Golden Text - "The days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah" (Jeremiah 31:31)
MSG vs
Jeremiah 31:1-40American Standard Version (ASV)
31 At that time, saith Jehovah, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.
2 Thus saith Jehovah, The people that were left of the sword found favor in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.
3 Jehovah appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
4 Again will I build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: again shalt thou be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry.
5 Again shalt thou plant vineyards upon the mountains of Samaria; the planters shall plant, and shall enjoy the fruit thereof.
6 For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the hills of Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto Jehovah our God.
7 For thus saith Jehovah, Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout for the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O Jehovah, save thy people, the remnant of Israel.
8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the uttermost parts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall they return hither.
9 They shall come with weeping; and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by rivers of waters, in a straight way wherein they shall not stumble; for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-born.
10 Hear the word of Jehovah, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off; and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as shepherd doth his flock.
11 For Jehovah hath ransomed Jacob, and redeemed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he.
12 And they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow unto the goodness of Jehovah, to the grain, and to the new wine, and to the oil, and to the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.
13 Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old together; for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.
14 And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith Jehovah.
15 Thus saith Jehovah: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children; she refuseth to be comforted for her children, because they are not.
16 Thus saith Jehovah: Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears; for thy work shall be rewarded, saith Jehovah; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.
17 And there is hope for thy latter end, saith Jehovah; and thy children shall come again to their own border.
18 I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus, Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a calf unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art Jehovah my God.
19 Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth.
20 Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a darling child? for as often as I speak against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my heart yearneth for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith Jehovah.
21 Set thee up waymarks, make thee guide-posts; set thy heart toward the highway, even the way by which thou wentest: turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities.
22 How long wilt thou go hither and thither, O thou backsliding daughter? for Jehovah hath created a new thing in the earth: a woman shall encompass a man.
23 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Yet again shall they use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity: Jehovah bless thee, O habitation of righteousness, O mountain of holiness.
24 And Judah and all the cities thereof shall dwell therein together, the husbandmen, and they that go about with flocks.
25 For I have satiated the weary soul, and every sorrowful soul have I replenished.
26 Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me.
27 Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast.
28 And it shall come to pass that, like as I have watched over them to pluck up and to break down and to overthrow and to destroy and to afflict, so will I watch over them to build and to plant, saith Jehovah.
29 In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge.
30 But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.
31 Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, 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 brake, although I was a husband unto them, saith Jehovah.
33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith Jehovah: 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 Jehovah; for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith Jehovah: for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more.
35 Thus saith Jehovah, who giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, who stirreth up the sea, so that the waves thereof roar; Jehovah of hosts is his name:
36 If these ordinances depart from before me, saith Jehovah, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.
37 Thus saith Jehovah: If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, then will I also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith Jehovah.
38 Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that the city shall be built to Jehovah from the tower of Hananel unto the gate of the corner.
39 And the measuring line shall go out further straight onward unto the hill Gareb, and shall turn about unto Goah.
40 And the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy unto Jehovah; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever
Questions:
1. What is a covenant? What was signified by the expression "cut a covenant"? A covenant is a binding agreement between two parties that delineates (describes) obligations they have to one another.
2. What is signified by the inclusion (the state of being included) of both Israel and Judah in the new covenant? The new covenant promised in Jeremiah 31:31 will be made with both Israel and Judah. These were two separate kingdoms at that time, and Israel had already been forced into Assyrian captivity. Judah remained but would soon be exiled to Babylon. This promise proclaimed through Jeremiah guaranteed not only that both peoples would be preserved beyond captivity but also that in God's sight they were still one people. Both are included in the covenant.
3. When was the old covenant with Israel made? The old covenant was made when the Law of Moses was given at Sinai.
4. What caused the failure of the covenant given at Sinai? The children of Israel broke the first covenant, even as Moses was receiving the law, they were already breaking it by worshipping a golden calf (Exod. 32:1-6). And from that day to Jeremiah's, they had transgressed it repeatedly. They had violated every command in the Decalogue and ignored every prophetic call to repent.
Note: The law revealed God's will, but it provided no power for sinners to carry it out (Rom. 3:20; Gal. 3:10-12). So they fell short, and the broken covenant became the basis for their condemnation.
5. What will ensure the success of the new covenant? This condemnation will not occur under the new covenant, for by its terms the people will be transformed internally to desire God's will. The Lord declared, "I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts." Under the old covenant, the law was set before Israel (Deut. 4:8; 11:32); under the new, it is placed within them by the Spirit.
6. Why will human mediators be unnecessary under the new covenant? Under the old covenant, human mediators were essential to communicate God's will to men and to secure HIs grace. He generally did not speak to individuals directly, for His holy presence would have consumed them (Exod. 20:18-21;33:20). Even devout persons were not permanently indwelt by the Holy Spirit. But now, through Christ, believers have direct access to God (Heb. 4:16; 10:19-22), and all are indwelt by the Spirit (Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 3:16; Eph. 4:30).
Note: The remnant (the part of something that is left when the other parts are gone) of whom Jeremiah wrote will have this access to God and partake of spiritual understanding; "They shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord" (Jer. 31:34). This knowledge will not be restricted to an intellectual elite, a spiritual inner circle, or a high social class. All will enjoy the intimate knowledge of Him (cf. Isa. 11:9; 54:13; Joel 2:28-29).
7. On what basis does God forgive sin under the new covenant? The new covenant, however, provides not just that sin will be forgiven but that it will be blotted out from God's memory (Hew. 10:17). The remnant will be cleansed to do God's will (Ezek. 36:25-27; Rom. 11:26-27).
8. How did God use the sun, moon and stars to illustrate His preservation of Israel? God singled out the unchangeable order He established for the earth as long as it lasts. This includes the sun, which provides the light by day, and the moon and the stars, which provide it by night. God created these in the beginning (Gen. 1:14-18), and He declared after the Flood that the order of nature over which they presided would last as long as the earth itself (8:22).
9. At what point, theoretically, could God cast away Israel? ONLY when humans fully understand this universe (which they never will) will the Lord "cast off all the seed of Israel for all they have done" (Jer. 31:37).."All that they have done" refers to their repeated sins.
Note: There have been many Israelites who individually cannot enjoy the promised blessings because of sin. But never will the whole nation be rejected. A believing remnant will yet enjoy the new covenant.
Ans: It is thus impossible for Israel to cease being a people before God. This is because His covenant promises are grounded in unchanging faithfulness, not Israel's obedience.
10. Do Gentiles have any portion in the new covenant? Explain
Yes, while our text sees the new covenant applied to Israel and Judah, it is also the basis for Gentile salvation. Jesus' death provided salvation for all peoples. When Israel as a nation rejected it, God's offer of salvation went out to the Gentiles, many of whom welcomed it (cf. Acts 28:28; Rom. 9:30-31). But when the full number of Gentiles has been gathered in, Israel will accept the new covenant (Rom. 11:25-27; cf. Zech. 12:10-13:1).
Sunday School REview
1. The old covenant was written on a tablet (stone) ..given to Moses to give to the children Israel.
2. The issue with the old covenant is that It showed you God's will (what he wants you to do) but it doesn't give you the power to obey.
3. Under the new covenant..God writes the law from the tablets to the peoples heart
4. Also, God give you the power to Obey. Who helps us Obey? The Holy Spirit
5. So God gives us HIs Holy Spirit to Apply, God's word to our lives. If we read God's word and obey, we will grow spiritually.
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