Jeremiah

Jeremiah 31: The LORD makes a new covenant

Begin in prayer

Before we read the heart of this book, let us come to the LORD together. Ask Him to make our hearts new, to meet with our family now, and to show us Christ, the Mediator of this new covenant.

Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts. You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.

Psalms 51:6

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Show us that You write Your law on hearts and forgive sin, and help us to trust You. Show us Christ, the Mediator of the new covenant, and help us to turn from our sin and trust Him. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

The LORD is the God of all the families of Israel, and He has loved them with an everlasting love (verses 1 and 3). He promises to build Israel again and gather the blind and the lame from the north country (verses 4 to 8). In Ramah, Rachel weeps for her children, but the LORD says there is hope for them (verses 15 to 17). Ephraim confesses his shame for the sins of his youth, and the LORD answers with mercy (verses 18 to 20). The LORD promises a new covenant, unlike the one He made when He brought their fathers out of Egypt (verses 31 and 32). He will write His law on their hearts, and He will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more (verses 33 and 34). The chapter ends with Jerusalem built again and made holy to the LORD (verses 38 to 40).

As you read Jeremiah 31, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

The LORD makes a new covenant, writes His law on hearts, and forgives their sin.

This chapter is the heart of Jeremiah, because the LORD promises a new covenant unlike the old one (verses 31 and 32). The covenant made at the exodus from Egypt was broken, although the LORD had been a husband to them (verse 32). In the new covenant the LORD puts His law inside His people and writes it on their hearts (verse 33). He says they will all know Him, from the least to the greatest, and that He forgives their iniquity (verses 33 and 34). Ramah was a town in Benjamin’s land, and Rachel, mother of Joseph and Benjamin, weeps for her children (verse 15). The LORD says there is hope for the future, and that her children will come again to their own border (verses 16 and 17). Ephraim shows the heart of repentance, saying, “turn me, and I shall be turned” (verses 18 and 19). Hebrews 8 quotes this promise and says Jesus is the Mediator of a better covenant (Hebrews 8 verse 6). At the Last Supper He called the cup the new covenant in His blood, which forgives every sinner who trusts Him.

How does Jeremiah 31 show us that the LORD makes a new covenant, writes His law on hearts, and forgives sin?

The LORD makes a new covenant with His people.

The old covenant was broken, although the LORD had been a husband to them (verse 32). The new covenant is not like it, because the LORD Himself does the work in His people (verses 31 and 33). Jesus is the Mediator of this new covenant.

The LORD writes His law on hearts.

He puts His law inside His people and writes it on their hearts (verse 33). When He changes a heart, that heart begins to know Him, from the least to the greatest (verses 33 and 34). Every listener is called to turn from sin and trust Jesus now.

The LORD forgives their sin and remembers it no more.

He says He will forgive their iniquity, and their sin He will remember no more (verse 34). The people could not keep the old covenant, so this forgiveness comes from the LORD’s promise (verses 32 and 34). Jesus gave His life for His people.

Memorize

I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Jeremiah 31:33

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, will I ask Jesus to forgive my sin and change my heart?

Jeremiah heard Rachel weeping in Ramah, and the LORD answered her grief with a promise of a new covenant. He said, “in their heart will I write it,” and “their sin will I remember no more” (verses 33 and 34). That promise was given to a people who had broken the old covenant.

Our sin broke God’s covenant in the same way Israel did, and we cannot write His law on our own hearts. Jesus is the Mediator of this new covenant (Hebrews 8 verse 6). At the Last Supper He took the cup and called it the new covenant in His blood (Luke 22 verse 20). He died for His people, bearing the punishment their sin deserved. On the third day He rose again. His work is finished, and it is fully enough.

So come to Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant, and turn from your sin. Trust Him, and ask Him to change your heart and write His law on it. Every sinner who comes to Him will be forgiven, and God will remember that sin no more.

Parent's note

Tell your children that the LORD makes a new covenant, writes His law on hearts, and forgives sin. Parents, you may want to explain in your own words what a covenant is and why the old one was broken. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God that He makes a new covenant, writes His law on hearts, and forgives sin, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

Psalms 103:12

Lord, thank You that You promise a new covenant, write Your law on hearts, and forgive sin. Forgive us for our hard hearts and for going our own way. Thank You for Jesus, the Mediator of this covenant, who gave His life for His people. Help each of us to turn from sin, trust Him, and ask You to change our hearts this week. Amen.