replacing the old with the new

Definition of "replace"
-to put back into place; to supply an equivalent for; to substitute for

While reading scripture last night I found that Jeremiah 31:31-34, and Hebrews 8:7-13 are identical. In Jeremiah, the Lord is giving His promise for a new covenant, and in Hebrews Paul is declaring the arrival of, and explaining the significance of the the new covenant God promised.

The side notes suggested that the new covenant would replace the old. When I looked in the dictionary for a definition of the word "replace", I felt it lacked the strength of meaning of these passages. The dictionary definition does not put enough emphasis on the complete removal of that which is being replaced, or the superiority of that which is replacing.

I began to look to my own life for examples of things I had replaced, and examine the reasons for replacement; there was a frying pan recently. We had used it for years; the teflon coating was peeling off, so we bought a new one. My favorite pair of blue jeans ripped out in the seat. I had to replace them; they weren't useful in covering up my backside. And there was also the replacement of our computer; an old desktop for a newer, faster, streamline laptop.

But none of these examples even comes close to parallelling the significance of replacing the old with the new. After all, when I replaced my frying pan I replaced it with another frying pan. The same goes for my jeans and for the computer. I was replacing them with something else that was similar in likeness and function. In the passages of scripture, however, the new covenenat that our Lord God established more than replaced the old. He created a NEW covenant, unlike the old in every way. It is superior, different. And the old is obsolete.

Another passage that speaks to this type of newness is 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things have passed away; behold new things have come." Just like the old covenant, I see that my old self (my old ways of doing, thinking, acting) have become obsolete by my new life in Christ and ought to be put away. No, chucked, demolished, destroyed, obliterated.

Easier said than done!

Its a very good thing I am under the blood of the new covenant.