Jeremiah 31:31-34
31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 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. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
It is easy to think of obedience as a bunch of external rules that we must follow. That is basically what the old covenant with Moses was about (verse 32). But God wants to make a new covenant with us, where "I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts" (verse 33). This is talking about changing our heart desires rather than just changing our external behaviors. This is what is involved in knowing God (verse 34), so that our thoughts and desires become aligned with His thoughts and desires. In this way we can stay in relationship with Him.
Lord, write Your law upon my heart, so that I desire what You desire.
31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 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. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
It is easy to think of obedience as a bunch of external rules that we must follow. That is basically what the old covenant with Moses was about (verse 32). But God wants to make a new covenant with us, where "I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts" (verse 33). This is talking about changing our heart desires rather than just changing our external behaviors. This is what is involved in knowing God (verse 34), so that our thoughts and desires become aligned with His thoughts and desires. In this way we can stay in relationship with Him.
Lord, write Your law upon my heart, so that I desire what You desire.