Jeremiah 31:31-34 (NRSV)
Read Jeremiah 31:31-34 on biblegateway.com
Verse 31The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. Verse 32It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt-a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. Verse 33But this is the covenant that 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 on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Verse 34No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, "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 remember their sin no more.
Devotion
After hearing Jeremiah 31, our college-age neighbor recently observed that God does “internal tattooing” on our hearts. What a concept! However, the message of this “internal tattoo” is what is most important.
I am your God.
You are worthy.
I forgive you.
Be my people.
Skin tattoos can be covered up, changed, or even forgotten. What might be the status of our internal tattoo? Have layers of scars and mounds of distractions covered up this message from God? Have other idols, shame, guilt, or individualism tried to change this tattoo? Have we chosen not to claim the profound message of this internal tattoo even though we confess its existence?
No matter what the situation, the good news is that God’s internal tattoo remains intact and that God desires us to trust and witness to this covenant again and again!
Prayer
O God, renew us today with the freshness of your Spirit and the steadfastness of your Word. Amen.