27 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and with the seed of beast. 28 As I have watched over them to pluck up, to break down, to overthrow, to destroy and to bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the Lord.
29 “In those days they will not say again,
‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
And the children’s teeth are [n]set on edge.’30 But everyone will die for his own iniquity; each man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth will be [o]set on edge.
31 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. 33 “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
It’s always a little difficult to figure out the prophecies that are still in the future and those that have already happened, and this may again be a mix of both. For certainly, we can say that God is done overthrowing and destroying Israel, as He accomplished that in Jeremiah’s day. Likewise, in that day, there was this idea that God would “visit the sins of the Fathers through three and four generations” which we see echoed in v. 29 where the fathers “ate sour grapes” and the children suffered for it.
However, I would dare say that is no longer the case, and v. 30 is in full effect, each man will pay for his own iniquity. But that leads us into v. 31, where God will make a new covenant, different than before. Jesus indeed said that “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.” So has all this come true? I think it could be argued that way, as we see this idea that all God’s people will know Him directly.
While we do certainly need good teaching, and we can help each other understand God’s Word better, we do not rely on someone else to “Know the Lord” like they did back then. The people could not read God’s Word for themselves, indeed even for many centuries afterwards, but they could not even approach the glory and dwelling of God, for fear of being struck down in their sin.
Yet Jesus brings us the forgiveness in v. 34, that cleanses us not like a sacrifice of old, but perfectly, as He is perfect. Thus we see the writer of Hebrews saying “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” In Jeremiah’s day, that was unthinkable, and yet it is reality for us today. We can know God for ourselves, and just as we do not suffer the punishment for the sins of others, we do not need them to intercede with God on our behalf.
We have now a perfect “High Priest” in Jesus, who intercedes for us daily, and God’s own promise that He will “watch over them to build and to plant.” Not that we should take that lightly, as it is an incredible privilege and honor. So know this, God is watching over you, and wants to build and plant in your life. He desires to help you, and does not leave you out there to do life on your own. So don’t! Don’t isolate and try to go it alone, but depend on Him daily, for everything, and allow Him to work in your life, to show His love and glory to everyone you meet.