See, days are coming—oracle of the Lord —when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. They broke my covenant, though I was their master—oracle of the Lord. 33 But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days—oracle of the Lord. I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 They will no longer teach their friends and relatives, “Know the Lord!” Everyone, from least to greatest, shall know me—oracle of the Lord —for I will forgive their iniquity and no longer remember their sin.
In the Old Testament, the covenant referred to in Jeremiah 31:31-34 is known as the New Covenant. This prophecy foretells a future covenant that would differ from the Old Covenant, which was established between God and the Israelites at Mt. Sinai after He led them out of slavery in Egypt. The Old Covenant was ratified by the Israelites when they declared, "We will do everything that the Lord has told us" (Ex. 19:1-24:18). This Sinai covenant included the giving of the Ten Commandments and various laws that the Israelites were to follow. However, the New Covenant described in Jeremiah speaks of a deeper, internalized relationship with God, where His law would be written on their hearts, and their sins would be forgiven.
God was giving the Israelites hope as they returned from a 70-year exile (Jer. 20:10) in Babylonia because of the Babylonian Captivity (c. 608 BCE – c. 538 BCE). The Babylonian Captivity ended when the Persian King, Cyrus the Great, conquered Babylon and allowed the Israelites to return to their homeland. God promised to make a new covenant with the whole of Israel and reminded them that they frequently broke the covenant made with them at Mt. Sinai. The new covenant would be written on their hearts, and everyone would know Him. He would forgive their sins.
In the NT Book of Hebrews, Paul asserted that the first covenant between God and the people of Israel, had to be replaced because God said he would, “Make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah (v. 31)” which implied that the first covenant was unable to make humanity righteous. With the new covenant, God said, “I will be their God, and they shall be my people (v. 33),” indicating a personal relationship with Him. And God would also remove the barrier between Himself and His people by forgiving their sins. With the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, as predicted by Jesus (Mk. 13:2), the first covenant became obsolete (Heb. 8:7-13).
For Christians, the New Covenant was instituted by Jesus at the Last Supper (Lk. 22:14-20). At Passover before his passion and death he gave the cup to his disciples and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you (Lk. 22:20).” It was the blood of Jesus as he hung on the cross (Jn, 19:34) that ratified the new covenant.
Almighty God, through Jesus you made a personal covenant with
each of us to write your law in our hearts so we can know you and obey your
commands. In your mercy, wash us in the
blood of Christ and forgive our sins so that we may do your will and be led to
everlasting life. This we pray through
Christ our Lord. Amen!
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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