Jeremiah 31:23-34: New Start without a New Heart is a Non-Starter

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “When I bring them back from captivity, the people in the land of Judah and in its towns will once again use these words: ‘The Lord bless you, you prosperous city, you sacred mountain.’ People will live together in Judah and all its towns—farmers and those who move about with their flocks. I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.”

At this I awoke and looked around. My sleep had been pleasant to me.

“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will plant the kingdoms of Israel and Judah with the offspring of people and of animals. 

“Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, and to overthrow, destroy and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the Lord.

“In those days people will no longer say, ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’ Instead, everyone will die for their own sin; whoever eats sour grapes—their own teeth will be set on edge.

“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. 

“It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord.

“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 hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 

“No 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 forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” - Jeremiah 31:23-24

Without a change of personality, having a new start really isn't going to do you much good. God promises that he will return the people of Israel from captivity. God will "refresh the weary and satisfy the faint." He will build the people up and the mistakes of all of their parents and grandparents won't be held against them and won't determine their future. There is no baggage in God's eyes.

But God is going to make a change. He had given the people of Israel a chance for a fresh start when he led them out of Israel and gave them the covenant on Mt. Sinai. There were guidelines for nearly every circumstance, a complete list of bonuses for fulfilling the covenant and penalties for failure to fulfill the covenant (Deut. 28). But that covenant hadn't worked out so well and God had invoked the penalty clauses and brought the people into exile. 

This time, he was trying a different tack, one that would zero in on the source of the problem: the human heart. He will make a new agreement with the people of Israel, but it would be different "because they broke my covenant" (v. 32) He would take on the role of the father and inscribe the laws on their hearts (see Deut. 6:7) More importantly "they will all know me" (vs. 34). Who? Not some "Lord" as in master or ruler, but Yahweh. Six times, it is Yahweh who says these things and it is Yahweh that they will know. 

I think this is a reminder that God is a person, not a concept ("foundation of all being") or a role ("ruler of the universe") God may be different that all of the other people of our acquaintance, but he is still someone who wants to be known by name. I may have a new heart because of what Jesus sacrificed and what the Holy Spirit continues to do in me, but I am still prone to put God at a distance. Maybe I am more comfortable that way, like the distance ruler of Jesus' parables. But a ruler who greets me by name, no. That distance sometimes allows my indifference towards him and his desires. I pray for difference, not indifference, towards God.

If I Could Tell You One Thing...Family (Deuteronomy 6)

These were group-time lessons used for Cornerstone's Family Camp. The room was split into three groups. The speaker introduced the topic (Key Idea) the led the groups through a series of questions and then had them brainstorm actions. Each topic took 20 minutes.

Key Idea
The family is God’s means of producing servants.

Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you. – Deut. 6:3

God wants serving families more than he wants successful families. Well-educated but spiritually bankrupt describes much of our generation. Why? Because we have become convinced that families should produce superstars rather than servants. We have become convinced that a career is more important that character.

But we do not have the ability to make our children successful. We do not have the ability to make our children joyful. Those are in God’s control, not ours. And in these verses. In Deuteronomy 6, we see how intimately God tie together our spiritual walk with our family’s walk. Verses 4 and 5 are famous (and rightly so) as the Great Commandment. But verse 6 says: “Impress them on your children”

Questions
Why was this experience different for Israel from what happened in the past?

What is it about seasons of hardship (such as Israel’s slavery) that makes it hard to remember God? What is it about seasons of blessing (such as the promised land) that makes it hard to remember God? Write out 3 reasons each. Why is the transition between hardship and blessing critical?

Application
Find God’s advice for families in this chapter and paraphrase them as actions for today’s family.