Jeremiah 30-31: The New Covenant

"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. 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.” Jeremiah 31:33-34

In this great and wonderful text before us this morning we see the marvelous mercy of our God. Though there be thousands of biblical texts, hundreds of biblical stories, and myriads of biblical truths, I propose to you this morning the following: there is perhaps no greater picture of the mercy of our God in all of scripture than in Jeremiah 31. Bold statement? Surely. Yet I will now argue my case:

Yesterday, we observed the promise of Jeremiah 29:11, where the LORD promised, amidst Israel's exile, to not cast them off forever, but to give them a hope and a future. We found in this verse that though the Israelites did not know God's plan for them, God did, and he promised to them that even though they did not know that plan, it was a good plan that brought a hope and a future for them (Romans 8:28 rings in our ears.). Yet, let us ask a very, very practical question: what was this hope and this future? In Jeremiah 29:11, scripture tells us that God knows what that would be. And should God be so kind and loving, he might ponder to tell of his children what this hope and this future would be. And, in part, he tells us in Jeremiah 30-31.

Once again, remember the context here: Jeremiah has just, for 29 chapters, spoken of the great apostasy, idolatry, adultery, and rebellion of the Israelites. He has spoken to them about how they ought to repent, how they have greatly failed the Lord, and how he was going to destroy them for their iniquity. Yet amidst all of that surrounding gloom, the LORD places hope in chapters 30 and 31. Just as we found yesterday how Jeremiah 29:11 was a glimpse of hope in a dark time, so 30 and 31 draws out that hope and tell us what God's plan is for his people, that is, the New Covenant.

Now, before we understand the "New Covenant" we must understand the "Old Covenant." Do you remember our studies through the book of Exodus, where the LORD came down on Mt. Sinai and revealed his law to the people of Israel? This, my friends, is what we refer to as the "Mosaic" or "Old Covenant." This covenant was bilateral, meaning that if the people obeyed, God would bless them, but if they disobeyed, God would punish them for their iniquity. And many Israelites (like the Pharisees in the New Testament) thought that this Covenant could lead to their salvation, as they obeyed the laws and sought righteousness on their own behalf. However, this Covenant ultimately taught the ultimate truth: that one cannot save himself, since he will continually fall short of the law. If we read the Old Testament rightly, we find that the only true way to be saved was to have faith in God (go read Romans 4). Yet, the Israelites, as clearly seen by the books of history, failed to do this. They failed to keep the law of God, and they failed to be faithful to their Redeemer. Thus, they needed a new solution, a new covenant, which is what we find here.

In Jeremiah 31, the New Covenant of our LORD is promised. In this New Covenant, rather than having the law of the LORD written on tablets of stone for men to follow, it would be written on their hearts. And rather than having a faithful portion of God's people teach an unfaithful portion how to follow the law, under the New Covenant, all of the covenant members shall know the LORD and his law. And lastly, and perhaps most beautifully, in this New Covenant, God will remember the sins of his people no more. This, my dear friends, is where the glory and majesty and wonder of our LORD is capstoned: not only will he write his law in our hearts and cause us to know him, but in Christ, our LORD will remember our sins no more.

In conclusion, let us realize that this great Covenant was promised to the Israelites, yet through Christ, is made true for you and me, and thus we worship the God of our Salvation. What God so marvelous would prophesy an opportunity for mercy amidst the very rebellion of his people? What God so gracious would offer to write his law on the tablets of his peoples' hearts that they might obey him forever? What God so awesome would cause sinners to know him and offer freely to be their God? And finally, what God so loving would give to us an opportunity to have our sins be remembered no more? In Christ, my dear friends, he has made all of these promises come true. Let us thank him for these things this morning. Amen.