Jeremiah 31:21-40
Covenants were made to be broken. At least you would think that was the case if you tracked the history of all the covenants God established in the Old Testament. Each covenant’s basic structure is, “I, God, will do X and you, human, will do Y.” From Adam to Moses, when a covenant is broken, it is always broken in the same way-people fail. So what good will it do to establish a new covenant? What is the point in God recreating a new covenant when every one so far has fallen to pieces?
Well, the covenant promised in Jeremiah 31 is not only new, it is different from the others. We begin to get this sense in 31:22 where Jeremiah says:
“For the Lord has created a new thing on the earth: a woman encircles a man.”
Jeremiah chose the word for “created” that first appears in Genesis 1:1. This is the sense of “create” in which something completely new happens that only God is able to enact. As for a woman encircling a man, though it is a cryptic phrase it most likely refers to God’s people clinging onto God and not letting go. If they have let go every time in the past, then this truly is a new thing.
In what is likely the theological highlight of Jeremiah, and arguably the theological high point in the OT, Jeremiah declares the new covenant:
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.” (31:31)
In this brief passage in verses 31-34, this new covenant is described in powerful and world-changing language. First, under the new covenant, there is deep reconciliation. God’s covenant is with Israel and Judah-two brother nations who split apart centuries before in violent and bloody conflict. This same theme is picked up in several places in the New Testament (Latin for “New Covenant”) including Galatians chapter 3:
“But now that faith has come…in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (vs. 25-28)
Second, there is deep regeneration. God will write his law on their hearts. Jeremiah has already told us what is currently written on our hearts in 17:1 where he remarks that sin and rebellion are like stone tablets within us.
Third there is a deep act of intimacy. We will all know God and no one will need to teach his neighbor about him. Instead of needing to be reminded of God on a regular and daily basis, we will enjoy such intimacy with him that we will be continually in His presence.
Fourthly, there is a deep satisfaction for sins and this is where we realize what has changed so dramatically with this new covenant. In his last conversation with his disciples, Jesus speaks of his death and resurrection and says:
“This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.”
What is so new about this covenant is that it is not between God and humanity-it is between God and Christ. This covenant cannot be broken by my sin and rebellion; I am not on pins and needles waiting for the other shoe to drop. I am the blessed and undeserving recipient of the benefits of a covenant between two other parties. Christ fulfilled this covenant and sits at the right hand of God waiting his reward. You and I partake in this unlimited forgiveness and grace through the loving act of a merciful God who has created something new upon the earth.
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Monday, June 19, 2006
Suffering and Despair: Jer 31
Jeremiah 31:15-20
Many times we know segments of Old Testament Scripture because of their usage in the New. When we read Jeremiah 31:15, it rings familiar in our ears, but probably because of where it is in the book of Matthew. Well, Jeremiah is the first place we encounter this well-known passage and he has something particular to communicate to us. This part of his dream (vs. 26) begins:
Thus says the LORD:
"A voice is heard in Ramah,
lamentation and bitter weeping.
Rachel is weeping for her children;
she refuses to be comforted for her children,
because they are no more."
Rachel refers to the beloved wife of Jacob, and the mother of two children-Joseph and Benjamin. As the mother of Joseph, her appearance here is significant for being the matriarch of Joseph’s two children Manasseh and Ephraim. These two tribes become the dominant two in the northern kingdom of Israel by the time they are taken into captivity by Assyria. By telling us he hears Rachel weeping for her children, Jeremiah is referring to how long-gone and dispersed the northern kingdom of Israel had become in the last two hundred years. Literally, only God knows where her children are.
Ramah is a geographical location just north of Bethlehem significant for being the place where Rachel gave birth to Benjamin, died as a result, and was buried. Jeremiah, in this dream, hears Rachel mourning from her grave for her lost children.
But there is more to Ramah than its historical significance for Jeremiah. In Jeremiah 40:1 we read that he is taken captive by the conquering Babylonians and taken to the way station for exiles in Ramah. Ramah, for Jeremiah’s contemporaries, was one of those places where you knew for sure the effects of the siege warfare and famine. Here exiles are processed and learn for sure their family members are dead or gone and that their lives are about to be forcibly changed forever. Jeremiah did not just hear Rachel from the grave, he stood next to grieving mothers who had their children ripped from their arms and would not be consoled.
These are the images Matthew calls to mind in chapter 2 verses 16-18 when Herod slaughters all the male children in Bethlehem 2 years old and younger. But NT authors rarely refer to just a single OT verse when they quote OT passages. Matthew, though he hears the weeping, also hears something else-he hears the rest of the passage in Jeremiah beginning with verses 16 and 17:
Thus says the LORD:
"Keep your voice from weeping,
and your eyes from tears,…
There is hope for your future,
declares the LORD.
When the Messiah was born, a great slaughter ensued because of an evil king, but the Messiah was born. And this Messiah would bring light and life to all, including the Bethlehem infants.
Scripture recognizes and validates the reality and the depth of suffering and evil. Scripture allows us to grieve and mourn when necessary and appropriate. But Scripture does not let us stay there; we are not to despair of all hope. Suffering is real, but is it never the last word. The Puritan Matthew Henry said, “we can mourn, but we cannot mummer.”
In Anne of Green Gables, Anne asked Cuthbert this question, “Can’t you even imagine you’re in the depths of despair?” The wise Cuthbert responded, “No I cannot. To despair is to turn your back on God.”
Many times we know segments of Old Testament Scripture because of their usage in the New. When we read Jeremiah 31:15, it rings familiar in our ears, but probably because of where it is in the book of Matthew. Well, Jeremiah is the first place we encounter this well-known passage and he has something particular to communicate to us. This part of his dream (vs. 26) begins:
Thus says the LORD:
"A voice is heard in Ramah,
lamentation and bitter weeping.
Rachel is weeping for her children;
she refuses to be comforted for her children,
because they are no more."
Rachel refers to the beloved wife of Jacob, and the mother of two children-Joseph and Benjamin. As the mother of Joseph, her appearance here is significant for being the matriarch of Joseph’s two children Manasseh and Ephraim. These two tribes become the dominant two in the northern kingdom of Israel by the time they are taken into captivity by Assyria. By telling us he hears Rachel weeping for her children, Jeremiah is referring to how long-gone and dispersed the northern kingdom of Israel had become in the last two hundred years. Literally, only God knows where her children are.
Ramah is a geographical location just north of Bethlehem significant for being the place where Rachel gave birth to Benjamin, died as a result, and was buried. Jeremiah, in this dream, hears Rachel mourning from her grave for her lost children.
But there is more to Ramah than its historical significance for Jeremiah. In Jeremiah 40:1 we read that he is taken captive by the conquering Babylonians and taken to the way station for exiles in Ramah. Ramah, for Jeremiah’s contemporaries, was one of those places where you knew for sure the effects of the siege warfare and famine. Here exiles are processed and learn for sure their family members are dead or gone and that their lives are about to be forcibly changed forever. Jeremiah did not just hear Rachel from the grave, he stood next to grieving mothers who had their children ripped from their arms and would not be consoled.
These are the images Matthew calls to mind in chapter 2 verses 16-18 when Herod slaughters all the male children in Bethlehem 2 years old and younger. But NT authors rarely refer to just a single OT verse when they quote OT passages. Matthew, though he hears the weeping, also hears something else-he hears the rest of the passage in Jeremiah beginning with verses 16 and 17:
Thus says the LORD:
"Keep your voice from weeping,
and your eyes from tears,…
There is hope for your future,
declares the LORD.
When the Messiah was born, a great slaughter ensued because of an evil king, but the Messiah was born. And this Messiah would bring light and life to all, including the Bethlehem infants.
Scripture recognizes and validates the reality and the depth of suffering and evil. Scripture allows us to grieve and mourn when necessary and appropriate. But Scripture does not let us stay there; we are not to despair of all hope. Suffering is real, but is it never the last word. The Puritan Matthew Henry said, “we can mourn, but we cannot mummer.”
In Anne of Green Gables, Anne asked Cuthbert this question, “Can’t you even imagine you’re in the depths of despair?” The wise Cuthbert responded, “No I cannot. To despair is to turn your back on God.”
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
And I Will Be Your God: Jeremiah 30-31
Jeremiah 30:18-31:14
After 29 chapters of warning and judgment, we now find ourselves in the middle of a section of Jeremiah where God promises blessing and wholeness for His people. Between chapters 30 and 31, the promised graces bestowed upon Judah and Israel are a redemption of the people’s behavior before the exile, and what was lost in the exile. Over and over, the curse is turned around as God blesses His people. In what might be the most radical of these reversals, God says:
“Again I will build you, and you shall be built, O virgin Israel!” (31:4)
Keep in mind that for centuries, God has warned an adulterous people that their whoring after other gods would lead to their corruption and their destruction. Israel was anything but a virgin.
But that is exactly how deep the forgiveness of God goes. Israel was not suddenly worthy of this renewed status-God bestowed it upon them in an act of love that we can only vaguely comprehend. A wicked and adulterous people received the grace and forgiveness of God, returned to their homeland, and became the favored and forgiven people of God once more. That same grace is available to each and every sinner while they are still sinners.
As a powerful commentary on the reversal of the curse, God says:
“And you shall be my people, and I will be your God.” (30:22)
The phrase, “I will be your God” becomes a refrain for not only Jeremiah but for another prophet during the exile as well. In 36:24-31 Ezekiel says:
“You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. And I will deliver you from all uncleanness.”
In this passage especially, the curse is reversed in terms of not only the specific sins and consequences perpetrated and suffered by Israel and Judah, but on a much deeper level as well. A deliverance from “all uncleanness” is a promise to not only modify my behavior, but to modify my desires as well.
Though I may not always commit certain sins, I may certainly be drawn to them. If I am smart I modify my actions and routines in order to avoid situations that put me in a position of temptation. That is behavior modification, and it is good as far as it goes. But the work of the Spirit in my life wants to go deeper.
Imagine a situation in which your natural inclinations-your natural and instinctual responses-are Christ-like. In some scenario in which you might have been tempted to rebel in the past, rebellion now actually cuts against the grain of your desires. In this position, it is hard to sin and easy to be Christ-like.
This is much of what the Spirit is at work at in my life, as I become one of the people of God and learn how to live like God has become my God. With the Spirit resident in my life, I have a taste of that final, blessed moment when we will see God face-to-face and the curse will be completely gone. What Jeremiah promised comes to fruition in Revelation 21:3-4:
“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning or crying or pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
After 29 chapters of warning and judgment, we now find ourselves in the middle of a section of Jeremiah where God promises blessing and wholeness for His people. Between chapters 30 and 31, the promised graces bestowed upon Judah and Israel are a redemption of the people’s behavior before the exile, and what was lost in the exile. Over and over, the curse is turned around as God blesses His people. In what might be the most radical of these reversals, God says:
“Again I will build you, and you shall be built, O virgin Israel!” (31:4)
Keep in mind that for centuries, God has warned an adulterous people that their whoring after other gods would lead to their corruption and their destruction. Israel was anything but a virgin.
But that is exactly how deep the forgiveness of God goes. Israel was not suddenly worthy of this renewed status-God bestowed it upon them in an act of love that we can only vaguely comprehend. A wicked and adulterous people received the grace and forgiveness of God, returned to their homeland, and became the favored and forgiven people of God once more. That same grace is available to each and every sinner while they are still sinners.
As a powerful commentary on the reversal of the curse, God says:
“And you shall be my people, and I will be your God.” (30:22)
The phrase, “I will be your God” becomes a refrain for not only Jeremiah but for another prophet during the exile as well. In 36:24-31 Ezekiel says:
“You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. And I will deliver you from all uncleanness.”
In this passage especially, the curse is reversed in terms of not only the specific sins and consequences perpetrated and suffered by Israel and Judah, but on a much deeper level as well. A deliverance from “all uncleanness” is a promise to not only modify my behavior, but to modify my desires as well.
Though I may not always commit certain sins, I may certainly be drawn to them. If I am smart I modify my actions and routines in order to avoid situations that put me in a position of temptation. That is behavior modification, and it is good as far as it goes. But the work of the Spirit in my life wants to go deeper.
Imagine a situation in which your natural inclinations-your natural and instinctual responses-are Christ-like. In some scenario in which you might have been tempted to rebel in the past, rebellion now actually cuts against the grain of your desires. In this position, it is hard to sin and easy to be Christ-like.
This is much of what the Spirit is at work at in my life, as I become one of the people of God and learn how to live like God has become my God. With the Spirit resident in my life, I have a taste of that final, blessed moment when we will see God face-to-face and the curse will be completely gone. What Jeremiah promised comes to fruition in Revelation 21:3-4:
“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning or crying or pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Fear Not: Jeremiah 30:1-17
Jeremiah 30:1-17
This chapter begins a very distinct section within Jeremiah sometimes called “The Book of Consolation.” There have been glimmers of hope so far in his book, but here it hits the surface and become the focus of attention. In the next four chapters, Jeremiah concentrates on the hope in store for God’s people, even though they find themselves in exile.
It is worthwhile to note that as the chapter opens, Jeremiah addresses this section to both Judah and Israel. This is the first substantial reference to the long-gone northern kingdom. The idea is that both Israel and Judah are now in the same condition-entirely decimated as a result of exile-and that God’s promise of hope applies to all His people. Israel, though long gone into Assyria, has not been forgotten by God.
Jeremiah, though, sees the turmoil and difficulty the nation is currently in. He sees the best, brightest and strongest doubled over in pain as if they were women in labor: “Ask now, and see, can a man bear a child? Why then do I see every man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor? Why has every face turned pale?” (vs. 6) When women go through labor they bring forth life, but when Judah’s warriors went through their labor, it only produced death and destruction.
But that is not the whole story. God will rescue His people from their captivity in order to return them to their homeland to serve Him. As with the prophecy of the yoke in chapter 28, God’s people will either be slaves to their sin, or will willingly serve their God.
Then Jeremiah says, “fear not.” (vs. 10) The command, “fear not” is the most repeated command in all of Scripture. Of everything commanded by God, the prophets, the apostles, angels, and others, “fear not” shows up more often than anything else. This communicates at least two very important things. First, the most common human condition is something like fear and anxiety. And second, it is the emotion or reaction to life that is least warranted for a follower of Christ.
God just doesn’t give us the command without any support behind it, however. Later in this little section, He tells us why we should not be afraid. He says in verse 11, “For I am with you to save you.” “I am with you”: those have to be the four most encouraging words in Scripture.
They show up at pivotal points in the lives of God’s people. When Jacob was fleeing from Esau to only God knows where, God showed up in the wilderness and told Jacob that He was with him wherever he went (Gen. 28:15). When Moses stood before the burning bush full of excuses, God told him that He was with him (Ex. 3:12). After Moses died over a million people stood on the edge of the Promised Land. The burden of their futures fell on one man, Joshua, and what do you think God’s message was to him? (Joshua 1:9) When Mary and Joseph faced a complicated and problematic social situation with the birth of their child, what did the angel tell them to name him? His name was Immanuel-God was with Mary and Joseph.
And when the disciple Matthew reflected on his life with Jesus and composed his book-when he arranged the beginning, middle and end, and included the stories and discussions he wanted us to hear-what was the last thing he wanted you to hear Jesus say? “And behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
This chapter begins a very distinct section within Jeremiah sometimes called “The Book of Consolation.” There have been glimmers of hope so far in his book, but here it hits the surface and become the focus of attention. In the next four chapters, Jeremiah concentrates on the hope in store for God’s people, even though they find themselves in exile.
It is worthwhile to note that as the chapter opens, Jeremiah addresses this section to both Judah and Israel. This is the first substantial reference to the long-gone northern kingdom. The idea is that both Israel and Judah are now in the same condition-entirely decimated as a result of exile-and that God’s promise of hope applies to all His people. Israel, though long gone into Assyria, has not been forgotten by God.
Jeremiah, though, sees the turmoil and difficulty the nation is currently in. He sees the best, brightest and strongest doubled over in pain as if they were women in labor: “Ask now, and see, can a man bear a child? Why then do I see every man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor? Why has every face turned pale?” (vs. 6) When women go through labor they bring forth life, but when Judah’s warriors went through their labor, it only produced death and destruction.
But that is not the whole story. God will rescue His people from their captivity in order to return them to their homeland to serve Him. As with the prophecy of the yoke in chapter 28, God’s people will either be slaves to their sin, or will willingly serve their God.
Then Jeremiah says, “fear not.” (vs. 10) The command, “fear not” is the most repeated command in all of Scripture. Of everything commanded by God, the prophets, the apostles, angels, and others, “fear not” shows up more often than anything else. This communicates at least two very important things. First, the most common human condition is something like fear and anxiety. And second, it is the emotion or reaction to life that is least warranted for a follower of Christ.
God just doesn’t give us the command without any support behind it, however. Later in this little section, He tells us why we should not be afraid. He says in verse 11, “For I am with you to save you.” “I am with you”: those have to be the four most encouraging words in Scripture.
They show up at pivotal points in the lives of God’s people. When Jacob was fleeing from Esau to only God knows where, God showed up in the wilderness and told Jacob that He was with him wherever he went (Gen. 28:15). When Moses stood before the burning bush full of excuses, God told him that He was with him (Ex. 3:12). After Moses died over a million people stood on the edge of the Promised Land. The burden of their futures fell on one man, Joshua, and what do you think God’s message was to him? (Joshua 1:9) When Mary and Joseph faced a complicated and problematic social situation with the birth of their child, what did the angel tell them to name him? His name was Immanuel-God was with Mary and Joseph.
And when the disciple Matthew reflected on his life with Jesus and composed his book-when he arranged the beginning, middle and end, and included the stories and discussions he wanted us to hear-what was the last thing he wanted you to hear Jesus say? “And behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
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