Compiled By: Lisa K Gonzales

From: The Life Application Study Bible

10 “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the LORD; I will put My laws in their minds so they will understand them, and I will write them on their hearts so they will obey them.  I will be their GOD, and they will be My people.  11 And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their family, saying, ‘You should know the LORD.’  For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will already know ME.  12 And I will forgive their wrongdoings, and I will never again remember their sins.”   ~ Hebrews 8:10-12

This passage is a quotation of Jeremiah 31:31-34, which compares the new covenant with the old.    – 31 “The day will come,” says the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah.  32 This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt.  They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the LORD.  33 “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,” says the LORD.  “I will put MY laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts.  I will be their GOD, and they will be MY people.  34 And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their family, saying, ‘You should know the LORD.’  For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will already know ME,” says the LORD.  “And I will forgive their wickedness and will never again remember their sins.”  – Jeremiah 31:31-34   – GOD would write HIS law on their hearts rather than on tablets of stone, as HE did the Ten Commandments.  In Jeremiah 17:1 their sin was engraved on their hearts so that they wanted above all to disobey: – “The LORD says, ‘MY people act as though their evil ways are laws to be obeyed, inscribed with a diamond point on their stony hearts, or with an iron chisel on the corners of their altars.”  – The Hebrews symbolized the various aspects of a person by locating them in certain physical organs.  The heart was the organ of reason, intelligence, and will.  So deep is our tendency to sin that only GOD’s redemption can deliver us.  When we turn our lives over to GOD, HE, by HIS Holy Spirit, builds into us the desire to obey HIM.

The old covenant was the covenant of law between GOD and Israel.  The new and better way is the covenant of grace – Christ’s offer to forgive our sins and bring us to GOD through His sacrificial death.  This covenant is new in extent – it goes beyond Israel and Judah to include all the Gentile nations.  It is new in application because it is written on our heart and in our mind.  It offers a new way to forgiveness, not through animal sacrifice but through faith.  If our heart is not changed, following GOD’s rules will be unpleasant and difficult.  We will rebel against being told how to live.  The Holy Spirit, however, gives us new desires, helping us want to obey GOD.   “For GOD is working in you, giving you the desire to obey HIM and the power to do what pleases HIM.”  – Philippians 2:13   – To change our desires to be more like Christ’s, we need the power of the indwelling Spirit.  Under GOD’s new covenant, GOD’s law is inside us.  It is no longer an external set of rules and principles.  The Holy Spirit reminds us of Christ’s words, activates our conscience, influences our motives and desires, and makes us want to obey.  Now doing GOD’s will is something we desire with all our heart and mind.  With a new heart, we find that serving GOD is our greatest joy.

 

Thank YOU, Father for sending to us, YOUR Holy Spirit.  Put YOUR laws in our minds, and write them on our hearts.  YOU are our GOD, and we are YOUR people.  So deep is our tendency to sin that only YOUR redemption LORD, can deliver us.  When we turn our lives over to YOU Father GOD, YOU, by YOUR Holy Spirit, build into us the desire to obey YOU.  YOUR laws are no longer an external set of rules and principles.  The Holy Spirit reminds us of Christ’s words, activates our conscience, influences our motives and desires, and makes us want to obey.  Now doing YOUR will, Father, is something we desire with all our hearts and minds.  With a new heart, we find that serving YOU, LORD is our greatest joy.

 

 Photo: Water Puddle in the Rocks at Diana’s Baths Waterfalls (New Hampshire)

Photo By: Lisa K Gonzales

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