Read
27Someday, Israel and Judah will be my field where my people and their livestock will grow. 28In the past, I took care to uproot them, to tear them down, and to destroy them. But when that day comes, I will take care to plant them and help them grow. 29 No longer will anyone go around saying,
“Sour grapes eaten by parents
leave a sour taste in the mouths
of their children.”
30When that day comes, only those who eat sour grapes will get the sour taste, and only those who sin will be put to death.
The New Agreement
31 The Lord said:
The time will surely come when I will make a new agreement with the people of Israel and Judah. 32It will be different from the agreement I made with their ancestors when I led them out of Egypt. Although I was their God, they broke that agreement.
33 Here is the new agreement that I, the Lord, will make with the people of Israel:
“I will write my laws
on their hearts and minds.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
34 “No longer will they have to teach one another to obey me. I, the Lord, promise that all of them will obey me, ordinary people and rulers alike. I will forgive their sins and forget the evil things they have done.”
35I am the Lord All-Powerful.
I command the sun
to give light each day,
the moon and stars
to shine at night,
and ocean waves to roar.
36I will never forget
to give those commands,
and I will never let Israel
stop being a nation.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
37Can you measure the heavens?
Can you explore
the depths of the earth?
That's how hard it would be
for me to reject Israel forever,
even though they have sinned.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
Jerusalem Will Be Rebuilt
38The Lord said:
Someday, Jerusalem will truly belong to me. It will be rebuilt with a boundary line running from Hananel Tower to Corner Gate. 39From there, the boundary will go in a straight line to Gareb Hill, then turn toward Goah. 40Even that disgusting Hinnom Valley will be sacred to me, and so will the eastern slopes that go down from Horse Gate into Kidron Valley. Jerusalem will never again be destroyed.
Reflect
After reading yesterday’s passage of hope and joy, we have one lingering fear. How do we know it won’t happen all over again and that history won’t repeat itself after Israel has returned to the Promised Land?
With prophetic insight Jeremiah answers this question. This is the only place in the Old Testament that speaks of a new covenant, and one of the Old Testament’s profoundest insights.
A covenant (v 31 NIV, ESV) is an agreement (v 31 CEV) but it is more than that. It is binding. As we live through a time when there is discussion of renegotiating treaties like NAFTA and NATO, we realize that even the most powerful political agreements are fragile. A covenant made with God is different. God never changes his mind when it comes to his relationship with us. Even if we break our side of the covenant, he remains faithful.
But the covenant that God had made with Moses and others in the Old Testament was simply not enough. Something more was needed. Our very selves need to be changed if we are to keep God’s covenant.
The new covenant would not be written on stone tablets, like the old covenant, but on our hearts – our minds, understanding and will.
Six hundred years later God identified with us in the person of Jesus and died on the cross to take away our sins. He rose from the dead and when he left the physical world, gave us his Spirit to live in us. We remember this every time we take communion and hear Jesus’ words again, “This is my blood of the new covenant.” The covenant on our hearts is not static, but dynamic, as the Holy Spirit transforms us day by day into the likeness of Jesus Christ.
Respond
Lord Jesus Christ, I’m amazed at the depth of your love for us. How can I ever thank you for what you have done for us? Thank you for the gift of your Spirit who lives in us and makes it possible for us to keep our part of the covenant. I’m filled with joy as I think about this. Amen.
Annabel Robinson
Annabel was born in Kew, near London, England. She committed her life to Jesus Christ at a Scripture Union camp when she was 16, and immediately found joy and peace. At Oxford she was active in the Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union, where she met her husband, Reid. They emigrated to Canada in 1965, where she taught Classics at the University of Regina until 2007. She has two children, Heather in Oslo and Alasdair in Calgary.