Heb 8:7-13

Hebrews 8:7-12

"For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said a: 'The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother saying, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.'b "

It's pretty obvious there was a flaw with the first covenant. It wasn't perfect. If it had been there would have been no need for a new one. *a is a note in my Bible that says 'Some manuscripts may be translated fault and said to the people.' So it's a little unclear to me if God found fault with the people (which wouldn't be surprising) or if he found fault in the law/covenant, so he told the people about the new one that was coming. Either way. The fault wasn't in that the law was in itself bad. There wasn't anything wrong about it, but rather, the fault was in humanity's inability to follow it properly. We are too sinful for it to really work like that.
b* the quote is from Jeremiah 31:31-34
It's really cool that it specifically mentions with the house of Judah - as that's the line Jesus came from (if we haven't noticed from its mention in the last couple chapters). And Jesus is key to that new covenant.
This covenant is different. It's not like the old covenant the people couldn't seem to remain faithful to.
So this new covenant is different. It doesn't focus on what needs to be done to perfect us, but rather a change from the inside out.

vs 13

"By calling this covenant 'new,' he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear."

It is no longer necessary for us to follow the old rituals and rites to be seen and known by God.

Where would we all be if God hadn't given us this new covenant??