“Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a newcovenant with the house of Israel,and with the house of Judah…”(Jeremiah 31:31ff).

The prophet Jeremiah is knownas the weeping prophet not without reasons. He ministered in Judah round about the time of theBabylonian conquest, about 600 years before the Lord Jesus Christ was born.

In the year 586 BC, Jerusalem was razed, thetemple was destroyed and God’s people were sent to exile. All these happenedjust as God had warned through Jeremiah. And to make matter worse, some of thesufferings of the people were no doubt deepened by their refusal to heed God’sword through Jeremiah.

Jeremiah’s ministry wastherefore a very heart-wrenching one. It was full of sadness and tears.  So grieved was Jeremiah that he was temptedto give up the ministry altogether.

But lest we misunderstand, letus realise that Jeremiah’s ministry was not entirely of gloom and doom. Infact, on the balance, the message of the book of Jeremiah is really one of hopefor the future; and some of the greatest promises in the Bible may be found inthis book. We may say that it was out of the darkest moments of Jeremiah’sministry that the brightest promises and prophesies for the future shone.

In this study, as part of ourseries on the great and precious promises of God, we must consider what isperhaps the most important promise in this prophecy, namely, the promise of theNew Covenant as given in Jeremiah 31:31-34.

Let us consider three things. First, what is a covenant? Secondly, what is special about the New Covenant? Thirdly, what do we do with thisprivilege?

1. What is a Covenant?

³¹ Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that Iwill make a new covenant with the house of Israel,and with the house of Judah…

Before we even attempt tounderstand the significance of this prophecy and promise, it is essential forus to ask: What is a covenant?

Some say that a covenant issimply a contract or agreement between two parties. But when the Scripture usesthe term “covenant”, it usually means much more than a contract or agreement.Rather, it refers to a bond of love between two parties that is confirmed byoath.

There are four key elements ina covenant: First, there are two parties; secondly, there is a promise orcondition; thirdly, there is a blessing; and fourthly, there is a curse.

Thebest example of a covenant is marriage. In marriage, there are two parties: thehusband and the wife. They are more than friends. They are in a covenant bondwith one another. They have made a promise to love one another till death partsthem. If they keep their promise, the blessing will be immense. They will enjoyone another. They will share their life with one another and have childrentogether. But if either party fails to keep the promise, there is also a curse.He or she cannot simply walk out of the relationship without suffering theconsequences. No, no, there will not only be the pain of separation; but theaggrieved party reserves the right to seek punitive sanctions. So it mayinvolve loss of property; loss of name; loss of access to children etc.

Now,no one who reads the Scriptures objectively will fail to see that God dealswith his people covenantally. But in a divine covenant God dictates the terms,unlike human covenants where both parties agree on the terms. So God speaks ofthe covenant with His people as being His covenant. We see that throughout theOld Testament. For example, God said to Abraham in Genesis 17—

⁷ And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seedafter thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee,and to thy seed after thee.

Now, those who study God’s covenantal relationship with His people as revealed in the Scripture will quickly realise that in order to make sense of what the Word of God is saying, you have to understand that the Scripture speaks of the covenant from two perspectives: firstly, from an unchanging, eternal perspective; and secondly from a historical perspective. God’s elect are related to God eternally and internally in the covenant. But it is possible for God’s people in the visible church to be related to Him historically and externally only.

Letme explain the two perspectives a little. Think of the covenant as a manwalking through time. Think of the man himself as the eternal aspect of the covenant and the clothing he wears as the historical aspect.  Now, think of this man at the start of thejourney wearing multiple layers of outer coat, each one of a different colour.The man starts his journey with a black coat. Those who met him at that timesaw him wearing a black coat. Then as he walks along, and he strips off theblack coat, and underneath it is a red coat. And so those who saw him at thattime saw him as a man wearing a red coat. Then he walks further and he shedsoff the red coat. And so on. Think of him shedding off one outer coat afteranother until by the time he reaches the end of his journey, he is no longerwearing any outer-coat, but only a glorious garment which reveals what kind ofperson he is.

Thisis what God’s covenant is like. There is an unchanging eternal aspect. TheScripture is directly referring to this unchanging eternal aspect when itrefers to the covenant as “an everlasting covenant” (such as in Gen 17:7; 2Sam23:5; Ps 105:10; Isa 55:3; Heb 13:20 etc).

Whatis the essence of this everlasting covenant? Well, it is the purpose of Godthat is declared in verse 33 of our text, namely: “I will be their God, andthey shall be my people.” This theme is repeated everywhere in various forms.This is the unchanging aspect of God’s covenant. It speaks of God determiningfrom before the foundation of the world to redeem a people unto Himself thatthey might enjoy fellowship with Him forever.

Sowho are the parties in the everlasting covenant of grace? It is God the Fatherrepresenting the Trinity on the one hand, and the Lord Jesus Christrepresenting the elect on the other hand. It is Christ who would keep thepromise or condition of the covenant on behalf of the elect!

But,secondly, there is the historicalaspect of the covenant. This is represented by the outer coats of the manwalking through time. Or to put in another way: the one everlasting covenant ismanifested to God’s people in phases, which we may call: “historicalmanifestations of the covenant of grace.” Now, when we look at the covenant thisway, we see that God reveals and emphasises different aspects of hisrelationship with His people at different times in the history of His people.For example,

i.God indicated to Adam that Christ will come, and will give victory to Hispeople over Sin and Satan.

ii.Then God indicated to Noah that the earth would be preserved until all thepeople He intends to save will be saved in Christ. 

iii.Then God indicated to Abraham that a multitude of people will be redeemed andunited together in Christ and that those who are His people must markthemselves out by the appointed sign and seal of the covenant, which at thattime was circumcision.

iv.Then God indicated to Moses that His people must live according to His morallaws; and in so far as they will fail because of their sin nature, He teachesthem to look forward to Christ the Lamb of God who will die for their sin.

v.Then God indicated to David that Christ would be a King, and would be one ofhis descendants.

Now,if you look at all these expressions of the covenant, you will realise thatthey all look forward to Christ. And since Christ was not yet revealed, theywere all in some sense incomplete.

When you realise that this is the case, youwill understand that the New Covenant that Jeremiah is referring to, is notentirely new! It is a historical manifestation of the everlasting covenant,just as there were historical manifestations of it during the time of Adam,Noah, Abraham, Moses, etc. Only that at the New Covenant, all the outer-coatshas been shed off to reveal the glorious Lord Jesus Christ and how He would laydown His life in order to fulfil the heart of the covenant as expressed inverse 33: “[I] will be their God, and they shall be my people.” So then, likeall the other expressions of God’s everlasting covenant, the New Covenant iscentered upon Christ!

So…

2. What is Special About the New Covenant?

Well,fundamentally, the New Covenant is special because Christ has been revealed,and has kept the condition of the covenant! And He has lived and He has died inorder that we might be reconciled to God and have fellowship with Him.

TheLord Jesus, at the institution of the Lord’s Supper, points out that His goingto the Cross was part of the outworking of the everlasting covenant. He says:“This cup is my blood in the New Covenant which is shed for you, for theremission of sin” (cf. Mt 26:28; Mk 14:24;Lk 22:20)

Now,this is confirmed by the apostle to the Hebrews. He speaks of the blood ofChrist shed at Calvary as the “blood of theeverlasting covenant” (Heb 13:20-21).Indeed, the apostle quotes directly from our text to show that since Christ hascome and has completed His work of redemption, we have entered into a new eraof God’s covenantal dealings with man.

Considerthe inspired words of Hebrews 8—

³ For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices:wherefore it is of necessity that this man [Christ] have somewhat also tooffer.…

⁶ But now hath he [Christ] obtained a more excellent ministry, by howmuch also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established uponbetter promises.  ⁷ For ifthat first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been soughtfor the second. ⁸ For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold,the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the houseof Israel and with the houseof Judah

Youwill recognise, I am sure, that verse 8 refers to Jeremiah 31:31; and you mayrealise that verses 9-12 is really a quotation from Jeremiah 31:32-34.

Noticethat although Jeremiah speaks of the covenant as being made with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, Paul applies those termsdirectly to the church. The church is the house of Israeland the house of Judahtoday. I think the point is clear. The New Covenant is new and better becausethe Lord Jesus Christ has completed the work of redemption and therefore openedthe way for His church to come unto God boldly.

Theway of approaching God through Christ was not a new doctrine. It was taught inthe Mosaic Laws, or in the manifestation of the covenant of grace that God madewith the fathers in the day that He took them by the hand to bring them out ofthe land of Egypt (v. 32). But under the Mosaic Laws, Christ was portrayed inshadows and types. He had not yet been revealed in clear

Allthat the Old Testament saints had were photographs of Christ and a promissorynote that He would give them the benefits of redemption. But now Christ hascome. He lived and He died and He rose again and He ascended into heaven again.Instead of the pictures, we have Christ Himself. Instead of the promissorynotes, we have the actual blessings that were promised.

Whatare the blessings included?

Well,principally three things: a. the graceof regeneration; b. the gift of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit; and c. the assurance of forgiveness in theblood of Christ.

a.The grace of regeneration is expressed in the words:

³³ …I will put my law in their inwardparts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall bemy people.

Fromverse 32, we can see that the New Covenant is contrasted particularly with theMosaic Covenant—the manifestation of the covenant which God made with Israel when He led them out of Egypt. The Mosaic covenant places alot of emphasis on the external acts of God’s people: the keeping of the law,the sacrifices, the rituals, and the feasts.

Underthe New Covenant, however, the emphasis has changed. The ceremonial laws havebeen fulfilled in Christ and abrogated. What about the Moral Law? The MoralLaw, which is summarised in the Ten Commandment, is still applicable as it isuniversal and perpetual. This is the law referred to in verse 33.

Butthere is a difference. Under the old economy, the Law of God was largelyexternal. This is what the apostle Paul is trying to emphasise when he pointsout that the old covenant was “written and engraven in stones” (2 Cor 3:7). Theold covenant simply declared what the law was; it had no provision to help thecovenant people keep the law.

Onthe other hand, under the New Covenant, the Law of God has been internalisedand power is given to keep it through the work of regeneration. This is whatthe Lord is saying through Jeremiah when he says—“I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts”(v. 33).

b.Not only do we have the grace of regeneration, we have the Holy Spirit toindwell us so that we can discern spiritual things, since spiritual things arespiritually discerned. This is what is meant by verse 34:

³⁴ And they shall teach no more every manhis neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shallall know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD:

Ofcourse, Jeremiah is employing a hyperbole: it does not really mean that we willknow perfectly. But with the illuminating help of the Holy Spirit we wouldindeed know much more than the average person under the old economy!

c.And not only so, but under the New Covenant, we have the assurance offorgiveness of sin given to us in a way that the Old Covenant saints did notenjoy:

^34b for I will forgive their iniquity, andI will remember their sin no more.

OldCovenant saints needed to offer animal sacrifices regularly for their sin andyet the blood of animals cannot wash away their guilt. As New Covenant saintswe no longer need animal sacrifices, for the Lamb of God has been slain, and weknow that our sins have been paid for.

DidOld Covenant saints enjoy regeneration, indwelling of the Holy Spirit andforgiveness of sin? Sure they did, for remember that the inner layers of thecovenant is unchanged as the outer layers were stripped off. God’s people werealways looking forward to Christ and what He would do.

Butregeneration, indwelling and forgiveness were not the features of the Old Covenant.They were enjoyed by very few and never to the extent that we enjoy today, nowthat Christ has come, suffered and died for our sin, and ascended to heaven andthe Holy Spirit has been poured out in great measure.

Because of theNew Covenant, a far greater percentage of God’s people in true churches wouldbe in union with Christ and in fellowship with God internally and eternallythan was possible in Old Covenant Days.

Well,what do we say to these things?

3.What Should We Do With this Privilege?

Whata privilege it is for us who live under the New Covenant, when everythingneedful for our redemption has been accomplished by our Saviour. What aprivilege it is for us that the Holy Spirit has been poured out, for had theSpirit not been poured out on account of Christ’s finished work, we would stillbe in darkness.

Butwhat do we say to these things. Well, let me suggest briefly, 5 responses:

G-ratitude:Let us be ever grateful to the Lord Jesus that He kept the condition of thecovenant for us. Let us express our gratitude not only in words, but in everyaspect of our Christian life. Let us for example seek to do everything for theLord out of gratitude and love towards Him rather than out of fear or desirefor reward.

R-un:Christ the captain of our salvation has completed the race in order to ensure aplace for us in the heavenly podium. And not only so, but He has given us theSpirit to regenerate us. Therefore, let us lay aside every weight and sin thatso easily entangle us and let us run the race in His strength, looking unto Himwho is the Author and Finisher of our race.

A-ssurance:One of the blessings of the New Covenant is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.The Holy Spirit is known as the Spirit of Adoption by the apostle Paul. By theSpirit we are enabled to recognise God as our “Abba Father.” Let us seek not tolose this assurance of God’s Fatherly love by grieving the Holy Spirit throughsin and neglect of the means of grace.

C-hastisement:The assurance of forgiveness is another blessing of the New Covenant. Since weknow we are forgiven, let us understand that the Lord does not punish us forour sin, though He may chastise us out of love. Therefore, let us count it alljoy and never doubt the Lord’s purpose whenever He brings us through trials.

E-vangelise:Since the Holy Spirit has been poured out, and God’s elect is now to be foundeverywhere, let us not fail to be the Lord’s witness and to call upon ourfriends and relatives to come hear the Word of God—for who knows if they might beone of the elect for whom Christ died for.

Conclusion

We must conclude. In this study, we have considered one of the most important promises of the Old Testament, namely the promise of the New Covenant. As New Covenant saints, we are already enjoying the blessing of the promise. The promise of the blessing is being fulfilled because Christ our Saviour kept the promise of the covenant on our behalf. He lived, suffered and died for us. May the Lord make us a joyful, loving and grateful people for His sake. Amen. Ω