10/26/24 – Day 125 – Jeremiah 27 – 31 / Post 2 of 2 / Chapters 31- Restoration from Captivity / Chapter 32 – God’s Relationship with His People through “The New Covenant”.
For this part2 , I will share with you excerpts from William Wierbe’s book: “Be Decisive”.
William Wiersbe (1929 – 2029) wrote 150 Christian books and was awarded a Medallion lifetime achievement award from the Evangelical Christian Publishing Association (ECPA). He was pastor at Moody Bible church in Chicago from in much of the the 1970s.
Let’s get started:
Jeremiah 30: 1 – 25:
“… _(starting with verse 10)—- In his instructions to Jeremiah, God started the theme of his message: Israel (the northern kingdom, taken by Assyria in 722 BC) the Judah (the southern kingdom) will eventually return to their land as a united people (30:3). While this promise refers ultimately to the regathering of the Jews at the end of the age, it certainly was an encouragement to the exiles in Babylon, for if God gather His people from all nations of the world, surely he can deliver Judah from the country of one nation nation. (Note the promise in verse)
This ‘redemption of His people from bondage is pictured in several ways.
The broken yoke (VV 4 – 11). ‘For it shall come to pass in that day, … that I will break his yoke from your neck, and will burst your bonds; foreigners shall no more ensalve them (v. 8 NKJV). When the prophets use this prase ‘in that day,’ they were usually referring to the future time when God will judge the nations of the world and restore the Jews to their land.
Before Israel is delivered, however, all the nations of the earth will experience ‘the time of Jacob’s trouble’ (v. 7), a phrase that describes the time of tribulation that will come upon the earth (Mattew 24: 21-31; Mark 13: 19:27; Revelation 6:19). A frequent biblical symbol of suffering is a woman in travail (Jeremiah 30:6), and this image is used to describe the tribulation in the end times (see Isaiah 13:8 and context; Micah 4: 9-13; 1 Thessalonians 5: 1-3)
The promise in Jeremiah 30:9 applies to the future kingdom age, following the tribulation, when the Messiah shall reign over His people. you find corresponding promises in 23:5 and 33: 14-26. When Jesus was here on earth, His people said, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us” (Luke 19:14), but in that day, they will recognize their Messiah-King and welcome Him (Zechariah 12:8 – 14:21).
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To summarize: The people of Judah and Jerusalem will experience terrible trials at the hands of the Babylonians. They will end up wearing the Gentile yoke, bearing the wounds caused by their sins, and having endured the storm of God’s wrath. But God would eventually deliver them, breaking the yoke, healing the wounds, and bringing peace after the storm. All of this will be a foreshadowing of that will happen to the Jews in the end times as they go through the tribulation, meet their Messiah-King, and enter into their kingdom.”
Reconciliation: A New People (31: 1 – 30)
“A nation is more than its land and cities; it’s people living together, working together, and worshipping together. In this chapter, Jeremiah described the people of God and the new things the Lord would do for them. He first spoke to a united nation (vv. 1, 27 -30), then to Israel (vv. 2-20), and finally to Judah (vv. 21-26).”
Regeneration: A New Covenant (31: 31-40)
Any plan for the betterment of human society that ignores the sin problem is destined to failure. It isn’t enough to change the environment, for the heart of every problem is the problem of the heart. God must change the hearts of people so that they want to love Him and do his will. That’s why He announced a new covenant to replace the old covenant under which the Jews had lived since the days of Moses, a covenant that could direct their conduct but not change their character.
Jewish history is punctuated with a number of covenant renewals that brought temporary blessing but didn’t change the hearts of the people. The book of Deuteronomy records a renewal of the covenant under Moses, before the people entered the Promised Land. In addition, before he died, Joshua led the people in reaffirming the covenant (Joshua 23 – 24). Samuel called the action to renew their vows to God (1 Samuel 12), and both Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 29-31) and Josiah ( 2 Chronicles 34-35) inspired great days of ‘revival’ as they led the people back to God’s law.
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But the new covenant isn’t just another renewal of the old covenant that God gave at Sinai; it’s a covenant that’s new in every way. The new covenant is inward so that God’s law is written on the heart and not on stone tablets. (2 Corinthians 3; Ezekiel 11: 19-20; 18:31; 36: 26-27). The emphasis is personal rather than national, with each person putting faith in the Lord and receiving a ‘new heart’ and with it a new disposition toward godliness.
The old covenant tried to control conduct, but the new covenant changes character, so that people can love the Lord and one another and want to obey God’s will. ‘By the law is the knowledge of sin’ (Romans 3:20), but under the new covenant God promised ‘ I will forget their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more’ (Jeremiah 31: 34). it is this covenant that the Jews will experience in the last days when they see their Messiah and repent (Zechariah 12:10 – 13:1)
The basis for the new covenant is the work of Jesus Christ on the cross (Matthew 26: 27-28; Mark 14: 22-24; Luke 22: 19-20). Because the church today partakes in Israel’s spiritual riches (Romans 11: 12-32; Ephesians 3: 1-6), anyone who puts faith in Jesus Christ shares in the new covenant (Hebrews 8:6-13); 10: 14-18). It’s an experience of regeneration, being born again into the family of God (John 3: 1-21).
The Lord also affirmed the permanence of the nation and the faithfulness of His relationship to his people (Jeremiah 31: 35-37). It would be easier for the sun to stop shining and the moon and stars to go out than for God to break His promises to His people Israel. Just as Jerusalem was rebuilt after the Babylonian captivity, so it will be restored after the time of Jacob’s trouble and be holy to the Lord. Because of its ancient associations with Israel, Islam, Jesus, and the church, Jerusalem is called “the Holy City,”, but it will not truly be holy until the Lord restores it and reigns in glory at the end of the age.”
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Questions for fellowship generation, the lifelong sanctification process:
- What does the text reveal about God’s character?
- How has this reading generated prayer for you and/or us?
- What themes stand out to you in this bible study?
- How does our reading fit into the bigger picture (creation, the fall, restoration, etc.)?
- What verse(s) jumped out at you like never before? Is it explainable at this point?
- Do you have any questions you would like to put before the group as to how to interpret any particular verse(s) in our reading. Let scripture testify to scripture: Share with us where you sense contradiction between passages elsewhere.
- What did you find convicting and inspiring at the same time? Share with us how the Spirit of God is working within you as a messenger, both within and outside of our fellowship group.
- Share with the group how our study is calling or confirming to you a new mission to glorify God in our times.
Soli Deo Gloria!