A New Covenant

October 29

Lamentations 1-2

Psalm 119:49-56

Proverbs 26:4-7

Hebrews 8:7-13

A New Covenant

“’And this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,’ says the Lord, ‘I will put My laws into their minds, and upon their hearts I will write them.  And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.  And they shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen, and everyone his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all will know Me, from the least to the greatest of them.  For I will be merciful to their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.’”  Hebrews 8:10-12 LSB 

This passage is a quote from Jeremiah 31:33-34 where God promised to establish a New Covenant with His people.  The Old Covenant was based on the law and their obedience to follow God’s commands.  It required performance on their part.  There was a long list of rules and regulations they had to follow and a system of sacrifices and offerings they had to perform in order to please God.  The Old Covenant stressed an outward obedience to the Law but did nothing to produce an internal change of heart and attitude.  The New Covenant was different.  It not only provided the forgiveness of sins and the promise of reconciliation with God, but it also provided the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  The believer is no longer expected to rely on their own power and strength to be obedient and follow the law.  God provided His Spirit to live in every believer to provide the power and strength needed to be obedient and to walk in righteousness.  The Holy Spirit is the game-changer.  Through Him,  God puts His law on our hearts and our minds.  This gives us a deeper and more personal relationship with Him.  Obedience is a result of an inner transformation instead of just outward compliance. 

In the Old Covenant, the only way to have access to God was through a priest.  But in the New Covenant, every believer from the least to the greatest is able to approach God on their own.  We can approach the throne of God with confidence because Jesus has given us access to His Father.  We do not have to go through a priest to talk to God.  “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16 LSB   He is our loving Father and welcomes us with open arms into His presence.  We have access to God at every moment of every day.  He is readily available at any moment to give us the power and strength we need to live lives that are pleasing to Him.  Forgiveness and mercy are available to all who believe and place their trust in Jesus.