Jeremiah 31:31
Hebrews 8:10-12
Hebrews 9:15
God gave the prophet Jeremiah the promise there would be a new covenant. In Jeremiah 31:32 the prophet made it clear that this new covenant would be unlike the previous covenant.
Jeremiah 31:31-34 (NKJV) says, “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
Jeremiah lived from 570 to 650 B.C. He was generally known as a prophet of judgment and hope (https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/jeremiah-prophet-of-judgment-and-of-hope/). The Kingdom of Judah was conquered by the Babylonians and they were taken into captivity in 597 B.C. The weak, the sick, and elderly were left behind in Judah. I believe that in and of itself was an act of mercy on God’s part. The promise of a new covenant given through the prophet Jeremiah would have been a source of great hope for Judah at that time. In the midst of their captivity, the prophet promised God had a great plan, a better plan for them.
In the New Testament book of Hebrews 8:10-12 (NKJV), we read part of the same passage found in Jeremiah 31: “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
The writer of Hebrews was making it clear that it was always God’s intention to establish a NEW Covenant and that covenant would come about through Jesus. That new covenant will be a covenant of the hearts and minds of all people. For the new covenant, God promised mercy and grace.
In Hebrews 9:15 (NKJV), the writer made it clear that it is Jesus who opened the door to the new covenant. “And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.”
As I write this on the first day of a new year, I remember the words of promise of the new covenant. That covenant initiated by Jesus and carried out for more that 2020 years, still holds the same promise for us today.
God speaks to our hearts.
He is our God and we are His people.
God is merciful to our unrighteousness.
We are redeemed by turning to Jesus.
Our sins will not be remembered.
We are promised eternal life.
Those great eternal promises are ours today. As we begin a new year, rest in the hope of God’s power and plan for us!
Today’s Spiritual Practice is: redemption
Receive God’s plan and full redemption for you. Speak the words out loud...’God, I am redeemed’. Repeat it as many times as it takes for you to really embrace it!
All because of Jesus, Deb
acrazyjourney.com
Comments