Today’s Scrip-Bit 7 August 2021 Jeremiah 31:31.

07 Aug 2021 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Jeremiah 31:31.     Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:

Well it’s Saturday…and I am in a Saturday frame of mind…lazy and not moving very swiftly…somewhat like the dark and cloudy day outside. Although the duchess might just beg to differ and say that’s a constant with me. (smile) But be that as it may, I am alive and kicking, though not as high and hard as I might like, and I am very thankful for that fact, as well as all the many other blessings that our wonderful God has chosen to bestow on me. 

That’s why I exult and say, ‘Thank You Lord! Thank You for Your goodness and Your mercy towards my family and friends and I! We praise and glorify Your holy name, and sincerely promise to keep worshipping and praising You for the rest of our lives. This we pray in the mighty name of Your amazing and awesome Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; the name that’s above every other name; the One to whom ALL knees must eventually bow and give thanks and praise to, on Your behalf!’ 

Ah mih people, our God is indeed a good and faithful God! And yuh want to know just how good and faithful He is? Then listen to this scripture from the prophet Jeremiah, as he talks about the new covenant. ‘Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:’ (Jer. 31:31) Yes friends, that was a very crucial promise the Lord made to His people way back when, informing them that bigger and better changes were on the way. 

Now hear Jeremiah describe them. ‘Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was a husband unto them, saith the Lord: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts (minds), and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. 

And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth (disturbs) the sea when the waves thereof roar; The Lord of hosts is his name.’ (Jer. 31:32-35) 

Wow mih bredrin! What a mighty promise! Something only our omnipotent God could promise and actually make come to pass! And what does it all mean eh? Let’s see if we can capture the basic premise of the promise. (smile) The scholars explain the New Covenant thus: ‘31:31. In this prophecy Jeremiah foresees the new covenant (testament) that God will make with mankind by extending His grace to the Gentiles. Under this new covenant, God will call out a people for Himself from all the nations of the earth to form the bride of Christ (Rev. 21:1-9). 

This new and unconditional covenant is better than the old covenant because it rests on the efficacy of Christ’s atonement for the sins of mankind. (First Ref. Jer. 31:31; Primary Ref. Luke 22:17-20; cf. Eph. 1:10).’ Yes friends, you guessed it; that New Covenant was based on the miraculous coming of Christ and all the wonderful work He did! Glory Hallelujah! Give our great God some thanks for keeping His promise! Now let’s see if we can find out some differences and similarities between the two covenants nuh. 

Per the scholars. ‘31:31-34. The new covenant is the culmination of God’s covenant-making with Israel. It may be viewed as a document of God’s prophetic program and of His policies of administration. As an administrative document, it renders obsolete and succeeds the old Sinaitic covenant that served as the manual of procedure for carrying out the moral, civil, and ceremonial regulations relative to national Israel in the pre-Christian era. (cf. Deut. 7:6-11). 

Some features of the old covenant though are carried over into the new one. (1) There is in the new covenant a stress on the importance of the unchangeable principles of God’s law. However, these will now be written not on stone but in the hearts of God’s people – they will become part of their inward code for living, and will conform in all respects to the moral law of the Scripture. Accordingly, the ideal that the old covenant called for (cf. Deut. 6:6; 10:16; 30:6) in external commandments will be internalized under the terms of the new covenant. 

(2) With the establishment of the covenant at Sinai, Israel had become nationally God’s people. As such, they were to be a faithful and obedient people, reflecting His standards in their lives. In a far greater way, the intimacy of the believer with God makes the realization of God’s relation to His people under the terms of the new covenant to be a full and living experience. Moreover, not just Israelites but all believers (those who know God, vs.34) are now called under the new covenant my people. These features of vital inwardness and a universality of the knowledge of God stand out as the two great distinctive elements in the new covenant. 

(3) A third feature that represents continuity with the old covenant, yet superiority under the new, is the matter of forgiveness. Although God is said to forgive their iniquity under the administration of the Sinaitic covenant, in the stipulation of the new covenant God will remember their sin no more. This feature is a reminder that men in the Old Testament times were saved in anticipation of the finished work of Calvary. Under the old economy, believers approached God in their worship experience through human mediators; but with the completed redemption by Christ, the members of the family of God now have direct access to God (cf. 1 Tim. 2:5-6). 

Where full forgiveness has been granted there is no more remembrance of sin. Positionally and experientially, with the living reality of both God’s law in the heart and the indwelling Christ in the believer (Col. 1:20-27), there is not only full and continuous forgiveness of sin (1 John 1:8-9), but full provision for faithful and victorious living.’ 

Yes my people, the explanation is long and somewhat tedious, but as usual, it’s all for our benefit. So please, just take your time and read, understand and digest at your own pace, and above all, remember to give thanks to Almighty God for bringing us Gentiles, under His mighty hand with the work of redemption done by His marvellous Son, Jesus Christ. For without His outstanding, unconditional LOVE for us, we would have been heading straight for hellfire and damnation, with no recourse whatsoever. Much LOVE!

…to God the Father be the glory…through Christ the Son…                                                                                                            

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 14 December 2014 Jeremiah 31:31

14 Dec 2014 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Jeremiah 31:31. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah. 
 
Oh Friends, it’s a new week! Yeh! And today, Sunday, is the first day in it. So let’s give our wonderful Creator and God big thanks of praise and glory for bringing us safely through the dark, demon-filled night into the bright, brilliant, bountiful and ever so beautiful Son-light of Jesus Christ, our most LOVING Lord and Saviour!
 
And on this auspicious day of the Lord, the Sabbath, let’s joyfully remember the reason for the seasons we’re celebrating; Advent, the eagerly awaited expectation of the Christ child; Christmas, the actual birth of the Christ child.
 
And all God’s people gave out with a heartwarming shout of grateful praise. ‘Thank You heavenly Father, for sending Jesus to sacrifice and atone for our sins. We’re not worthy of Your LOVE, but You still bless us with it because You are a merciful and ever-LOVING God.
 
We praise Your Holy Name, and will endeavour to live lives that are pleasing to You, and glorify You. This we pray in the name of Jesus, whose birth at Christmas gave us hope for a new future, heralded a new era in our lives, and whose death on the cross at Calvary, along with His resurrection and ascension brought Your promise of a new covenant to pass.
 
And we can’t end without saying a big, big thank You to Jesus for selflessly sacrificing His holy and sinless life for us. He didn’t have to do it. But He was obedient to Your will. Help us to be likewise obedient to Your dictates. Thank You Jesus! We bow to Your eternal majesty, and confess that You are indeed Lord of All! Amen.’
 
Ah mih people, that prayer might seem long and disjointed, but the important thing is that it came from the heart, as all prayers ought to, regardless of their length or correctness of language. (smile) And please don’t forget that today is the day for worship, praise and fellowship with both man and God.
 
Please let’s fill God’s sanctuaries with our bodies as well as with joy, thanks and gladness of heart, because our Bit is now in a sure mode of fulfillment. ‘Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah.’
 
Yes Friends, that wonderful promise was set in motion through Christ’s birth and His selfless actions as a young man. We’re now awaiting its culmination through His Second Coming in blazing glory!
 
And today I want to share some important explanations of the scholars, re that covenant, because they are invaluable in helping us to understand it. I don’t know how much I’ll be able to get in, because it takes up almost an entire page of the Good Book.
 
But here goes: ’31:31-34. The new covenant is the culmination of God’s covenant-making with Israel. It may be viewed as a document of God’s prophetic programme and of His policies of administration.
 
As an administrative document, it renders obsolete and succeeds the old Sinaitic covenant that served as the manual of procedure for carrying out the moral, civil, and ceremonial regulations relative to national Israel in the pre-Christian era (cf. Deut.7:6-11; Heb.8:7-13).
 
Some features of the old covenant are carried over into the new covenant: (1) There is in the new covenant a stress on the importance of the unchangeable principles of God’s law.
 
However, these will now be written not on stone but in the hearts of God’s people – they will become part of their inward code for living, and will conform in all respects to the moral law of the Scriptures.
 
Accordingly, the ideal that the old covenant called for (cf. Deut. 6:6-7; 10:16; 30:6) in external commandments will be internalized under the terms of the new covenant.
 
(2) With the establishment of the covenant at Sinai, Israel had become nationally God’s people (Ex. 6:6-7; 19:5-6). As such, they were to be a faithful and obedient people, reflecting His standards in their lives (Deut. 14:1-2; 26:16-19).
 
In a far greater way, the intimacy of the believer with God makes the realization of God’s relation to His people under the terms of the new covenant to be a full and living experience. Moreover, not just the Israelites but all believers (those who know God, v.34) are now called under the new covenant my people. (See 2 Cor.6:16; Gal.3:6-9, 15-18, 26-29; Titus 2:14)
 
These features of vital inwardness and a universality of the knowledge of God stand out as the two great distinctive elements in the new covenant.
 
(3) A third feature that represents continuity with the old covenant, yet superiority under the new covenant is the matter of forgiveness. Although God is said to forgive their iniquity under the administration of the Sinaitic covenant (Ex.34:6-7; Num.14:18; Deut.5:9-10; cf. Ps.86:15; Joel 2:13), in the stipulations of the new covenant, God will remember their sin no more.
 
This feature is a reminder that men in Old Testament times were saved in anticipation of the finished work of Calvary. Under the old economy, believers approached God in their worship experience through human mediators (Ex.20:19); but with the completed redemption by Christ, the members of the family of God now have direct access to God (cf. 1 Tim.2:5-6; Titus 2:11-14, 3:5-7; Heb. 9:1-10:22).
 
Where full forgiveness has been granted, there is no more remembrance of sin. Positionally and experientially, with the living reality of both God’s law in the heart and the indwelling Christ (Col.1:20-27) in the believer, there is not only full and continuous forgiveness of sin (1 John 1:8-9), but full provision for faithful and victorious living.’
 
And we’ll stop there for today. I do hope that some of that explanation does improve our understanding of some of the differences between the old and new covenants. I apologize for some of the big words and terms the scholars use that might have you running to your dictionary. But that’s just the nature of the beast – scholars just use big words because they feel that shows their scholarship. (smile)
 
So basically Friends, the new covenant writes God’s law in our hearts, rather than on outward things like tablets of stone; allows us to go directly to God not through some other human mediator, and in addition to forgiving our sins, now throws them far behind God’s back, never to be remembered again.
 
As I keep saying, what a wonderful God we serve and worship! And whoever rejects Him is a total idiot. Much LOVE!
 
…to know, know, know Him…is to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Him…