Jeremiah 31 Devotional

A Law Written Within

““But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people.”Jeremiah 31:33 (BSB)

Jeremiah 31 is full of homecoming. God tells his scattered people that his love for them is everlasting (31:3). Rachel weeps for children who are gone, and God tells her to dry her tears, because there is hope for her future (31:15-17). Ephraim confesses his shame, and God says his heart still yearns for this dear son (31:18-20).

Then comes the chapter's central promise. God will make a new covenant, unlike the one their fathers broke though he was a husband to them (31:31-32). This time he will write his law on their hearts. Everyone, from the smallest to the most important, will know him, and he will forgive their wrongdoing and never call their sins to mind again (31:33-34). The old covenant told people what was right. The new one changes them from within, and it rests on forgiveness. Hebrews quotes this passage and names Jesus its mediator (Hebrews 8:6-12). God does not wait for you to engrave his ways on your heart. He promises to do it himself.

To think about: What would change today if you believed God himself is writing his ways on your heart, rather than leaving it all to your effort?