A New Covenant
READ
Rules written on stone versus truth written on hearts—that's the revolutionary shift Jeremiah prophesied. God was promising something radically different from the old system where laws were external, compliance was measured by behavior, and relationship with God felt like passing a test you were constantly failing.
Let’s take a moment to read: Jeremiah 31:31-34:
“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord.
“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
REFLECT
The old covenant—the system of laws God gave through Moses—wasn't bad. It was holy, good, and revealed God's character. But it had a problem: human nature. We're really talented at following rules externally while our hearts remain unchanged. We can check religious boxes while staying distant from God. We can know what we're supposed to do while feeling powerless to actually do it.
Sound familiar? Many of us grew up with a version of faith that felt like that old covenant—lots of rules about what Christians do and don't do, pressure to perform, constant awareness of falling short. We learned about God without necessarily learning to know God. We developed religious behavior without experiencing heart transformation.
That's not the faith Jesus came to establish. When Jeremiah prophesied this new covenant, he was describing what would happen through Christ—a relationship with God that starts internally, not externally. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts." This isn't about lowering the standards; it's about changing the power source. Instead of trying to obey our way into God's favor through willpower, we receive God's Spirit who transforms us from the inside out.
Here's what this looks like practically: In the old system, you might avoid gossip because it's wrong and you're supposed to be good. In the new covenant, God transforms your heart so that you actually care about others' reputations and don't want to tear them down. The behavior might look similar, but the motivation is completely different. One is dutiful compliance; the other is genuine transformation.
The new covenant also promises intimacy: "They will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest." Not know about me. Know me. There's a massive difference. You can know about someone—their biography, their accomplishments, their reputation—without actually knowing them personally. God's promise through the new covenant is direct, personal relationship. No middleman required. No special credentials needed. From the least to the greatest—everyone has equal access.
And then there's the part that might matter most: "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." This isn't God developing amnesia about our failures. It's God choosing not to hold them against us anymore. It's complete forgiveness, full pardon, total acceptance. The old covenant highlighted our failure to measure up. The new covenant announces that through Christ, we're fully accepted not because we've measured up but because Jesus did on our behalf.
This Advent, as we prepare to celebrate the Incarnation, we're celebrating the fulfillment of this prophecy. Jesus is the mediator of the new covenant. Through His life, death, and resurrection, He made possible everything Jeremiah promised—forgiveness, transformation, intimacy with God, and hearts that actually desire what God desires.
RESPOND
Take a moment to process what God might be leading you to do in light of what you read.
How does God's promise to write His law on our hearts invite you into deeper intimacy with Him?
Where are you still trying to earn God's approval through external performance rather than receiving His internal transformation?
What would change if you fully believed that God has forgiven your wickedness and remembers your sins no more?
REST
Take a moment to rest in God’s presence and consider one thing you can take away from your time reading, then close your devotional experience by praying:
Father, thank you for the new covenant established through Jesus. Forgive me for the times I've reduced faith to rule-keeping rather than relationship. Write your truth on my heart, transform me from the inside out, and help me live in the freedom and intimacy you've made possible through Christ. Amen.