Reading the Word

Jeremiah 31:31–34 (ESV)

31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares 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. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

Understanding and Applying the Word

In the time of the Old Testament, God promised that there would be a future day when he would do something new. He was going to forgive the sins of the people and establish a new covenant with them.

At the end of Jesus’ life, as he celebrated the Passover with his disciples, Jesus told them that he was establishing a new covenant in his blood. It was through the sacrificial death of Jesus that sin would be dealt with once and for all. And for those who trusted in him, Christ promised to give new life through the Holy Spirit. The old covenant was no longer. The new had come.

Praise God that our sins are forgiven in Christ. We now live in freedom and can live our lives without fear of condemnation for the honor and glory of our Savior. What a wonderful gift!

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