A New Covenant

“But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put My law in their inward parts and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be My people.”  Jeremiah 31:33

The writer of the book of Hebrews (8:8-12) quoted this passage as he expounded upon Christ as the Mediator of the new covenant which was initiated when Christ died upon the cross, making the former and temporary animal sacrifices obsolete.  When Jesus was asked to identify the first and greatest commandment, He answered, “to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart…soul…mind…and strength…and…to love thy neighbor as thyself”.  The scribe who asked the question agreed adding that to love God and his neighbor with this amount of intensity and determination was “more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices” (Mark 12:28-33), which seems to indicate that this scribe and likely many of his fellow religious leaders knew that the law and the sacrifices were not sufficient to satisfy a righteous and holy God, but their pride in their prestigious positions of leadership over the people of Israel would not allow them to see the truth of Christ as their Messiah.  I can’t help but wonder how many lost people today also understand this greatest commandment, but like the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, they do not want to commit because of pride.

When God brought Israel out of bondage in Egypt and led them to the promised land with Moses as their leader, He made a covenant with them at Mt. Sinai.  Basically, He would protect and provide for them, and they would obey, serve, and worship Him.  Upon hearing the covenant read to them, they promised to abide by it (Exodus 24:7).  However, they broke the covenant while they were still encamped at Mt. Sinai.  They grew impatient because Moses had not yet returned from meeting with God on the mountain and talked Moses’ brother, Aaron, into making a golden calf to worship.  I suppose they got this idea from being among their Egyptian masters.  God was their “spiritual husband”, and the covenant was their “spiritual marriage certificate”, but when they became idolatrous, they committed “spiritual adultery” which indicated an inability on their part to keep the law.

Knowing that the original covenant was not sufficient to instill in His people a desire to live righteously before Him, God had already planned to bring in a new covenant, one by which His people and those outside of Israel could be made righteous, not by outwardly obeying a law or physically making animal sacrifices, but by way of the heart.  Rather than attempting to follow laws written on stone tablets, a very impersonal way to emphasize the need for righteousness and holiness, the new covenant would be written upon their hearts so that it would be personal to each individual and would be a constant reminder of God and His love for His people.  Before the new covenant, though, the people needed daily reminders of the law through the requirement for animal sacrifices, otherwise they would forget.  This was proved over and over again as they fell into idolatry and rebellion, only to be punished, then repent, return to the LORD, and then the cycle would start again.  However, if God’s word was written in their hearts, they could not escape it, forget it, or ignore it.  God would be their God, and they would be His people, a spiritual attachment that could not be broken.

In those days as well as our day, there is a real famine of the knowledge of God’s word.  In ancient Israel, the people did not have individual copies of the Torah or the writings of the prophets.  Their knowledge of God came from the teachings of the priests, and it was the men who were the ones usually to attend these lectures.  All others, like wives, children, servants, and those too old or sick to attend would be taught by those who did attend.  It was learning by “word of mouth”.  Today even though the scriptures are available in written form and online, the Bible is the least read Book to have been on the “best seller” list for many years.  However, there will come a day, as God indicated, when no one will need to tell others what God says for all will know His word from the youngest and least influential to the oldest and most prestigious person.  All sin will be forgiven forever, and people will live in harmony with God and with others.  God will reveal Himself to His people, and all will know Him completely as He intended from the beginning.  Imagine the day when everyone will know the word of God and will live by it.