Grace upon Grace

Again, God tells us in advance what He plans to do. God allows the prophet Jeremiah to be the only prophet to foretell the coming of a new covenant. Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, verse 31. The words ‘new covenant’ does not appear again until Jesus says, For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins, Matthew 26:28.

Jesus brings forward His Father’s promise of a new covenant. But Jesus does not limit the new covenant to the houses of Israel and Judah, instead He applies His blood to many for the remission of sins. Actually, Jeremiah suggested this: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord, verse 32.

Then Jeremiah explains the coming new covenant, verse 33: but this covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

According to Jeremiah, God considered His marriage to Israel broken by her unfaithfulness, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, verse 32. Even so, God is faithful to His side of the covenant and forgives them. This is who God is: forgiving, full of grace and mercy.

Jesus completed this renewal with the shedding of His blood, this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. This is who God is: loving, full of grace and truth. According to Jeremiah, God’s promise under the new convent is for His law to be written on our hearts, and God will be our God, and we shall be His people. This is grace upon grace.