Jeremiah 31:27-34

Jeremiah 31:27-34

²⁷The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of humans and the seed of animals. ²⁸And just as I have watched over them to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring evil, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the Lord. ²⁹In those days they shall no longer say: “The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” ³⁰But all shall die for their own sins; the teeth of everyone who eats sour grapes shall be set on edge. ³¹The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. ³²It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. ³³But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ³⁴No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.

Today's passage concludes the Jeremiah readings in the lectionary. Over the past two months we have walked with Jeremiah as his people face the destruction of their nation, their captial city, and the temple, the place where they believed that God resided. We have also seen how God assures those that are still faithful to God that God has not completely abandoned the people no matter what it looks like. Israel will not suffer forever. God will restore the people.

This passage is part of the assurance that God is giving to the people as they face all the terrors before them. Now, not much of the book of Jeremiah is devoted to assurance. Chapters 30-33 are commonly refered to as the "Little Book of Consolation". Jeremiah, in his call back in the first chapter, is given authority to pull down nations and to rebuild them. Much of Jeremiah has been devoted to the pulling down of Israel, but here we see him planting and rebuilding Israel by bringing hope to those who are to go into exile.

Now personally I hate waiting for anything. If I find out that one of my favorite authors has a new book coming out, I become so impatient. When there's a movie that I want to see but my schedule won't let me go see it, I get impatient. We all have things that we become impatient over. We all have to wait. These prophecies are things that Jeremiah tells the Israelites and us about God's intentions for his people and creation. And then we are called to wait for these prophecies to happen.

The prophecy deals with three actions that God will do. The first is the restoration of the population of the houses of Israel and Judah. This is not simply a restoration of physical population, but also will be a restoration of their economic fortunes (see the restoration of livestock in verse 27). God will work on behalf of the people to build them up.

The second action is that the consequences of the sins of parents will no longer fall on the children. People will be responsible for their own misdeeds and will not be held accountable for the shortcomings of their parents.

The third action is that God will make a new covenant with the people, one that will be written on the people's hearts. This is to be, not a replacement of the old covenant, but the fulfillment of the old covenant. Remember that the covenant of Sinai was established not to be a burden to the people, but a way of keeping God as foremost in their hearts and minds. Jeremiah foresee a time when, through the indwelling of the law in the people's hearts, they will no longer need to be taught because of the closeness of their relationship with God.

One of the things that must be noted about these prophecies is that they have not yet been completely fulfilled. While the people of Israel were reestablished, the reality of our situation is that we know that children do suffer for the sins of their parents. Every child that dies of AIDS, every time a parent beats his or her child bears witness to this. And we all know that we still need teachers to teach us the way of the Lord. God's law is not yet written on our hearts.

So how do we live in the meantime, when we know that there is more still that God can and will accomplish? In Luke chapter 18 we have the parable of the widow and the unjust judge, a parable of persistence. The widow keeps bugging the unjust judge who, just so she will leave him alone, gives her a just judgment. The key to this passage is the reason why Jesus tells them this which is found in verse 1. "Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart."

It can be so hard to wait, particularly when we have been wronged, particularly when we want something very badly. What God calls us toward in these life situations is an open relationship. We are called to bare our souls and our desires to God. In being open like this with God, we open ourselves to God's spirit in our own lives. God begins to write God's law in our hearts. We begin to live in ways that cause less harm to ourselves and others in the world. And in so doing the world is changed by God's grace into a world where God dwells more and more deeply.