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
Look! I am doing something new! The God of Israel and Judah has plans and promises for the people. Get this! According to the promises of God, even the law will be made new! "The days are surely coming!" God is so excited about the future that God can't help but jump ahead to the gift, to the promise. God knows the past—that the law was good, that the covenant is forever, and that God was, is, and will forever be their God. God knows that the people failed. But that's the past. The covenant remains. God's steadfast passionate love remains. God promises: One day the law will be in your hearts. No one will need to teach it. Everyone will just know it. And everyone will know God. Everyone. Regardless of status. Sins will pass away. They will be forgiven and forgotten. And the new good thing God is doing will come.
Prayer
Faithful, loving God, we continue to look forward to the new thing you are doing and the fulfillment of all your promises. Amen.