Jeremiah 50 Hebrews 8

“This is the agreement I will make with the people of Israel at that time, says the Lord. I will put my teachings in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” (Hebrews 8:10 NCV)

One of the things that the early church understood was that the New Covenant that God had instituted with all people, including the people of Israel, was a part of the flow of history that God had prophesied. Prophecies from the Old Testament show up throughout the book of Hebrews and this verse today comes from Jeremiah 31:33. The New Covenant message quoted here was that God would be their God, they wouldn’t forsake Him, and that they would be His people because He wouldn’t forsake them. As the message continued, people would know God without being taught about Him and He would forgive and forget their sins.

While we live in the age of the New Covenant through the sacrifice of Jesus, we still have to teach about God and His ways. Perhaps the best way to teach others is through our lives. If God knows us, and we know Him; if God has forgiven us and forgotten our sins, it should make a difference in our lives and in our attitudes toward others. When we realize how great God’s forgiveness was to us, we should be more forgiving, and less judgmental in our dealings with others. Law and judgment are characteristics of the Old Covenant. If we’re living in the New Covenant, we’ll be extending grace and mercy to those who are caught in their sin and we’ll seek to show them the love and mercy of God. The Old Covenant leads to death; the New Covenant leads to life. May we always bring others the joy of new life in Christ by our words and deeds.

Oh Lord, may I always show Your love and Your grace to other people. Let others experience Your presence as I live each day under Your New Covenant that brings life in Christ.

Scripture taken from the New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.