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A Heart for God

Jeremiah 31; Ezekiel 36:36,37

The Assyrian destruction of Israel and the Babylonian captivity of Judah were watershed events; they marked a "before and after" turning point in God's relationship with His people.

"Before," God had delivered his covenant expectations to His people on tablets of stone at Mount Sinai. He invited Israel to keep His standards and represent Him faithfully to the nations of the earth. In return, God would abundantly meet their needs. Israel agreed to the covenant but, in time, failed miserably—kings, priests, and people alike—to keep God's standards. So they were judged.

"After" the judgments, God took a different tack. Instead of writing the law on tablets of stone, He said through the prophets Jeremiah (31:31-34) and Ezekiel (36:24-27), He would write His desires on the pliable hearts of the people: "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you" (Ezekiel 36:26). And He would do something unheard of in Israel—He would put His Spirit in (not just on) His people (verse 27). God's law would be in their minds and written on their hearts. A new heart, a new spirit, and the indwelling Holy Spirit represented a sea change in Israel's ability to keep God's covenant.

This arrangement was so new that Jeremiah called it a "new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah" (Jeremiah 31:31). Ezekiel said this New Covenant would happen when God gathered the people out of captivity. It began when Christ sacrificed Himself for the sins of the people ("This cup is the new covenant in My blood"—Luke 22:20) and it was empowered by the giving of the Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2).

There was never anything wrong with God's law (Romans 7:12). The problem was man's sinful heart. When we are born again by the Spirit with a new heart, we have a new ability and desire to please God (John 3:3, 5; 2 Corinthians 5:17).

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