“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.” (Jeremiah 31:33)
The prophet Jeremiah here proclaims good news to the people of Judah as they were going into exile in Babylon. The Lord was making a firm promise, as He always does to encourage them and give them hope. This was not the end. He was going to make a New Covenant with them, but one which would not be like the Old Mosaic Covenant. That was a covenant in which the Lord required the Israelites to obey external commandments. As good and holy as those commandments are, they were and still are beyond human ability to keep to God’s standard of perfection.
Jeremiah’s words tell of a time when all peoples would be gathered into the Kingdom of God, not just Hebrews, Israelites, Jews. Those chosen would include the disadvantaged, the weak, and the despised from all nationalities and tongues. They would be united by their faith in the Lord for they all have been chosen and redeemed by the Lord Himself. This New Covenant would be written on the hearts of those chosen, carried out by the Holy Spirit.
We who have placed our faith and trust in Jesus are the beneficiaries of this New Covenant. We have done nothing to deserve or merit it. It is all God’s work. In the New Covenant, God’s Law of love is no longer external but internal marked primarily by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. The Lord inscribes His Law in the heart, mind, and will. External written codes are removed as is the need for any human mediator for Jesus is the mediator. He enables us to resist temptation and walk in obedience. He helps us obey Him for He gives us His love and mercy as well as forgiveness of our sins.
All human beings need Jesus as mediator for we are all sinners, just as weak and vacillating as were the children of the Old Covenant. We are surrounded by great temptation and idolatry in the 21st Century. And we all ought to be humbled in the knowledge of our weakness so that we are all aware of our need for the Lord’s help. Humility helps us to look at ourselves and our weaknesses realistically. It helps us treat our fellow Christian brethren with compassion as well as to extend mercy and kindness to all the unfortunate sinners enslaved to Satan.