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
I recently needed to replace my cell phone. The fine folks at T-Mobile were happy to sell me a new one … as long as I would sign a contract locking me into two more years using their service. Under their agreement, I suppose, we both got what we wanted: me, a new phone; them, the guarantee of my continued business. Still, as I inked my name on the line I wondered who was getting the better end of the deal.
After chapters of doom and gloom, Jeremiah brings a new word: God wants to make a new agreement with God’s people, a new covenant that reinforces God’s faithfulness and mercy. Out of this agreement we will get unfettered access to God’s ways and will, unending forgiveness, and a fresh start. And God will get … the guarantee of our faithfulness? Hardly. Our devotion and praise? Maybe sometimes. God acknowledges that we human beings are but a work in progress. I can't help but think that we got the better end of the deal.
Prayer
God, thank you for taking me as I am – a work in progress – and for coaxing me to trust that you are always faithful. Amen.