In this lesson we will study Jeremiah 31:31-34. Before doing so, however, as is our custom, let us greet one another, be helpful to one another, and be thankful that we can come together to study God's Word. Let us begin with a prayer and then introduce the prophet Jeremiah.
O Heavenly Father, we thank you that you have given us new hearts in Jesus Christ the Lord. Pour out upon us your grace that we may receive this new heart and thereby love you and each other forever. In the mighty name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
Before we introduce Jeremiah, let us address the questions that were presented at the end of the previous lesson on Christ the righteous king. Where did we come from? We can from Christ, born from above in baptism. Who are we? We are subjects of Christ the King. Where are we now? We are living in his Kingdom where we are blessed to know and serve the living God. Where are we going? By faith, we believe that someday we will see him face to face in heaven. What must we do? “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice” (Philippians 4:4).
Jeremiah's was born about 650 years before Christ in a little town called Anathoth about three miles North of Jerusalem. When still quite young he was called by God to be a prophet, and his prophetic career spanned nearly four decades, the years 626-587 before Christ. These were terrible times for the Southern Kingdom of Judah. The Northern Kingdom has been destroyed by the Assyrians in the preceding century, and although Judah was not destroyed, she had become a vassal of the Assyrians. Late the seventh century before Christ, the Assyrian empire began to collapse and the Babylonians came to power. In the year 597, they overran Judah and carried many of the people into exile. Then in 587, the Babylonians returned to Judah. They laid siege to Jerusalem, and after some months, broke into the city. They destroyed the city and burned the temple to the ground. They slaughtered a major portion of the population, and, along with the wealth of the city, carried many others into Exile. Only the poorest of the people were left behind. Jeremiah was one of them.
Early in his prophetic career, before the Babylonians had conquered Judah, Jeremiah spoke the words of the Lord to the people. He called the people to repent of their violations of the covenant. He warned them that unless they repented, they would surely be destroyed. The people, leaders, priests, and false prophets rejected Jeremiah's message. His warnings, however, proved true. The Southern Kingdom was destroyed and many people were carried into Exile. After God's judgment had fallen upon the people, God gave Jeremiah a new word. This word was a word of hope, and it is found in Jeremiah 31:31-34. Let us read this passage aloud at least twice and answer the following questions.
Jeremiah 31:31-34
1. When will this new covenant take place?
2 With whom will God make this covenant?
3. When did God make the first covenant, and what did he do for them in those days?
4. What do you think it means when God says he was a husband to Israel and Judah?
5. What will God do for the hearts of minds of those who receive the new covenant?
6. What, in your view, are some of the wonderful things about having a covenant relationship with God and being one of his people?
7. Verse 34 is not saying that we should not teach each other, but only that everyone who enters into the new covenant will know God. What do we need to do in order to know God?
8. Thinking back over the first lessons we learned, how do you know that God will forgive your wickedness and remember your sins no more?
The Old and the New Covenant
In this section we will discuss some of the differences between the new covenant made in Christ Jesus and the covenant God made with his people when "took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt" (Jeremiah 31:32). We studied that covenant in the lesson entitled Worship and the Covenant. Please consider the following points.
1. As we have seen, under the old covenant, the Passover Lamb, as well as the blood of bulls and goats, was sacrificed to atone for human sins. Hebrews 10:4 states, however, that "it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins." Jeremiah 31:34 promises that there will come a time when God will fully forgive sin. "I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." The time of complete forgiveness was and is the time of Jesus Christ. The blood of bulls and goats could not take away sin since only a sinless human life can atone for human sin. Jesus Christ was sinless, and therefore, his offering for sin was perfect. Unlike the old covenant, the new covenant fully dealt with sin, so that those who believe in Jesus can have their sins completely forgiven.
2. According to Jeremiah 31:33, God proclaims that "I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts." How is that possible? How does God write his law on our hearts? In a previous lesson, The Cross and Resurrection, we read Luke 22:7-24:49, the story of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection. In another lesson, Forgiving and Being Healed we learned how to pray for one another, placing our suffering upon Christ. As we read these passages, as we forgave others, as we prayed for one another and placed upon Christ, the abuse, blows, and insults we have received, we were healed. As we did these things, God wrote the person of Christ in our hearts. Christ is the law of God in the flesh. He fulfilled the law, and as we read and receive Christ, God writes his law in our hearts. This is not a single event. It is a process, a process that takes place over a lifetime. As we study Christ more fully, as we read how he lived and died, as he becomes more and more real to us, he becomes the center of our thoughts and the passion of our hearts. As this happens God is writing the Lord Jesus in our hearts and minds, and as he does, the new law of love in Christ will be in us forever. In that way Jesus Christ fulfills Jeremiah 31:33.
3. In Jeremiah 31:32, God declares that his people broke covenant with him, even though he was their husband. Since the people broke covenant with God, he judged them with the Assyrian and Babylonia invasions. Many of the people were killed and others enslaved. Under the new covenant, however, God does not judge us with death. He judges Jesus with death for our sake. He acquits us and clothes us with the righteousness of Christ, even as we violate the covenant. For, as we learned in Clothed in Christ’s Righteousness, we are set right, justified, accepted, and forgiven by faith in Jesus Christ.
In these three ways, the new covenant fulfills and completes the old covenant. What a glorious covenant we have in Christ Jesus our Lord!
4. As you think about these things, how would you answer the five questions of our study: Where did we come from? Who are we? Where are we now? Where are we going? What must we do?
Action Steps
1. As described in the first lessons, when a person first begins to truly follow Jesus Christ, they are heavily laden with sins. Are you, as a group, still engaged in the process of a life review in which you repent of all past sins, offering them one by one to God and each other for forgiveness? If not, please do so. There is no need to continually repent of the same sin over and over. Nevertheless, the Holy Spirit works to reveal sins that are often hidden in our hearts. If we follow Jesus, we will become aware of them. These need to be confessed and forgiven and we need to help each other in this process as described in the lessons, The Ten Commandments, The Cross and Resurrection and Forgiveness.
2. In our lesson, Forgiving and Being Healed, we learned how to offer the sins committed against us to God for his healing. This is not a one-time event. As a person follows Jesus, God continues to reveal resentments, bitterness, and unholy attitudes buried in our hearts. As these become clear to us, we are called to forgive those who did us wrong, and to offer our resentment and bitterness to Christ for healing. We can help each other do this by listening, by encouraging each other to forgive, by pronouncing Christ's forgiveness, and by laying hands on one another and praying the sufferings of Christ for them. Is your small group still engaged in that process? This is one of the easiest things to omit, but it is so important, for as we do this, God writes the new law of love in your hearts and minds.
Do not be surprised if you are reluctant to do the above two action steps. There is often resistance. In the name of Christ, conquer you resistance, defeat the devil, help each other surrender all to God. Let us say the following together.
In the mighty name of the risen Lord Jesus, we resist all inclinations to pull back from our sins and resentments, we refuse all temptations of the devil, and we insist on receiving the new law of love in our hearts. In Christ's name we proclaim this. Amen.
The Rev. Robert J. Sanders, Ph.D.
