Jeremiah 31:31-34

“The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.” vs. 31

Covenants were as important to the people of Israel as the constitution is to the United States. They were a mark of identity and each one involved a sign and a promise. The first was with Noah and the rainbow was a sign of God’s commitment to never again destroy the earth with a flood. A second was with Abraham and Sarah and, with circumcision as a sign, was the promise that Israel would be a great nation. Then came Sinai and the Mosaic covenant, based on the Law, which celebrated the marriage of the Lord to the people who had come out of Egypt. It’s the breaking of that covenant that Jeremiah laments on the eve of Israel’s destruction. It’s not that God had abandoned the old promises, not at all; it was totally Israel’s doing. By breaking the Law they had essentially divorced themselves from the Lord. But Jeremiah assures the people that the Lord will now make a new covenant with Israel–their sins would not be allowed to destroy the relationship. Jeremiah’s powerful reassurance of God’s grace became a source of hope for Israel though their years of exile, and in fact paved the way for the forgiving ministry of Jesus. No matter how unfaithful we are, God can be trusted to be faithful–and God’s last word is always one of compassion and mercy.

Thought for the Day: What covenants have been a part of my life?