Jeremiah 31:31 “‘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.”
God has spent a lot of history in covenant with people. Whenever he has sought to establish a relationship with men and women, he has used an agreement to do it.
In times past God covenanted with the people of Israel on a conditional basis; if the Israelites were faithful to God he would be faithful to them, that was the agreement. But Jeremiah’s prophecy, 500 years before Jesus’ birth, speaks of a new covenant.
And the reason a new covenant was needed was that, whilst God remained faithful to Israel, Israel were continually unfaithful to God.
This is the problem all people have! Even when God makes provision for people to enter into relationship with him, they simply can’t remain faithful. People have a predisposition to reject God, even when he condescends to provide for them. Our relationship with God is just always broken. No matter what we do, it is eternally broken!
But, and this is the most glorious but! But, God has made another way; an unbreakable provision for people! He has made a new covenant which is not like the old one. This one is unbreakable for the basic reason, that it is un-conditional. The agreement is a unilateral one. God has sworn by Himself, that He will bring people into relationship with Himself; not on the basis of their performance, but on the basis of a perfect performance by God Himself! Jesus’ birth is His condescension and His death is the legal establishment of the new covenant. By His blood He has reconciled all God’s people to God, forever!
What an amazing story. Is there another narrative like it in all the world? Praise be to God for His indescribable gift to unfaithful, God rejecting people.