Covenants (Aug 25)

"The time is coming," declares the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.  It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers 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 31:31-32 NIV

In our reading today, we read of a new covenant.  Here again we see that the Old Testament is pointing us ahead to Jesus.  Recall that Jesus, during the last supper also spoke of a new covenant, a covenant in His body and blood. 

The old covenant, the Mosiac Law, was a covenant that depended on our action.  God instructed Israel that if the law were followed completely, then the follower of the law would be righteous before God.  The righteousness was in great part a result of the follower's actions.  In other words, the old covenant was a bilateral covenant, for it depended on the follower of the law and on God. 

We have read of how that plan really did not work.  We will soon read of Jesus pointing out how the old covenant really did not work.  Man could not perfectly follow the law.  In addition, man added much to the law by interpretation and definition thus restricting the follower's ability to act, to help and to show love to others.  Furthermore, the law could not forgive sin.  The law could only be a mirror to look at to illuminate or point out sin.

We now live with or under the new covenant.  This new covenant, written with Christ's body and blood, is not a bilateral covenant, but rather a unilateral covenant; for God has provided His son as a gift and by grace through faith those who believe; have sins forgiven, are made righteous and can approach God in prayer and show love to others at any time in any place.

Have you ever thought how life would be different living under the old covenant?

Have you ever expressed thanks for the new covenant?

Pray for others to be able to see the effect of the gift of the new covenant in your daily walk.

In Christ,

David P