God Promises a New Covenant on the Heart
The Lord will establish a new covenant in which His law is written on the hearts of His people and their sins are permanently forgiven.
Jeremiah 31:31-34 (BSB)
31 Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.
32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant they broke, though I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD.
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.
34 No longer will each man teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.”
What is the big idea of Jeremiah 31:31-34?
The LORD will establish a new covenant in which His law is written on the hearts of His people and their sins are permanently forgiven.
How does Jeremiah 31:31-34 point to Christ?
Jeremiah foretells a new covenant in which God forgives sins and transforms hearts. The gospel proclaims that Jesus Christ establishes this new covenant through His death and resurrection, granting forgiveness and the indwelling Spirit to those who believe.
How does Jeremiah 31:31-34 relate to the life and ministry of Jesus?
Jesus explicitly identifies his sacrificial death as the inauguration of the new covenant. At the Last Supper he declares that the cup represents the new covenant in his blood. Through Christ's atoning death and the gift of the Spirit, the internal transformation promised in Jeremiah becomes a present reality for the people of God.
Authorial Intent
To announce the coming new covenant in which the LORD will internally transform His people, forgive their sins, and establish a direct and enduring relationship with them.
Literary Context
Jeremiah 31:31–34 forms the theological centerpiece of the Book of Consolation (Jeremiah 30–33). Following promises of restoration and renewed responsibility (31:27–30), the Lord declares that a fundamentally renewed covenant relationship will be established with Israel and Judah. The promise resolves the persistent covenant failure that marked Israel's history.
Historical Context
Jeremiah prophesies during the final years of Judah before the Babylonian exile. After generations of covenant violation, the Lord promises a new covenant that will address the root problem of human rebellion.
Chapter: Jeremiah 31
Everlasting Love, Restored Joy, and the New Covenant
The LORD who scattered Israel will gather, comfort, forgive, renew, and bind his people to himself through a New Covenant written on the heart.