GOD’S LAW IN THE HEART
LESSON FOR THE JUNIOR CLASSES
STUDY SCRIPTURE:
JEREMIAH 31 : 29-34 JOHN 1:17
Key Verse
“I will put My law within them and write it on their heart; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people”. Jeremiah 31: 33b
INTRODUCTION
God has been speaking to human beings from the time He created them and placed them in the Garden of Eden. There they met God, knew Him, learned from Him and knew they had to follow His instructions for them to be in Paradise and have continued blessings.
After man sinned and no longer could live in the Paradise of the Garden of Eden God reminded them of His laws by which they should live.
When God called Abraham and made a covenant with him to bless him and those children that descended from him, God created the nation of Israel from his descendants. They promised to obey God’s laws but the vast majority of the time they did not obey. They suffered as a result and God had to show them mercy and kindness over and over again.
God therefore made a promise to the nation. In Jeremiah 33:33 we read God’s promise to Israel, which we know from Jesus and the Apostles applies also to us living today that accept Jesus Christ as our Saviour:
“I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart I will write it”.
So let us think carefully about this promise. It means that since their past behaviour showed clearly that they had kept on disobeying God’ laws, God would have to do something new to change the people. God thus said He would give them a new heart and then write His laws on this New Heart. God would then set up a New Covenant and they would know right from wrong and follow the rules God had laid down without breaking any of them.
We have the same problem as the people of Israel for we have been taught the laws of God by the prophets of God and by Jesus Christ. But we too have made bad mistakes, some small and some great. We have made bad choices and ignored what we know to be right. We like the people of Israel seem to like to make bad choices, even when we know we should not do wrong for they will lead to unpleasant consequences.
Sometimes we children think we know better than our parents or even the God obeying leaders God had appointed in the Church. Sometimes we think our actions and choices are funny. We think all we need to do when we make bad choices is to ask for forgiveness and that will make things right and take away the pain we caused ourselves and caused to others.
But God has told us in the Bible that when we come to Him and understand that we are His children and in His family He will give us a New Heart, and put His laws in our hearts. The Holy Spirit will live inside us and will guide us, teach us the laws of God, remind us of these laws, and keep on changing us so that one day we will not make bad choices, and not damage ourselves. The Spirit of God will keep us and ensure we will please God in everything we do. So let us talk to God often, tell Him all our feelings and our needs. And ask Him, for He is a loving Father, to continue to help us. He has promised to do just that. He is a good and loving Father. He will never leave alone. So just keep on trusting and loving Him. It is well worth it.