I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God for they shall return to me with their whole heart.
Jeremiah 24:7
Poor Jeremiah had soul-destroying news for the people – the judgment of the nations and Judah, AND the foretelling of the Babylonian captivity. But, his actual mission was to get them to turn back to their all-sufficient God who desired relationship, who loved them, and wanted their love for him to be real, tenacious – nothing half hearted!
This hope is developed (spiritually and physically) in Ezekiel 36 vs 26 (NIV):
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees.”
This is beautifully referenced in Hebrews 10 in THE MESSAGE:
“The new plan I’m making with Israel isn’t going to be written on paper, isn’t going to be chiseled in stone; this time I’m writing out the plan in them, carving it on the lining of their hearts. I’ll forever wipe the slate clean of their sins.”
Thankfully we, now through Jesus Christ, have the promise of a new spirit-filled heart to truly know, love and find the forgiveness of God.
May we, this Lenten season, find that heart-felt HOPE in the redeeming love and grace of God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Nan Lewis
