Jeremiah 31:21-35
Wednesday, 16 March 2022
“….I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”– Jeremiah 31:33
The Lord’s promise of restoration for His wayward people is at the heart of chapter 31 of Jeremiah. The people who had been scattered from their nation because of the consequences of their sin was promised of return to their own land. Besides, God promises a New Covenant He would make with His people which would be totally unlike the Old one He had made at Sinai.
The tenets of the New Covenant are outlined in Verses 31-34.
“I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God, and they will be my people.
No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘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.”
The above points to the New Covenant made available to us through Christ Jesus- “Jesus the mediator of a new covenant” (Heb.12:24). By His death on the Cross and His shed blood, He has made a new and living way (Heb.10:20) for us to be restored to a Holy God. Unlike the blood of goats and bulls that were offered for the remission of sins in the Old Testament, the unblemished blood of Christ is powerful to cleanse our hearts and even our conscience from sin so that we can draw near to God with a sincere heart (Heb.10:22).
On a new and clean heart, God can write His laws- put in His instructions, which a renewed mind will be able to follow. This contrasts with the Old Testament times when God gave them written instructions on tablets of stone which they failed again and again to follow. The tendency to sin was prevalent in people as their old nature of sin was not completely done away with. But the New Testament believer who has repented of sin and by faith accepted the finished work of Christ on the cross for the atonement of sin and decided to live with Christ, has now a new Master over his life! Sin no longer has mastery over him as he has given the members of his body as instruments of righteousness (Romans 6:13,14). Through Christ, he has victory over sin on a daily basis- God’s laws in his heart guide him!
The aspect of “Knowing the Lord” as mentioned above is possible only because we have a personal relationship with God through Christ Jesus! When in the OT times, the priests or prophets were the mediators for the people to know God and His instructions, today we who have Christ in our hearts can call Him “Abba!” Romans 8:15,16 says, “…but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God..” What a privilege!
What more, when God accepts us as His children through Christ, with our sins forgiven – our past is forgotten- He remembers our sin no more! In Isaiah 43:25 the Lord says, “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.” Each time we sincerely confess our sin, He cleanses and forgives us and gives us a clean chit!
Brothers & Sisters, what are you struggling with in life? A New life in Christ is the doorway to a fresh start -He calls you in love to become “His Own.” As You get to know Him, you will never lack His directions all the way through life!
Promise: “Yet to all who did receive him [Jesus], to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” - John 1:12
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