Jeremiah 31:33, 34 - The New Covenant: God's Law In Our Minds.
Jer.31:33, 34: The New Covenant: God's Law In Our Minds.
CONTENT; What's in the verse; Translations; Paraphrase; Word
Study:
Jer 31:33, 34 (NIV) "This is the covenant I will make with the
house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my
law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their
God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his
neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' because they will
all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the
LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their
sins no more."
Put my law in their minds: Internally in contrast to setting it
before them externally.... So that it effectively governs their lives, in
contrast to the ineffectiveness of merely presenting it in writing.... The
"new" covenant does not abolish the "old" but supersedes it in the
sense that through the new covenant the old is fulfilled and its
purpose achieved. [NIV SB]
Know: in the experiential, not the academic, sense. [NIV SB]
To know the LORD: This knowledge is an intimate relationship
with God evidenced by faith, obedience, and devotion. [Nelson SB]
CONTEXT; What's around the verse; Overview; Topic:
Though most of Jeremiah is bad news, chapters 30 to 33 are good
news. These chapters have been called the "Book of Consolation" or the
"Little Book of Comfort" because of their message of hope. [Youth SB]
30:1-33:26 This section is called the Book of Consolation,
because of its positive messages of hope concerning the future.
[Passages Of Life SB]
Overview
A collection of sermons focused on the restoration (30:1-11) and
healing (vv. 12-24) of the Old Testament faith community. God's
everlasting love guaranteed future blessedness despite present mourning
(31:1-30). But to accomplish His purposes God had to make a New Covenant
with His people (vv. 31-40). Jeremiah bought a field occupied by the
enemy to demonstrate his personal confidence in God's promises of
restoration (32:1-44), which he repeated despite being imprisoned (33:1-26).
[The 365-Day Devotional Commentary]
SECTION HEADINGS
The New Covenant (31:31-40)
The New Promise
The New Agreement
CROSS REFERENCES; What's in verses elsewhere.
Deut. 30:6 (KJV) And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine
heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all
thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
Psalm 40:8 (KJV) I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy
law is within my heart.
Jeremiah 24:7 (KJV) And I will give them an heart to know me,
that I am the Lord: and they shall be my people, and I will be their
God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.
Jeremiah 32:40 (KJV) And I will make an everlasting covenant
with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but
I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart
from me.
Ezekiel 11:19-20 (KJV) And I will give them one heart, and I
will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out
of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: [20] That
they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them:
and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.
Ezekiel 36:25-27 (KJV) Then will I sprinkle clean water upon
you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all
your idols, will I cleanse you. [26] A new heart also will I give
you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the
stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
[27] And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my
statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
Romans 8:4-6 (KJV) That the righteousness of the law might be
fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. [5]
For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh;
but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. [6] For
to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is
life and peace.
2 Cor. 3:3 (KJV) Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be
the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but
with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in
fleshy tables of the heart.
Hebrews 8:10 (KJV) For this is the covenant that I will make
with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put
my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will
be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
Hebrews 10:16 (KJV) This is the covenant that I will make with
them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their
hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
1 Chron. 28:9 (KJV) And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God
of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a
willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all
the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found
of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.
Isaiah 30:26 (KJV) Moreover the light of the moon shall be as
the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold,
as the light of seven days, in the day that the Lord bindeth up the
breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.
Jeremiah 24:7 (KJV) And I will give them an heart to know me,
that I am the Lord: and they shall be my people, and I will be their
God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.
John 17:3 (KJV) And this is life eternal, that they might know
thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
1 John 2:27 (KJV) But the anointing which ye have received of
him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as
the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is
no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
COMMENTARY / APPLICATION: Moving From The Head To The Heart
What is God teaching here? What does it teach about Jesus?
The high point of Jeremiah's prophecies, this passage is the
longest sequence of OT verses to be quoted in its entirety in the NT.
Verse 31 contains the only OT use of the phrase "new covenant," [NIV
SB]
The principal OT passage on the new covenant. Its provisions
include (1) a change of heart, (2) fellowship with God, (3) knowledge of
the Lord, and (4) forgiveness of sins. [Ryrie SB]
The difference between the two covenants is not in the behavior
expected under each, but in the differing relationship with God. Both
require obedience, but the old being external cannot be kept; the new
being internal can be a reality. [Passages Of Life SB]
The old covenant, broken by the people, would be replaced by a
new covenant... It offers a unique personal relationship with God
himself, with his laws written on individuals' hearts instead of on
stone. Jeremiah looked forward to the day when Jesus would come to
establish this covenant. But for us today, this covenant is here. We have
the wonderful opportunity to make a fresh start and establish a
permanent, personal relationship with God. [Life Application SB]
The same law that was engraved upon the tables of stone is
written by the Holy Spirit upon the tables of the heart. Instead of
going about to establish our own righteousness we accept the
righteousness of Christ. His blood atones for our sins. His obedience is
accepted for us. Then the heart renewed by the Holy Spirit will bring
forth "the fruits of the Spirit." Through the grace of Christ we shall
live in obedience to the law of God written upon our hearts. Having
the Spirit of Christ, we shall walk even as He walked. PP370-2
There are two errors against which the children of
God--particularly those who have just come to trust in His
grace--especially need
to guard. The first, already dwelt upon, is that of looking to
their own works, trusting to anything they can do, to bring themselves
into harmony with God. He who is trying to become holy by his own
works in keeping the law, is attempting an impossibility. All that man
can do without Christ is polluted with selfishness and sin. It is
the grace of Christ alone, through faith, that can make us holy. The
opposite and no less dangerous error is that belief in Christ releases
men from keeping the law of God; that since by faith alone we become
partakers of the grace of Christ, our works have nothing to do with our
redemption.... We do not earn salvation by our obedience; for salvation is the
free gift of God, to be received by faith. But obedience is the fruit
of faith. SC59-62
ADDENDUM
RIGHTEOUSNESS BY FAITH:
JUSTIFICATION: Conversion Act.3:19 (when we find Christ).
SANCTIFICATION: Growing in the Grace and Knowledge of our Lord
Jesus Christ
2Pe.3:18 (the work of a lifetime).
GLORIFICATION: Changed in the twinkling of an eye 1Co.15:52
(at the Second
Coming of Christ).
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