In Canada, this is the Victoria Day weekend. In many ways its the strangest day on our holiday calendar. Some have said that it’s a Canadian holiday with no Canadian to cheer for -- sort of like watching an all-American Stanley Cup final. Queen Victoria was British. She never set foot in this country. In the U.S., Memorial Day is always observed on the last Monday in May. The holiday honors members of the military who died in service to their country. We as Canadian share so much with our American allies. Although we are allies in battle, the two countries of Canada and the United States celebrate two different holidays this weekend.
During the final siege of Jerusalem at the end of Zedekiah’s reign, the two tribes of Israel and Judah, both came to realize that their socially constructed world of the prophets was shown to be bankrupt, Jeremiah surprisingly began to preach sermons about God’s future plans for Israel and Judah in a series of poetic promises of a new day (30:1–31:40).
His sermons did not provide false hope like the deceptive prophets. At the time Jerusalem endured terror, pain, and an incurable problem (30:4–7, 12–15). Now that history was proving that Jeremiah’s hopeless prophecies from God were true, the people were finally persuaded to internalize his depressing view of reality for Jerusalem. But in the future God would deliver them from bondage, send their Davidic King, destroy their enemies, and compassionately restore the people to their land (30:8–11, 16–24). Jeremiah proclaimed a new world for the future that was not developed out of the people’s present worldview. He challenged them to transform their thinking, to imagine the possibility that God’s original promises could still be fulfilled in the future.
What could legitimate such a belief? God’s commitment to be their God and their covenant commitment to Him (31:1). God’s everlasting love and compassion, God’s act of bringing back the exiles, and His rich blessing on the land would bring joyful dancing back to Samaria and Zion (31:3–14). When God hears the sorrowful weeping of His chastised people who repent, then there will be hope. Jeremiah constructed a new vision of the future which included both Judah and Israel being built up and planted in the land (31:15–30). A new covenant would establish a close, revitalized relationship. God would forgive their sins, and they would know and follow God’s patterns for life (31:31–34; cf. Deut. 4:13; 30:5–6). Jeremiah pressed the people to accept God’s promise for the future in spite of their present hopeless situation, for it was absolutely as sure as day and night—nothing could change it (31:35–40) (Smith, G. V. (1994). The Prophets as Preachers : An Introduction to the Hebrew Prophets (216–218). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman.).
God has a plan for your future. He has a plan for your spiritual development, your marriage, and your life in general. God’s plan for you is centered on the provision and promises that stem from your new covenant blessings.
Jeremiah 31 is the only passage in the Old Testament that promises “a new covenant.” It is the one place in the Old Covenant that lists the promises of the New Covenant. And since a covenant is also called a “testament,” it is the passage that gives the New Testament its name.
God’s plan for redemptive history is shown in the promises of the New Covenant. In it, the New Covenant promises 1) Reconciliation (Jeremiah 31:31-32), 2) Regeneration (Jeremiah 31:33a), 3) Possession (Jeremiah 31:33b), 4) Evangelization. (Jeremiah 31:34a), 5) Satisfaction for sin: (Jeremiah 31:34b).
1) First, the New Covenant promised Reconciliation, (Jeremiah 31:31-32),
Jeremiah 31:31-32 [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. (ESV)
The background to this announcement is the covenant inaugurated between Yahweh and Israel at Sinai (Exod. 19:1–24:11). Integral to that covenant was the concept of Yahweh as the sovereign Lord of the Covenant who laid upon those who accepted it the stipulations of the covenant. The continued existence of the covenant depended on the continuing recognition of Yahweh as Lord, and continuing obedience to the terms of the covenant (Jer. 11:1–8). Failure to obey these laws would result in judgment and the operation of the curses of the covenant. Obedience brought the covenant blessings.
A covenant is an agreement between two or more parties in which obligations are placed on one or both. ...the “grant” was between parties of unequal power in which the stronger obligated himself for the benefit of the weaker party without reciprocal demands (e.g., with Noah in Gen 9:8–17, with Abraham in Gen 12:1–3, and with David in 2 Sam 7:11–16) The covenant was the primary model God chose to use in communicating to Israel the nature of the relationship they would have with him. The foundation for that relationship was God’s promise to Abraham of an innumerable offspring and a land where he would bless them forever. They would also be the channel through which he would bless all the nations (Gen 12:1–3; 15:1–21; 17:1–27). There was a conditional element to the covenant in that faith, signified by circumcision and by right behavior (Gen 17:9–14; 18:19; Deut 10:12–22; 30:6), was required of Abraham’s descendants in order to qualify as heirs of the promises. Nevertheless, it was a grant in that Abraham was assured of its ultimate fulfillment and of a perpetual “remnant” of believing descendants. (Huey, F. (2001). Vol. 16: Jeremiah, Lamentations (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (281). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
The two names (here) serve as a reminder of how God’s people were affected by their history in the land. In the book of Jeremiah, the houses of Israel and Judah stand together under judgment (Jer. 5:11; 11:10, 17) and promise (Jer. 33:14). Indeed, the reunification of the two houses is part of the promised restoration (Jer. 3:18) (Keown, G. L. (2002). Vol. 27: Word Biblical Commentary : Jeremiah 26-52. Word Biblical Commentary (131). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.)
The history of Israel since the days of Moses was one of persistent failure to live according to the terms of the covenant. They had not merely refused to obey the law or to acknowledge Yahweh’s complete and sole sovereignty, but were incapable of such obedience. Here was a crisis for Israel’s faith which Jeremiah understood clearly. “Can the Nubian change his skin or the leopard its spots?” Jeremiah asked (Jeremiah 13:23), Clearly not. And could Israel do good when she had been taught evil (13:23)? It was a spiritual dilemma.
A new covenant was needed because they broke the first one despite the fact that Yahweh had undertaken mighty acts of deliverance on their behalf, seizing them by the hand and leading them from Egypt, and despite the fact that he was their Lord (Thompson, J. A. (1980). The Book of Jeremiah. The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (580–581). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.).
Please turn back to Jeremiah 3
Like the Old Covenant, the New Covenant was a corporate promise, not an individual promise. It promised to end the division between the northern and southern tribes.
Jeremiah first promised this reconciliation at the beginning of his book:
Jeremiah 3:17-18 [17]At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the LORD, and all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the LORD in Jerusalem, and they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil heart. [18]In those days the house of Judah shall join the house of Israel, and together they shall come from the land of the north to the land that I gave your fathers for a heritage. (ESV)
Now turn to the end of Jeremiah in chapter 50
Jeremiah repeats the promise of reconciliation at the end of his book:
Jeremiah 50:4-5 [4]"In those days and in that time, declares the LORD, the people of Israel and the people of Judah shall come together, weeping as they come, and they shall seek the LORD their God. [5]They shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, saying, ’Come, let us join ourselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.’ (ESV)
The way of salvation in both covenants, the old and the new, is the same. A person is saved by faith in Christ. The believer under the old covenant looked ahead to Christ as the fulfillment of all the types and pictures of the old covenant. The believer under the new covenant looks back to the accomplished work of Christ (Gosdeck, D. M. (1994). Jeremiah, Lamentations. The People’s Bible (204). Milwaukee, Wis.: Northwestern Pub. House.).
The point that Jeremiah said that “the days are coming” in v. 31 indicates that the Mosaic covenant would remain in effect, governing the lives of the people until the inauguration of the new one, which the incarnate Lord of the covenant declared would be at his crucifixion (Luke 22:20; 1 Cor 11:25; cf. Heb 10:1–8) (Huey, F. (2001). Vol. 16: Jeremiah, Lamentations (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (283). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
God’s plan for redemptive history is shown in the promises of the New Covenant promises of 1) Reconciliation (Jeremiah 31:31-32), and:
2) Regeneration (Jeremiah 31:33a),
Jeremiah 31:33a [33]But 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). (ESV)
The problem with the Mosaic Covenant was that it was written on tablets of stone (Exodus 31:18). If anything was written on the hearts of God’s people, it was only their sin:
Jeremiah 17:1 [17:1]"The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron; with a point of diamond it is engraved on the tablet of their heart, and on the horns of their altars, (ESV)
With the New Covenant, however, God solved the problem of the sinful heart by giving His children new hearts and new minds.
Quote: As John Calvin put it the Holy Spirit through the New Covenant “penetrates into the heart and reforms all the inward faculties, so that obedience is rendered to the righteousness of God.” (John Calvin, A Commentary on Jeremiah, 5 vols., Vol. 4 (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1989), p. 130.)
It must be emphasized that the New Covenant did not abolish the Old. Christ did not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17). Thus, “the new covenant is not so called because it is contrary to the first covenant.” Both covenants demand obedience to the Law. The difference is that the New Covenant brings the law from the outside to the inside.
Quote: As O. Palmer Robertson said:
“The distinctiveness of the ministry of law under the new covenant resides in its inward character. Rather than being administered externally, the law shall be administered from within the heart.” (Robertson, The Christ of the Covenants, p. 190.)
External law is burdensome and irritates. Fallen human nature rebels against bowing to external demands or threats to obey. Those under the new covenant will obey God not out of duty or fear but out of a God-given desire and ability to do so (cf. Rom 8:1–4; 2 Cor 5:14). (Huey, F. (2001). Vol. 16: Jeremiah, Lamentations (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (285). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
The heart stands for the mind, the organ of memory (Jer 3:16), of understanding (Deut 29:3 [Eng. 4] ), of ideas (Jer 23:16), and, especially, of conscious decisions of the will (Jer 3:10; 29:13) (Keown, G. L. (2002). Vol. 27: Word Biblical Commentary : Jeremiah 26-52. Word Biblical Commentary (134). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.).
Poem: Thomas à Kempis (c. 1380–1471) wrote a beautiful prayer about his longing for this new heart:
Write your blessed name, O LORD, upon my heart,
There to remain so indelibly engraved
that no prosperity or adversity
shall ever remove me from your love.
O Jesu, my only Savior!
Write your blessed name, O LORD, upon my heart.
( Thomas à Kempis, quoted in Urban Mission (June 1997), p. 30.).
Having the law written on their hearts is not so much a matter of immediate knowledge as transformed attitudes and behavior (22:16). The result is said to be not just the knowledge of the law but the knowledge of the Lord, i.e., a relationship with the Lord of the covenant by faith, the goal of all the earlier covenants. (Huey, F. (2001). Vol. 16: Jeremiah, Lamentations (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (285). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
Please turn to Hebrews 10
The Law written on the heart is a promise about the coming of God’s Spirit, for the book of Hebrews attributes Jeremiah’s promise to the Holy Spirit:
Hebrews 10:15-16 [15]And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, [16]"This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds," (ESV)
Ezekiel indicated that this change will result from God’s bestowal of the Holy Spirit on these believers (cf. Ezek. 36:24-32). In Old Testament times the Holy Spirit did not universally indwell all believers. Thus one different aspect of the New Covenant is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in all believers (cf. Joel 2:28-32). (Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-). The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures (Je 31:31–37). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
Only the Holy Spirit can change a heart. A Christian whose heart has been regenerated by God’s Spirit knows how to please God. Obedience to the Law is not a prior condition for entering the New Covenant. Rather, it is one of the promised blessings of the New Covenant.
Quote: In his notes on this verse Jonathan Edwards (1703–1758) wrote, “I think the difference here pointed out between these two covenants, lies plainly here, that in the old covenant God promised to be their God upon condition of hearty obedience; obedience was stipulated as a condition, but not promised. But in the new covenant, this hearty obedience is promised.” (Jonathan Edwards, The Works of Jonathan Edwards, 2 vols., Vol. 2 (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1974), p. 765.)
God’s plan for redemptive history is shown in the promises of the New Covenant promises of 1) Reconciliation (Jeremiah 31:31-32), 2) Regeneration (Jeremiah 31:33a), and
3) Possession (Jeremiah 31:33b)
Jeremiah 31:33 [33] (But 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. (ESV)
Please turn to Deuteronomy 26
There is a special relationship that exists between God and His people. Both parties are expected to fulfill relational expectations. The promise of belonging to God in a mutual love relationship is among the most frequently repeated promises of the Old Testament:
Deuteronomy 26:17-18 [17]You have declared today that the LORD is your God, and that you will walk in his ways, and keep his statutes and his commandments and his rules, and will obey his voice. [18]And the LORD has declared today that you are a people for his treasured possession, as he has promised you, and that you are to keep all his commandments, (ESV) (cf. Ex. 6:7; Dt. 29:12–13; Ezek. 11:20; SofS. 2:16a; Hos. 2:23b; cf. Zech. 8:8)
Whenever God makes a covenant with his people, what he is really giving them is himself. Thus the primary blessing of the New Covenant is friendship and fellowship with the Triune God. This “is the crown and goal of the whole process of religion, namely, union and communion with God.” (Murray, The Covenant of Grace, p. 31.)
The five “I wills” in the passage, together with references to “my covenant,” “my law,” and “my people,” demonstrate clearly that as in the other major theological covenants, it would be God taking the initiative. Human history since the garden of Eden (Gen 3:8–10) has been the story of humankind’s flight from God and his pursuit of us. The God who speaks in these verses is a pursuing God, who refuses to leave his people alone to follow their own self-destructive paths. He is a God of new beginnings (v. 22; Isa 42:9; 43:18–19; 48:6) who will never give up but will always do whatever is necessary to work out his best in our lives (Rom 8:28). Although he decrees and accomplishes what he desires (Isa 40:8; 55:11), he is also a God who responds. When Israel proved to be incapable of relating to God according to the Mosaic covenant, he provided a new one that would compensate for their lack. He is a God who not only comes down to us (Phil 2:6–8) but in the process lifts us up toward him (Eph 2:5–7). (Huey, F. (2001). Vol. 16: Jeremiah, Lamentations (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (284). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
God’s plan for redemptive history is shown in the promises of the New Covenant promises of 1) Reconciliation (Jeremiah 31:31-32), 2) Regeneration (Jeremiah 31:33a), 3) Possession (Jeremiah 31:33b) and:
4) Evangelization (Jeremiah 31:34a)
Jeremiah 31:34a [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)." (ESV)
A salvation oracle in the form of a change of speech pattern begins this verse and describes the consequences of having the LORD’s instruction written on the heart. It expands upon the promise in Jer 24:7. The exhortation “know [pl.] the LORD” will fall silent, because torah (“instruction, law”) written on the heart means that the LORD is known already (they shall all know me) (Keown, G. L. (2002). Vol. 27: Word Biblical Commentary : Jeremiah 26-52. Word Biblical Commentary (134). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.).
The Bible often commands believers to teach one another to know the Lord (Deuteronomy 6:1–9; Colossians 3:16). But Jeremiah promised a day when such teaching would no longer be necessary because everyone—from the youngest babe to the oldest saint—would know God.
When God writes the torah (“law, instruction”) on the people’s heart, mediators are bypassed and the limitations of written documents are superseded. Jeremiah’s audience knows that stone tablets can be broken (Exod 32:19; Deut 9:17) and that scrolls can be lost or ignored (2 Kgs 22:8), and burned (Jer 36:23) or drowned (Jer 51:63). Written documents are also limited to one location, and their availability is restricted (Keown, G. L. (2002). Vol. 27: Word Biblical Commentary : Jeremiah 26-52. Word Biblical Commentary (133). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.).
But for what God does with the New Covenant, the word know “carries its most profound connotation, the intimate personal knowledge which arises between two persons who are committed wholly to one another in a relationship that touches mind, emotion, and will.” (Thompson, The Book of Jeremiah, p. 581.)
The old covenant pointed to Christ as its fulfillment. By its very nature, then, it was temporary and passing. Many of its activities—the repeated animal sacrifices, for example—emphasized its transitory nature. The old covenant, announced at Mount Sinai, also served to keep the Jewish people separate from the surrounding heathen, a unique nation, preserved intact by the regulations laid upon them by the old covenant. Their separation ensured that they would remain a people until the promised Messiah would come (Gosdeck, D. M. (1994). Jeremiah, Lamentations. The People’s Bible (204). Milwaukee, Wis.: Northwestern Pub. House.).
To a limited degree, the promise in Jeremiah has already come true in the Church. Every believer knows Jesus Christ. So although every Christian needs the gospel every day, every Christian does not need to be converted every day.
Yet the promise of the end of evangelization is especially for eternity. There will be no revival meetings in the new Heavens and the new Earth. No one will stand on the corner and pass out tracts. No one will share the Four Spiritual Laws. No one will knock on your door and ask, “If you were to die tonight, what would you say to God when he asks, ‘Why should I let you into my Heaven?’ ” There will be no evangelism because there will be no need. Everyone there will know God, from the least to the greatest.
God’s plan for redemptive history is shown in the promises of the New Covenant promises of 1) Reconciliation (Jeremiah 31:31-32), 2) Regeneration (Jeremiah 31:33a), 3) Possession (Jeremiah 31:33b) 4) Evangelization (Jeremiah 31:34a) and finally:
5) Satisfaction for Sin: (Jeremiah 31:34b)
Jeremiah 31:34b [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." (ESV)
This is perhaps the best blessing of the New Covenant. The Old Covenant tried to deal with the problem of sin through the sacrifices of the Law. But in the New Covenant, sin would be dealt with once and for all. The price for sin would be paid in full; God not only forgives, but he also forgets.
The way the New Covenant deals with the problem of sin is through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. The sins of God’s people were forgiven and forgotten at Calvary.
When Jesus celebrated Passover with his disciples:
1 Corinthians 11:25 [25]In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." (ESV) (cf. Luke 22:20 ).
• Jesus was claiming that all the promises of the New Covenant find their fulfillment in him. Jesus is the New Covenant. The New Covenant is established by his blood shed on the cross for our sins.
Please turn to Hebrews 8
The writer to the Hebrews was captivated by Jeremiah’s vision of the New Covenant. Again and again he speaks of “a better covenant” (Heb.7:22) or as it says in Hebrews 8:
Hebrews 8:6-13 [6]But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. [7]For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. [8]For he finds fault with them when he says: "Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, [9]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. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord. [10]For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.[11]And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ’Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. [12]For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more." [13]In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. (ESV) Now over to Hebrews 9
• God found fault not with the covenant but with the people. A better covenant was needed to deal with the problem of sin.
• The better covenant in Hebrews is one and the same as the New Covenant in Jeremiah, for Hebrews quotes Jeremiah’s entire promise (8:8–12).
• By calling this covenant ‘new,’ he [God] has made the first one obsolete” (v. 13a), it is not that Old Covenant is abolished but fulfilled in the New. The laws of the Old Covenant remain, now written on the heart.
• But the New Covenant is so much better that it is as if the Old has been done away with completely.
The reason the New Covenant is so much better is because of Christ:
Hebrews 9:15 [15]Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. (ESV)
• The New Covenant offers full and final satisfaction for the curse of God against every kind of covenant-breaking.
(Format note: Some base commentary from Ryken, P. G. (2001). Jeremiah and Lamentations : From sorrow to hope. Preaching the Word (468–473). Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books.)
