4 August 2022

But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says 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.

From Jeremiah 31:31-34, NRSV

In today’s reading, we hear words of promise about a new covenant and of a renewal of the relationship between God and God’s people. Under the Old Covenant made at SInai, God had remained faithful but the repeated unfaithfulness of the people had broken the covenant beyond repair. The people of Israel had lost everything and seemed to be at a point of no return, but God sees a way forward in promising a new covenant. This time, the covenant will be made with every individual rather than with a collective nation. God will begin by wiping the slate clean of all past wrongdoing. Then, instead of writing the law on stones and scrolls, it is to be written on the hearts of each person. The heart was considered at that time to be the place that guided decisions, so instead of God’s law being about the observation of something external, it will now become part of their very being.

• • How do you think the people of Israel felt to receive this promise of a new Covenant?
  • What is the “law” that God wants us to follow?

You may like to reflect on your own relationship with God and the responsibilities that come with this.