Light Day 24: Jeremiah 31:33-37

But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name:
If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.
Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.

God places such importance on life-giving light that He sets it as the surety of His New Covenant!

Notice first the promises of the New Covenant:

• He puts His law in our hearts.
• He writes it in our inward parts.
• He positions Himself as our God.
• He makes us His people.
• He causes us to all know Him.
• He forgives our iniquity.
• He causes our sin to be remembered no more.

Then God sets the surety of this covenant:

• First, “The LORD of hosts is His name” – He is Surety.
• The sun for a light by day
• The moon and stars for a light by night (which divide the sea)
• The immeasurable vastness of the heavens
• The unsearchable nature of the earth’s foundations

Ponder how regularly the sun rises and sets each day, how the moon and stars appear to light each night. If those ordinances, set by God at creation, cease from before God, then the covenant is void.

Think about the vastness of the universe – something we certainly can’t measure – and the mystery of the earth’s foundations. If we learn everything there is to know about these, then God will cast away His people.

The covenant itself is unsearchable in its scope and glory. But let’s meditate for a bit on the surety of the covenant. One would hardly think that God would choose to use a created object such as the sun for a comparison of how unshakable His covenant is. But perhaps God places greater importance on light than we can imagine.

The world can be light without the sun – God showed this by creating light on the very first day of the world, while He didn’t create the sun, moon, and stars until the fourth day. However, God set the sun, moon, and stars in heaven for a specific purpose: to create distinction between day and night, to be for signs, seasons, days, and years, and to be the givers of light. He created a visible sign and reminder of His very own light and His faithfulness to His people. Each day as we watch the sunrise, see the moon, or gaze at the stars, we are reminded of His covenants and who He is. Now, because He has set these as the signs of His New Covenant, we can be reminded of His new faithfulness in making His law part of us, changing our identity to His, knowing Him, and removing our sins and iniquities.

Perhaps this gives us, too, a new realization of the importance God places on light and the ordinances He established in the heavens. We know that His covenant will not fail – and therefore we can be equally assured that the sun, moon, and stars will continue to give light upon the earth just as has happened from the beginning. The Source of True Heavenly Light will never fail, and equally the source of earthly light will not fail – because the True Light has established it.

What has God revealed to you about His light? Leave a comment!