A literal translation of the Hebrew – Jeremiah 31:31–34
“Behold, days are coming – declaration of YHWH – and I will
cut with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah a new covenant. Not
like the covenant which I cut with their fathers in the day of my grasping
their hand to bring them out from the land of Egypt – which they, they broke my
covenant, though I was master/husband over them – declaration of YHWH. For this
is the covenant which I will cut with the house of Israel after those days –
declaration of YHWH – I have given my torah in their inward parts, and upon
their heart I will write it; and I will be to them as God, and they will be to
me as a people. And they will no longer teach, each man his neighbor and each
man his brother, saying, 'Know YHWH,' for all of them will know me, from their
smallest and unto their greatest – declaration of YHWH – for I will forgive their iniquity, and their
sin I will remember no more.”
The Hebrew stresses that the new covenant is emphatically
“not like” the Sinai covenant. It points out that it is God’s “teaching” not
“law” will be written “in their inward parts” and not merely “within them.” The
Hebrew word קֶרֶב (qerev) means what is closest to one's core. God’s teaching
is written on the heart as opposed to being written on stone as the Sinai
covenant was.
The statement “I will be to them as God, and they will be to
me as a people” is an expression of mutual belonging. Leviticus states the
first covenant had similar wording but with conditions, people had to listen to
God and keep the commandments. “I
will put my dwelling place among you, and I will not abhor you. I will walk
among you and be your God, and you will be my people.” (Lev 26:11, 12) God’s first covenant with Israel required mediation by
priests, teachers, and prophets, it also included external rituals and
sacrifices. The Hebrew author wrote that “every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices” … “They
offer worship in a sanctuary that is a sketch and shadow of the heavenly one,”
but Jesus is the mediator of a better covenant. The new “not like the
first” covenant is personal with no rituals.
The reason given for no longer needing
teachers for people to ‘Know God,’ is that God said all of them will know me…
The clause marks the collapse of religious mediation as institutional. In the
old order, knowledge of God was something a father instructed a son, a priest
instructed people, a prophet relayed what others could not access directly. The
verb "teach" (לַמֵּד) presupposes exactly that structure: someone
possesses the knowledge, someone else lacks it, and an act of teaching bridges
the gap. The clause “for all of them will know me” removes the gap since all
will know “me” (God). God will
put his law in their minds and write it on their hearts. The connection with
God in the new covenant is not like in the first which was based on ritualistic
sacrifice to atone for sin; Jeremiah stated that God forgives and forgets wickedness
and sin. The new covenant relationship is not based on law but on
promise.
The scene at Sinai was
terrifying:
All the people perceived the thunder and the
lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking; and
when the people saw it, they trembled and stood at a distance. Then
they said to Moses, ‘Speak to us yourself and we will listen; but let not God
speak to us, or we will die.’ Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid;
for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may
remain with you, so that you may not sin.’
Then the
LORD said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘you yourselves
have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven.’”
The contrasting backdrops to the covenants is
seen in the twelfth chapter of Hebrews:
For you have not come to a mountain
that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and
whirlwind, and to the blast of a trumpet and the sound of words … but you
have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly
Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and assembly
of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and
to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the
mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood which speaks better than
the blood of Abel.
The legalistic
regime of the first covenant exacerbated by Jewish traditions and rules is set
against the offer of Jesus “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying
heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn
from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your
souls.” The Hebrew word “new” in Jeremiah’s prophecy specifies difference not
timing which is evident in what Jesus said.
Peter
debating whether to force Gentiles to be circumcised said “God, who knows the
human heart, testified to them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did
to us; and in cleansing their hearts by faith he has made no distinction
between them and us. Now therefore why are you putting God to the test by placing
on the neck of the disciples a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been
able to bear?”
God’s new covenant levelled social
and religious rank, access is no longer governed by status, office, or
knowledge. The covenant established at Sinai was exclusive to the people who
were there at that time, people were instructed by priests and prophets as the
book of Hebrews begins “Long
ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets.”
The Sinai covenant was replaced by the unmediated covenant for everyone as
Hebrews continued “in these
last days he has spoken to us by a Son.” What was once necessarily
external (a mediator, a teacher, a tablet) becomes internal and personal:
I will
put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be
their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one
another, or say to each other, 'Know the LORD', for they shall all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,
Paul quoted Jeremiah when stating “we are the
temple of the living God; as God said, 'I will live in them and walk among
them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” Until he died
Moses was the mediator between God and the people of Israel. The covenant made
with Abraham concerning Jesus requires no human mediator.
Paul describing Gentile access to God upset his Jewish
audience by saying that some did by nature what the law required. Paul didn’t
use the “know” language of Jeremiah’s prophecy to describe the Gentiles'
situation, instead he introduced the conscience. The word Paul used was
different to the word used by Jeremiah, however it shares its root with the
"know me" clause, which signalled internalized knowledge of God. Paul
added vocabulary that has no antecedent in Jeremiah at all “bearing joint witness,”
witness – which was courtroom language. Jeremiah's “heart-writing” describes
covenant renewal and instruction; Paul uses the same "written on
heart" idiom to describe an internal courtroom, conscience as witness,
thoughts as a prosecutor and defense attorney operating in Gentiles who never
received Torah. God’s teaching in the new covenant is internal; the first
covenant law was written in stone. From Noah to Jesus for all nations other
than Israel there was no codified law governing access to God.
Job was a Godly man, he “was blameless, upright, fearing
God and turning away from evil.” He presented
burnt offerings to consecrate his children. God called Abraham to
leave his homeland and move to a country unknown to him. Abraham was credited
with righteousness because he trusted God. There was no institutional means of
accessing God it was a matter of personal commitment. The covenant God made
with Israel was exclusive to the people gathered at Sinai. Israel was set apart
from the rest of the world. They were under God’s law. God had a close and
special relationship with Israel:
For you
are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be
a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of
the earth. The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you
were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all
peoples, but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to
your forefathers, the LORD brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you
from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Deu 7:6-8
God’s selection of Israel as his
people didn’t mean he ignored the rest of mankind. The other nations did not
have a covenant with God. Paul addressing Jews claimed the conscience within a
person led some to naturally comply with God’s will.
For when
Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these,
not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of
the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their
thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, Rom 2:14, 15
Israel had a purpose; its
exclusivity was the protection needed to assure God’s promise to Abraham would
be fulfilled as given. Global access to God did not change because Israel was
God’s special nation. “The children of Israel” was not only the name of the
nation it was a description – they were Jacob’s family the descendants of
Abraham. The Jews were jealous of their privilege being God’s chosen race. So
much so, that when Jesus pointed out that Naaman the Syrian was healed of
leprosy and the widow of Zarephath
in Sidon was helped by Elisha the people in the synagogue wanted to kill him.
God through the prophet spoke of Cyrus as his anointed (messiah). God made
Israel his special people, but he did not withdraw his love from all other
people. The nation of Israel was closely tied to God however, each person was
responsible to God, which was the same for all nations.
God’s promise to Abraham was fulfilled through Israel but
not limited to Israel. God said to Abraham “…by your offspring shall all the nations of the earth gain blessing for
themselves, because you have obeyed my voice.” Gen 22:18
Looking forward to the new covenant Jeremiah
repeats God’s words:
See, I am going to gather them from all the
lands to which I drove them in my anger and my wrath and in great indignation;
I will bring them back to this place, and I will settle them in
safety. They shall be my people, and I will be their God. I will give
them one heart and one way, that they may fear me for all time, for their own
good and the good of their children after them. I will make an everlasting
covenant with them, never to draw back from doing good to them; and I will put
the fear of me in their hearts, so that they may not turn from me. Jer
32:37-40
Ezekiel records the promise
of God regarding the unification of the house of Israel and the house of Judah.
The promise to David will be fulfilled that he would always have a descendant
on the throne of Israel. Similar to Jeremiah’s prophecy God said, “Then they shall be my people, and
I will be their God.” And, “I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall
be an everlasting covenant with them.” My dwelling-place shall be with them;
and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
עַבְדִּי דָוִד – "my servant
David," a title, not a claim of literal resurrection – this is standard
prophetic shorthand for a future Davidic ruler.
I will make them one nation in the land, on
the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all. Never again
shall they be two nations, and never again shall they be divided into two
kingdoms. They shall never again defile themselves with their idols and
their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. I will save them
from all the apostasies into which they have fallen, and will cleanse them.
Then they shall be my people, and I will be their God. My servant David shall
be king over them; and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall follow my
ordinances and be careful to observe my statutes. They shall live in the
land that I gave to my servant Jacob, in which your ancestors lived; they and
their children and their children's children shall live there for ever; and my
servant David shall be their prince for ever. I will make a covenant of
peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; and I will
bless them and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary among them for
evermore. My dwelling-place shall be with them; and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people. Eze 37:22-27
The promise of blessing for all
people through Abraham’s descendents was made before the existence of Israel.
God’s covenant was made with the people of Israel not all people. Israel was
set apart from the rest of the world as God’s chosen nation. They were the
agency by which God fulfilled his promise to Abraham. The promise of a new
covenant was given to Israel alone. Access to the new covenant is through trust
in Jesus and is universal.
Before the new covenant could be
of full force the temple had to be destroyed.
You snakes, you brood of vipers! How can you
escape being sentenced to hell? Therefore I send you prophets, sages, and
scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your
synagogues and pursue from town to town, so that upon you may come all the
righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of
Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the
altar. Truly I tell you, all this will come upon this generation.
‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who
are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a
hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your
house is left to you, desolate.’ Mat 23:33-38
Matthew used the word as
Jeremiah “this house will become a desolation” addressing the impending
destruction of the temple and city by the Babylonians. In Jesus teaching on the
end of the age, he refers to Daniel’s prophecy “when you see the desolating sacrilege.”
When did the new covenant become
of full effect?
Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many
and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to
us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created
the worlds. Heb 1:1, 2
Jesus “appeared once for all at the end of the
age to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself.” Heb 9:26
“These things happened to them to serve as an
example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the
ages have come.” 1Co 10:11
For the Son of Man is to come with his angels
in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been
done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste
death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom. Mat 16:27, 28
In speaking of 'a new covenant', he has made
the first one obsolete, and what is obsolete and growing old will soon
disappear. Heb 8:13
“Immediately after the suffering of those days
the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will
fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken.” Mat
24:29
The new covenant began with the crucifixion of
Jesus. It did not become of full effect until after the destruction of the
temple. Up to that point Jewish believers were still under the first covenant
and Sinai law, Gentile Christians were to keep the law as sojourners among
Israelites in ancient times.
Peter spoke to Jews:
…all the prophets, as many as have spoken,
from Samuel and those after him, also predicted these days. You are the
descendants of the prophets and of the covenant that God gave to your
ancestors, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your descendants all the families of the
earth shall be blessed.’ When God raised up his servant, he sent him first
to you, to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways. Act 3:24-26
Peter told the Jews that the prophets had spoken about the
events that were unfolding at that time, but most didn’t connect with what he said
because their leaders had rejected Jesus and his teaching. Prophecy warned them
of things to come to no avail because they were saturated with traditions and
regulations. Jewish leaders perpetuated traditional opinions as doctrine. When
we do not focus on God’s plan our interpretations lose God’s context. When we accept
erroneous future fulfillments of prophecies satisfied thousands of years ago
the continuity of God’s plan is subverted. God’s reconciling humanity to himself
is the theme and every interpretation must support that theme. But leaders and
theologians have influenced translation
and interpretation of scripture by inserting their erroneous opinions as facts.
Church leaders maintain the traditions initiated by the Roman Church sometime
modified but not rejected. They hijack God’s story making it their own just as
the Jewish elders did with their traditions and rules.
God stated emphatically that
the new covenant would not be like the Sinai covenant! In what way is the
Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Anglican, Presbyterian, evangelical, or fundamental
Church not like Israel under the Sinai covenant and law? All Churches are
structured the same as institutional Judaism. All Churches base their doctrines
and rituals on Jewish and first century Christian practices – both of which
were within the Sinai covenant era. Did God really mean that the new universal
covenant promised to Abraham would provide a better relationship between
himself and man? Has God put his law inside us and written his teaching on our
hearts as he promised? Most Churches use scriptures to confirm their institutional
doctrines and practices, rather than basing their doctrines on scriptural
principals.
I drive a vehicle purchased in 2003; in auto-years I think
it’s likely around my age – old. It doesn’t run as smooth as it used to, but
the seats are comfortable. I installed a backup camera since it can’t see where
its going in reverse. There are a few odd bangs and clunks which suggests it
has joint pain like me. There are a lot of memories connected to this vehicle,
although it doesn’t remember any – that’s not age-related. I drive this vehicle
to the store and back and once in while to go fishing. I have another vehicle
13 years younger, with more comfort and safety features and a lot less milage.
I rely on the design and newer technology and use this vehicle for long trips.
I have a sentimental attachment to the older vehicle but trust the newer one to
get me where I am going, and back.
You might be wondering what this has to do with scripture –
nothing, it’s a human peculiarity; we become attached to things and can’t let
go of them. One of the oldest things still around is the Catholic Church. It
was a political modification of a religious institution. It is a human
organization. It compressed multiple autonomous groups into one controlled
conglomerate. That one Church to millions has become what my old vehicle is to
me. The problem is that while my vehicle doesn’t dictate behaviours and beliefs
the Catholic Church does. Catholicism is a pseudo religious political
institution. It also spawned thousands of other Churches.
Getting back to old things; the Hebrew scriptures have been
around for more than three thousand years. The Christian scriptures are about
fourteen hundred years younger. Unlike vehicles there are no new versions. If
designer developing vehicles followed the same process as religious teachers
have with scripture, they would have multiple wheels of different size and
shape. Vehicles would have more than one driver seat with steering wheels
pointing in different directions all used at the same time. Fortunately, it’s
impossible to imagine or make a vehicle like this. There is nothing wrong or
incomplete with the scriptures, only the Churches who study and use them to
support institutional traditions. People in the pews are less culpable than
religious leaders who like their kind in the first century peddle rules and
traditions instead of truth.
The Christian scriptures were written before 70CE by eight
different authors mostly Jewish. These scriptures contain four accounts of the
life and teaching of Jesus. For disciple of Jesus the four gospels are the most
instructive since they indicate the way Jesus related to people, his teaching
and habit of spending time in prayer with his father God. The gospels should be
our go to information since being a disciple means to follow Jesus. An
important note is that Jesus did not build a Church, didn’t have anything to do
with establishing a religious institution. His preaching focused on the coming
kingdom which was spiritual. His mission was focused on Israel primarily and
the completion of God’s plan to save the world through Israel – the descendents
of Abraham. Jesus was the fulfillment of God’s promise.
The letters and writings focus on the move from the old to
new covenant relationship. It was a time of transition in which the covenant
and law of Moses was in effect and the new covenant was being introduced. The
new covenant covered believers who if they were Jews were required to keep the
law of Moses. Gentiles once included with believers had similar status and
legal requirements as sojourners in Israel. God’s covenant made with Abraham
included the land and the people, as well as the promise of universal blessing.
During the transition period Gentiles were not expected to become Jews but were
required abstain from practices abhorrent to Jewish beliefs. A lot of scripture
is given to practices of believers with instruction on desired behaviours.
Attributing the word Church to
Jesus is a denial of his divine nature, it makes him a tin pot ruler or
chairman of a club rather than the eternal king of Israel. The Greek word
Matthew employed for what Jesus said he would build is used of the people gathered
at Sinai when the law was given. There is no justification for twisting
scriptures to make them conform with human devices. God’s word through Jeremiah
forecasts a very different relationship between God and people. The legal
conditional covenant of Sinai would end, and the grace-based covenant secured
by the sacrifice of Jesus would take its place. The Promised Land, physical laws,
the rituals and ceremonies, the material temple, and sacrifices. All give way
to the renewed Isael, which is heavenly, a spiritual law, the sacrifice of
Jesus which takes away sin. There are no rituals only a relationship, the
temple in which God resides is inside us. The covenant and law governing Israel
is dead. They died with the destruction of the temple and City of God.
The book of Hebrews comments on
the faithfulness by which our relationship with God is secured:
By faith
he (Abraham) stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a
foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him
of the same promise. For he looked forward to the city that has
foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
The Greek word translated as
faith in English is based on the Hebrew word (emunah). In Hebrews 11:1 it has
the meaning of confident trust or conviction directed at unseen, hoped-for
realities. Hope in this context is – the confident expectation of a good
outcome based on God's promise rather than mere wishful anticipation. The new
covenant relationship with God is what Abraham demonstrated. Paul goes so far
as to state that “…the
promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of
the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father
of us all.” And, “Just as Abraham 'believed God, and it was reckoned to him as
righteousness', so, you see, those who believe are the descendants of
Abraham.” In the
original language “believed
God” is Abraham’s trust and reliance on God. The English words faith and belief
are weak religious words compared to the Greek/Hebrew meanings of conviction,
trust, confidence which represent Abraham’s assurance in God.
Eden represents what God wanted – a relationship with man
created in his image. From Gen 2 isolation in paradise was difficult for man,
hence the creation of the woman. Eden included preservation of human will in an
environment hugely weighted in favour of man avoiding separation. Human choice influenced
Adam and Eve to choose to break their relationship with God. Mortality and
corruption became normal, banishment from Paradise permanent. God's plan for
reconciling man; re-establishing the relationship began with banishment; morality
became a reality. God chose Noah and family as saviours of the human race. After
the flood two paths appear; those who followed their imagination and a few who
stayed true to God. Abraham stands out because he trusted God. The promise of redeemer
who would bring universal blessing and access to God was Jesus. Israel was the means
of accomplishing that. The new relationship with God is personal and familial.
The battle between good and evil turned bad for Satan when Jesus gave humans
the power over his demons, as Luke records Jesus saying he saw Satan fall from
heaven.
God’s story of reconciliation came to close with the
destruction of his temple, the destruction of his city, and the desolation of those
who had rejected Jesus, and immediately after that Jesus returned in glory with
his angels. Jesus warned people and the Jewish leaders about their ruin in his
later parables. There is no physical evidence or any extant reports of Jesus
returning. He did!
The future Paradise will be an irreversible relationship
with God because Satan and wickedness will have been terminated. The scriptures
tell the story; we need to listen. Our opinions are not scripture; we do not
have permission modify or humanise scripture to make more palatable for
sceptics or anyone. Paul wrote:
For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the
power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also
to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith
for faith; as it is written, 'The one who is righteous will live by faith.'
Where is the one who is wise? Where is the
scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom
of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God
through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to
save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire
wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling-block to Jews and
foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and
Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.