There is special criticism for someone who knows something and can speak with their lips, but doesn’t know it and live it in their heart.
These words of Jeremiah quoted in this letter to the Hebrews go to the core of God’s message.
God is declaring in these words that first, he was giving a new covenant. This letter to the Hebrews clearly understands that this new covenant is the sending to us of his divine Son, Jesus the Christ. He is the new covenant. It is in believing in him and opening one’s heart to him that the new covenant is sealed in our hearts and lives. There is truly intimate language and understanding of his covenant, because it is written in our hearts. Wow!
The letter quotes and notes that this covenant will not have to be taught, as it states so bluntly —
“And they shall not teach, each one his fellow citizen and kinsman, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know me, from least to greatest.”
Now that is inspired and divine knowledge: a direct gift from God. One might think that is exactly what Jesus was handing out to his newly-minted disciples who became his twelve apostles. This truly was the new Israel; instead of twelve tribes there were twelve apostles. Jesus states so clearly that they were chosen, that they “might be with him” and be sent to preach, and be given authority to drive out demons!
What, one might ask, has been given to us? For don’t we know with a different knowledge the Lord of life! Don’t we look at the cross and see much more than just a man nailed to it?
Don’t we see and hear divine love being poured out of his heart and out from his lips as he prays to the Father? And aren’t we accustomed to crossing our own selves with frequency and almost without thinking?
Isn’t the cross something that is also written in our hearts? Such knowledge is so pure! Such knowledge is “wonderful to behold!”
