Jeremiah 31:31-40--The New Covenant

Jeremiah 31:31-40
English Standard Version

The New Covenant
31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

35 Thus says the LORD,
who gives the sun for light by day
    and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night,
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar--
    the LORD of hosts is his name:
36 “If this fixed order departs
    from before me, declares the LORD,
then shall the offspring of Israel cease
    from being a nation before me forever.”

37 Thus says the LORD:
“If the heavens above can be measured,
    and the foundations of the earth below can be explored,
then I will cast off all the offspring of Israel
    for all that they have done,
declares the LORD.”

38 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when the city shall be rebuilt for the LORD from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 39 And the measuring line shall go out farther, straight to the hill Gareb, and shall then turn to Goah. 40 The whole valley of the dead bodies and the ashes, and all the fields as far as the brook Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be sacred to the LORD. It shall not be plucked up or overthrown anymore forever.”

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For those of you who have been around for a while, you may recognize this passage as one of the passages I've talked about when looking at the Old Testament passages that tell us about the new (and better) covenant.  If this is your first time examining this passage, I hope you take the time to really meditate on it.  Let's first notice though that although we understand from the New Testament that this covenant is open to all people in all places, this passage is a promise addressed specifically to the Twelve Tribes that have been fractured into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah.  The LORD will one day make one new covenant with them (implying they would once again be a united people).  It would be very different from the Mosaic Covenant that was made with the nation of Israel when the LORD made them a nation when He redeemed them and led them out from their slavery in Egypt.  This covenant is going to be compared to a marriage covenant with the LORD being the husband and the nation of Israel being His Bride (set aside any ideas you may have just had enter your mind about the Church being The Bride of Christ for now as we are not in the New Testament epistles, but in the Old Testament prophets.  The LORD is describing His special covenantal relationship with the people and nation of Israel--now Israel and Judah at the time that Jeremiah is writing this).

This covenant was quickly and consistently broken.  It was impossible for this people to keep this covenant because they were descendants of Adam and inherited his sin nature because of Original Sin.  Something is going to need to fundamentally change in the hearts of the people if they are ever going to be able to be the people the LORD called them to be in Exodus 19 and through all the words of His prophets throughout the years.  The first major difference that the LORD describes is that the covenant would not be external in that it would not simply be written on stone tablets and be something that would need to be taught to every generation.  Along with this comes the second idea that it is something that will change the nature of these covenant people so that they will no longer need to teach it to one another because it will be written on their hearts.  They will know instinctively what pleases and displeases the LORD and they will want to do what pleases the LORD.  Then comes the third, and probably most significant difference.  Sin is no longer only atoned for but is forgiven under this covenant.  We'll see as we go forward that we no longer have categories of sin that can be atoned for with blood sacrifices but other high-handed sins of rebellion for which no sacrifice can atone for them.  Even their iniquity (their high-handed sins of rebellion) will be forgiven.  Something is going to fundamentally change, and this is exciting news to these people.  Not only will their sin be forgiven, but it will be forgotten.  It will be as if it never even happened.  Yes, God is omniscient (all-knowing), but He is able to choose not to remember things.  So, one day when the one who is responsible to keep all the records of all the offenses committed against Him has the accuser (Satan) try to convince Him why we don't deserve to be let into heaven, the Lord Jesus will say, "I have no record of any such offenses.  This person's record is completely clean."  That is not to say we lived a perfect life, but all of our imperfections were put on and paid for by Jesus on the cross, and the LORD only sees the perfection of His Son when He sees us.

Pay attention to the next verse for anyone who believes in replacement theology.  Creation would have to cease to exist and the laws of Nature that the LORD put in place would have to cease to exist before the people of Israel would stop being a people that the LORD loved and had an eternal, unchangeable covenant with.  It is more likely that heaven and earth will pass away (and they will) than God's love for the nation of Israel will change or cease (and it won't).  If the LORD could break (or replace, or supersede, or any other word you want to use to try to get around Him breaking His eternal promise) His eternal, everlasting, unconditional covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob because they failed and disappointed Him (He always knew what they would be and do and was never surprised by any of it), then what is to make you think that you have any security or assurance that He will keep His eternal, everlasting, unconditional covenant of grace and redemption (The New Covenant) with you when you so often fail and disappoint Him?  Are you any better than Israel?  The honest answer is "No, we are not."  We are not saved by how much we love Him, but by how much He loves us.  That was true for Israel in the past and it is true for us today.

Now that the LORD has taken care of assuring the people of Israel and Judah that this exile and judgment will not destroy them and that nothing is going to keep the LORD from fulfilling all the promises that were made to them in what we would now call the Old Testament, then we are ready to start talking about some of the things that are a sure and certain hope that the people heading into exile can cling to.  One day, the city of Jerusalem would be rebuilt.  In fact, the LORD promises that this new city will extend beyond its original city limits.  All the unclean places that were outside of town where dead bodies and dung and garbage and ground down, burnt up idols were put will all be come sacred ground to the LORD.  He will make all of it clean again.  One day, there will be a Land and a City that will belong to the people of Israel and Judah, and it will be their eternal inheritance and possession never to be taken away and they will never be taken away from it.

Let's make note of one thing that is not mentioned here that makes me think this "one day" Jerusalem is talking about the New Jerusalem and not the Jerusalem that was rebuilt under Ezra and Nehemiah.  Notice the glaring absence of the mention of a rebuilt temple.  In fact, one of the places the LORD mentioned cleansing was where the ashes and the unclean portions of the sacrifices that were made on the altar of the LORD were discarded.  There would be no more need for a dumping ground for these sacrifices or for the Temple because something was going to happen that would put an end to the need for all these sacrifices.  When we get to the New Jerusalem in the book of Revelation, there is no more Temple because the entire City is the Holy of Holies where the LORD will reside with His people.  There will be no more veil and no more blood atonement to gain access.  We will all have access always, all the time.  The gates will always be open.  The Light of God's presence will always be on.  This is the promise of the New Covenant that will be for the LORD's people.  Something is going to fundamentally change, and they see but a shadow of it here, but we understand more fully what the LORD was promising to them from our understanding of the New Testament.  Does the LORD still love Israel?  Yes!  Does He still intend to fulfil these New Covenant promise for them?  Absolutely!   So then, how can you help reach the Jewish people that God loves and help them be made aware of all that the LORD has done to secure this New Covenant for them?  It is true that there is room enough for the Gentiles too, but even Jesus said that His mission was first and foremost to come for the lost sheep of Israel and Paul said that gospel was to the Jew first and then also to the Gentile.  God desires for all Israel to be saved.  Do you? How can you have the heart and mind of Christ in this matter?