Hebrews 8:9

Hebrews 8:9

They did not remain faithful

This is a further quote from Jeremiah 31, and it reveals something of the emotions in the heart of God towards His people. We can almost feel His sadness as He recalls His covenant relationship with the ancient Israelites, “I took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt.” This is the Lord God at His most gentle and caring, it is with tenderness and love that He led the people away from the cruel demands of their Egyptian slave masters and guided them through the Red Sea and the wilderness. After a few months the vast crowd of ex-Hebrew slaves arrived at Mount Sinai and there the Lord gave them the terms and conditions of His covenant. He had high expectations, they had none. They were never going to obey Him completely; they were unfaithful people and still are. But even as we read these words, we realise that we are looking in a mirror for we are no better! The last part of this verse is chilling, because the people were not faithful to God’s covenant, He turned away from them!

There is much to challenge us here. God has also made a covenant with us and we too are faithless creatures. I realise that He knows this but looking at myself, I have to admit that I am without excuse. He has done so much for me and yet I am unfaithful in return.  God forbid that He should ever turn away from any of us!

For Israel, their unfaithfulness had dramatic and long-lasting consequences. A whole generation missed out on the Promised Land and never entered God’s rest. For those who did make it, 40 years later, there followed years of instability and turbulence in their relationship with the Lord, simply because they, and their leaders, disobeyed Him and treat His covenant with disdain. Their story is a metaphor of all that goes on in the church and the lives of believers today. The Lord longs for our faithfulness, for men and women who He can trust and who do not constantly disobey Him, disown Him and treat Him with contempt. 

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