This is one of those passages you may need to read more than once to begin to follow what Paul is teaching. His Jewish audience would be very familiar with the Old Covenant and its limitations. Now, understanding a brand-new, completely different covenant with God would have been challenging. Paul was doing his best here to help them understand the difference.
For us, it’s good to recall the history of how God interacted with his people. It was especially meaningful to imagine Moses and the veil. To have been in the presence of God, Moses’ face would have shone with glorious light. The people feared being that close to God and his glory. The veil signifies that boundary that only Jesus can take away.
We can see that the old covenant was designed to instruct and help the people stay connected to God and in community with each other. Unfortunately, the people misunderstood and rebelled against God, selfishly wanting their own way. The new covenant was the response of our merciful God, necessitated by the fact that people needed God’s intervention to be righteous.
What spoke to you most in Paul’s teaching about God’s covenants? Does it help to think of God’s covenant as a promise or agreement with his people? Several of the verses spoke to me and to my relationship with God.
The first was verse 5: “It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God.” While Paul was referring to his qualification as a minister helping usher in the new covenant Jesus’ life and death had initiated, we, too, have been qualified for our mission. God will never send us out before equipping us with what we need. We all carry the message of God’s love and redemption through his one and only Son, Jesus. And there’s more! “Under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life,” freedom, and a bold confidence about our faith.
For people still stuck in trusting the old covenant, they are still blinded by the veil. Their understanding of Jesus and his saving work is blocked. Lean in to verse 18 for redeeming hope. The new covenant has so many benefits. “So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.” Hallelujah!
Don’t be intimidated. God desires for us to become more like Jesus. Such openness and honesty are refreshing in this world and pleasing to God. We don’t have to figure it all out. The Holy Spirit helps us exactly where we need help. Find your boldness today.
Let’s pray. Father God, you have thought of everything. I thank you for the old covenant that set boundaries for us and gave us a glimpse of your hopes and dreams for us. Even more, I thank you for the new covenant and how you have offered us forgiveness and redemption despite our weaknesses and failings. Jesus has paid the price so we can be right with you once again. Help me not to lose sight of that blessing and continue to equip me for the mission you have given me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
