Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Jeremiah 31:32

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

A new city and a new age (31:23-40)

Jeremiah has a vision of Jerusalem as a city of righteousness and Judah as a land of contentment. It is a vision that gives him the satisfaction of a pleasant dream (23-26). God had been responsible for the devastation of their land in the past, but he will also be responsible for its productivity in the future (27-28). The people by then will have learnt the lessons of their captivity. They will no longer blame their forefathers for their misfortunes, but will realize that people are punished for their own sins (29-30).
The people of Israel had been unfaithful to the covenant that God made with them at Sinai, and therefore they never enjoyed the close relation with God that he intended for them. God now promises to make a new covenant (31-32).
God’s new covenant will not be spoiled by people’s imperfections, because it will not depend upon their obedience to a set of laws. God will change people by working within them, by giving them a better knowledge of his will and the inner strength to carry it out. Instead of priests alone being able to approach God, all will know God. People will not need priests as mediators between them and God, because God himself will deal with their sins. He will remove all barriers and bring them into direct fellowship with himself (33-34).

(This new covenant came into being through the death of Jesus Christ. All who have faith in him receive its blessings. For the New Testament development of Jeremiah’s prophecy see Hebrews 8:6-13; Hebrews 9:15; Hebrews 10:12-18; Galatians 3:14,Galatians 3:28-29.)

As surely as God will continue to control the universe, so just as surely will he restore Israel and Judah to their land (35-37). Jerusalem will be rebuilt and possibly extended beyond its former boundaries. Places around the city that were formerly defiled will be purified, so that Jerusalem becomes a city entirely dedicated to God (38-40).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, which my covenant they brake, although I was a husband unto them, saith Jehovah."

"Which my covenant they brake" The significance of this is beyond all calculation. Israel did not merely strain the covenant, they broke it! Furthermore, there were not any of the promises of that covenant which were designed to be valid unless Israel refrained from breaking the covenant. Notice those tremendous "ifs" in Deuteronomy 28:1; Deuteronomy 28:15; Deuteronomy 28:58, etc. See Vol. 4 (Deuteronomy) in my commentaries on the Pentateuch. pp. 305-318.

"Salvation is possible only through the death of Christ; and this is the basis of the New Covenant; and all mankind is thus in view in this covenant."Ibid., p. 578. All men of every race and nation are subject to it, with special privileges to none.

Tragically, racial Israel refused to accept this New Covenant and refused to obey it, which is a fact that is very hard for commentators to ignore. For many years, this writer believed that the sacred scriptures teach that, "Israel as a nation will ratify (and accept and obey) this new covenant, after `the full number of the Gentiles has come in' (Romans 11:25-27)."Ibid. We now deny that the scriptures teach this. The error was due to extensive tampering on the part of translators with Romans 11:15. It is true enough that the scriptures do not deny that such a conversion of racial Israel could occur, but there is absolutely no statement whatever that it will occur. See our extensive studies in this whole area in Vol. 6 (Romans) of the New Testament Series, especially at Romans 3 and Romans 11.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

The prophet shows that the happiness of Israel and Judah, united in one prosperous nation, will rest upon the consciousness that their chastisement has been the result of sins which they have themselves committed, and that God’s covenant depends not upon external sanctions, but upon a renewed heart.

Jeremiah 31:27

So rapid shall be the increase that it shall seem as if children and young cattle sprang up out of the ground.

Jeremiah 31:29, Jeremiah 31:30

A sour grape - Better, sour grapes. The idea that Jeremiah and Ezekiel (marginal reference) modified the terms of the second Commandment arises from a mistaken exegesis of their words. Compare Jeremiah 32:18; Deuteronomy 24:16. The obdurate Jews made it a reproach to the divine justice that the nation was to be sorely visited for Manasseh’s sin. But this was only because generation after generation had, instead of repenting, repeated the sins of that evil time, and even in a worse form. justice must at length have its course. The acknowledgment that each man died for his own iniquity was a sign of their return to a more just and right state of feeling.

Jeremiah 31:31

A time is foretold which shall be to the nation as marked an epoch as was the Exodus. God at Sinai made a covenant with His people, of which the sanctions were material, or (where spiritual) materially understood. Necessarily therefore the Mosaic Church was temporary, but the sanctions of Jeremiah’s Church are spiritual - written in the heart - and therefore it must take the place of the former covenant Hebrews 8:13, and must last forever. The prophecy was fulfilled when those Jews who accepted Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah, expanded the Jewish into the Christian Church.

Jeremiah 31:32

Although ... - i. e., although as their husband (or, “lord” (Baal, compare Hosea 2:16)) I had lawful authority over them. The translation in Hebrews 8:9 agrees with the Septuagint here, but the balance of authority is in favor of the King James Version.

Jeremiah 31:33

The old law could be broken Jeremiah 31:32; to remedy this God gives, not a new law, but a new power to the old law. It used to be a mere code of morals, external to man, and obeyed as a duty. In Christianity, it becomes an inner force, shaping man’s character from within.

Jeremiah 31:34

I will forgive their iniquity - The foundation of the new covenant is the free forgiveness of sins (compare Matthew 1:21). It is the sense of this full unmerited love which so affects the heart as to make obedience henceforward an inner necessity.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

He says that the covenant which he will make will not be such as he had made with their fathers Here he clearly distinguishes the new covenant from the Law. The contrast ought to be borne in mind; for no one of the Jews thought it possible that God would add anything better to the Law. For though they regarded the Law almost as nothing, yet we know that hypocrites pretended with great ardor of zeal that they were so devoted to the Law, that they thought that heaven and earth could sooner be blended together, than that any change should be made in the Law; and at the same time they held most tenaciously what God had only for a time instituted. It was therefore necessary that the Law should be here contrasted with the new covenant, that the Jews might know that the favor in reserve for them would be far more excellent than what had been formerly manifested to the fathers. This, then, is the reason why he says, not according to the covenant, etc.

He afterwards adds, which I made with their fathers when I laid hold of their hand, etc. Here he shows that they could never have a firm hope of salvation, unless God made a new covenant. Such was their pride, that they hardly would have received the favor of God, had they not been convinced of this truth: for this would have been always in their mouth, “Did not God shew himself a Father to his people when he redeemed them? was it not a testimony of his paternal favor? has he not elevated the condition of the Church, which he designs to be perpetual?” They would have therefore rejected the favor of God, had not the Prophet openly declared that the Law had been and would be still useless to them, and that there was therefore a necessity for a new covenant, otherwise they must have perished.

We now perceive the design of the Prophet; and this ought to be carefully observed; for it would not be enough to know what the Prophet says, except we also know why he says this or that. The meaning then is, that it ought not to appear strange that God makes a new covenant, because the first had been useless and was of no avail. Then he confirms this, because God made the first covenant when he stretched out his hand to his ancient people, and became their liberator; and yet they made void that covenant. The circumstance as to the time ought to be noticed, for the memory of a recent benefit ought to be a most powerful motive to obedience. For how base an ingratitude it was for those, who had been delivered by the wonderful power of God, to reject his covenant at a time when they had been anticipated by divine mercy? As then they had made void even at that time the covenant of God, it may with certainty be concluded, that there had been no time in which they had not manifested their impiety, and had not been covenant-breakers.

He adds, I however ruled over them, or was Lord over them. Though some confine the verb בעלתי bolti, to the rule exercised by a husband, and this would not be unsuitable, as God not only ruled then over his people, but was also their husband, a similitude which is often used; yet I know not whether this view can be satisfactorily sustained we ought therefore to be satisfied with the general truth, that God had the people under his own authority, as though he had said, that he only used his own right in ruling over them and prescribing to them the way in which they were to live. At the same time the word covenant, was more honorable to the people. For when a king enjoins anything on his people, it is called an edict; but God deals with his own people more kindly, for he descends and appears in the midst of them, that he may bind himself to his people, as he binds the people to himself. We hence see, in short, why God says that he ruled over the people, even because he had purchased them for himself, and yet he had not enjoyed his own right on account of the untameable and perverse disposition of the people. ⁽⁵³⁾

It ought at the same time to be observed, that the fault is here cast on the people, that the Law was weak and not sufficiently valid, as we see that Paul teaches us in Romans 7:12. For as soon as the weakness of the Law is spoken of, the greater part lay hold of something they deem wrong in the Law, and thus the Law is rendered contemptible: hence the Prophet says here that they had made God’s covenant void, as though he had said, that the fault was not to be sought in the Law that there was need of a new covenant, for the Law was abundantly sufficient, but that the fault was in the levity and the unfaithfulness of the people. We now then see that nothing is detracted from the Law when it is said to be weak and ineffectual; for it is an accidental fault derived from men who do not observe nor keep their pledged faith. There are still more things to be said; but I now, as I have said, touch but briefly on the words of the Prophet. It then follows, —

(53) This clause, as quoted in Hebrews 8:9, is, “And I regarded them not,” according to the Sept. and the Syr., though the Vulg. is the same with our version. Houbigant says, “Read געלתי I have rejected, I have repudiated.” The only difference is in one letter; and this word is used by Jeremiah in Jeremiah 14:19. There would thus be a perfect correspondence, “and I rejected them, saith Jehovah.”

“Which my covenant,” in the previous clause, is the Vulg.; but according to the Sept., the Syr., and the Targ., it is, “because they have broken my covenant,” etc. אשר is not used, as given in our version, in connection with a noun that follows, though it is so used with pronouns. — Ed

Smith's Bible Commentary

This time shall we turn in our Bibles to Jeremiah 31:1-40 .

Now there are those who say that God has cast off Israel as a nation forever, and that all of the blessings, all of the covenants and all of the promises that God made to this nation are now fulfilled in the church. That we have become Israel after the Spirit and being spiritual Israel, God has forsaken the nation itself and is now pouring out all of the blessings that He had promised through His covenant upon the church. Now this teaching creates all kinds of problems as far as your views of eschatology, because immediately it places the church in the Great Tribulation.

Now as we were in the thirtieth chapter of Jeremiah we found out where God speaks of the nation Israel going to be in the Great Tribulation and experiencing that time of Jacob's trouble. But it is our view and strong conviction that the church will not be in the Great Tribulation, inasmuch as the Great Tribulation is the time of God's wrath being poured out upon the church, I mean, upon the world, and the Lord said that we have not been appointed-that is, the church-unto wrath.

So as we get into chapter 31, it is more or less a continuation of chapter 30. For he said,

At the same time ( Jeremiah 31:1 ),

At what time? As you go back to verse Jeremiah 31:24 of chapter 30, he declares, "The fierce anger of the Lord shall not return, until He has done it, and has performed the intents of His heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it" ( Jeremiah 30:24 ). "At that same time," that would be, then, the latter days.

saith the LORD ( Jeremiah 31:1 ),

When God again restores the nation Israel to a place of divine favor and love. "At that same time, saith the Lord."

will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people ( Jeremiah 31:1 ).

Now, in the ninth chapter of Daniel, Daniel was seeking the Lord concerning the repatriation of the Jews back to their land after the seventy years of Babylonian captivity. The whole ninth chapter of Daniel begins with the fact that Daniel had been reading the prophecies of Jeremiah and he discovered by the words of Jeremiah that the time that God had ordained the Babylonian captivity was seventy years. And realizing that these seventy years were about over, Daniel began to pray unto the Lord confessing his sins and the sins of the nation and the righteousness of God and the judgment and in this period of seventy years that they have been in exile in Babylon.

And as Daniel was in prayer, the angel of the Lord came unto him and declared unto him that he was highly blessed and favored of the Lord. And that the Lord had said unto Daniel to give to him wisdom and understanding as regards to the nation Israel and its future. And He said, "Know and understand that from the time the commandment that there are seventy sevens that are determined upon the nation Israel, to finish the transgressions, to make an end of sin, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to complete the prophetic picture, to anoint the most holy One, or the most holy place, and to bring in the everlasting kingdom," seventy sevens. "But know and understand that from the time the commandment goes forth to restore and rebuild Jerusalem unto the coming of the Messiah the prince will be seven sevens and sixty-two sevens, or sixty-nine seven-year periods or 483 years" ( Daniel 9:25 ). And of course, it was 483 years from the time the commandment went forth to restore and rebuild Jerusalem to the coming of Jesus Christ in His triumphant entry. He came 483 years to the day from the commandment went forth to restore and rebuild Jerusalem.

Now that takes care of sixty-nine of the sevens. But we have one seven-year period unaccounted for. He said, "After the Messiah is revealed, He will be cut off without receiving the kingdom or without receiving anything for Himself" ( Daniel 9:26 ) And the Jews will be dispersed, and that is exactly what happened. Christ came at the appointed time, but rather than being anointed, and rather than ushering in at that moment the everlasting kingdom, and rather than completing all of the prophecies, the Messiah was cut off. He did bring reconciliation for our iniquities by His death upon the cross. He has reconciled us to God. And He did make an end of sin. He did finish sin as far as we are concerned, making that reconciliation for us. But the latter three prophecies were not fulfilled and wait a yet future date for fulfillment. The Messiah was cut off. And then He went on to say, "And the prince of the people that shall come will make a covenant with the nation Israel. But in the midst of that seven-year period, he will break the covenant and establish the abomination which causes desolation. And until the end desolation is determined" ( Daniel 9:26 ).

Daniel then went on, told about the seventieth week, but he did make a definite break between the sixty-ninth and the seventieth week. And there has been a definite break. When Jesus was cut off, not for Himself but for the people, and when He was cut off without receiving the kingdom, the Jews were dispersed and have been dispersed into all of the world until in the past generation the Zionist movement as they've gone back and are going back to their homeland and have established as of May 1948 a homeland.

Now Jesus having made reference to Daniel's prophecy in Matthew 24:1-51 in response to the question of the disciples, "What will be the sign of Your coming and the end of the age?" He said, "Now when you see the abomination of desolation that was spoken of by Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place, then flee to the wilderness" ( Matthew 24:15-16 ). What is the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet? Is when the antichrist, this prince of the people that shall come, will come into the temple and stand in that holy place of the temple and creates the abomination of desolation by declaring that he is God, stopping the daily prayers and sacrifices, and demanding that he be worshipped as God. Paul the apostle speaks of this in the second chapter of Thessalonians, how that he will stand in the temple of God declaring himself to be God and demanding to be worshipped as God.

Now Jesus gave this as part of the sign of the end of the age and His coming. And He is talking again to the Jews and He said, "When you see this happen, and let him who reads understand, then flee to the wilderness. Pray that your flight will not be on the Sabbath day or the new moon. Don't bother to go home to get your clothes, just get out of there as quickly as you can" ( Matthew 24:15-20 ). Of course in Revelation, we are told that God will give them wings of the angel to bear them to the wilderness place where they will be nourished for three-and-a-half years. So there is one seven-year period in which God is going to be dealing with the nation Israel once again. Seventy sevens were determined on the nation; sixty-nine of them have been fulfilled. We are still waiting for the seventieth seven to be determined, or that seventieth seven to be fulfilled. It will not be fulfilled until the church is taken out of here.

Right now God's Spirit is resting upon the church and the church is God's instrument upon the earth. But the Lord is going to take His church out and when He does, then He will put His Spirit again upon the nation Israel and He'll begin to deal with them once more nationally. God has not cast off Israel forever. God is going to deal with them yet and they shall yet become the covenant people of God. The seven years that God is dealing with them will be a time, as Jeremiah writes here in the thirtieth chapter, of Jacob's trouble. It's not going to be an easy period. It's going to be very difficult. They are going to be driven from their land once again. And there's going to be another holocaust, unfortunately, as Satan vents his anger against these people who were God's instrument of bringing the Messiah into the world. And through the antichrist will seek to make war against Israel to destroy these people completely. So at the end of that seven-year period, then Jesus will return again and they will receive, recognize and honor Him as their Savior, as their Messiah, as their Lord, and we will be united with them in the kingdom as we serve the Lord.

So, "At that same time, saith the Lord, will I be the God of all the families of Israel and they shall be My people."

Thus saith the LORD, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest. The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee ( Jeremiah 31:2-3 ).

So God speaks of His love for Israel, an everlasting love. And with lovingkindness He has drawn them.

Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry. Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria ( Jeremiah 31:4-5 ):

Now that's the West Bank. So notwithstanding all of the political hassle that's being made over it, now it's still going to be Israel's. And they're going to plant vines there in Samaria in the West Bank.

the planters shall plant, and shall eat them as common things. For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the LORD our God ( Jeremiah 31:5-6 ).

When Christ comes and establishes the kingdom and sits there upon His throne on mount Zion.

For thus saith the LORD; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O LORD, save thy people, the remnant of Israel. Behold, I will bring them from the north country [Russia], and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travails with child together: a great company shall return thither. They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn ( Jeremiah 31:7-9 ).

That's an interesting statement for God to declare that Ephraim was His firstborn, because we remember from the story that Manasseh was actually the firstborn. They were twins and Manasseh... or no, they were brothers, Joseph's sons. And Manasseh was the older and yet God said Ephraim is My firstborn. So firstborn does not mean the first to be born as far as a space of time, but it means first in prominence or has the pre-eminence of those that were born. And that causes us to understand other scriptures which are used by the Jehovah Witnesses to try to prove that Jesus is not the Son of God or is not God manifested in the flesh.

Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd does his flock ( Jeremiah 31:10 ).

Now this is God's promise. He says, "Proclaim it! I scatter them, but I'm going to gather them again."

For the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he. Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD, there'll be wheat, and wine, and oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all ( Jeremiah 31:11-12 ).

That glorious day when they are received again and joined unto God and to His Son Jesus Christ.

Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow. And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the LORD. Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children and refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not ( Jeremiah 31:13-15 ).

Now Matthew in the New Testament takes this as a prophecy of Herod killing all of the children two years old and under at the time of the birth of Christ, in order that he might destroy the king that was born that the wise men from the east came looking for him. "And Joseph being warned by the angel in a dream to flee to Egypt with the child had left Bethlehem and Herod had ordered all of the children two years and under to be slain in Bethlehem, that," Matthew said, "the prophecy might be fulfilled which declared, 'Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted because they are not'" ( Matthew 2:13 , Matthew 2:17-18 ). And so he sees that as a prophecy of this period in which Herod ordered the slaying of the children.

Now I would not in reading through this see that this was a prediction of that event. But I accept that it is, because Matthew by the Holy Spirit declares that it is. And the New Testament is really the best commentary we have on the Old Testament. And it is interesting to me in the prophecies concerning Jesus Christ how these things are just sort of hid here and yet those enlightened by the Holy Spirit suddenly see them and they see their fulfillment in the Lord. And just in reading this in its context we are really talking about a yet future event, and yet, by the Holy Spirit Matthew says this was fulfilled and was a prediction of Herod's slaying of the innocent children.

Thus saith the LORD; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the LORD; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy ( Jeremiah 31:16 ).

So God promises the restoration, coming out from the land of the enemy.

And there is hope in thine end, saith the LORD, that thy children shall come again to their own border ( Jeremiah 31:17 ).

So you've got hope. You're going to be coming back again into the borders of the country.

I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself declaring; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God. Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth. Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely will have mercy upon him, saith the LORD ( Jeremiah 31:18-20 ).

Now listen how God speaks about a wayward son Ephraim. Not as this, "I cast him off forever. I'm through with him. I disinherit him. I disown him." But God did speak of the judgment that was going to come upon him. "I spoke against him, but I earnestly remember him still." And actually, "I inwardly am groaning for him. And I will surely have mercy upon him."

Set thee up waymarks, make thee high heaps: set thine heart toward the highway, even the way which thou wentest: turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities. How long will you go about, O you backsliding daughter? for the LORD hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, As yet they shall use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity; The LORD bless thee, O habitation of justice, and mountain of holiness ( Jeremiah 31:21-23 ).

This will be again declared, "Oh, the Lord bless thee." And He says, "I will use this speech in the land of Judah in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity, as they declare, 'The Lord bless thee, O habitation of justice, and mountain of holiness.'"

Now, of course, there is also another thing here and that is in this present-day re-gathering into Israel, the use again of the Hebrew language. After they returned from the Babylonian captivity, Hebrew was not the general language in Israel any longer. But they spoke Aramaic and they spoke Greek. But they did not really speak Hebrew. Only the scholars, the scribes and all, spoke Hebrew. All of the children growing up in Babylon in the two generations in Babylon the kids didn't bother to learn the Hebrew language. And so they just were, of course, were in the Babylon schools and playing with their boyfriends and girlfriends and all there in Babylon, and they just picked up the Aramaic and of course that became the language when they returned, the common language. But it is interesting as a part of the modern Zionist movement was when in their return to the land they established again Hebrew as the national language of the land. Everybody learns Hebrew when they go back and they speak Hebrew there. And so they're again using this speech of Hebrew and declaring, "The Lord bless thee," in Hebrew, "O habitation of justice."

And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in the cities thereof together, husbandmen, shepherds who will be going forth with their flocks. For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul. Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me. Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will sow the house ( Jeremiah 31:24-27 )

As he thought about this, Jeremiah awoke as God was speaking to him these things, and it was just a beautiful thing to realize God's restoration of the people. He was facing... they were facing, then, their destruction. And yet God took him beyond the dark period of history that was right upon them and out to the end really and the glorious restoration of God's grace and love upon the people.

Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast. And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, saith the LORD ( Jeremiah 31:27-28 ).

Now if you go back to the first chapter of Jeremiah when God is calling Jeremiah to his prophetic ministry, the Lord said unto Jeremiah, verse Jeremiah 31:10 of chapter 1, "See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant." So he was to prophesy that destruction that was going to come upon these people. And now God declares, "I've watched over them to pluck them up, to break them down, to throw them down, to destroy and to afflict, but I will also watch over them to build and to plant." So God's restoration of His work with the nation Israel.

In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge. But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be on edge ( Jeremiah 31:29-30 ).

Now they had this proverb, and basically the proverb was trying to blame the fathers for all of the calamities instead of accepting responsibility yourself.

When I was a kid it was all the responsibility for the bad things that went on were laid on the kids. We were held responsible for those things that we were doing. When I became an adult then they changed. They said it was all the parents' fault. So I've got sort of got it both directions. Got it when I was a kid, and now I'm getting it when I'm an adult, as they blamed now the adults for all of the problems with the children. They say that personality equals heredity, environment, and time. And the formula that they use is P=HET. Personality equals heredity, environment, and time. And there's quite a discussion now on how much is heredity, how much is environment, and how much making up your personality. But it always seems that there is that endeavor to throw the blame for my faults onto somebody else. Man does not like to take responsibility for his own actions. And if I can blame someone else for what I've done wrong, I'm always looking for a scapegoat. I'm always looking for someone to blame. For you see, I'm so perfect that if these other environmental things weren't around me, I could be a perfect person. But it's all of these annoyances and all that are around me that create this loss of temper and create these dumb things that I do. It's not really my fault. It's the kids have got the TV on too loud in the other room and that's why I dropped the vase and broke it. It wasn't really that I'm just a clumsy oaf; it was their fault, you know. And we're always looking for someone to blame for our own weaknesses or our own failures.

And so this proverb became a very current, popular thing. And so they say, "Well, you know, my teeth are set on edge because my father ate sour grapes. And so my teeth are sharp and on edge, you know." And blaming their fathers for their problems. He said, "That's a proverb they're not going to be using anymore. Every man's going to be responsible for his own action." And in truth, we are each of us when we stand before God, we're responsible for our own actions. We can't say, "Well, my dad was a mess. I couldn't relate to you as a father because my dad was such a horrible father, you know." That won't go. You're going to have to answer to God for what you've done. You are responsible for what you have done.

Now, there have been religious groups that have tried to take responsibility off of you. And they say, "Well, we'll be your shepherd, you know, and we'll be responsible for you." People really gathered after them like everything because we like to escape responsibility for our own actions. People say, "Well, it's the devil that made you do it, you know." Oh, that's great, make him responsible. No, I am responsible for what I do and I'm going to have to answer to God for what I have done. And when I come before God, I can't say, "Well, my dad ate sour grapes. That's why my teeth were on edge." I'll have to just answer to God for what I am, for what I've done, even as you are going to have to answer to God and you can't find a scapegoat. You can't lay the blame on anybody else. Every man will answer for himself.

Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers, in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they broke, although I was a husband unto them, saith the LORD ( Jeremiah 31:31-32 ):

I'm going to make a new covenant. Not like the covenant that I made.

Now what was the covenant that He made with them? When they came out of Egypt, they came to mount Sinai and there God gave them the law and God said when He gave them the law, "He that doeth these, he that liveth by these things and doeth them shall be My people." So the covenant that God made with them first was a covenant that was predicated upon their obedience to that law. Now they broke that covenant, God said. They didn't obey the law. God gave to them the Ten Commandments; they broke them. They did not keep them. So God said, "I'm going to make a new covenant with them. In that day I'll make a new covenant. Not like the old covenant that was predicated upon their obedience and their faithfulness to obey the law. And I will be their God and they will be My people, and so forth, if they live by these things and do these things."

But what is the new covenant?

But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people ( Jeremiah 31:33 ).

That is, I will give them a change of attitude within. I will give them a change of heart. It will not be an outward law that is forcing me obedience, but now it is a new covenant where God writes His law in my heart by creating in me a new nature. Now that's, of course, exactly what God has done for us. That's what Christianity is all about. Jesus said, "You've got to be born again. You were born of the flesh, but you've got to be born of the Spirit. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. Don't marvel that I say you've got to be born again" ( John 3:3 , John 3:6-7 ). You need to have this new nature. And when you have this new nature, God then writes His law in your heart. You have a whole new desire, a whole new... You have such a change. It's from within and the desire for the things of the Lord as He writes His law upon my heart. And this new covenant that God has established with us through Jesus Christ, it's the same thing-the change of nature. Born again by the Spirit, a new nature after Christ Jesus.

And it is so important that we be born again, because we cannot keep that first covenant that God established. The law, we've all broken it. We all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. So God has established this new covenant. The old covenant was established upon man's faithfulness to obey the law. The new covenant is established upon God's faithfulness to justify us by our faith in Jesus Christ. The old covenant failed because it was predicated upon man. The new covenant will stand because it is predicated upon God's work.

And so we have this new covenant that God has established with us and also will establish with the house of Israel in that day. They are still trying to relate to God under the old covenant, but not completely. They no longer have any sacrifice, which was required of God to put away their sins. And so they're still seeking to relate to God outside of the covenant through Jesus Christ whereby our sins are taken away.

And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more ( Jeremiah 31:34 ).

What a glorious covenant. God having forgiven our iniquities, not remembering our sins.

Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divides the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name: If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever ( Jeremiah 31:35-36 ).

If you will stop the day and the night, the ordinances of the moon and the stars and all, then Israel will cease from being a nation before the Lord.

Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD. Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the city shall be built to the LORD from the tower of Hananeel even to the gate of the corner. And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb, and shall encircle it to Goath. And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy unto the LORD; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever ( Jeremiah 31:37-40 ).

It is interesting these hills and so forth that are described here as being a part of the city of Jerusalem are indeed all within the city of Jerusalem today. The city has been expanded out to these areas that are referred to here in Jeremiah.

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Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The New Covenant 31:31-34

Many commentators believe that Jeremiah’s revelation of the New Covenant was his greatest theological contribution. They view it as the high point of the book, the climax of the prophet’s teaching.

"The prophecy of Jeremiah marks a watershed in Hebrew religious and cultic life. From this point onwards there is a significant divergence between what has obtained in the past and what will characterize the future religious observances of Israel." [Note: Harrison, Jeremiah and . . ., p. 138.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

This New Covenant would be different from the Mosaic Covenant, which the Israelites consistently and inevitably broke in spite of Yahweh’s faithful commitment to them. They had worshipped Baal (Heb. ba’al) even though Yahweh had been a faithful husband (Heb. ba’al) to them.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers,.... Meaning not Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; but the ancestors of the Jews that came out of Egypt, as appears by what follows. This was the covenant made at Sinai, which is here referred to; but the above covenant was not according to that; for, though it was not properly a covenant of works, but a typical one; yet it was in some sense faulty and deficient; or, however, the persons under it were faulty, and did not keep it; and besides, it was made with the Israelites; whereas this new covenant belongs both to Jews and Gentiles. That the Sinai covenant is intended is clear by the following circumstances:

in the day [that] I took them by the hand, to bring them out of the land of Egypt; that is, immediately after their being brought out of Egypt, the covenant was made with them; see Exodus 19:1; at which time of their bringing out, the Lord took them by the hand, as being unable to deliver themselves, and to go out of themselves; which is expressive, as of their weakness, so of his power and goodness, kindness and tenderness to them; and is an aggravation of their ingratitude to him in breaking the covenant, made with them at such a time by the Lord, who was so kind and indulgent to them; and which is still more fully expressed in the following clause:

which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them,

saith the Lord; they promised fair, but did not perform; their hearts were not right with God, nor were they steadfast in his covenant; though it was such a solemn transaction, and had the nature of a matrimonial contract; it was the day of their espousal; they were betrothed to the Lord, and he acted the part of a husband to them in nourishing and cherishing them in providing food and raiment for them; manna that continued with them, and clothes that waxed not old; and in protecting them from their enemies, and bringing them to a good settlement in the land of Canaan. The Septuagint version renders it, "and I regarded them not"; and so the apostle, Hebrews 8:9; for the reconciliation of which to the Hebrew text Hebrews 8:9- :.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      27 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast.   28 And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, saith the LORD.   29 In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge.   30 But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.   31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:   32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was a husband unto them, saith the LORD:   33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.   34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

      The prophet, having found his sleep sweet, made so by the revelations of divine grace, sets himself to sleep again, in hopes of further discoveries, and is not disappointed; for it is here further promised,

      I. That the people of God shall become both numerous and prosperous. Israel and Judah shall be replenished both with men and cattle, as if they were sown with the seed of both, Jeremiah 31:27; Jeremiah 31:27. They shall increase and multiply like a field sown with corn; and this is the product of God's blessing (Jeremiah 31:23; Jeremiah 31:23), for whom God blessed, to them he said, Be fruitful. This should be a type of the wonderful increase of the gospel-church. God will build them, and plant them, Jeremiah 31:28; Jeremiah 31:28. He will watch over them to do them good; no opportunity shall be lost that may further their prosperity. Every thing for a long time had turned so much against them, and all occurrences did so transpire to ruin them, that it seemed as if God had watched over them to pluck up and to throw down; but now every thing that falls out shall happily fall in to strengthen and advance their interests. God will be as ready to comfort those that repent of their sins, and are humbled for them, as he is to punish those that continue in love with their sins, and are hardened in them.

      II. That they shall be reckoned with no further for the sins of their fathers (Jeremiah 31:29; Jeremiah 31:30): They shall say no more (they shall have no more occasion to say) that God visits the iniquity of the parents upon the children, which God had done in the captivity, for the sins of their ancestors came into the account against them, particularly those of Manasseh: this they had complained of as a hardship. Other scriptures justify God in this method of proceeding, and our Saviour tells the wicked Jews in his days that they should smart for their fathers' sins, because they persisted in them, Matthew 23:35; Matthew 23:36. But it is here promised that this severe dispensation with them should now be brought to an end, that God would proceed no further in his controversy with them for their fathers' sins, but remember for them his covenant with their fathers and do them good according to that covenant: They shall no more complain, as they have done, that the fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge (which speaks something of an absurdity, and is an invidious reflection upon God's proceedings), but every one shall die for his own iniquity still; though God will cease to punish them in their national capacity, yet he will still reckon with particular persons that provoke him. Note, Public salvations will give no impunity, no security, to private sinners: still every man that eats the sour grapes shall have his teeth set on edge. Note, Those that eat forbidden fruit, how tempting soever it looks, will find it a sour grape, and it will set their teeth on edge; sooner or later they will feel from it and reflect upon it with bitterness. There is as direct a tendency in sin to make a man uneasy as there is in sour grapes to set the teeth on edge.

      III. That God will renew his covenant with them, so that all these blessings they shall have, not by providence only, but by promise, and thereby they shall be both sweetened and secured. But this covenant refers to gospel times, the latter days that shall come; for of gospel grace the apostle understands it (Hebrews 8:8; Hebrews 8:9, c.), where this whole passage is quoted as a summary of the covenant of grace made with believers in Jesus Christ. Observe, 1. Who the persons are with whom this covenant is made--with the house of Israel and Judah, with the gospel church, the Israel of God on which peace shall be (Galatians 6:16), with the spiritual seed of believing Abraham and praying Jacob. Judah and Israel had been two separate kingdoms, but were united after their return, in the joint favours God bestowed upon them so Jews and Gentiles were in the gospel church and covenant. 2. What is the nature of this covenant in general: it is a new covenant and not according to the covenant made with them when they came out of Egypt; not as if that made with them at Mount Sinai were a covenant of nature and innocency, such as was made with Adam in the day he was created; no, that was, for substance, a covenant of grace, but it was a dark dispensation of that covenant in comparison with this in gospel times. Sinners were saved by that covenant upon their repentance, and faith in a Messiah to come, whose blood, confirming that covenant, was typified by that of the legal sacrifices, Exodus 24:7; Exodus 24:8. Yet this may upon many accounts be called new, in comparison with that; the ordinances and promises are more spiritual and heavenly, and the discoveries much more clear. That covenant God made with them when he took them by the hand, as they had been blind, or lame, or weak, to lead them out of the land of Egypt, which covenant they broke. Observe, It was God that made this covenant, but it was the people that broke it; for our salvation is of God, but our sin and ruin are of ourselves. It was an aggravation of their breach of it that God was a husband to them, that he had espoused them to himself; it was a marriage-covenant that was between him and them, which they broke by idolatry, that spiritual adultery. It is a great aggravation of our treacherous departures from God that he has been a husband to us, a loving, tender, careful husband, faithful to us, and yet we false to him. 3. What are the particular articles of his covenant. They all contain spiritual blessings; not, "I will give them the land of Canaan and a numerous issue," but, "I will give them pardon, and peace, and grace, good heads and good hearts." He promises, (1.) That he will incline them to their duty; I will put my law in their inward part and write it in their heart; not, I will give them a new law (as Mr. Gataker well observes), for Christ came not to destroy the law, but to fulfil it; but the law shall be written in their hearts by the finger of the Spirit as formerly it was written in the tables of stone. God writes his law in the hearts of all believers, makes it ready and familiar to them, at hand when they have occasion to use it, as that which is written in the heart,Proverbs 3:3. He makes them in care to observe it, for that which we are solicitous about is said to lie near our hearts. He works in them a disposition to obedience, a conformity of thought and affection to the rules of the divine law, as that of the copy to the original. This is here promised, and ought to be prayed for, that our duty may be done conscientiously and with delight. (2.) That he will take them into relation to himself: I will be their God, a God all-sufficient to them, and they shall be my people, a loyal obedient people to me. God's being to us a God is the summary of all happiness; heaven itself is no more, Hebrews 11:16; Revelation 21:3. Our being to him a people may be taken either as the condition on our part (those and those only shall have God to be to them a God that are truly willing to engage themselves to be to him a people) or as a further branch of the promise that God will by his grace make us his people, a willing people, in the day of his power; and, whoever are his people, it is his grace that makes them so. (3.) That there shall be an abundance of the knowledge of God among all sorts of people, and this will have an influence upon all good: for those that rightly know God's name will seek him, and serve him, and put their trust in him (Jeremiah 31:34; Jeremiah 31:34): All shall know me; all shall be welcome to the knowledge of God and shall have the means of that knowledge; his ways shall be known upon earth, whereas, for many ages, in Judah only was God known. Many more shall know God than did in the Old Testament times, which among the Gentiles were times of ignorance, the true God being to them an unknown God. The things of God shall in gospel times be made more plain and intelligible, and level to the capacities of the meanest, than they were while Moses had a veil upon his face. There shall be such a general knowledge of God that there shall not be so much need as had formerly been of teaching. Some take it as a hyperbolical expression (and the dulness of the Jews needed such expressions to awaken them), designed only to show that the knowledge of God in gospel times should vastly exceed that knowledge of him which they had under the law. Or perhaps it intimates that in gospel times there shall be such great plenty of public preaching, statedly and constantly, by men authorized and appointed to preach the word in season and out of season, much beyond what was under the law, that there shall be less need than there was then of fraternal teaching, by a neighbour and a brother. The priests preached but now and then, and in the temple, and to a few in comparison; but now all shall or may know God by frequenting the assemblies of Christians, wherein, through all parts of the church, the good knowledge of God shall be taught. Some give this sense of it (Mr. Gataker mentions it), That many shall have such clearness of understanding in the things of God that they may seem rather to have been taught by some immediate irradiation than by any means of instruction. In short, the things of God shall by the gospel of Christ be brought to a clearer light than ever (2 Timothy 1:10), and the people of God shall by the grace of Christ be brought to a clearer sight of those things than ever, Ephesians 1:17; Ephesians 1:18. (4.) That, in order to all these blessings, sin shall be pardoned. This is made the reason of all the rest: For I will forgive their iniquity, will not impute that to them, nor deal with them according to the desert of that, will forgive and forget: I will remember their sin no more. It is sin that keeps good things from us, that stops the current of God's favours; let sin betaken away by pardoning mercy, and the obstruction is removed, and divine grace runs down like a river, like a mighty stream.