Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Hebrews 8:9

"Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers In the day that I took them by the hand to lead them forth out of the land of Egypt; For they continued not in my covenant, And I regarded them not, saith the Lord." — Hebrews 8:9 (ASV)

The new covenant is contrasted with the old one. Jeremiah does not say that God will simply patch up the old covenant and give it new life, but will make a completely new covenant, with four significant differences (see vv.10–12). But first the kindness and the love of God are brought out by the reference to taking the people “by the hand” to bring them out of Egypt. The metaphor is that of a father or mother taking a little child by the hand to lead him safely to the place where he is going (cf. Hosea 11:1–4). Egypt had been a place of slavery. Yet God had brought Israel out of it to set up the old covenant. But the Israelites lacked perseverance. They refused to remain faithful and found that accordingly God was ranged against them.