DAY 13

God’s New Covenant with the House of Israel

“Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant which they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD. But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each man teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” Jeremiah 31:31-34 RSV

God makes the New Covenant with the house of Israel and Judah. The nations are privileged to be grafted into it but were not the initial recipients. They have been joined to a covenant with the sons of Jacob. The New Covenant that Jesus mentioned during the Last Supper is not primarily a gift to the Church but a promise – found in the Old Testament – made to the children of Israel.

The New Covenant takes its whole meaning when one sees it from the perspective of the Mosaic covenant. God promises to provide a new way to be in a righteous relationship with Him after His people have failed to keep the law. God doesn’t abandon His people or give up on the righteousness of His law. He keeps both. He doesn’t replace His people or change His desire for righteous living. God does a new thing: He provides more resources to empower His people to walk in the righteousness of the law before Him (Romans 8:4).

God pledges to establish a new relationship based on the foundation of the forgiveness of sins – the work of Jesus. Having taken care of their iniquity and broken the power of sin, He confirms that the house of Israel will know Him from within – the work of the Holy Spirit. He guarantees that He will write His law upon their heart, and He will be their God.

Prayer

Our Father,

We bless Your Holy Name. We praise You for making a New Covenant with the House of Israel. We worship you for Your gentleness in providing all the means for Your people to obey You. We thank You for allowing the believers of the nations to be part of this marvelous covenant.

We praise You for establishing forgiveness as the foundation of our relationship with You. We are not under condemnation. You have given us hope that our relationship with You doesn’t end with our sins. We praise You for the forgiveness of sins through the sacrifice of Your Son. We thank You for the Holy Spirit who enables us to live a godly life before Your eyes.

Open the eyes of the Jewish people. Let them see that the New Covenant belongs to them. Let them discover that the coming of Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins, transforms everything in their relationship with You. Let them hear Jesus’ words: “Come to me! My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

In the Name of Jesus. Amen