Jer 30-31 Internal Change or External Pressure

August 20th, Jeremiah 30-31

       If you could sneak a peak into the future what would you want to find out. I could imagine several things that would be fun, interesting. lucrative, sad, and heart-warming. Knowing the future has a settling impact on us and yet at the same time it might mess with it. Back to the Future movies have a funny twist as Twin Pines mall becomes Lone Pine mall. Looking into the future is why people love to study the book of Revelation. What will become of us?
       Jeremiah has a great experience of looking into the future. Seeing a promise from God that will be carried out in a distance. Something new, something better, something to write and speak about. Jeremiah speaks about this in a couple of places. The second is the better version, but we'll just stick to today's revelation with hope in learning more in a few days!!
       31:33-34 A New Covenant. A new promise and new thing God is doing. God has always wanted an internal reality to be evident in our lives but two very important things are external all throughout the OT. 1. The law was written on a stone. 2. The Holy Spirit doesn't dwell in people except for on certain occasions for the purpose of doing some great Kingdom thing!
        In our day God's law is written on our hearts, not on some tablet of stone somewhere in an Ark. Upon salvation the Holy Spirit is placed in us as a deposit, guaranteeing a future inheritance. It's a very different thing for us. To intuitively have God's word stamped inside and the Spirit to guide, correct, empower us to walk His way. The prophet saw a day in the future when God's word would be fashioned and molded inside of us. Internal change has dramatic power over external pressure.
       Then finally, the weight of all this message in the prophets is met with a great line for us to remember God's committed love..."For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." I'm rejoicing in this new day we get to live in. The day of a new covenant that is radically different than before. I look forward to the complete fulfillment of that covenant, when we will no longer have to teach anyone how to love like Christ, it will just be. Amen! and Amen!!!