"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." Jeremiah 31:33, NIV
Several years ago, I bought a house in a neighborhood that had a covenant. In order to buy the house, I had to sign the agreement to abide by what had been set up by "the powers that be." The rules had to do with keeping your yard neat, not parking overnight on the street, not building onto the house without permission...that type of thing.
When God declared He would be Israel's God, the Israelites had great difficulty understanding and following all the rules. They really disliked some of the rules, and like young folks do sometimes, they rebelled.
Covenants are two-way contracts: if you do this then I will do that. After dealing with folks who wanted His benefits but didn't want to keep their side of the bargain for centuries, God got a little torqued. He allowed them to be overcome by an enemy and taken out of their beloved land.
Can you say, "Wakeup call?"
But God knew they would come back, and this time, He wrote their covenant in blood: His! Jesus signed His promise to be our Savior, and when we take Him into our hearts we sign our part of the agreement.
Prayer: Thank You, precious Lord, for caring that much about us. Thank You for Your promise to carry out Your end of the bargain, and I gladly give you my heart to write on. For Your everlasting glory I pray, amen.
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