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Dear Heavenly Father, Praise There is coming a day when your wrath will be poured out on the wicked. In that day, you will restore the fortunes of Israel, and your people will celebrate your goodness with great joy. The knowledge of what you will do in the future is designed to help me worship you today. I praise you today as the God of mercy and blessing, and I come into your presence with joy! Today in Your Word Today you told me about the New Covenant (Jer 31:31–34). After the second deportation to Babylon, you told Jeremiah to write a letter to the exiles (e.g., Jehoiachin, Ezekiel, many prophets, priests and officials). In the letter, you told them to settle down and seek the good of the city in which they lived (Jer 29:4–7). This teaches me the importance of seeking the good of my country. How? By praying for my country and by serving you and calling others to do the same. Then, in the aftermath of Judah’s devastation by Babylon, God’s word again came to Jeremiah, but this time, it was a message of comfort. Indeed, Jeremiah 30–33 is known as the Book of Consolation (cf. Jer 30:3, 10–11, 17–18). In these verses, you spoke of a far distant future (the millennial reign of Christ) in which you would restore and rebuild Israel (Jer 31:10, 17, 38). And in the middle of these words of hope, you promised to make a new covenant with Israel (Jer 31:31–34). I love that you gave Jeremiah—the weeping prophet, the prophet who cursed the day of his birth, the prophet who proclaimed your fiery wrath on a rebellious people—you gave him the wonderful privilege of prophesying a new covenant, a covenant which would be inaugurated by Jesus Christ! The new covenant would not be like the covenant at Sinai, the covenant whose laws and commandments were written on scrolls of parchment and tablets of stone (Exod 24:4, 12). It would not be like the old covenant, the covenant which separated Israel from the Gentiles but couldn’t separate Israel from sin. It would not be like the first covenant, the covenant whose sacrifices purified from external defilement but couldn’t purify the conscience. No, the new covenant would be within the people, written on their hearts and minds. The new covenant would transform them from the inside out. There would no longer be any need for one Jew to look at another and say, “Know the Lord,” for all who were a part of the new covenant would know God. There would no longer be any need for daily and yearly sacrifices, for those offerings served as a constant reminder of sin. Why not? Because, declares the Lord, “I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jer 31:34). And that’s what happened when Jesus died for my sins—He fulfilled your word through Jeremiah! Hallelujah for Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant (Heb 8:6–13). Hallelujah for Jesus, whose blood secures my eternal redemption (Heb 9:11–15). Hallelujah for Jesus, the Lamb of God, who offered his body once for all—a single sacrifice for sins. Hallelujah for Jesus, who reconciled me to God (Col 1:20). Truly, this is “a great salvation”! (Heb 2:3). Reflection Jeremiah’s message from God offered the exiles temporary punishment and long-term hope, while the false prophets’ lies offered temporary hope and long-term punishment. Request Father, times change but the enemy’s tactics remain the same. Keep me from sacrificing the permanent on the altar of the immediate. Heeding correction now leads to life in eternity! Thanksgiving Thank you for sharing with me the good you intend for Israel and for all who accept the salvation of your Son, Jesus Christ. You withhold no good thing from those who walk uprightly! In Jesus’ name, Amen. Suggested Hymn: “Jesus, Thy Blood and Name” — F. L. Hahn. Meditation Verse: Jeremiah 31:4. |