Jeremiah 31:31-34 - The New Covenant

The New Covenant

Jeremiah 31:31-34 [31] Behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: [32] not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they broke, although I was a husband to them, says Yahweh. [33] But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says Yahweh: I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people: [34] and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know Yahweh; for they shall all know me, from their least to their greatest, says Yahweh: for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more.

The New Covenant. According to the words of Jeremiah, God will do four things as part of this new covenant he will make with his people:

1) He will write his laws in our minds and hearts. What does this really mean? Is his law written there simply because we hope it is?

Jesus said that the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart (Matthew 12:34; Luke 6:45). The words of our mouth, our daily conversation, the attitude connected with what we say reveals the law written in our minds and hearts. What law is shown to be in your heart and my heart?

In the same way, our actions, our behavior, the choices we make, the lives we choose to live, reveal what is written in our minds and hearts. What law is shown to be in your heart and my heart by the life you live?

2) A Close and Proper Relationship. God says, I will be their God and they will be my people. What does this really mean? Those who have entered into this new covenant with God will have a close and proper relationship with God, and God with them.

Who is our God? Jesus said that we cannot serve two masters. Which master are we serving? Do we serve the one true God as our first and only master, in loving obedience? Or, do we call him “Lord, Lord,” but actually serve another master, or have priorities different from God's priorities?

Are we his people? Do we live as God's people, a people set apart from the world and its ways, or do we live as people of the world live? Again, do we have earthly or heavenly goals? Do we spend more time and energy on pursuing earthly treasure or heavenly treasure? Whose people are we? The people who have entered into this new covenant made by God live as the people of God, seeking first his kingdom and his righteousness.

3) All Shall Know Me. The people of the new covenant will know God. This is not some secret or difficult knowledge that only a certain group of society can discover. Do we know God, his character and his will? These are not hidden things.

God is love. Those who know God will love. They will love God and will love their neighbor. He who does not love, does not know God, for God is love (1 John 4:7-8). What does this love consist of? God cares for the widow and orphan. Do we? God humbled himself to serve others. Do we? Do we know God in this way?

Jesus said that many will come to him at the judgment day expecting to be received. He will tell them, “Depart from me, I never knew you, you who practiced lawlessness” (Matthew 7:21-23). Such people told themselves they knew God, but they did not know God and were not known by him. They practiced sin. They thought that God would allow them to go on sinning willfully, but they did not know him who is not mocked (Galatians 6:7-10). How do we know the Lord? Do we really know him who called us to repentance and righteousness? The people of the new covenant know God in this way.

4) I Will Forgive Their Iniquity and Remember Their Sin No More. The people of the new covenant have been forgiven. Who is forgiven? Most Christians understand that not everyone in the world is forgiven. Then who is forgiven?

Jesus told his disciples to preach repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Luke 24:47). Those who repent of their sins, those who turn away from their sins and live for God in his ways instead, such people will be forgiven. That is what God has told us through his Son. Have you met someone living a life of repentance, someone who has turned from their sins and is living instead for God, walking in his ways, then you have met a person who has been forgiven his iniquities, you have met a person whose sin is remembered by God no more. You have met a person of the new covenant. What about you and me? Are we such people of the new covenant, in deed and in truth?