Hebrews 8:7–8 tells us that if the first covenant had been faultless, God would not have needed a second covenant. What was the problem with the first covenant? Us. It was the people: “For finding fault with them.” Romans 8:3–4 emphasizes this same concept: “For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us.”[1] The first covenant was weak because of our human flesh. Man was incapable of holding up his end of the covenant agreement.
The true new covenant is not about most of the world missing the things of God; it is about humanity being brought into the things of God. It does not matter how big a circle you draw to exclude Him, the Father is going to draw a bigger circle and find a way to include you in His salvation. When God faces a problem, He just makes a bigger solution. In fact, God so loved the world that He drew a circle big enough to include all mankind: “AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED” (Acts 2:21). Yeshua (Jesus) is all about redemption, and it is not just for a few select people. When God finds fault with anyone, He comes back with another covenant to correct the problem.
“This is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” (Jeremiah 31:33)
We know that in Christ the new covenant was opened up first to Israel, and then it would include all the nations. The original Mosaic Covenant said, “If you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine” (Exodus 19:5). Usually when you get a new covenant, it is a new contract. But when God made the new contract, He included everything from the old one. You must understand that. God did not take anything out of the first covenant. He simply rewrote the contract by adding the ability for us to now actually be able to fulfill it and walk in it.
The new covenant is a beautiful thing but remember it did not originate in the New Testament. It was first a promise to Israel: “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it” (Jeremiah 31:33). When God puts His Word in your heart, you cannot miss the mark. All the things God does in the new covenant allow us by His total grace to finally be able to uphold our end of the bargain. When it was impossible for me in myself to love God with all my heart, all my mind, all my soul, and all my strength, He made a bigger provision. God will put a new spirit is us and give us a heart to wholly follow after Him (Ezekiel 11:19). What a glorification and magnification of our God!
[1] All Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995).