Saturday 23 March 2024
No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, ‘Know the Lord’, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more. (v. 34)
Background
Those who have been to a Methodist Covenant Service, either earlier this year or at some other point, may be familiar with this reading. We have to be very careful in considering our understanding of it. It can be very easy for us to think that the new covenant of which Jeremiah speaks (v. 31) is the one God makes with the followers of Christ, while the Jews are the people of the old covenant. We even make the assumption with the way we divide our Bible into Old and New Testament (meaning the same as covenant). In an age of rising anti-Semitism, we must use our words sensitively.
The word of hope from God that Jeremiah reports is very much to the Jewish people. The people in exile who feel they have been abandoned hear that not only will there be a restoration of land and people as we have seen in previous days, but a restoration of the covenant relationship that God has with the people of God.
This new covenant is founded on the forgiveness of God. God acknowledges the people’s failure to live according to the direction and values God sets, but maintains the relationship nonetheless, removing their sin even from the memory of God. This means that any who enter into God’s covenant shouldn’t do so with any sense of being special, but in awe at the mercy God shows.
There is also an equalising factor to this new covenant. It will be a relationship that comes through each person’s transformed heart. Therefore, each person will have some knowledge and experience of God. While God may continue to call people to particular ministries of teaching and preaching (I have to say that really!), no-one should feel that they have nothing to offer and are unable to experience the transforming presence of God in their lives. I, for one, know that I discover so much about God from the people among whom I minister.
To Ponder:
- What experience of God have you had that might encourage someone else today?
- How do you feel when you hear that God has forgiven you completely? Is it easy to accept?
Prayer
God of mercy, help us not only to know with our heads that we have been forgiven, but to feel it in our hearts as well, so that our lives may be transformed. Amen.
Bible Study author: the Revd Will Fletcher