Hebrews 8

(1)  Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;
(2)  A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.
(3)  For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.
(4)  For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:
(5)  Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.
(6)  But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.
(7)  For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.
(8)  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:
(9)  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.
(10)  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:
(11)  And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
(12)  For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
(13)  In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.

Previous Chapter

Next Chapter

Study Questions

read more

1. What is the "sum" or the "chief point" of which the writer speaks? Verse 1.

2. Where is this High Priest? Where does the Bible tell us when he sat down? Verse 1. (See Hebrews 1:3 and Hebrews 10:12)

3. What is the meaning of the word "minister' in this verse? Verse 2.

4. What is the meaning of the word "sanctuary" and of what is the sanctuary the anti-type? What is the "true tabernacle”? Verse 2.

5. What is a High Priest ordained or appointed to do? What is the difference in gifts and sacrifices? Verse 3.

6. What did Christ offer? Verse 3.

7. Why could Christ not act as High Priest on earth? Verse 4.

8. About what was Moses admonished or warned? Is this stronger than just telling him to build a tabernacle? Verse 5. (See Exodus 25:40)

9. Would building "according to the pattern" allow for substitutions or alterations? Where did Moses get his pattern? Verse 5.

10. Of what ministry is the ministry of Christ "more excellent"? Verse 6.

11. What is a mediator? Was Moses a mediator? Does the Christian have more than one? Verse 6. (See Galatians 3:19)

12. If the first covenant had faults, why did God give it? If someone has false teeth, what does that say about his first teeth? Verse 7. (See Romans 3:20)

13. Since the writer says "finding fault with them" could it be that God found fault with both the law and the people? Where is the quotation found in the Old testament? Verse 8.

14. Does the covenant with “the house of Israel and the house of Judah" have a spiritual application to Christians? Verse 8. (See Romans 9:6)

15. What covenant is meant in this verse? Where was this covenant made? Verse 9.

16. What fault did God find with those under that covenant? What happened to them to prove they disobeyed? Verse 9.

17. After what "days" are referred to here? Verse 10.

18. Where were the laws of the Old Covenant written? Where does God put his laws under the New Covenant? Did all under the Old Covenant actually believe in God? Verse 10.

19. What was necessary for someone to be admitted to the Old Covenant? Could a covenanted person grow up not knowing the Lord? Verse 11.

20. How could the writer say that under the New Covenant "all shall know me from the least to the greatest"? Verse 11.

21. What is one of the "better promises" of the New Covenant in this verse? Verse 12.

22. How does God deal with sinners who have been justified under the New Covenant? Verse 12.

23. How may we call Christ's covenant "new," when it is almost 2,000 years old? Verse 13.

24. When did the Old Covenant end as a religious institution? When did it end as a civil institution? Verse 13.