Covenant, Pt. 5

Have you ever stopped to think about what might have been? over the last three weeks we have looked at the Israelites in the wilderness. They were as close to the promised land as they would be, but because of their selfishness and disobedience, they missed out. That generation passed away and a new generation led by Joshua were able to cross the Jordan River and enter that land.

Moses, before he died was allowed to see the promised land, but was never able to set foot there. He did his best. Knowing he would not make it, he blessed Joshua and with that blessing, the Lord used Joshua to take the people across. The children of Israel had heard the covenant the Lord had made with their forefathers and they decided they wanted to trust God. then they got to the promised land.

Have you ever stopped to think of what might have been? the Lord had given the Israelites all they needed to survive anywhere. They had heard about the previous covenants the Lord had made with the people. It was something they were proud of, even though they often walked away from them, God never did.

Listen to how Richard Lawrence puts it:

Most of Jeremiah’s life was spent ministering in a country whose doom was sealed—and obvious. His words were dark with warning. And Jeremiah lived to see the terrible things he foretold come true. The city founded by David, and the temple built by his son Solomon, were destroyed, and most of Judah’s citizens died in the siege or in Egypt where the remnant fled.

The Jews who remained were transported to Babylon. There, torn from the Promised Land, and suddenly aware of the depth of their sins against God, they lived in material comfort but spiritual pain. Had God, the God of Abraham, really abandoned His people? Had God rejected them because of their unfaithfulness?

Many Christians, when troubles come and sins are remembered, may ask the same question. Are my troubles evidence that God no longer accepts me? That I am abandoned by the Lord?

The answer of Jeremiah to the people of Judah comforts us too. God had Jeremiah announce His plan to make a New Covenant with the people of Israel. A New Covenant which would lift Israel—and you and me—to a new and vital relationship with our God.

If you have your bibles, turn to Jeremiah 31:31-34 and stand with me if you are able as we read.

Sometimes we think back to the "what might have been" times. Sometimes when we think back like that, we cannot remember because either too much time has passed or we did not receive information that would help us proceed. When it comes to the Israelites, a lot of time has passed between the covenant that was first made and where they are at this point.

They are years and generations past their time in the wilderness. The twelve tribes that made up the Israelites have split. Ten tribes called Israel, were driven into exile and the two tribes called Judah stood solid. To unpack this sufficiently would take weeks, so let me just say, disobedience had driven them away from the covenant the Lord had made with them. before the split, they were all called the people of Israel, after the split they were called the house of Israel and the house of Judah.

But a new generation is rising up and the Lord wants to see a change. The Lord is calling them once again to come back together for the sake of the message of God and to impact the world for him.

And so he comes to Jeremiah during a time of prayer with an announcement that he needs Jeremiah to proclaim. This section of scripture is part of the closing proclamation. This is also somewhat of a prophecy of what is to come.

He proclaims he is going to make a new covenant. Most of the time we don't know what to do with this. But during this time, this was a great announcement. The Lord was saying to them, I have not forgotten about you, even though you have forgotten me.

He reminds them that it was he who made the first covenant with the Hebrews enslaved in Egypt. It was he that led them out of the bondage. It was him who kept them safe in the wilderness, even though they groused about it. It was him who provided for them and who has watched over and protected them.

Even though he was their leader and was over them, they still did what they wanted to do. I am sure it was hard for the Lord to see, much as it is hard for a parent to see their children go away from what they were taught. I would guess you who have wayward children or who have had wayward children, your hearts break daily for your children. multiply that times millions and understand what the Lord feels. He had done so much for the Hebrews and they just turned their back on him. And we still are today.

Just like the story of the prodigal, the father never gives up on us. he waits and longs for the moment he sees us coming down the path. Coming home once and for all. Dads and moms, don't give up on your kids. Keep praying for them and keep encouraging them.

The desire of God is for the two houses to be one again. For them to recognize that a divided house cannot stand. And so, he is willing to renew the covenant he has made with his people.

What we have in these verses are some "I will" statements. These statements are no soft statements. They are not weak. They are not wishy-washy. They are statement of command. I will do this. He is showing them how serious he is. He is showing them that he is willing to make these bold statements. These statements he is making do not have a time limit on them. these statements are solid and mean now and forever. So let's look at them.

The first is, that he is going to make a covenant with them. This one, like all the rest show he is willing to take the first step. We really do not know how to make the first step. We are shy and bashful because we are often afraid of what people might think. When God makes a covenant, he is not going to break it. He has not in the past and he will not in the future.

One of the easiest reminders to recognize is the rainbow. After every storm when the sun begins to shine, a rainbow appears. Sometimes two of them. we all marvel and oh and ah them. get our cameras out and take pictures. Post them on facebook. We are enamored with them and often forget they show up because God promised that he would never destroy his people by a flood again. God's promises are never broken, regardless of what we do.

The second "I will" statement is that he is going to put his law within them, or in their minds. the most interesting thing researchers have found as they travel the globe and enter into places where no outsiders have ever been, people have some knowledge of right and wrong. They have some understanding of it. If someone does something wrong, if I am not mistaken, every culture has a way to deal with it.

If you remember the covenant the Lord gave the Hebrews in the wilderness was written on two stone tablets. And laws written in books but not made to be a part of who we are, are often forgotten. I often say, if I write it down, I don't have to remember it. I just have to remember where I wrote it down or where I put it, if I can even remember what it was I was supposed to remember.

God is moving it from something to inside. He wants his law to be in the very fabric of who we are. He wants his laws to be the first thing we think of when we find ourselves in any situation. He wants his law so deep inside us that it is unmistakable.

However, knowing the wishy-washiness of our minds, he was to also put his law in our heart. We can often talk ourselves out of or into just about anything. Our minds are just that way. We often employ logic to make decisions, that is how we can talk ourselves in and out of things.

But get something in your heart and it is harder to change. That is why so many people have trouble getting through some stuff because they have allowed their heart to get involved. He wants to put his law in our hearts so that when we go out, when we speak, when we do anything, he comes out. We need his law to so be a part of who we are that people cannot separate us from him.

Remember when Jonathan and David met up and Jonathan handed over his kingly tools what was said. They were knit together in their souls. This was an understanding of how the Lord wants to be with us. no longer will the laws need to be on stone, they will be written on the hearts. He wants the laws to be such a part of his people that there will be no mistake as to who they belong to.

What would this look like? For one thing, they would not be tossed back and forth by every cunning of the enemy. They will be able to stand firm in their walk with the Lord. they will be able to say no to the temptations that come. They will be able to share the truth without fear.

There is something else. He says to them, I will be their God. this goes back to the original covenant. This is the very essence of what God wants and needs from us. he needs us to know he is our God. he is saying to them, you do not need all the gods of the lands you are in. you do not need the graven images of the things that want to have control. He is saying you need nothing but me.

We have so many things that vie for our attention and so many things that we actually let steal our attention. How do we avoid that? We let him put his law deep in us and write it on our hearts. When we choose to give him that kind of authority over us, he becomes our God, we give him first place.

Here is something else that helps us understand this. When he puts his law deep inside and he writes the law on our hearts, we begin to know his law and what he desires. Remember, he wants a relationship with us and regardless of how your relationships have ended up, God wants to true relationship with you.

When we put him first and allow him the right to instill his law into us, we will no longer teach our wants and wishes. We will no longer teach our desires and biases, we will teach him. We will not have to tell people about him, they will desire to know him.

As was said Wednesday night. We can talk about places we've been, show pictured of them and let you have a glimpse into what we saw, and you can say you know the place. But you will never really know the place until you have personally had an encounter with the place. We all tell stories of people, places and things we have encountered, but until each of us personally experience those things, we will never really know them.

If you think about Paul. He heard about this thing called forgiveness from this person call Jesus from Stephen, and so he could say he knew who he was talking about. But until he experienced the living Christ on the road to Damascus, he really did not know him. We must have an experience with him to know him.

We can say, "So and so is my friend" but if all we have is a picture and some background, we really do not know them. not until we have shared information and spoken to them and walk through some events together with them, we really do not know them.

God wants that kind of relationship with us. he wants us to know his heart, otherwise he never would have told us about the plan he had for our lives. The desire of God is that we know him intimately. That is the only way this covenant will work. that is our responsibility. That is our end of the deal. That is needed and necessary. This is the result of faith over instruction.

And, here is the best part of it all. He is saying to the house of Israel and to us, if you are willing to do this, if you are willing to keep up with your end of the covenant, here is what he will do. This is important. You see it there. He will forgive their iniquity, or wickedness. This is the action of sin. This is the barriers that keep us from God.

The second have of this is he will remember their sin no more. Remember it no more. As far as the east is from the west that is how far his remembrance is for the sin of those who confess them to him. This is sometimes hard to fathom. How can this be?

Here's the thing. When we use our experices to try to understand God, it will never work. while we can say we forgive someone or accept that someone has forgiven us, that act often creeps back into our mind. We think there is no way they could forgive us. even thinking that way to God. there is no way he could forgive me. I'm just too bad.

But we can trust God. we can believe it when he says he will do it because all throughout history, he has done everything he said he would do. He has watched over us and he has protected us and he has always been there for us.

That is the great thing about this new covenant. It was also lived out in what we are going to celebrate in a couple of weeks. The covenant of God is still active, we just have to accept it.