Context
Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet (627-586 BC). He delivered God’s messages to the people of Judah. Although he passionately pleaded with them to repent of their sins and return to God, the people ignored him and were taken into captivity in Babylon (Andy Woods).
Jeremiah 31:31-34 (NIV) says: 31“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a
to them,” declares the Lord. 33“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their
. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will
their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
New Testament fulfillments
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 (NIV) says: 23For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”25In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the
in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”26For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Hebrews 8:7-13 (NIV) says: 7For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. 8But God found fault with the people and said: “The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a
, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. 10This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their
. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 11No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. 12For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” 13By calling this covenant “
; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.
Q1 Before working on the New Covenant, list the several “old covenants”. What is the value of the old covenants according to Hebrews 8:13? What is the value of the “old covenants” for you as a Christian?
Q2 In 1 Corinthians 11 we read in the communion text as an expression of the “new covenant”. What is it, and why?
Q3 In Jeremiah the promised new covenant is for the Jews of Israel and Judah. How would you explain that it is also for the Gentiles? Has the heart in Hebrews 8:11 to do with this?
