November 18, 2022

Jeremiah 31:31-40 (HCSB)
The New Covenant 31 “Look, the days are coming”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 32 This one will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant they broke even though I had married them” —the Lord’s declaration. 33 “Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days”—the Lord’s declaration. “I will put My teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people. 34 No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least to the greatest of them” —this is the Lord’s declaration. “For I will forgive their wrongdoing and never again remember their sin.” 35 This is what the Lord says: The One who gives the sun for light by day, the fixed order of moon and stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea and makes its waves roar — Yahweh of Hosts is His name: 36 If this fixed order departs from My presence— this is the Lord’s declaration— then also Israel’s descendants will cease to be a nation before Me forever. 37 This is what the Lord says: If the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth below explored, I will reject all of Israel’s descendants because of all they have done— this is the Lord’s declaration. 38 “Look, the days are coming”—the Lord’s declaration—“when the city from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate will be rebuilt for the Lord. 39 A measuring line will once again stretch out straight to the hill of Gareb and then turn toward Goah. 40 The whole valley—the corpses, the ashes, and all the fields as far as the Kidron Valley to the corner of the Horse Gate to the east—will be holy to the Lord. It will never be uprooted or demolished again.”

Neil Andrews
It’s safe to assume that no one wants to be the bearer of bad news. For 25 chapters Jeremiah delivered YHWH’s message from Jeremiah 1:9 – “[He] touched my mouth and told me: I have now filled your mouth with MY words.” Throughout those chapters, the prophet shared warnings of judgment to Judah and yet, frequently, these words came with compassion;  “I will not look on you in anger for I am merciful…” “Return, O faithless children, says the Lord…” The “new covenant” promise is one of the most significant Old Testament prophecies. In Jer. 31:32 the new covenant is "not like the covenant that I made with their fathers." Moses wrote the old covenant on tablets of stone and scrolls, but the new is written on hearts. In the old covenant, the people were to remember and practice the Law. Under the new covenant, His Spirit guides… because each person would have direct access to YHWH. The biggest difference? The Lord would “forgive their iniquity” and “remember their sin no more.” In fact, before His promises would fail, the courses of the sun, moon, and stars would change. The new covenant is a profound source of hope for Israel’s future – it doesn’t replace the others, it fulfills them!