What Does Hebrews 8:13 Mean?

by C.W. Mayberry

¹³In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away. 

Hebrews 8:13 

A great number of foundational biblical truths have been greatly distorted through the perversion of individual verses. This “cherry-picking culture” is absolutely rampant in the modern church.

One such verse that is very often skewed because it’s taken out of context is Hebrews 8:13, which describes the modification of the covenant given to Abraham. The Abrahamic Covenant contains promises that could not be delivered until the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, Yeshua.

But what exactly does Hebrews 8:13 mean?

Many have interpreted this verse to mean the entire annulment of the law, or Torah, when the fact is, the verse simply indicates the bringing in or the realization of those long-awaited promises.

¹Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary. 
²For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary. 
³And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all; 
⁴Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; 
⁵And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly. 
⁶Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. 
⁷But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people: 
⁸The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: 

Hebrews 9:1-8 

Unfortunately, the doctrinal error associated with these verses is so ingrained in the minds of denominal believers that they often refuse to accept the overwhelming scriptural evidence to the contrary.

Messiah gave Himself in order to bring us the promises that were embedded in the covenant given to Abraham. Those things would be the answer for sin, the atonement, the entrance of the Gentiles into the commonwealth of Israel, and the outpouring of the Holy Ghost on the Day of Pentecost.

He fulfilled the law.

To do away with the Abrahamic Covenant is to do away with all that Jesus died to realize.

¹³Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: 
 ¹⁴That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. 

Galatians 3:13-14 

The coming of Messiah was a provision of the Abrahamic Covenant as was the opening of salvation to the Gentile nations and the restoration of individual relationships through the baptism of the Spirit.

All of these things were within the covenant made with Abraham.

To do away with the Abrahamic covenant is to do away with Christ, the atonement, the new birth, and so forth.

So, what was done away with?

¹Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary.  ²For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary.  ³And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all;  ⁴Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;  ⁵And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly. 
⁶Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. 

Hebrews 9:1-6 

Those things “which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away” were all the sacrifices and offerings for sin both national and individual.

All the blood offerings for sin pointed to the attornment of Yeshua. They stood as representative substitutes until that which they foreshadowed was realized.

The meaning of Hebrews 8:13 it much clearer when studied and viewed in context.

¹¹But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
¹²Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
¹³For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctified to the purifying of the flesh:

Hebrews 9:11-13

The book does not say that all of that was done away with. It says in verse 11 that Christ established a “greater and more perfect tabernacle.” The tabernacle in the wilderness is simply a placeholder that pointed to the final and eternal tabernacle that would be established upon the sacrifice of Messiah.

The first was physical and served to forestall judgment. The second deals thoroughly with the question of sin and operates in the spiritual realm which was the goal and intent of God from the beginning.

Galatians 3:18-19 explains to us that the covenant given to Abraham would bring in the spiritual tabernacle in which redemption would be achieved through a higher order of operation. However, if you disannul the covenant given to Abraham, then you do away with the promises contained therein: That of atonement through the blood of Messiah, the bringing in of the Gentile world to the commonwealth of Israel, and the fellowship with God through the Spirit as seen on the Day of Pentecost.

¹⁸For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
¹⁹Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.

Galatians 3:18-19

The sacrifices of the Levitical priesthood were simply a placeholder until the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ could be realized.

The Levitical laws regarding atonement and remission were limited in that they could not permanently deal with sin and would need to be repeated. They do not in any way constitute the whole body of the law. Therefore, when they were replaced by the sacrifice of Messiah the remaining balance of the law was unaffected.

It is not reasonable to think that the cessation of blood sacrifices for sin in any way makes it acceptable to lie, kill, or steal. Almost anyone would agree that the Ten Commandments are still relevant just as the replacement of the Levitical ordinances does not cancel out the Ten Commandments.

Nor does the bringing in of a higher or better priesthood and tabernacle cancel the Feast Days or the seventh day Sabbath as all of these have prophetic meaning. That is, they point to events that are promised but have not yet occurred.

The law that was added is the Levitical ordinances having to do with addressing personal and national sin in Israel. The failure of Israel at Mt. Sinai while Moses was in the mountain for 40 days.

Is it a sin today to commit adultery? Of course it is.

Where is that written? in the law. in the Ten Commandments.

If the Ten Commandments are still relevant, it must be that just a portion of the law has expired.

The question then becomes, where do we, or better yet, where does Yehovah draw the line? It seems obvious to me that the Ten Commandments are still relevant.

If that is not the case, we are all wasting our time.

⁷But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:

Hebrews 9:7 

The question then is, should Christians keep the law? Is the law for believers today?

The answer is, yes.

Everything other than the offering of the blood of animals for the temporary forestalling of Judgement for sin is still relevant. 

Unfortunately, those desiring to create another religion out of first-century Christianity have twisted the scripture and published that perversion so broadly that it has become fact in the minds of those who do not search the scriptures for themselves and seek God in prayer.

The covenant is not NEW, it is RENEWED.

It is renewed in the fact that promises were made to us all through Abraham that could not be delivered until Messiah gave himself for us.

 Once this occurred the covenant was modified to reflect the inclusion of that which had been promised not only to Abraham but as far back as Genesis chapter three.

¹⁵And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Genesis 3:15

What remains unaffected?

The Moedim (biblical feast days) are unaffected by the modification as is the weekly Sabbath, the plan of salvation, and so on.

It is most unfortunate that people don’t realize that corrupt men have twisted verse after verse changing their meanings and used them to create an entirely different belief system.

 You no longer need to carry a goat to the tent of meeting and offer it for your sin, we simply need to find a place of prayer and repent. It’s really that simple but people seem to have great difficulty seeing it.

Let me add that it is extraordinarily dangerous to build a doctrine on one verse or to accept a doctrine that is built on one verse. In order to understand any biblical subject, it is necessary to gather and consider ALL relevant verses, passages, and chapters. Context is KING. Separating a single verse will allow you to find support for almost any non-biblical doctrine.

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