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• The Explore the Bible lesson for July 23 focuses on Jeremiah 31:23–34.
Over the last couple of decades, shows about remodeling of homes have been a regular staple of American television. Sometimes, the remodel jobs were little more than redecorating and staging a home for sale. Other times. the homes went through so much of a transformation the product bore little resemblance to the original building. The decision of how much change was necessary was driven both by the starting condition and the desired outcome.
The Christian life bears some resemblance to this process. C. S. Lewis in Mere Christianity, paints the picture quite vividly: “Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of—throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.” This is, in part, redemption.
Our passage in Jeremiah this week deals with the matter of redemption. Judah is dealing with the reality of exile. They have heard of his plan for a future blessing, and now Jeremiah tells the people how God will get them to such a place. God will introduce a new covenant written on the hearts of men. It’s a covenant that transforms the very nature of humans and restores their relationship with God to a new place—an unrecognizable place, in many ways.
Blessings Promised (Jeremiah 31:23–26)
Jeremiah continues his themes of the previous couple of chapters by highlighting the blessings that God would bring to Israel. The focus on the land as the center of the blessing goes all the way back to God’s promises to Abraham in Genesis 12. The blessing of the land and the people living securely there was at the heart of many biblical promises.
The last verse in this section is somewhat unexpected and obscure. Scholars are not really certain what to do with it. One common explanations is Jeremiah is saying the vision of restoration he has just recorded came during a pleasant sleep. Another is that it is a metaphor for waiting for the fulfillment of the promise and the pleasantness of dwelling in God’s presence in the meantime.
What is it about land that makes it such an important part of God’s promises to Israel? Can you think of any realities that might serve a similar purpose in our world today? What are some of the blessings of salvation that we can enjoy now as we wait for the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promises to us?
Restoration Sought (Jeremiah 31:27–30)
God returns to themes of uprooting and tearing down that were a part of Jeremiah’s call in chapter one. In doing so, he opens the door to also revisit the topic of building and planting. The former were very much on Judah’s mind, but the latter is where God wants them focused. He is moving them toward restoration.
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The negated proverb in verse 29 serves the dual purpose of both highlighting the individual nature of the future covenant he is about express and to communicate that the punishment of the sins of previous generations that led to the exile were not going to last forever. God was angry, but he did not need to stay that way. Each person had a chance for a new start and a future with security and hope.
How would you explain the relationship between parents and children regarding sin? In what ways do we pass on our proclivity for certain sins? In what ways do we create our own paths of sinfulness?
Covenant Established (Jeremiah 31:31–34)
Jeremiah’s sermon culminates with the revelation of the new covenant God is making. Along with his contemporary Ezekiel, Jeremiah highlights the writing of this covenant on the hearts of his people. It is important to remember the heart is not the seat of emotion in Israelite imagery, but the location of the will. To write the covenant on the heart then is to transform the decision-making process of people so that their paths align with the rule of God.
The covenant that Jeremiah is speaking of here was instituted by Jesus at the last supper, consecrated on the cross and confirmed in the resurrection. Still, the passage makes it clear the benefits of this covenant, some 600 years away, would begin to be enjoyed by all the faithful starting with Jeremiah’s generation. The first fruits of the covenant would take place with the end of the exile and the final rewards still await us in Christ’s second coming.
What are the similarities between the old covenant and the new? What are the differences? What are the connectors between the two covenants that make understanding the first covenant essential to understanding the second?
Timothy Pierce, Ph.D., is associate professor of Christian Studies at East Texas Baptist University.
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