Jeremiah 31:31

Prophesy of a New Covenant

Jeremiah 31:27–40 ESV

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. And it shall come to pass that as I have watched over them to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring harm, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, declares the Lord. In those days they shall no longer say: “ ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’ But everyone shall die for his own iniquity. Each man who eats sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge. “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 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.” Thus says the Lord, who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— the Lord of hosts is his name: “If this fixed order departs from before me, declares the Lord, then shall the offspring of Israel cease from being a nation before me forever.” Thus says the Lord: “If the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth below can be explored, then I will cast off all the offspring of Israel for all that they have done, declares the Lord.” “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when the city shall be rebuilt for the Lord from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. And the measuring line shall go out farther, straight to the hill Gareb, and shall then turn to Goah. The whole valley of the dead bodies and the ashes, and all the fields as far as the brook Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be sacred to the Lord. It shall not be plucked up or overthrown anymore forever.”

There is a new covenant, completely unlike the covenant of moses where righteousness came through the law of moses. Mankind has proven that we just are not capable of fulfilling that great standard. It does not mean the standard is bad, it means that we could not do it. So God decided he would do it himself. He would make a new covenant with mankind

The New Covenant of Jesus

The Covenant is fulfilled in Jesus, We see it In Mark 1:14-15, which is the beginning of Jesus’ ministry and first preaching of the Gospel by Jesus. The proclamation that we will read here comes after Jesus baptism and temptations in the wilderness. John the baptist has also now been arrested. Mark 1:14-15 says

English Standard Version Chapter 1

14 cNow after John was arrested, Jesus dcame into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, e“The time is fulfilled, and fthe kingdom of God is at hand;5 grepent and believe in the gospel.”

Following this proclamation Jesus begins to call his first disciples, Simon (Who we come to know as Peter) Andrew his brother and James and John the sons of Zebedee. After calling his disciples Jesus begins casting out demons and healing people, all the while proclaiming that the kingdom of God has come.

We see this mirrored in Matthew 4:17, 4:23-24

Matthew 4:17 ESV

17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Matthew 4:23–24 ESV

23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. 24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them.

So Jesus says the Kingdom of God is hand, that we must repent and seek the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness and your daily needs will be met sufficiently.

Citizens of the Kingdom of God

Matthew 6:25–34 ESV

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

You see this new covenant spoken of in Jeremiah has impact in our present day. The kingdom of God has not left, and the promises for it have not ended. We must depend on Jesus the King of Kings and the Kingdom in which he reigns for our daily needs. You see this also in the Lords prayer.

Matthew 6:9–15 ESV

9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread, 12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

This does not mean that we are to be idle in anyway, See 1 & 2 Thessalonians for examples, but in summary we are not to be in anyway lazy, but we are supposed to be dependent upon Jesus in our labor.

Jesus Kingdom Reigns Over All

When some here this they begin to think though that we can make heaven on earth. That by acting in the Kingdom of God that we can transform the world into the kingdom, and to that scripture says, sorta but no. Lets look back at Jeremiah 31:38-40

Jeremiah 31:38–40 ESV

38 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when the city shall be rebuilt for the Lord from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 39 And the measuring line shall go out farther, straight to the hill Gareb, and shall then turn to Goah. 40 The whole valley of the dead bodies and the ashes, and all the fields as far as the brook Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be sacred to the Lord. It shall not be plucked up or overthrown anymore forever.”

There is a promise in this new covenant that God will take up a physical location once again on planet earth where the City of Jerusalem was, and that place will never be plucked up or overthrown anymore. The reason it will not be overthrown is because at the time the Kingdoms of the World will be conquered by the Kingdom of God. We see this in Revelation 11: 15-19

Revelation 11:15–19 ESV

15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” 16 And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying, “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign. 18 The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.” 19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.

Lets Apply It

This is scriptural evidence of a theological term called the already/not yet. The New Covenant has taken place and the kingdom of God is in the midst of us. More importantly, Jeremiah 31:33

Jeremiah 31:33 ESV

33 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.

has taken place. Through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and through participation with the Holy Spirit we who believe are now citizens of the Kingdom of God. Now what does all this high theology mean? It means we should live like we live somewhere different than we think we live. We should be living as citizens of the kingdom of God. Well what does a citizen of the kingdom of live like? I don't have the time to actually detail that out, because that is what the entirety of Scripture depicts. That in there is the truth of the Gospel, we can live the way we were always ment to live. I can however, point to a few biblical summaries. Micah 6:8 tells us that we are to be doers of justice, lovers of kindness, and humble in all things with our God. Matthew 5:1-12 gives us the type of people we should expect to see in the Kingdom of Heaven. I think however the easiest summary of how citizens of the kingdom of God live is Galatians 5:22-23

Micah 6:8 ESV

8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Matthew 5:1–12 ESV

1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Galatians 5:22–23 ESV

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

So Christians, live in the current state of the covenant. Keep your eyes on the coming reign of Jesus we see in Revelation, but do not become so focuses on the finish line that you forget to act as a citizen of the Kingdom of God in the present. Lets Pray.