I Will Make a New Covenant – Jeremiah 30-31

Joy: You’re listening to Season 2 of the Lifting Her Voice podcast.  This is Episode #232 and today we’ll read Jeremiah 30-31 together.   Look, the days are coming when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 

Welcome

Welcome to the Lifting Her Voice podcast, Season 2!  I’m your host, Joy Miller, and I invite you to grab your Bible and join me – from the beginning – simply reading God’s word together.  We built some spiritual muscles in 2020 with just the New Testament.  But this year we’re going all out, cover-to-cover, Old Testament and New.  So, whether with your first cup in the morning, your commute to work, or as the last thing on your mind before sleep, God’s Word will equip you for every good work.  I’m really glad you’re here!

Jeremiah Chapter 30

Restoration from Captivity

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord. “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Write on a scroll all the words that I have spoken to you, for look, the days are coming” — this is the Lord’s declaration — “when I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel and Judah,” says the Lord. “I will restore them to the land I gave to their ancestors and they will possess it.”

These are the words the Lord spoke to Israel and Judah. This is what the Lord says:

We have heard a cry of terror,

of dread — there is no peace.

Ask and see

whether a male can give birth.

Why then do I see every man

with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor

and every face turned pale?

How awful that day will be!

There will be no other like it!

It will be a time of trouble for Jacob,

but he will be saved out of it.

On that day —

this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies —

I will break his yoke from your neck

and tear off your chains,

and strangers will never again enslave him.

They will serve the Lord their God

and David their king,

whom I will raise up for them.

As for you, my servant Jacob,

do not be afraid —

this is the Lord’s declaration —

and do not be discouraged, Israel,

for without fail I will save you out of a distant place,

your descendants, from the land of their captivity!

Jacob will return and have calm and quiet

with no one to frighten him.

Enormous Guilt, Innumerable Sins

For I will be with you —

this is the Lord’s declaration —

to save you!

I will bring destruction on all the nations

where I have scattered you;

however, I will not bring destruction on you.

I will discipline you justly,

and I will by no means leave you unpunished.

Healing Zion’s Wounds

For this is what the Lord says:

Your injury is incurable;

your wound most severe.

You have no defender for your case.

There is no remedy for your sores,

and no healing for you.

All your lovers have forgotten you;

they no longer look for you,

for I have struck you as an enemy would,

with the discipline of someone cruel,

because of your enormous guilt

and your innumerable sins.

Why do you cry out about your injury?

Your pain has no cure!

I have done these things to you

because of your enormous guilt

and your innumerable sins.

Nevertheless, all who devoured you will be devoured,

and all your adversaries — all of them —

will go off into exile.

Those who plunder you will be plundered,

and all who raid you will be raided.

But I will bring you health

and will heal you of your wounds —

this is the Lord’s declaration —

for they call you Outcast,

Zion whom no one cares about.

Restoration of the Land

This is what the Lord says:

I will certainly restore the fortunes of Jacob’s tents

and show compassion on his dwellings.

Every city will be rebuilt on its mound;

every citadel will stand on its proper site.

Thanksgiving will come out of them,

a sound of rejoicing.

I will multiply them, and they will not decrease;

I will honor them, and they will not be insignificant.

His children will be as in past days;

his congregation will be established in my presence.

I will punish all his oppressors.

Jacob’s leader will be one of them;

his ruler will issue from him.

I will invite him to me, and he will approach me,

for who would otherwise risk his life to approach me?

This is the Lord’s declaration.

You will be my people,

and I will be your God.

The Wrath of God

Look, a storm from the Lord!

Wrath has gone out,

a churning storm.

It will whirl about the heads of the wicked.

The Lord’s burning anger will not turn back

until he has completely fulfilled the purposes of his heart.

In time to come you will understand it.

Jeremiah Chapter 31

God’s Relationship with His People

“At that time” — this is the Lord’s declaration — “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.”

This is what the Lord says:

The people who survived the sword

found favor in the wilderness.

When Israel went to find rest,

the Lord appeared to him from far away.

I have loved you with an everlasting love;

therefore, I have continued to extend faithful love to you.

Again I will build you so that you will be rebuilt,

Virgin Israel.

You will take up your tambourines again

and go out in joyful dancing.

You will plant vineyards again

on the mountains of Samaria;

the planters will plant and will enjoy the fruit.

For there will be a day when watchmen will call out

in the hill country of Ephraim,

“Come, let’s go up to Zion,

to the Lord our God!”

God’s People Brought Home

For this is what the Lord says:

Sing with joy for Jacob;

shout for the foremost of the nations!

Proclaim, praise, and say,

“Lord, save your people,

the remnant of Israel!”

Watch! I am going to bring them from the northern land.

I will gather them from remote regions of the earth —

the blind and the lame will be with them,

along with those who are pregnant and those about to give birth.

They will return here as a great assembly!

They will come weeping,

but I will bring them back with consolation.

I will lead them to wadis filled with water,

by a smooth way where they will not stumble,

for I am Israel’s Father,

and Ephraim is my firstborn.

Nations, hear the word of the Lord,

and tell it among the far off coasts and islands!

Say, “The one who scattered Israel will gather him.

He will watch over him as a shepherd guards his flock,

for the Lord has ransomed Jacob

and redeemed him from the power of one stronger than he.”

They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion;

they will be radiant with joy

because of the Lord’s goodness,

because of the grain, the new wine, the fresh oil,

and because of the young of the flocks and herds.

Their life will be like an irrigated garden,

and they will no longer grow weak from hunger.

Then the young women will rejoice with dancing,

while young and old men rejoice together.

I will turn their mourning into joy,

give them consolation,

and bring happiness out of grief.

I will refresh the priests with an abundance,

and my people will be satisfied with my goodness.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

Lament Turned to Joy

This is what the Lord says:

A voice was heard in Ramah,

a lament with bitter weeping —

Rachel weeping for her children,

refusing to be comforted for her children

because they are no more.

This is what the Lord says:

Keep your voice from weeping

and your eyes from tears,

for the reward for your work will come —

this is the Lord’s declaration —

and your children will return from the enemy’s land.

There is hope for your future —

this is the Lord’s declaration —

and your children will return to their own territory.

I have surely heard Ephraim moaning,

“You disciplined me, and I have been disciplined

like an untrained calf.

Take me back, so that I can return,

for you, Lord, are my God.

After my return, I felt regret;

After I was instructed, I struck my thigh in grief.

I was ashamed and humiliated

because I bore the disgrace of my youth.”

Isn’t Ephraim a precious son to me,

a delightful child?

Whenever I speak against him,

I certainly still think about him.

Therefore, my inner being yearns for him;

I will truly have compassion on him.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

Repentance and Restoration

Set up road markers for yourself;

establish signposts!

Keep the highway in mind,

the way you have traveled.

Return, Virgin Israel!

Return to these cities of yours.

How long will you turn here and there,

faithless daughter?

For the Lord creates something new in the land —

a female will shelter a man.

This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: “When I restore their fortunes, they will once again speak this word in the land of Judah and in its cities: ‘May the Lord bless you, righteous settlement, holy mountain.’ Judah and all its cities will live in it together — also farmers and those who move with the flocks —  for I satisfy the thirsty person and feed all those who are weak.”

At this I awoke and looked around. My sleep had been most pleasant to me.

“Look, the days are coming” — this is the Lord’s declaration — “when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of people and the seed of animals. Just as I watched over them to uproot and to tear them down, to demolish and to destroy, and to cause disaster, so will I watch over them to build and to plant them” — this is the Lord’s declaration. “In those days, it will never again be said,

‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes,

and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’

Rather, each will die for his own iniquity. Anyone who eats sour grapes — his own teeth will be set on edge.

The New Covenant

“Look, the days are coming” — this is the Lord’s declaration — “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. This one will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt — my covenant that they broke even though I am their master” — the Lord’s declaration.

“Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days” — the Lord’s declaration. “I will put my teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know me, from the least to the greatest of them” — this is the Lord’s declaration. “For I will forgive their iniquity and never again remember their sin.

“This is what the Lord says:

The one who gives the sun for light by day,

the fixed order of moon and stars for light by night,

who stirs up the sea and makes its waves roar —

the Lord of Armies is his name:

If this fixed order departs from before me —

this is the Lord’s declaration —

only then will Israel’s descendants cease

to be a nation before me forever.

“This is what the Lord says:

Only if the heavens above can be measured

and the foundations of the earth below explored,

will I reject all of Israel’s descendants

because of all they have done —

this is the Lord’s declaration.

The Whole Valley Will Be Holy

“Look, the days are coming” — the Lord’s declaration — “when the city from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate will be rebuilt for the Lord. A measuring line will once again stretch out straight to the hill of Gareb and then turn toward Goah. The whole valley — the corpses, the ashes, and all the fields as far as the Kidron Valley to the corner of the Horse Gate to the east — will be holy to the Lord. It will never be uprooted or demolished again.”

Close

Please do not skip over the significance of Jeremiah 31:31 and the three subsequent verses.  Yes, I’m going to read them again…they are that important.  Look, the days are coming” — this is the Lord’s declaration — “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.  I think we all can agree that Israel’s follow-thru on the Mosaic Covenant was a big fail.  They didn’t keep the Sabbaths, they didn’t obey God’s commands, and they worshipped other gods and idols, just the name the big three.  Not to mention they didn’t take care of the less fortunate among them, which is a huge deal to God.

Verses 32-34 give detail on this new covenant:  This one will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt — my covenant that they broke even though I am their master” — the Lord’s declaration. “Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days” — the Lord’s declaration. “I will put my teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know me, from the least to the greatest of them” — this is the Lord’s declaration. “For I will forgive their iniquity and never again remember their sin.  

Homework

That sounds a lot like the Gospel to me, what do you think?  While this Jeremiah passage is fresh on your mind, flip over real quick to Luke 22:20…you’re gonna love what Jesus said in light of what we just read in Jeremiah.  In the same way he also took the cup after supper and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.  I don’t usually give homework, but I encourage you to read Hebrews 8:7-13.  I think the quote there might sound familiar to you!  

I hope you have a good study Bible because you can chase this rabbit all day long!  Let me know what you find at Lifting Her Voice.com, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

See You Tomorrow!

Thank you for joining me here today.  I pray that by spending time in His Word every day, you will be changed.  Visit me at Lifting Her Voice.com with your comments and questions.  And don’t forget to visit the Blog page while you’re there.  If you like the podcast, it would be great if you’d give it a five-star review and share it with everyone you know.  Don’t forget to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.  See you tomorrow!

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian Standard Bible(r), Copyright (c) 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible(r) and CSB(r) are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.