ESOCS Devotional 5 July 2022
TEXT: JEREMIAH 31:31-34
MEMORY VERSE: “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah.” Jeremiah 31: 31 KJV
0 And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done. Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. 11 But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing. 12 When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, “Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted lace ”
In our text, we stand on one of the greatest mountain peaks in the Old Testament. It is the only reference to a “new covenant” in the Old Testament, and is no doubt the most significant of Jeremiah’s sayings. The Lord God will write His law on the heart of the individual. It has been observed by many scholars that this is one of the most important passages in Jeremiah, and contains “one of the deepest insights in the whole Old Testament.” This passage finds its fulfillment only in the true believers in Jesus Christ and His covenant with sinful man.
The new covenant does not promise sinlessness, but forgiveness. We are saved sinners. We are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. The “new testament” literally means new covenant and is fulfilled only in the person and work of Jesus Christ. What is needed is a change in the inner nature so that men are able to obey. God changes the “want to” in the inner man (v 33). He will write His “law” within them and in their hearts. It will be on their minds and will control their will. What was needed was a change from the inside out in depraved sinful man. Man’s sinful rebellious nature demands a radical change that only God can accomplish.
The new covenant will be a clear apprehension of the will of God by individual souls, without human meditation. The apprehension of the will of God will be possible through direct and personal knowledge of God on the part of all men. This knowledge will result from putting away of moral defilement. The result will be a clear vision of God.
Have you as a believer asked Christ to reveal Himself to you? Do you know His real abiding presence in your life? Are there times when His sweet indwelling presence breaks in upon you and He is so real to you that you could reach out and touch Him if it were humanly possible? When He has purged the heart of all known sin and you come into His presence He will reveal Himself to you as you have never known Him before. This is a description of the covenant under which the Christian lives. It is a description of the communion with the Holy Spirit. The indwelling Spirit interprets His word in the hour of need.
God waits until we are quiet enough to receive His word that He may make Himself known to us more perfectly.
- When we wait upon Him in stillness, we find His law written upon the heart and we obey Him.
- Father, write your words in my heart and grant me grace to obey your instructions.
Read Other ESOCS Devotional here
FURTHER READING: Ezekiel 32:1–14; Luke 33:15–22; Philippians 1:27–2:4
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ESOCS Devotional 5 July 2022
