Jeremiah 31:33
"But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people.
“But this is the covenant”
The word "covenant" in Hebrew is "בְּרִית" (berit), which signifies a binding agreement or promise. In the context of Jeremiah, this new covenant is a divine promise from God, contrasting with the old covenant made at Sinai. Historically, covenants were solemn agreements, often sealed with a sacrifice, indicating the seriousness and sacredness of the commitment. This new covenant is not just a renewal but a transformation, indicating a shift from external adherence to internal transformation.

“I will make with the house of Israel”
The phrase "house of Israel" refers to the collective people of Israel, God's chosen nation. Historically, Israel had been divided into the northern kingdom (Israel) and the southern kingdom (Judah). This promise of a new covenant is inclusive, addressing the entire nation, symbolizing unity and restoration. It reflects God's enduring faithfulness to His people despite their repeated unfaithfulness.

“after those days,”
This phrase indicates a future time, a prophetic vision of what is to come. "After those days" suggests a period following judgment and exile, pointing to a time of renewal and hope. It emphasizes God's plan and timing, which are perfect and sovereign, offering assurance that His promises will be fulfilled in His appointed time.

“declares the LORD.”
The use of "declares the LORD" underscores the authority and certainty of the message. In Hebrew, "declares" is often translated from "נְאֻם" (ne'um), a term used to convey a divine utterance. This is not merely a human hope but a divine proclamation, assuring the people that this promise is rooted in the unchanging character of God.

“I will put My law in their minds”
The Hebrew word for "law" is "תּוֹרָה" (torah), which means instruction or teaching. The promise to put the law in their minds signifies an internalization of God's will, moving beyond external observance to an intrinsic understanding and desire to follow God's ways. This transformation is a work of the Holy Spirit, indicating a new era of spiritual intimacy and guidance.

“and inscribe it on their hearts.”
The heart, in Hebrew thought, is the center of will and emotion. To inscribe the law on their hearts means that obedience to God will become a natural, heartfelt response rather than a mere duty. This imagery suggests permanence and depth, as something inscribed is meant to last. It reflects a profound change in the relationship between God and His people, characterized by love and devotion.

“And I will be their God,”
This phrase reaffirms the covenant relationship, echoing the promises made to the patriarchs. It signifies God's commitment to His people, His role as their protector, provider, and sovereign. This relationship is not just legal but deeply personal, emphasizing God's desire for a close, enduring relationship with His people.

“and they will be My people.”
This completes the covenant formula, highlighting the reciprocal relationship. Being "My people" implies belonging, identity, and purpose. It speaks to the restoration of the intended relationship between God and humanity, where His people live in accordance with His will, reflecting His character to the world. This promise is ultimately fulfilled in the New Testament through Jesus Christ, who establishes this new covenant through His life, death, and resurrection, inviting all to become part of God's people.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Jeremiah
A major prophet in the Old Testament, known for his messages of both judgment and hope to the people of Judah.

2. The House of Israel
Refers to the collective people of Israel, God's chosen nation, who were often in a covenant relationship with God.

3. The LORD (Yahweh)
The covenant-keeping God of Israel, who initiates and fulfills His promises.

4. The New Covenant
A future promise of a renewed relationship between God and His people, characterized by internal transformation rather than external adherence to the law.

5. The Heart and Mind
Symbolic of the inner being of a person, where true transformation and understanding of God's law occur.
Teaching Points
The Nature of the New Covenant
Unlike the old covenant, which was based on external adherence to the law, the new covenant is characterized by an internal transformation where God's law is inscribed on the heart and mind.

God's Initiative in Transformation
God is the one who initiates and completes the work of transformation in His people, emphasizing His sovereignty and grace.

The Personal Relationship with God
The promise "I will be their God, and they will be My people" highlights a personal and intimate relationship with God, available to all who enter into the new covenant.

The Role of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit plays a crucial role in writing God's law on our hearts, guiding us into all truth and empowering us to live according to God's will.

Living Out the New Covenant
As recipients of the new covenant, believers are called to live out this internal transformation in their daily lives, reflecting God's character and love to the world.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does understanding the new covenant as described in Jeremiah 31:33 change your perspective on your relationship with God?

2. In what ways can you actively allow God's law to be inscribed on your heart and mind in your daily life?

3. How does the promise of God being our God and us being His people provide comfort and assurance in your spiritual journey?

4. What role does the Holy Spirit play in helping you live out the principles of the new covenant?

5. How can you apply the concept of internal transformation to your interactions with others, both within and outside the church community?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Ezekiel 36:26-27
This passage parallels Jeremiah 31:33 by describing the giving of a new heart and spirit, emphasizing internal transformation.

Hebrews 8:10
The writer of Hebrews quotes Jeremiah 31:33, affirming the fulfillment of the new covenant through Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 3:3
Paul speaks of believers as letters from Christ, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, on tablets of human hearts.

Romans 2:15
Paul discusses the law written on the hearts of Gentiles, indicating an internal moral compass given by God.

Deuteronomy 6:6
The command to keep God's words in the heart, highlighting the importance of internalizing God's law.
And Will be Their God. -- God in the CovenantJeremiah 31:33
God in the CovenantCharles Haddon Spurgeon Jeremiah 31:33
Means of the World's ConversionC. Hall.Jeremiah 31:33
The Christian's Portion in GodJeremiah 31:33
The Law Written on the HeartJeremiah 31:33
The Newness of the CovenantJ. G. Burns.Jeremiah 31:33
Great Encouragements for Those Returning to GodS. Conway Jeremiah 31:31-33
The New CovenantA.F. Muir Jeremiah 31:31-34
The New CovenantS. Conway Jeremiah 31:31-34
The New Covenant Add the OldD. Young Jeremiah 31:31-34
A New CovenantG. Brooks.Jeremiah 31:31-37
Jeremiah's Prophecy of the New CovenantA. B. Bruce, D. D.Jeremiah 31:31-37
The New CovenantExpository OutlinesJeremiah 31:31-37
The New CovenantCanon Liddon.Jeremiah 31:31-37
The New CovenantG. F. Pentecost, D. D.Jeremiah 31:31-37
People
Gareb, Jacob, Jeremiah, Rachel, Rahel
Places
Corner Gate, Egypt, Gareb, Goah, Horse Gate, Kidron, Ramah, Samaria, Tower of Hananel, Zion
Topics
Affirmation, Agreement, Covenant, Declares, Heart, Hearts, Inner, Inward, Law, Minds, Says, Within, Writing
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Jeremiah 31:33

     1355   providence
     3030   Holy Spirit, power
     4010   creation, renewal
     5017   heart, renewal
     5038   mind, the human
     5065   spirit, fallen and redeemed
     5376   law, purpose of
     5574   tablet
     5638   writing
     5894   intelligence
     6178   hardness of heart
     6185   imagination, desires
     6661   freedom, and law
     7410   phylactery
     8227   discernment, nature of
     8311   morality, and redemption

Jeremiah 31:31-33

     5712   marriage, God and his people
     7024   church, nature of

Jeremiah 31:31-34

     1352   covenant, the new
     6616   atonement, in OT
     7145   remnant

Jeremiah 31:31-37

     7135   Israel, people of God

Jeremiah 31:33-34

     3040   Holy Spirit, promise of
     4963   past, the
     5029   knowledge, of God
     5734   relationships
     6028   sin, deliverance from
     6615   atonement, necessity
     7793   teachers
     8135   knowing God, nature of
     8149   revival, nature of
     8151   revival, corporate
     8670   remembering

Library
What the Stable Creation Teaches
'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.'--JER. xxxi. 36. This is the seal of the new covenant, which is to be made in days future to the prophet and his contemporaries, with the house of Israel and of Judah. That new covenant is referred to in Hebrews as the fundamental law of Christ's kingdom. Therefore we have the right to take to ourselves the promises which it contains, and to think of 'the house
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

What the Immense Creation Teaches
'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.'--JER. xxxi. 37. In the former sermon we considered the previous verse as presenting the stability of creation as a guarantee of the firmness of God's gracious covenant. Now we have to consider these grand closing words which bring before us another aspect of the universe as a guarantee for another side of God's gracious
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

August the Twenty-First Satisfaction
"My people shall be satisfied with My goodness." --JEREMIAH xxxi. 10-14. And how unlike is all this to the feasts of the world! There is a great show, but no satisfaction. There is much decorative china, but no nutritious food or drink. "Every one that drinketh of this water shall thirst again." We rise from the table, and our deepest cravings are unappeased. "Why art thou cast down, O my soul?" We know. We have had a condiment, but no meat; a showy menu-card, but no reviving feast. Nothing but
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

God in the Covenant
But I have been thinking for the last two or three days, that the covenant of grace excels the other covenant most marvelously in the mighty blessings which it confers. What does the covenant of grace convey? I had thought this morning of preaching a sermon upon "The covenant of grace; what are the blessings it gives to God's children?" But when I began to think of it, there was so much in the covenant, that if I had only read a catalogue of the great and glorious blessings, wrapped up within its
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 2: 1856

The Two Covenants: their Relation
"It is written, that Abraham had two sons, one by the bondmaid, and one by the freewoman. Howbeit, the one by the bondmaid is born after the flesh; but the son by the freewoman is born through promise. Which things contain an allegory: for these women are two covenants." -GAL. iv. 22-24. THERE are two covenants, one called the Old, the other the New. God speaks of this very distinctly in Jeremiah, where He says: "The days come, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, not after the
Andrew Murray—The Two Covenants

The New Covenant
"But this is 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. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."--JER. xxxi. 33, 34. ISAIAH has often been called
Andrew Murray—The Two Covenants

Conversion of all that Come.
"Turn Thou me and I shall be turned." --Jer. xxxi. 18. The elect, born again and effectually called, converts himself. To remain unconverted is impossible; but he inclines his ear, he turns his face to the blessed God, he is converted in the fullest sense of the word. In conversion the fact of cooperation on the part of the saved sinner assumes a clearly defined and perceptible character. In regeneration there was none; in the calling there was a beginning of it; in conversion proper it became a
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

Old Things are Passed Away.

John Newton—Olney Hymns

Whether the Active Life Remains after this Life?
Objection 1: It would seem that the active life remains after this life. For the acts of the moral virtues belong to the active life, as stated above [3738](A[1]). But the moral virtues endure after this life according to Augustine (De Trin. xiv, 9). Therefore the active life remains after this life. Objection 2: Further, teaching others belongs to the active life, as stated above [3739](A[3]). But in the life to come when "we shall be like the angels," teaching will be possible: even as apparently
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Waiting Faith Rewarded and Strengthened by New Revelations
'And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before Me, and be thou perfect. And I will make My covenant between Me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, As for Me, behold, My covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

A vision of Judgement and Cleansing
'And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. 2. And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? 3. Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the Angel. 4. And He answered and spake unto those that stood before Him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him He said,
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Perseverance in Holiness
May the King himself come near and feast his saints to-day! May the Comforter who convinced of sin now come to cheer us with the promise! We noticed concerning the fig tree, that it was confirmed in its barrenness: it had borne no fruit, though it made large professions of doing so, and it was made to abide as it was. Let us consider another form of confirmation: not the curse of continuance in the rooted habit of evil; but the blessing of perseverance in a settled way of grace. May the Lord show
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 35: 1889

Appendix xiv. The Law in Messianic Times.
THE question as to the Rabbinic views in regard to the binding character of the Law, and its imposition on the Gentiles, in Messianic times, although, strictly speaking, not forming part of this history, is of such vital importance in connection with recent controversies as to demand special consideration. In the text to which this Appendix refers it has been indicated, that a new legislation was expected in Messianic days. The ultimate basis of this expectancy must be sought in the Old Testament
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Conversion --Varied Phenomena or Experience.
We have spoken of the meaning of this term, inquired into the nature of the change, and noted its essential elements. We have also learned that there are some who do not need it because they are in a converted state, and that all who are not in such a state of Grace, do need conversion, regardless of anything that may or may not have taken place in the past. We inquire now as to the agencies or means by which this change is brought about. For it is a change which man can certainly not effect by his
G. H. Gerberding—The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church

The Girdle of the City. Nehemiah 3
The beginning of the circumference was from 'the sheep-gate.' That, we suppose, was seated on the south part, yet but little removed from that corner, which looks south-east. Within was the pool of Bethesda, famous for healings. Going forward, on the south part, was the tower Meah: and beyond that, "the tower of Hananeel": in the Chaldee paraphrast it is, 'The tower Piccus,' Zechariah 14:10; Piccus, Jeremiah 31:38.--I should suspect that to be, the Hippic tower, were not that placed on the north
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

The King in Exile
'And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and His mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy Him. 14. When he arose, he took the young child and His mother by night, and departed into Egypt; 15. And was there until the death of Herod; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

"We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. "
1 John ii. 1.--"We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." There is no settlement to the spirit of a sinner that is once touched with the sense of his sins, and apprehension of the justice and wrath of God, but in some clear and distinct understanding of the grounds of consolation in the gospel, and the method of salvation revealed in it. There is no solid peace giving answer to the challenges of the law and thy own conscience, but in the advocation of Jesus Christ, the Saviour
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

The Quotation in Matt. Ii. 6.
Several interpreters, Paulus especially, have asserted that the interpretation of Micah which is here given, was that of the Sanhedrim only, and not of the Evangelist, who merely recorded what happened and was said. But this assertion is at once refuted when we consider the object which Matthew has in view in his entire representation of the early life of Jesus. His object in recording the early life of Jesus is not like that of Luke, viz., to communicate historical information to his readers.
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Exposition of Chap. Iii. (ii. 28-32. )
Ver. 1. "And it shall come to pass, afterwards, I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions." The communication of the Spirit of God was the constant prerogative of the Covenant-people. Indeed, the very idea of such a people necessarily requires it. For the Spirit of God is the only inward bond betwixt Him and that which is created; a Covenant-people, therefore, without such an inward
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

The Lord's Supper Instituted.
(Jerusalem. Evening Before the Crucifixion.) ^A Matt. XXVI. 26-29; ^B Mark XIV. 22-25; ^C Luke XXII. 19, 20; ^F I. Cor. XI. 23-26. ^a 26 And as they were eating, ^f the Lord Jesus in the night in which he was betrayed took bread; 24 and when he had given thanks, { ^b blessed,} ^f he brake it, ^a and he gave to the disciples, and said, ^b Take ye: ^a Take, eat; this is my body. ^f which is ^c given ^f for you: this do in remembrance of me. [As only unleavened bread was eaten during the paschal supper,
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The First Covenant
"Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice, and keep My covenant, ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me."--EX. xix. 5. "He declared unto you His covenant, which He commanded you to perform, even ten commandments."--DEUT. iv. 13.i "If ye keep these judgments, the Lord thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant,"--DEUT. vii. 12. "I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers, which My covenant they brake."--JER. xxxi. 31, 32. WE have
Andrew Murray—The Two Covenants

Sanctification.
I. I will remind you of some points that have been settled in this course of study. 1. The true intent and meaning of the law of God has been, as I trust, ascertained in the lectures on moral government. Let this point if need be, be examined by reference to those lectures. 2. We have also seen, in those lectures, what is not, and what is implied in entire obedience to the moral law. 3. In those lectures, and also in the lectures on justification and repentance, it has been shown that nothing is
Charles Grandison Finney—Systematic Theology

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