Receptacles and retainers of God’s love

Hebrews 8:10 “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” says the Lord: “I will put My laws into their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” The significance of this verse lies in the context of Jeremiah’s days. God said to Israel in Jeremiah 31:27, “‘Behold, days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and with the seed of beast. As I have watched over them to pluck up, to break down, to overthrow, to destroy and to bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,’ declares the Lord.” In this verse, when God referred to “after those days,” I think He was referring to the days of plucking up, breaking down, overthrowing, destroying, and bringing disaster, which sums up the history of the Hebrews. The author considered his present time to be the time of which God spoke through Jeremiah when he prophesied the effecting of this second, superior covenant. This is the time of building and planting that the Lord watches over to perform. That time of which God spoke is now. It began when Jesus was resurrected and continues until Jesus returns.  Let’s notice this covenant is with the house of Israel. The root of the name in the Hebrew conveys the idea of becoming rigid from the retention of liquidity added to the Hebrew name for God, el. Some have suggested Israel means to struggle since the name was given when Jacob wrestled with God. However, this definition of Israel based on the root forms of Hebrew from Abarim Publications expresses significant meaning. “Israel means He retains God, or slightly more elaborate: He has become a receptacle in which God can be received and retained.” That meaning best describes what it means to abide in Him and He in us. It matches what we read in these verses describing the new covenant in Jesus Christ. We, His people, become a receptacle in which God, the Holy Spirit, is received and retained. When God gives us the Holy Spirit, we receive God’s laws in our minds. God writes His laws on our hearts. He is our God, and we are His receptacles, His people, who retain God within our souls and bodies.  Does that encourage you like it does me? That’s amazing! The first Israel struggled with God under the covenant of Law, but the new Israel receives and retains God. He dwells within as we live under the blessings of a covenant of grace. Can you see the connection with what Jesus said in John 15:10? “If you keep My commandments (receive them and let them abide in you, written on your heart), you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.”  My dear friends, believers in Jesus Christ, whether Greek or Jew, are the new Israel, under a new covenant. We retain God! Therefore, we are receptacles and channels of His love in this world. Stop and think on that reality—you are a receptacle of God’s love—so live to love with Jesus.