Jeremiah 31:33: “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.”

October 30th, 2024 by Pastor Ed in devotional

The Lord was saying here that a day was coming when the old covenant Moses brought down from Mt. Sinai would be set aside and a new covenant put in its place. We notice that there are 4 key parts to the new covenant described here: 1) a new heart, 2) a new relationship, 3) a new knowledge, and 4) a new forgiveness. God was saying He would some day supply a new covenant that, by His power, would start with the heart. And that day, that new covenant was realized in Jesus. Isaiah prophesied about the Messiah: “I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness, / And will hold Your hand; / I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, / As a light to the Gentiles” (Isa. 42:17, italics added).

In the old covenant, God wrote His law on tablets of stone but the new covenant would be written on the hearts of His people. Just how the new covenant is written on our hearts, Jesus Himself described to Nicodemus as the new birth (John 3). Nicodemus, “the teacher” of Israel, was committed to teaching and keeping the old covenant but failed. He came to Jesus by night seeking truth and received more than he could really understand in one encounter. Jesus told Nicodemus that we must be born again because “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (3:6). When we believe in Jesus Christ, our spirits are born again and the new covenant is written on our new hearts.

There is a great story about a small boy who had just received the new birth. He sat down next to an elderly man in the park who looked upset, and said, “Sir, you need to be born again.” The man was taken back and said abruptly, “I’ll tell you that I have been a deacon in the church for over 30 years and chairman of the deacons for 15 years.” The little boy responded, “Sir, it don’t matter what you’ve done, Jesus loves you; and He’ll still save you!” It’s really not about being in church all our life or never at all. It’s about being born anew. It is a miracle from God that changes our life from the inside out, now and forever. And He offers it to all who will surrender and ask.

“LORD, we thank You that You are the author and the finisher of our faith.”