Re: Jeremiah 31?


"Lauren the Ravishing" writes:
> This is my first post, so be gentle. Jeremiah 31:31-36 talks about a
> "new covenant" and Torah will be "written on our hearts." I'm curious
> about the various interpretations of that passage. What would it mean
> to have the Torah written on our hearts? I've read interpretations by
> those who believe that refers to Jesus, but I'm more interested in it
> from a non-messianic perspective.

The rabbis at "Jews for Judaism", a group approved of by Orthodox,
Conservative and Reform Judaism, write the following on this issue:

The term "new covenant" would be meaningless unless what Jeremiah meant by
it was the renewing of the old covenant, which will thereby regain its full
original vigor. The covenant of old is of eternal duration, never to be
rescinded or to be superseded by a new covenant (Leviticus 26:44-45). The
covenant between God and Israel is frequently referred to as everlasting
(e.g., Genesis 17:7, 13, 19; Psalms 105:8, 10; 1 Chronicles 16:13-18).
The Christian position concerning Jeremiah's covenant is the complete
opposite of what the Jewish Scriptures teach. Hebrews 8:13 states: "In that
he says, a new covenant, he has made the first obsolete. Now that which is
being made obsolete and growing old is near to vanishing away." In stark
contrast to this statement, the Scriptures state: "The works of God's hands
are truth and justice; and His precepts are sure. They are established
forever and ever, they are done in truth and uprightness" (Psalms 111:7-8);
"The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God shall stand
forever" (Isaiah 40:8).

Jeremiah's "new covenant" is not a replacement of the existing covenant, but
merely a figure of speech expressing the reinvigoration and revitalization
of the existing covenant. The people of Israel possess an old covenant yet a
new covenant, truly an everlasting covenant.



----

Even more interesting is the extended essay at OutreachJudaism.com, by Rabbi
Tovia Singer. It is too lenghty to repeat here in full, but I will give
excerpts. Pay attention to the way in which people read Jeremiah grossly
out of context in order to find a way for the book to nullify God's eternal
covenant with the Jewish people; note even more carefully how someone
writing the New Testament seems to have grossly *falsified* the wording in
the original Hebrew Bible.

Rabbi Singer writes:

As was declared by every prophet, the covenant that God has with the Jewish
people is eternal. No words in the Christian Bible or interpolation of the
Jewish scriptures can ever change this eternal oath. The prophet Isaiah
proclaimed this vow more than 2,700 years ago,

"With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; but with
everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you," says the Lord, your
Redeemer. "This is like the waters of Noah to Me; for as I have sworn that
the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth, so have I sworn that I
would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you. The mountains shall depart and
the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall
My covenant of peace be removed," says the Lord, Who has mercy on you.
(Isaiah 54:8-10)



Remarkably, the contorted manner in which Hebrews rendered Jeremiah's
prophecy promulgates the precise opposite message of the prophet's original
intent. Hebrews misconstrued Jeremiah's prophecy to be understood that God
had somehow disregarded His covenant with Israel, when, in fact, the prophet's
message is that God's unique covenantal relationship with the Jewish people
will never be destroyed.

Moreover, in the next two verses the prophet determinedly proclaims this,
pointing to the natural phenomena of the world as a witness to His eternal
relationship with the children of Israel. Jeremiah 31:35-36 reads,

Thus says the Lord, Who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order
of the moon and the stars for light by night, Who stirs up the sea so that
its waves roar-- the Lord of hosts is His name: If this fixed order were
ever to cease from My presence, says the Lord, then also the offspring of
Israel would cease to be a nation before Me forever. Thus says the Lord: If
the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth below
can be explored, then I will reject all the offspring of Israel because of
all they have done.



Because Jeremiah's prophecy of an eternal Jewish people presents the church
with a serious theological problem, the New Testament went to great lengths
to undermine it. In fact, the author of Hebrews deliberately changed the
words of Jeremiah in order to reverse the prophet's original message.



In Hebrews 8:9, while quoting Jeremiah 31:32, the author changed a most
crucial word in the verse. The last clause of Jeremiah 31:32 reads,

... . . My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them.



Hebrews misquoted Jeremiah's words and instead wrote,

... . . because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them,
says the Lord."



The Hebrew word "ba'altee," means a "husband," not "to disregard." This is
a stunning alteration of the words of Jeremiah; to be a "husband" is the
precise opposite of "disregarding" someone. How can the author of Hebrews
change the word of God in order to demonstrate the superiority of
Christianity over its older rival Judaism? When New Testament authors
wantonly tamper with the Jewish scriptures, do they not convey the very
opposite message?



Furthermore, in contrast to the message of Hebrews 8:13, the life-giving
commandments of the Torah have no expiration date. Moses declared that
these commandments are forever and ever.

The secret things belong unto the Lord our God; but the things that are
revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the
words of this law. (Deuteronomy 29:28 [29:29])

The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are
sure. They stand fast forever and ever, and are done in truth and
uprightness. (Psalm 111:7-8)



Moreover, the prophets foretold that the Jewish people will observe the
commandments of the Torah after the messiah arrives. In fact, the Jewish
scriptures prominently testify that the faithful observance of the Torah
will be the emblematic feature of the messianic era.

And I shall give them one heart, and shall put a new spirit within them.
And I shall take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart
of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances, and do
them. Then they will be My people, and I shall be their God. (Ezekiel
11:19-20)

My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one
shepherd. They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees.
(Ezekiel 37:24)

And many peoples shall come, and say: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of
the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths," for out of Zion shall go forth the law,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. (Isaiah 2:3)





Shalom,



Robert



.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: My fervent prayer and resolve for 2009
    ... Israel for 40 years and then later continued as a prophet while in ... which invasion Jeremiah had prophesied. ... Israelites to their Covenant with Almighty God and the current ...
    (talk.religion.bahai)
  • Fatal Revenant (spoilers)
    ... Covenant was Kastenasten not Roger and that Jeremiah was going along with it ... If you destroyed Foul, ...
    (rec.arts.sf.written)
  • Re: Original Sin
    ... Dianelos Georgoudis wrote: ... that there is a remarkable passage in Jeremiah 31:33 about this point: ... "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel ... Jeremiah 31 is quoted in Hebrews 8. ...
    (uk.religion.christian)
  • Re: Charlie Wilsons War
    ... Just read the scriptures plainly without embellishment or trying to ... For if that first covenant had been faultless, ... For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith ... not, saith the Lord. ...
    (rec.arts.mystery)
  • Re: Why I think the Sabbath was never abolished
    ... Hebrews 4 clearly corrects you. ... Thus, as we see here, New Covenant Sabbath rest is salvation, not the ... Besides, if you embrace the ten commandments, you must embrace the ...
    (soc.religion.christian)