“I will make a new covenant” (Jeremiah 31:31). This new covenant with all the children of Israel would replace the faulty old one from Sinai which they had broken (Hebrews 8:6-8). The promised new covenant would be better and would feature better promises. By it, God would renew and remake them from within. The Redeemer would be the precise “fix” for the heart of man which had run afoul of the old Law. The Almighty would give His people the power to do His will, like the old covenant couldn’t ever do (Romans 8:4; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Philippians 2:13).

“I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts” (Jeremiah 31:33). As special and historical as those stone tablets had been, this law in the heart was revolutionary. We store the language and factual portions of God’s law in our brains’ memory banks. But we treasure it and know it in our hearts. That is when, that is where the Word becomes delightful to us, living in us and livable through us. Jeremiah promised God’s people this law would fully seal the close-knit relationship between them and God.

Imagine an Old Testament Israelite hearing or reading this announcement from Jeremiah: “And they shall teach no more…Know the LORD: for they shall all know me” (Jeremiah 31:34). This must have sounded radical and unimaginable. How could any covenant so effectively be a part of their being that they would all know the LORD! Continue reading →