"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." Jer 31:31-34 ESV
Have you even had
anyone break their promise to you? We
all have experienced people letting us down.
If you have, you can
imagine how God must have felt, when His people broke their agreement with Him.
God promised Israel that He will never leave or forsake them. In return, Israel
promised that they would follow and obey His commandments. God kept His part of
the bargain. But Israel did not. As soon as they became established in the
Promised land they forsook Him.
Even so, God kept His end of the bargain. Despite
Israel's disobedience, He protected their nation and sent His Son to fulfill
His promise to them.
God was angry with
Israel, but He did not give up on them.
He looked beyond their deeds and saw that the problem was in their
hearts. They were children of Adam and Eve, who disobeyed in the garden. Their
hearts has been stained by sin before they were born. He knew this was going to happen when He made
the covenant--in fact, it was already part of His plan. God had intended all
along to give them a change of heart.
Jeremiah foresaw
what God would do. When God had finished getting their house ready, and Israel had lost all through sin, He would
make a new covenant with them. This covenant would not be written on paper, but
in flesh and blood. He would demonstrate His love to them by becoming human and
living among them. He would die for
them--cancelling their guilt through the act of ultimate love. Then He would
send His spirit to live in the hearts of those who believe, giving them
knowledge of sin, and the power to break
free of its power.
The Christian path
is more than obedience--it is an organic wholeness with God. Obedience is part of it, but it is based on
unity with him. We do not obey God out
of fear, but out of love. As Christians we may do whatever we want, but how we
know that are Christians is that we have one heart with God, wanting what He
wants Our hearts are changed into the
image of His heart, so that we do not
have to be afraid, but instead experience joy in knowing Him. We do not take joy in violence or rebellion,
but seek to live in peace with God and others.
We rejoice in bringing Joy to God and others.
Without the renewing
power of the Holy Spirit inside of us, we easily become slaves to our own
passions and desires. It is not easy to
become free when we do. But we can thank God, who creates in us a new heart,
which can break free.
"God create in
me a new heart which seeks to love you and to love others. In Jesus' name,
Amen."
