May 13 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

When the prophet Jeremiah announces the coming of the new covenant, the people of Judah are heading for exile. They are being punished because they did not fulfil their covenant commitments. They break the promises and vows they made and do not serve the Lord in the manner He requires. The people of Judah are on the same track as the Northern Kingdom of Israel. During the reign of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, ten tribes decided to go their own way, separating themselves from the structures of covenant life God had put in place. They became extremely self-willed. As a result they were scattered among the nations. The people of the southern kingdom of Judah are no better. God lavished His gifts on them and surrounded them with love, but they, too, ignore His grace.

Nevertheless, the Lord does not break off the relationship. The Lord announces that the day is coming when He will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah (31:31). The newness of the covenant does not change its essence or nature. Earlier God said, “I will be their God and they shall be My people.” That principle remains. Verse 33 indicates that this is the foundation of the new covenant, too. The Lord doesn’t start from scratch or change the rules. In the new covenant, faithfulness and obedience are required just as much as they were in the old dispensation. But with the progression in salvation history from the old to the new, responsibilities intensify.

The unity in the covenant does not take away the distinction between the two dispensations. At Mount Sinai the Lord wrote down the law on tables of stone, but in the new covenant He inscribes it on our hearts. In the new dispensation the Lord treats us as mature adults who can handle more responsibility. We gain this maturity in Christ. That’s the difference between the two dispensations. The church of the New Testament reads the law in view of the perfect ministry of Christ. Jesus has given to each of us His blessed Word to guide us. Everything we need to know for our salvation has been revealed to us. May we live as children of the new covenant, as we grow in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and walk diligently in new obedience.