first covenant had made a provision for and actually conferred pardon and _purity_, and given a _title_ to eternal life, then there could have been no need for a second; but the first covenant did not give these things, therefore a second was necessary; and the covenant that gives these things is the Christian covenant....

FOR IF THAT FIRST COVENANT HAD BEEN FAULTLESS - see the note on Hebrews 7:11. It is implied here that God had said that that covenant was not perfect or faultless. The meaning is not that that first covenant made under Moses had any real faults - or inculcated what was wrong, but that it did not contain the ample provision for the pardon of sin and the salvation of the soul which was desirable. It was merely “preparatory” to the gospel. THEN SHOULD NO PLACE HAVE BEEN SOUGHT FOR THE SECOND - There could not have been - inasmuch as in that case it would have been impossible to have bettered it, and any change would have been only for the worse....

EXPOSITION THE HIGH PRIESTHOOD OF CHRIST FULFILS THE SYMBOLISM OF THE AARONIC, AND IS ALONE AN ETERNAL REALITY. Christ's heavenly priesthood, shown above to be of a higher order than that of Aaron, destined to supersede it, is in this section of the Epistle (as intimated in the concluding verses of Hebrews 7:1) set forth in full as the reality foreshadowed by it. The two priesthoods are compared with respect to (1) their spheres, (2) their functions, (3) their effects; and, in the course of the exposition, the two c

FOR IF THAT FIRST COVENANT HAD BEEN FAULTLESS,.... Not the covenant of works; that was made in paradise, this on Mount Sinai; that was made with Adam and his posterity, this with the Jews only; that had no mediator, this had one, Moses; that was not dedicated with blood, this was; that had no forgiveness of sin in it, this had; under that saints are not, but they were under this; to be under that was no privilege, but to be under this it was, as to the Israelites, who on this account were preferable to all other nations: nor is the pure covenant of grace as administered under the Gospel, meant; for though that was first made, yet is the second in administration; that includes the elect of God among the Gentiles, this only the Jews; that is made only with them, and is made known to them whom God calls by his grace in time, this was made with good and bad; that was of pure grace, this requ...

Hebrews 8:7. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. 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: 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. 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: and they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will b...

CHAPTER 8 _ 1. Christ, the High Priest (Hebrews 8:1)_ 2. The old covenant and the new (Hebrews 8:7) Hebrews 7:1 The new priesthood which the better priest exerciseth in heaven furthermore implies also a change in the sacrifices and in the covenant. This is now more fully developed in the last three Chapter s of this section. There is first of all a summary. The priest we have is not ministering on earth but “we have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord has pitched, and not man.” Every high priest had to offer gifts and sacrifices, so it was of necessity that He also shoul

The promises associated with the old covenant are described in the classical passage of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:31), which is now quoted at length. But attention is first called to the fact that another covenant was found to be necessary. A place was sought for it_ i.e._ God so modified His design as to bring it in because the original covenant had proved defective. In three points, as the quotation from Jer. shows, the new covenant was grander and more satisfying than that which it displaced. (_a_) It ensured that man's obedience to God should be a matter of inward choice, not merely of a law imposed from without. By their spontaneous obedience to God, men were to be recognised as indeed His children. (_b_) Their knowledge of God was to be immediate and personal, no longer dependent on what they had learned from others. (_c_) They were to receive the assurance that all the