Thursday, July 16, 2026

Opening Scripture

“The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD.

“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the LORD. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” Jeremiah 31:31-34

Opening Prayer

Gracious Heavenly Father, thank you for rest and the promise of a new day. I praise You for Your loving kindness, Your thoughtful provision, and Your comforting presence. Help my hope and security be in You today, not in what I do, or what I have, or what others think. May Your Spirit guide me in the way I should go. Help me to appreciate Your blessings and see You at work around me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Daily Bible Reading

Hebrews 8

Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being.

Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.

For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said: “The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord.

This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.

Reflection  

In today’s passage, the writer summarizes and clarifies his argument before transitioning to some new thoughts. He begins by offering a version of his opening in 1:3. “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”

If the Old Covenant had been sufficient, there would have been no need for a New Covenant, but the Mosaic Law was just a “pedagogue” – a trustee overseeing a minor child until he comes of age.

In the first-century Greco-Roman world, a “paidagógos” was typically a slave or servant entrusted with the care and supervision of a child in the household. The guardian’s responsibilities included guiding the child to and from school, supervising conduct and moral behavior, and ensuring proper discipline.

“For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the law was our guardian [pedagogue] until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian [pedagogue]” (Galatians 3:21-25).

The New Covenant is superior in every way to the Old Covenant! It is internal, eternal, relational, and accessible to all. God puts His laws in our minds and writes them on our hearts. He gives us an inner inclination to obey Him, prompted by love and devotion. God establishes a secure relationship with us, declaring that He is our God and we are His people. God forgives our wickedness and remembers our sin no more. Everyone can know God, from least to greatest.

All of this is available to those who repent of their sin and come to Jesus, the High Priest, in faith and humility, seeking new life in Him.

Today’s final statement – by calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear – was graphically fulfilled with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in A.D. 70.

About 40 years earlier, Jesus was walking away from the temple when his disciples remarked about the magnificence of its buildings. “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down” (Matthew 24:1-2). That’s exactly what happened.

Flourishing Habit

Flourishing Christians

The New Covenant that Almighty God has instituted in and through the Lord Jesus reflects a maturation and development in the Creator’s relationship with His creation. Salvation under the new agreement requires God’s people to “grow up” and mature beyond the elementary legalism of simply obeying rules.

God’s perfect plan of redemption is based on an intimate love relationship made possible through the sacrificial death and continuous intercession of Christ Himself. The spiritual maturity that should follow reflects the human moral progression from rule-following to principled ethical judgment.

“Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:20-24).

Through reading and reflecting on Scripture, as well as worshipping and serving with others in Christian community, God’s precepts are internalized into our hearts and minds. The indwelling Spirit “guides us into truth,” teaching us, correcting us, and training us in righteousness. Our obedience to God’s will is motivated by our love, devotion, and desire to please Him.

Flourishing is living life as God intends. God intends for us to live our lives in Christ. He desires for us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, so we can test and approve what His good, pleasing, and perfect will is.

Have you moved past “rule-keeping” to “principled ethical judgment”?

Are you growing up beyond “the elementary teachings about Christ” and progressing toward spiritual maturity?

Remember: Nothing changes until something changes!