JEREMIAH LESSON 34


     We will begin this lesson in Jeremiah 31:21 Set thee up waymarks,
make thee high heaps: set thine heart toward the highway, [even] the
way [which] thou wentest: turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again
to these thy cities.

     The "waymarks" are markers to show the way. They are to be set up
on high heaps, so that they will not be missed. The "highway" is
speaking of that narrow way that we must walk. The wife of God is
physical Israel, as we learned in a previous lesson. The virgin is
speaking of all believers in Christ {Jew and Gentile} who make up the
church. The fact that they are virgins means they have not worshipped
other gods. This is saying, return home to the true church.

     Jeremiah 31:22  "How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding
daughter? for the LORD hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman
shall compass a man."

     Going about is straying from that path of verse 21. To be
backslidden, one must have been saved. This just means those who are
weakening in their faith. The natural thing in the earth, is for the
woman to be weaker than the man. The man is protective of the woman.
It seems this new thing God created is a power of the woman over the
man. This power is in the spiritual realm. We see in this, that
the man in verse 22 is symbolic of Babylon {the world}. The woman is
symbolic of the church. This is saying, the church of the Lord Jesus
Christ will overcome the world. Even though the church seems weaker
{woman}, the church will overcome the man {world}. Remember, God
created this situation.

     Jeremiah 31:23 "Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel;
As yet they shall use this speech in the land of Judah and in the
cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity; The LORD
bless thee, O habitation of justice, [and] mountain of holiness."

     "Speech" in the Scripture above, is speaking of the spoken Word
of God. Jerusalem has been the habitation of justice in the literal
sense. In the spiritual sense, the believes are the habitation of
justice. Jesus is Justice. Christ in us the hope of glory, means that
the justice of Christ dwells within every Christian.  The mountain of
His holiness, in the physical, is speaking of mount Zion in Jerusalem.
The mountain of His holiness, in the spiritual, is wherever His
followers are. The tabernacle of God is with men. It is not only with
men, but in men, as well. Possibly, the mountain of holiness for the
believers, is the house of worship where we go to fellowship with God.

     Jeremiah 31:24 "And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all
the cities thereof together, husbandmen, and they [that] go forth with
flocks."

     In the physical realm, this is speaking of the shepherds {nomads}
moving around tending their herds of sheep. Husbandmen were those who
cared for the vineyard. In both instances, the spiritual meaning of
the vineyard and the sheep shows the Christians, and their great
relationship with God.

     Jeremiah 31:25 "For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have
replenished every sorrowful soul."

     "Satiated", in this verse, means watered abundantly. The water is
the Spirit of God. They have the Spirit abundantly watering the weary
soul. Sorrow will be no more. God will wipe away all tears and sorrow.

     Jeremiah 31:26 "Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was
sweet unto me."

     God had been speaking to Jeremiah in a dream. This was not a
nightmare, but a pleasant dream. This kind of dream from the Lord
leaves us refreshed.

     Jeremiah 31:27  "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I
will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of
man, and with the seed of beast."

     This is an entirely new message from God, here. It is not the
same as the dream that ended in verse 26. Sowing indicates
broadcasting of seed for a big crop. This just means they will be
multiplied greatly, and their animals will be very productive, as
well.

     Jeremiah 31:28 "And it shall come to pass, [that] like as I have
watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down,
and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build,
and to plant, saith the LORD."

     The LORD is the Watchman who sees all that goes on. He deals with
each thing in its proper time. It was God who sent the destruction as
a chastisement on His people for their unfaithfulness.  In fact, He
saw that each detail of the punishment was carried out properly. Now
that He has forgiven them and brought them back into the land, He will
be just as careful to see that each of the blessings are proper, also.
God is like a father who is interested in the welfare of his children.

     Jeremiah 31:29 "In those days they shall say no more, The fathers
have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge."

     In the past, sins had been carried down from generation to
generation. Sometimes a child suffered for the wrong a parent had
done. Read Exodus chapter 20 verse 5. This will not be true from now
on.  Each person will be responsible for his own sin.

     Jeremiah 31:30 "But every one shall die for his own iniquity:
every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge."

     One of the best examples of this in the Bible is in Ananias and
Sapphira. He lied to the Holy Ghost, and was killed for it. Later His
wife comes in, not knowing of her husband's death. She lies to the
Holy Ghost, and is killed for her lie, not because of his lie. Jesus
set us free. Each will stand before the Judge of all the world. We
will stand there, one at a time, and give an account. We will be
judged by our own actions, not by our parent's actions.

     Jeremiah 31:31  "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I
will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house
of Judah:"

     This is the covenant of grace. Salvation will come through faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ, not by works. Galatians 2:16 "Knowing that a
man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of
Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be
justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for
by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."  The old
covenant made with Abraham was an everlasting covenant based on faith
in God. The law was given to Moses for the people, because of their
sins.

     Jeremiah 31:32 "Not according to the covenant that I made with
their fathers in the day [that] I took them by the hand to bring them
out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was
an husband unto them, saith the LORD:"

     Verse 32 is speaking of the law that was given to Moses, for the
people, at Mount Sinai. One big difference is the law of the old
covenant was written on tables of stone. The new covenant is written
on the hearts of the believers. The first covenant was based on man's
obligation to God. The second covenant was based on the unmerited
favor God showed to man. God did it for us. We just accept His great
gift to us. God was a husband to them, in the sense of His protection.
He fed them miraculously. He guarded them. He opened the way for them
at the Red Sea. He was everything a good husband should be. Mankind
failed God, in that he did not obey God. Man broke the covenant, not
God.

     Jeremiah 31:33 "But this [shall be] the covenant that I will make
with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put
my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will
be their God, and they shall be my people."  Jeremiah 31:34 "And they
shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his
brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the
least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will
forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."

     The new covenant is one of the heart. God's love poured out into
man. Christianity is of the heart. Christianity is not a keeping of
the law, but of loving the Lawgiver. Hebrews says it best. Hebrews
8:10 "For this [is] the covenant that I will make with the house of
Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their
mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and
they shall be to me a people:" Hebrews 8:11 "And they shall not teach
every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the
Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest."  Hebrews
8:12 "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins
and their iniquities will I remember no more."  None of us want the
justice of the law, when we can have the mercy of the covenant of
grace.

     Jeremiah 31:35  "Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a
light by day, [and] the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a
light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar;
The LORD of hosts [is] his name:"

     God spoke the Word, and they were created. Each thing God created
was for a purpose. The sun shone light on the earth in the day. The
moon was signs to Israel. Each full moon was a new month. The moon
controls the tides of the sea. The LORD of hosts and the Word of God
are the same. They are both Creator God.

     Jeremiah 31:36 "If those ordinances depart from before me, saith
the LORD, [then] the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a
nation before me for ever."

     As long as the sun and the moon exists, Israel will be a nation
in the sight of God. We will get into the two sticks which make up
Israel in our study on Ezekiel. For now I will just say, that physical
and spiritual Israel make up this nation {family} of God.

     Jeremiah 31:37 "Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be
measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I
will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done,
saith the LORD."

     This is speaking of the absurdity of thinking that God would do
away with Israel. The important word in this is "all". He does destroy
many of them, because of their sins, but always keeps a remnant.

     Jeremiah 31:38  "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the
city shall be built to the LORD from the tower of Hananeel unto the
gate of the corner." Jeremiah 31:39 "And the measuring line shall yet
go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb, and shall compass about
to Goath." Jeremiah 31:40 "And the whole valley of the dead bodies,
and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto
the corner of the horse gate toward the east, [shall be] holy unto the
LORD; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever."

     This just has to be the New Jerusalem. This will be a city of
truth and righteousness. Jesus will be the Supreme Ruler, or King.
There will be no more ruin, or death, or sorrow. Jerusalem had been
destroyed many times, but this says it will never be destroyed again.
This is that permanent holy city. The area marked off is for the
temple of God. Look, with me, at that true temple. Revelation 21:22
"And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb
are the temple of it."


                         Jeremiah 34 Questions


1.  What are the "waymarks" in verse 21?
2.  Why were they placed on high heaps?
3.  Who is the virgin speaking of?
4.  What is meant by them being virgins?
5.  Quote Jeremiah chapter 31 verse 22.
6.  To be backslidden, one must have been ________.
7.  The power of the woman over the man, in verse 22, is in the
    ________ realm.
8.  Who is the man symbolic of?
9.  Who is the woman symbolic of?
10. What is this saying, then?
11. "Speech", in verse 23, is speaking of what?
12. The justice of Christ dwells within every __________.
13. Where is the mountain of His holiness, in a spiritual sense?
14. Who do the husbandmen symbolize?
15. "Satiated", in verse 25, means what?
16. Verse 26 tells us God had been speaking to Jeremiah in a _______.
17. What is verse 27 saying about the house of Israel?
18. What does Exodus chapter 20 verse 5 say about sin?
19. What does the author think to be one of the best examples of each
    being responsible for his own sin?
20. What is the new covenant?
21. Quote Galatians chapter 2 verse 16.
22. What was the covenant made with Abraham based upon?
23. What covenant is verse 32 speaking of?
24. What was the first covenant based upon?
25. How does the new covenant differ from that?
26. ____ broke the first covenant, not ______.
27. Quote Jeremiah chapter 31 verses 33 and 34.
28. Christianity is not a keeping of the law, but what?
29. Where does the author believe the best Scripture is about the new
    covenant?
30. Who is the same as the LORD of hosts?
31. How long will there be an Israel?
32. What is the important word in verse 37?
33. What are verse 38, 39, and 40 describing?