Jeremiah 31:23

The Bible says in Jeremiah 31:23-26, “Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; As yet they shall use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity; The LORD bless thee, O habitation of justice, and mountain of holiness.[24] And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all the cities thereof together, husbandmen, and they that go forth with flocks.[25] For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul. Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me.” These verses are talking about what would happen after the Babylonian captivity has ended and the Lord has allowed the children of Israel to return to their land. One thing to remember is that when Israel was conquered by the Babylonians and many were killed and many were taken captive to Babylon, that was of course, the most sorrowful event ever to have happened to the people of Israel: at least up to that time. All of these terrible things happened to Israel because of her sins, and so their sorrow was magnified. Who wants to be in a situation in life where you are suffering horribly, and you know it is your own fault because of how much you failed God? Psalm 137:1-4 expresses the suffering of the people of Israel while they were captive in Babylon. It says, “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.[2] We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.[3] For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.[4] How shall we sing the LORD's song in a strange land?”

But God caused these things to happen to the children of Israel in order to bring them to repentance. If you have done wrong, initially the right response is be sorrowful for what you have done, and then to turn to the Lord Jesus and ask for forgiveness. If someone is sorrowful, it means that God brought them to that condition, and it also means that God now is ready to bring them out of it. That is why the Lord said in Jeremiah 31:25, “For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.” Jesus said in Matthew 5:4, “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.” And Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.[29] Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.[30] For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

The Bible says in Jeremiah 31:27-34, “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast.[28] And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, saith the LORD.[29] In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge.[30] But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.[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.”

First notice the principle that is mentioned in Jeremiah 31:29-30. It says, “In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge.[30] But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.” This is the principle of individual responsibility. God was looking into the future and was saying that the day would come when He would deal much more with individuals than the way in which He dealt with the nation of Israel. During the Old Testament times, a person might suffer greatly based upon what their fathers had done or not done. That certainly would have been the case for those Jews who were born in Babylon and lived their lives in that captivity. It was not because of their own sins that they were in such a sorrowful situation: it was because of the sins of those who had gone before. The old principle of the law is stated well in Deut. 9:5 that says, “Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.” That was one of the principles of the law. How hard it was in many ways to live under law. But God said to Jeremiah that this harsh principle of law would not be in effect one day. The day would come, and now is, when each person has his or her own responsibility for his or her own life and destiny. If you are saved, it is never because your parents are Christians, but only because you yourself came to the feet of Jesus and accepted Him. Your parents may not have been believers and may not have shown you the things of Christ, but you have the Spirit to call you; and you will be held responsible not for what your parents have done, but for how you have responded to the calling of God in Christ Jesus. This truth about individual responsibility is found everywhere in the gospel. It says in Romans 10:13, “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Jesus said in Revelation 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him, and he with me.”

The principles of the old covenant of the law would be done away with. God said in Jeremiah 31:31-32, “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.” A new covenant would be given that would replace the old covenant. Jesus brought the new covenant. Jesus spoke of the new covenant and said in Matthew 26:28, “For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” When Jesus said that He was bringing a new covenant, He was not giving new information. The book of Jeremiah already told us that there would be a new covenant. The reason that there needed to be a new covenant was because the arrangement with the old covenant of the law ended in failure. The old covenant of the law required obedience in order to obtain the blessings of the covenant. The old covenant of the law did not work because of the weakness and sinfulness of man. Speaking of the old covenant, it says in Jeremiah 31:32, “which covenant they brake.” Jesus spoke of the fact that the new covenant would replace the old covenant when Jesus said in Mark 2:21-22, “No man also soweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse. And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles.” Jesus was responding to a question as to why He did not fast like John the Baptist. Jesus was saying that He came to change things. Jesus brought something new that was going to replace the old. He was not going to try and patch up the old. He was going to replace it. The new covenant replaces the old covenant, just like it says in Jeremiah 31:31-32.

The book of Hebrews has an important passage about the difference between the old covenant and the new covenant. It says in Hebrews 9:11-22, “But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;[12] Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.[13] For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:[14] How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?[15] And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.[16] For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.[17] For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.[18] Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood.[19] For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people,[20] Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.[21] Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry.[22] And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”

The new covenant is better than the old covenant. The new covenant was settled once for all when Jesus died on the cross of Calvary. And the book of Jeremiah tells a couple of other important truths about the new covenant. It says in Jeremiah 31:33, “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.” One of the biggest differences between the old covenant and the new covenant is the fact that the law involves the outward actions of a person. But the new covenant involves the inner being. People who try to obey the law to establish their own righteousness, end up simply having a list of rules and regulations that they live by. These rules and regulations become their religion. But with faith in Jesus, it is all about what is going on in your heart. Jesus pointed out this problem with the law and those who attempt to keep it in Matthew 23:25-28, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.[26] Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.[27] Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.[28] Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.” Sometimes we speak of receiving Christ into the heart. That is because true Christianity involves a change of heart, and it involves knowing the Lord in one’s heart, as opposed to having a religion that involves outward actions only. The innermost being of a person involves one’s intellect, emotions, and will. To have such a belief in Jesus is life-changing. Jesus said in Revelation 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him and he with me.”

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