For finding fault, he says to them, Behold, days come, saith the Lord, and I will consummate a new covenant as regards the house of Israel, and as regards the house of Juda;
The writer of Hebrews has just said that Christ's ministry rests on a better covenant. Now he proves it from Israel's own Scriptures, quoting Jeremiah: God finds fault, and He names two houses.
Fault Found with the People
One short phrase in this verse settles who is at fault:
The first covenant was not faultless, because it could win no blessing for those who broke it. And of course the people who received it proved themselves far from faultless. So there was ample room for a new covenant, and need of one. Notice that verse 8 says, "finding fault with them," not with the covenant.
That failure did more than expose the people. It brought the new covenant in.
But how could the old covenant, given by God, not be "faultless"? Because the fault lay with the sin and weakness of one party to the covenant: Israel. As with the law as a whole, there was no problem with what God had given (the law was good) but with the weakness of the flesh (Rom. 8:3). The new covenant was occasioned by the very failure of the old.
Why a Second Was Needed
The promise of something new is itself the argument:
The argument is simple. A promised new covenant shows that the old covenant was not enough... It could not do what was in God's heart — to bring His people into the closest and nearest relationship with Himself.
A question follows: is God free to set aside what He Himself gave?
God is free to set aside the old and bring in the new. He never does this on a whim, but in goodness, wisdom, and holiness worthy of Himself... God is sovereign. That sovereignty is the blessed resource of His nature. It vindicates His name when men wrong and insult Him, and it delivers guilty man from his own evil and Satan's power.
The Word "New"
The Greek word chosen here is not about recent date but about a different kind of thing:
The word used for "new" here is "kainos" — new in kind, fresh, in contrast with what has been before. It is the word used in most places where the term new covenant occurs. Another word, "neos", means new in the sense of recent or young. The new covenant is of a different character, marked by God taking all responsibility and promising blessing. This comes out beautifully in the "I will" in this verse (and throughout the new covenant section of Jeremiah 30–32).
Israel and Judah
Hebrews quotes Jeremiah with one small change, and the change carries weight:
Note that our verse (8:8) quotes from Jeremiah 31:31, but with a slight variation: instead of saying "with" it says "as regards" the house of Israel. This makes clear that Israel receives the good of the new covenant. Israel is not a party placed under an obligation by it (see also Heb. 10:16). Yet it is also clear that it is "as regards" the house of Israel and the house of Judah, and not the church.
The verse names two houses, not one, because the nation had broken in two long before:
Both are mentioned because of the division of the ten tribes from the two in Rehoboam's time. The new covenant will leave out no tribe: in that order of things God Himself will heal the division.
What Believers Have Now
If the covenant is promised to Israel, what does it mean for a Christian today? Commentators answer by separating the covenant from its blessings:
The new covenant, as such, is made not with believers now, but with Israel. But all its spiritual blessings are ministered to us through the Spirit. That is why the apostle speaks of himself and his fellow-workers as "ministers of the new covenant."
This distinction matters in practice:
If you were under the new covenant in the letter, you would get into bondage again... Israel will then be ready to enjoy the reign of Christ. They will have the forgiveness of sins, and the Holy Spirit will be in them. But their blessing does not include the sense of sonship and union with Christ. We have all that they will have, and much more. We enjoy the blessings of the new covenant through the ministry of it, without being under it. We must always remember that all Israel's blessing in the coming day is on earth, while we are blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ.
Summary
- Fault — The blame falls on them, not on the covenant; the law was good, and human weakness broke it.
- Proof — A second covenant was promised. That alone shows the first could not do what God's heart intended.
- Freedom — God is not locked in by what He once gave. He sets aside the old and brings in the new in goodness and holiness, never on a whim.
- Kind — "New" here means new in character. It is a covenant of "I will," where God carries the whole responsibility.
- Reach — It is promised to Israel and Judah, and it heals their old split. Believers today are not under it, yet receive its blessings through the Spirit.