“Serving the Lord with Gladness, Part Two”
Jeremiah 31

May 15, 2005
by C.W. Powell

“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 an 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.” (Jer 31:31-34 AV)

Two weeks ago I spoke on verses 11-13 of this chapter, and gave an overview of the wonderful promises that God made to the exiles of Israel. Jerusalem was soon to be destroyed, the temple razed, the royal and priestly families slaughtered and the people carried away to exile. It looked as if the promises of God to Israel had come to nothing. This prophecy was to give theM hope.

There were two themes in the prophecy: the restoration if Israel to their land, the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the coming of Messiah, the Lord Jesus upon whom all these promises rested. As I said, it is important to know that every good think that came to Israel came to them through Jesus Christ. All good things that come to anyone at any time are because of Jesus Christ. It is monstrous for men not to love and worship Jesus Christ. It is monstrous not to serve Him with joy and gladness for the multitude of His blessings.

We also saw the tremendous blessing that would come to Israel, restored to their land with great abundance and prosperity. But this great prosperity and blessing would come only to a remnant of Israel. The very great majority of those who heard this promises would not see any of it fulfilled, for they would die in Babylon. There is no greater confirmation that the promises of God are not primarily about houses and lands and estates and earthly kingdoms, for few people of faith have ever had an abundance of such things. Why should I care about my grandchildren to the 20th generation. They don’t have to be Christians to be rich and famous. There is a much larger dimensions to the promise than that: the blessing of God and eternal life. Abraham’s inheritance that he brought to his seed, is the promise of the spirit by faith.

We say that they had joy and gladness even in captivity. They had joy in their hearts although they were in bondage, for the kingdom is not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. The joy of the Lord is the Sabbath of the soul, that David experienced when he wrote the great 23rd Psalm.

This is the wonder and beauty of this great chapter. Israel could rejoice in the bare promise of God, the historical details they would not see with their eyes, nor would even the next generation, and only the third generation would only begin to see the barest beginning. Their temple was destroyed; their holy land defiled; their priests slaughtered and the noblemen slain. The land was devastated; the vines demolished; the farms ruined. But in Babyon, Israel would learn to worship again. When they had the temple and priests and a prosperous nation, they transgressed the law and bitterly raged against God; In Babylon, they would find rest and learn to rejoice in God alone.

This is the portion of everyone who has believed the certain promises of God concerning Jesus Christ. No matter what their outward condition, they were blessed exceedingly in their souls and departed to be with the Lord, enjoying His presence and comfort that God has prepared for those that love Him. This comfort, however, was only dimly seen, even by the righteous in the Old Testament times, for it was not clearly preached until the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

But let us look at the passage before us: vs. 31-34

I. God recognizes that there would be no use in fixing man’s outward condition if He did not do something about the sinful patterns that brought them to ruin and misery to begin with.

a. Out of the heart are the issues of life. Proverbs: “Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.” But how can I keep my heart? You give it up to Jesus Christ to keep. “My son, give me thy heart,” is also written in Proverbs 23:26. Paul put it this way, “For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” (2Ti 1:12 AV)

b. This shows that man is to be ruled by information given to him by God, and not by his outward condition. Man is not to be tossed to and fro by circumstances or by every wind of doctrine of men. He is to build on the word of God. God’s law is to be his delight, being written on his soul and spirit.

II. We can give our hearts to God, because God has promised to renew and change them. What was promised and seen only dimly in the OT, shines gloriously forth in the New: This passage is set forth in many places in the New Testament as being fulfilled in the preaching of the gospel: We will look at three important passages.

a. Hebrews 8:6-12. Notice the details:

i. Christ is the mediator of this new covenant: vs. 6,7
ii. The fault of the first covenant at Sinai is that it was on tables of stone and not in their hearts. Vs. 8,9
iii. The writer of Hebrews quotes Jer. Vs. 10-12
iv. That covenant was to pass away: vs. 13

b. Heb. 10:11-25

i. The offerings of the priests could never take away sins.vs. 11
ii. Christ takes away sins forever. vs. 12-14
iii. This is on the basis of the New Covenant spoken of by Jeremiah. Vs. 15-17
iv. There is nothing else to do about sin but to believe. 18-22
v. In Christ, the new way through His flesh, we are called to true worship using the ordinances that Jesus mandated: Lord’s supper and baptism. Vs. 22
vi. We are engrafted into the church for the love and support of one another: vs. 23-26
vii. The church is mixed as Israel was, and we will no more escape the eternal wrath of God by our unbelief than they did. Vs. 26-31
viii. We live by faith, but the focus on Christ is much clearer now to the people of God than it was in the time of discipline under the law. Vs. 31-39
ix. Ye have need of patience. There is a similarity of our condition with Israel. The promise to us is much clearer, and forgiveness of sins the renewal of the Holy Spirit is much more clearly seen, but all the realization of Christ’s kingdom is not yet come. There is a future orientation to our faith also. Our walk of faith is more clearly manifested for so many trappings of the law have been taken away, as is fitting when men are to be much more ruled by the spirit than by the bare commandment.

c. Hebrews 13:10-16

Text: “10 We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle. 11 For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp. 12 Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. 13 Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. 14 For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. 15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. 16 But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” (Heb 13:10-16 AV)

i. We have an altar, but it is not Moses’ altar.
ii. We offer spiritual sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving.
iii. We do good to all men.
iv. We don’t do this in Israel, for we are out of their temple with Christ. We are outside that camp.

Summary:

To comfort and to give Israel hope, God promised that He would remember and deliver them in times to come. Messiah would come and perform all that had been promised. This was enough for those who believed, for faith does not depend upon what is seen with the eyes but is able to rest on the promise alone. Their faith in Christ gave them access to the righteousness of faith and made their worship in exile acceptable to God, even though all the outward trappings of worship were gone.

The true worship of God is from the heart, a heart softened and made new by the Holy Spirit. Hard harts are not received by God as altars for the worship of His Son. We are warned not to harden our hearts against the Lord Jesus as Israel hardened their hearts against the Lord in the wilderness.

Our condition is no where near as desperate as those exiles to whom Jeremiah prophesied. As the writer of Hebrews put it in Hebrews 11:

“32. And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:
33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:
36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; 38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: 40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.” (Heb 11:32-40 AV)

We will continue this next time, the Lord willing. May God bless you.