And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul. Jer. 32:38-41
Dear heavenly Father, I know you don’t lie, but this portion of your Word exposes the depths of my unbelief and pushes the envelope on every notion I have about your goodness. It forces me to see that the gospel is so much bigger and better than I could ever hope or imagine. If your are really this good to your children, all the time, it changes everything.
The first thing I notice in this remarkable passage is all the “I will’s” connecting this extraordinary catalogue of promises. Father, you make promises you alone can keep. Our salvation isn’t a co-op, it’s a covenant. I praise you for your inviolate commitment to be such an outrageously, immeasurably generous God. You’re the only trustworthy promise keeper in the entire Scripture.
It’s astounding to realize you will never stop doing good to us—there’s no “break in the action”; and that you find so much joy in doing good to us—with all your heart, taxes the limits of my imagination. However, since you’ve already “made good” on your promise in this Scripture, to make an everlasting covenant with us, your faithfulness fuels the fire of our faith.
Indeed, Lord Jesus, well beyond Jeremiah’s day, you came and you accomplished everything necessary to prove our Father wasn’t exaggerating; that is passage isn’t prophetic hyperbole. Your life, death, and resurrection, on our behalf, are the ratification and reality of the New Covenant God promised. Because of your declaration from the cross, “It is finished”, we have already been declared righteous in God’s sight—completely forgiven and are beloved of him.
And the good work the Father began in us, he will complete. Salvation is of the Lord, from beginning to end. At the Day of your return, we will be made completely whole, and the whole creation will be made new. On that Day our Father will plant us in the land of the new heaven and new earth—the ultimate promised land of this passage.
Until that Day, Holy Spirit, continue your transforming and liberating work in our lives. Free us—free me, from our unbelief. Free us to love and serve our God with singleness of heart, affectionate reverence, and gospel-driven obedience. Hallelujah, what a salvation! Hallelujah, what a Savior! So very Amen we pray, in Jesus’ triumphant name. Amen.