Directory | Site Map | Explanation | Hebrew Bible “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.” (Deuteronomy 6:6) “Listen to me, you who know righteousness, A people in whose heart is my Torah."” (Isaiah 51:7) “I delight to do your will, O my God; Your Torah is in my heart."” (Psalm 40:8)

by Paul Sumner If you start reading a book three-fourths of the way in, you will miss the core elements of the story. It saves time to jump toward the end. But you may misunderstand the whole point of the previous 1,200 pages. Speaking for God, Jeremiah’s prophecy above is bold and overturning. Another covenant is coming to replace the one ratified at Mount Sinai under Moses’ mediation. The Law that was originally carved twice on stone tablets (Exodus 31:18; 34:1) will instead be inscribed on human minds [al lev]. Is the prophet truly predicting a day when Mosaic Judaism will be replaced? It would appear so — on the surface. This would be radical, would it not, given that “the Word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8). Does it stand or not? In reality, Jeremiah’s message that God would implant his Torah is not a radically new idea. It’s a Mosaic idea. And some people within ancient Israel personally lived it out: the Law of God was within them. This was God’s intent all along. And from the beginning he told everyone that it was his intent; it is part of The Shema itself: Hear O Israel…these words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. (Deuteronomy 6:4, 6) And again, You shall impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul. (Deuteronomy 11:18a) [Top] An Obedient Few The principle of internalizing the teaching (torah) or word (davar) of God was well known and practiced — by some. The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, And his tongue speaks justice. The torah of his God is in his heart. (Psalm 37:30-31a) I delight to do your will, O my God; Your torah is within my heart. (Psalm 40:8; Heb. v. 9) Parents applied the principle to their child-raising: My son, observe your father’s commandment, And do not forsake your mother’s torah; Bind them continually on your heart… (Proverbs 6:20-21a) Centuries after Moses, the Lord was still appealling to those who clung to His original purpose: Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, A people in whose heart is My torah. (Isaiah 51:7a) Jeremiah’s Contextual Prophecy Jeremiah was a priest who served in the Jerusalem Temple. As a scribe and guardian of the written Torah, he knew its contents intimately. By his time (around 600 BCE), the national mission to be a revelatory light to the world was about to be snuffed out and most of the people yanked into exile in Babylon. God warned them that he was about to bring upon Jerusalem “judgments . . . concerning all their wickedness, whereby they have forsaken me and offered sacrifices to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands” (Jer 1:16). Jeremiah didn’t blame the Babylonians for this imminent disaster. He blamed the leaders of Jerusalem. Jerusalem had disobeyed The Shema (Deut 6:6): “Hear, O Israel, the LORD is our God, the LORD is one…and these words…shall be on your heart.” The leaders of the city-state had not taken the Law of God to heart. It wasn’t on their minds; it didn’t inform their imaginations, decisions and plans for the welfare of the nation. Nor did it affect their personal faith or morality. A common misunderstanding is that in Hebrew thought the heart [lev or levav] is the center of emotions. Rather, heart denotes the mind, imagination, and the throne of one’s will. To have a heart for God means to choose his will. His will is in what he says. As a consequence, other prophets foretold that God would “wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish” (2 Kings 21:13) or purge Jerusalem with “ the spirit of burning" (Isaiah 4:4). Renewal After Judgment Through most of his prophetic scroll, Jeremiah denounces his city and warns of coming catastrophe. Lev, Levav But in chapter 31, Jeremiah announces a word of hope. In spite of national disintegration, the coming end is not the final end. God will renew the covenant and eventually succeed in doing what he wanted all along. God will one day write Torah on the hearts of his people, and “they will all know” the Lord (v. 34). [Top] Jeremiah’s prediction is not an innovation. It’s a word of revival: reviving an ancient purpose, envisioning its future realization. The Lord made it clear they were to look backward: Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths [netivot olam], Where the good way is, and walk in it; And you shall find rest for your souls. (Jer 6:16a) Yet most of Jerusalem and Judah thumbed their noses: “We will not walk in it [the good way; derekh hatov] (v. 16b). It wasn’t God’s fault they chose No. It wasn’t his fault the command to internalize his teaching, principles, and words was mostly ignored, or was obeyed sporadically, selectively. God made it clear from the start what he wanted. He didn’t change, the people did. The Covenant Revived The New Testament more than once quotes or alludes to the new covenant passage from Jeremiah 31, and proclaims that the prophecy has come to pass with the arrival of Yeshua of Nazareth (Luke 22:20; Hebrews 8:8-10; 10:16; 1 Corinthians 11:25). The inauguration of the “new covenant” by Yeshua was thus a fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophesied revival of the Original Plan revealed to Moses. At his final covenant-confirming Passover, Yeshua told his disciples, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood" (Luke 22:20). Just as Moses had validated the ancient covenant with blood, so Yeshua validated the new with blood. “Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people and said, ‘Behold, the blood of the covenant, which the LORD has made with you.’” (Exodus 24:8) The difference is that Yeshua ratified the covenant by pouring out his own life-blood. His loving act gave the Torah new meaning. It opened wider dimensions into the loving character of God. This allowed the Torah to penetrate deeper into human souls, creating a new obedience to God born out of Yeshua’s act of atonement. [Top] There is No Shadow of Change Thus, the New Covenant offered by and ratified by Yeshua Messiah is not entirely new either. It fulfills Jeremiah’s promise to the families of Judah and Israel. It involves inscribing God’s Teaching on human minds. And it is ratified by blood sacrifice. Moreover, the covenant confirmed by Yeshua is extended to people outside the national boundaries. This too was part of the Original Plan: [So that] my yeshuah may reach to the end of the earth. (Isaiah 49:6) All mankind will come to bow down before me, says the LORD. (Isaiah 66:23) This unity of purpose — which links the ancient covenant and the renewed covenant — shows an unaltered unity in God’s will. He doesn’t change; he doesn’t start new religions based on new ideas when humans fail. He nurtures one tree from a seedling until it grows and fills the earth. There is only “One Faith” (Ephesians 4:5). Detecting this trans-generational unity comes when the Story is read as a whole, beginning at the beginning. • Paul Sumner [Top]

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