They will all know Me, From the least to the greatest of them.

Hebrews 8 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, ² a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord set up, not man. ³ For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer. ⁴ Now if He were on earth, He would not be a priest at all, since there are those who offer the gifts according to the Law; ⁵ who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God when he was about to erect the tabernacle; for, “See,” He says, “that you make all things by the pattern which was shown to you on the mountain.” ⁶ But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, to the extent that He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises.

⁷ For if that first covenant had been free of fault, no circumstances would have been sought for a second. ⁸ For in finding fault with the people, He says,

“Behold, days are coming, says the Lord,
^[When I will bring about a new covenant
With the house of Israel and the house of Judah,
⁹ Not like the covenant which I made with their fathers
On the day I took them by the hand
To bring them out of the land of Egypt;
For they did not continue in My covenant,
And I did not care about them, says the Lord.
¹⁰ For this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel
After those days, declares the Lord:
^[I will put My laws into their minds,
And write them on their hearts.
And I will be their God,
And they shall be My people.
¹¹ And they will not teach, each one his fellow citizen,
And each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’
For they will all know Me,
From the least to the greatest of them.
¹² For I will be merciful toward their wrongdoings,
And their sins I will no longer remember.”

¹³ When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is about to disappear.

Today’s text says: “Behold, days are coming, says the Lord, When I will bring about a new covenant With the house of Israel and the house of Judah, Not like the covenant which I made with their fathers On the day I took them by the hand To bring them out of the land of Egypt; For they did not continue in My covenant, And I did not care about them, says the Lord.”  The first covenant was the covenant that God made with Israel, when He gave them the Ten Commandments and the law. In short, the terms of the covenant were set forth by God in Deuteronomy 30:19-20: “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have placed before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding close to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, so that you may live in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”  It was their lack of obedience to enter into the Promised Land that caused the Israelites to wander in the wilderness for forty years until the disobedient generation was gone.

The text says:  “this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel After those days, declares the Lord: I will put My laws into their minds, And write them on their hearts. And I will be their God, And they shall be My people. And they will not teach, each one his fellow citizen, And each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ For they will all know Me, From the least to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful toward their wrongdoings, And their sins I will no longer remember.”  In Matthew 26:28 Jesus said: “This is My blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.”  John 3:16 says: “God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.”  The new covenant is not only for the house or the nation of Israel, but for everyone who believes in Christ God’s Son. God will not remember the sins of anyone who believes in the redeeming blood of Christ.

Philippians 2:10-11 says: At the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  they will all know Me, From the least to the greatest of them. The text says: When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is about to disappear.  In Matthew 5:17-20 Jesus says: “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. ¹⁸ For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” The old covenant was not done away with. Jesus fulfilled the terms of the covenant for us. Romans 5:8 says: God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  Although we were disobedient to God in unrighteousness, Jesus through His obedience has given us His righteousness, a righteousness that surpasses the scribes and the Pharisees. Here’s the thing though, the terms of the covenant are still the same. God says: “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have placed before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding close to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days.”  Just because the new covenant in Christ’s blood makes the old covenant obsolete, does not mean that it is no longer valid. Light bulbs have made candle light obsolete, but for the one who does not have electricity, candles still produce light. In the same way, the one who does not have the blood of Christ is still subject to the terms of the old covenant. Whether old or new, obedience to God is necessary for us to enter into the promises of God.

God’s view of sin has not and will not change. We each must choose the blessings or the curse; life or death. Even when Christ returns, there will still be the same terms. In revelation 21:6-8 the Lord says: “It is done.I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit. Because of Your love, I choose to believe. I choose the new and better covenant of Christ’s blood. I bow my knee to You as Lord and by the power of the Holy Spirit, I choose to walk Your righteousness and in obedience to You. Thank You for the promise of blessings and eternal life in Christ. Amen.