God's Covenants With IsraelНамуна

Day 5 – The Covenant of the Law

After the Lord freed Israel from Egypt, He led them to Mount Sinai. There, the Lord and His people, Israel, made their ‘marriage covenant’. Just read how tenderly the Lord speaks to the nation through Moses as they stand at the foot of the mountain: “You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.” (Exodus 19:4) It sounds like the words of a young man declaring his love to a young woman. Israel’s answer to this declaration of love was, “Yes, we will do everything the LORD has said!” (Exodus 19:8)

When you get married, you promise to be faithful to the other person, to love, serve, help, encourage, bless, and protect them. ‘Rules’ like this allow your relationship to blossom. They create a safe marriage. That is why the Lord gave Israel His law. When Israel lives according to this law, the relationship between the Lord and His people flourishes.

Things didn’t always go smoothly. One hundred years later, the prophet Jeremiah wrote, “‘It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,’ declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 31:32) Jeremiah speaks of a new covenant that the Lord will make with Israel, that will not be like this ‘old covenant’. The law – an expression of the loving relationship with the Lord – will no longer be written on tablets of stone but in their hearts so that Israel will love and obey God from the inside.

Nowadays, many Jews, both in Israel and outside of Israel, are secular, not religious. Pray that all of Israel will love God and will do what He asks of them.