“Behold, the days
are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house
of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their
fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land
of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the
Lord. But this is the covenant that I
will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will
write it on their hearts. And I will be
their God, and they shall be my people.
And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother,
saying, ‘Know the Lord, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to
the greatest, declares the Lord. For I
will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sin no more.’” –Jeremiah 31-31-34 (ESV).
The new covenant with God’s people will
be written in the hearts of the people the prophet Jeremiah declared (Jeremiah
31:33). God had really intended that
relationship all along, since His first covenant with Abraham. But His called-out people time and again had
forfeited the intended relationship with God.
They had spurned the knowledge of God and made mockery of His
forgiveness. They had kept outward observances of the law, as circumcision for
the males and sacrifices offered for sins. Even observances of festivals and
seasons had failed to remind the people of their true allegiance to God. Their hearts continued in rebellion. Deep questions troubled Jeremiah and other
spiritual leaders. Was there any hope
for a called-out people? Could there be
any assurance that a covenant really could hold the people close to God and
assure that their fellowship with Him would be permanent? “The
days are coming declares the Lord when I will make a new covenant…”
Jeremiah foresaw the Messiah’s coming
into the world and His sacrificial death as the “New Covenant.” When Jesus instituted the Lord’s supper, He
told His disciples, “For this is My blood
of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins” (Matthew
26:28). The new covenant carried with it
permanence and complete sufficiency.
“Once and for all” the Messiah’s sin offering would be the complete
atonement required by God. Many times in
the Old Testament are recorded instances of renewal of the covenant between God
and His people. Moses renewed it before
the nation entered the Promised Land.
Joshua, before his death, (see Joshua 23-24) led the people in
acknowledging and reaffirming the sacred covenant. Others led in reminding the people of God’s
covenant and renewing it. Some outstanding covenant-renewers were Samuel, and
Kings Hezekiah and Josiah. But the new
covenant predicted by Jeremiah and fulfilled in Jesus Christ is not just a
renewal of the old. The emphasis of the
new covenant is personal—it will be written on tablets of the believer’s
heart. Anyone who places his faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ and His atoning work of salvation is a recipient of the
new covenant. God revealed to Jeremiah
that in time anyone could come to the fullness of His truth and write that
truth on his heart. Through Jesus the
requirements of the New Covenant were accomplished. Through the wooing of the Holy Spirit the New
Covenant is made known to all who will accept and believe in the regeneration
Jesus offers.
Prayer.
Lord, it is astounding to see the revelation of Your covenant to all
generations and all people. Thank you
that today believers can stand secure in the covenant You provided. Amen.
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