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 did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord.
Verse 9 is a strong declaration that the New Covenant will differ from the Mosaic Covenant of the law.
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;
The “covenant” that God made with Israel when they exited Egypt was the Mosaic Covenant.
because they did not continue in My covenant,
Israel did not keep the law of the Mosaic Covenant after they came out of Egypt. Blessings of the Mosaic Covenant were conditioned on Israel’s obedience to the law. It was a qualified covenant determined by obedience. “Continue” means to persevere, hold fast; Israel was to persevere in obedience.
and I disregarded them, says the Lord.
The Mosaic Covenant was displaced by the New Covenant. God eventually sent both Israel and Judah into captivity for their failure to keep the Mosaic Covenant.
PRINCIPLE:
The New Covenant is wholly of God’s grace.
APPLICATION:
Although God’s grace brings freedom from the law, it does not free the believer to disobey God. God never compromises His character. He went to great extent that Christ would fulfill “the righteousness of the Law.” (Ro 8:1–4). The law is useful for the believer today (1 Ti 1:8–11).
The New Covenant rests on the faith-grace principle. The person who tries to keep the law to please God must rest on what he does rather than what God does (Ga 3:13). The emphasis of grace is on what God did, not what we do (Ro 11:6).
