“The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.  It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD.  But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  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.”—Jeremiah 31:31-34

“And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying, ‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds,’ [the Holy Spirit] also adds, ‘I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.’  Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.”—Hebrews 10:16-18

I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts.  I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.  YHWH’s covenants and laws have taken on many forms throughout history.  In the time of Naamah, Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel, covenants were “cut” between YHWH and a patriarch, with a sign from above and an altar built on Earth.  Presumably the content of the covenant was shared orally from person to person, descendant to descendant.  In the time of Miriam and Zipporah, YHWH first wrote the law directly with a finger on stone tablets.  So, the fingerprint of God was physically on the stone.  Moses quickly broke these tablets because of the disobedience of the Israelites.  After another set was made, they were placed within the “ark of the covenant.”  This was an ornate box carried around on poles, and only the high priests had access to it.  YHWH physically traveled with the ark and the Israelites during this period, in pillars of fire and smoke.  Sometime after this the law was written on scrolls.  It was lost at various moments in Israelite history, only to be found and read aloud to all by people like Ezra.

It was probably scrolls such as these that Jesus was found studying in the temple when he snuck away from his parents as a child.  Just yesterday I was having a front porch conversation with Prince and Samson, two youths who have befriended me, about whether or not Jesus could read and whether or not that mattered.  The conclusion we came to was that he probably could read based on this studying in the temple and on the verse about him writing in the dirt.  The other conclusion, though, was that it did not matter.  For, the covenant, the law, and the prophets were passed from generation to generation via oral tradition.  Even if Jesus could not read, he could have been just as learned in the tradition of his people by listening to the stories of his parents and of the village elders.  Proverbs and parables have been passed on in just this way here in Zambia.  

The next discussion on the porch pushed the heart of the matter even further.  What of those who cannot hear or see or talk?  Without turning to the Bible at all, we collectively agreed that what truly matters in terms of our relationship with God is in our hearts and minds.  God knows our hearts and minds.

These two passages then take the porch conversation deeper.  God has written the covenant and law in our hearts and our minds.  Jeremiah and the author of Hebrews had the revelation that just as YHWH wrote directly on the first tablets, YHWH has directly touched each and every one of our hearts and minds. 

What exactly does this mean for us?

For one, as in the time of the great wandering in the wilderness, God is journeying with us in person.

Secondly, God’s covenant and law reside within us in a way that we can understand according to our individual contexts.  It thus also will take different manifestations based on context.

Thirdly, the covenant and law are based both in our hearts and our minds.  Rationalism has no priority over emotion, and vice-versa.  We are to listen to the Holy Spirit in the fullness of who we are.

Fourthly, God’s covenant and law transcend the barriers that we put up based on ability, race, class, sex, sexuality, gender, nationality, citizenship, education, and incarceration status.

Finally, the covenant and law are no longer negotiated between a patriarch or ‘hero’ and God.  Instead, God is in direct relationship with each and every one of us.

We Christians believe that Jesus of Nazareth embodied a new covenant, meaning that Creation became a New Creation and that all of us are new creations.  We Christians believe that Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled the law and made it perfect, meaning that we ought to look at the lived action of this human being and apply it to our own lives in our own contexts.

You should already look at all humans with awe because they are created in the image and likeness of God.  Now you should add to that awe, because they also carry the covenant and the law in their very essence.

“To what then will I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like?  They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not weep.’  For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon’; the Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’  Nevertheless, wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”—Luke 7:31-35

Wisdom is vindicated by all her children.

Wisdom, who cries out in the street;

In the squares she raises her voice.

At the busiest corner she cries out;

At the entrance of the city gates she speaks.

The LORD by Wisdom founded the earth

Does not Wisdom call, and does not understanding raise her voice?

On the heights, beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand;

Beside the gates in front of the town,

At the entrance of the portals she cries out

“The LORD created me at the beginning!

When there were no depths I was brought forth,

When there were no springs abounding with water.

Before the mountains had been shaped, 

Before the hills, I was brought forth

When the LORD 

Established the heavens

Drew a circle on the face of the deep

Made firm the skies above

Established the fountains of the deep

Assigned to the sea its limit

Marked out the foundations of the earth

I was there, like a master worker.”

In the beginning was Wisdom

Wisdom was with God

Wisdom was God.

Wisdom became flesh and dwelt among us.

She has built her house, she has hewn her seven pillars.

She has slaughtered her animals, she has mixed her wine.

She has set her table.

She has sent out her servant girls.

She calls from the highest places in the town

“You that are simple, turn in here!

Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed.

Lay aside immaturity, and live!

And walk in the way of insight.”

Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks,

He broke it and gave it to them.

And he did the same with the cup after supper.

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”

Wisdom is vindicated by all her children.

They cry out in the marketplace

“We played the flute for you, and you did not dance.”

“We wailed, and you did not weep.”

Will this generation be ready?

Will this generation prepare the way?

Will we dance with her children,

Will we rejoice with her?

Will we weep with her children,

Will we grieve with her?