This Covenant of Jeremiah 11
breadThis covenant, Law Moses, Curses of the covenant, Law
of Moses, Covenant commanded, Old Covenant, obey my voice, broken covenant
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People are often confused by Jeremiah 11. It talks of
"this covenant", but seems to connect with events of
Exodus 19-20. It is worth taking a careful look at Jeremiah 11:2-12.
"Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto
the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem;" (Jer
11:2). It seems apparent that the men of Judah are being
warned to heed the words of "this covenant". 'This'
replaces the Hebrew word 'zo'th '. "It is used to point out
and designate certain objects in distinction from others."
(emphasis ours) (The Complete Word Study of the Old Testament"
p.2274) 'THIS covenant' is designated, as distinct from
some other covenant. So the simple use of 'this' in connection with
'covenant' assumes the existence of some other covenant. Logically,
the other covenant would have existed prior to "this covenant".
Moses was the first to use this designation in Deuteronomy.
Before doing this, he clearly refers to the covenant of the Lord of
Exodus 20-24 in Deuteronomy 4. There is also a reference to this
previously made covenant in Deuteronomy 29:25.
"And the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the
fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no form; you only heard a
voice. So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to
perform, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone.
". (Deu 4:12-13)
"Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the
covenant of the LORD your God which He made with you, and make for
yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which the LORD your God
has forbidden you." (Deu 4:23)
Moses makes another covenant in Deuteronomy with Israel. It
is distinct from His Covenant made in Exodus 20-24, so it is called
"this covenant", i.e. distinct from His covenant that was
described in chapter 4:12-23 and with which they were all familiar.
"Therefore keep the words of this covenant,
and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do."(Deu 29:9)
"I make this covenant and this oath, not with you alone,"
(Deu 29:14) "that you may enter into covenant with the LORD your
God, and into His oath, which the LORD your God makes with you today"
(Deu 29:12)
"These are the words which Moses spoke to all
Israel.. " (Deu 1:1a) "These are the words of the
covenant which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of
Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant which He made with them
in Horeb. "(Deu 29:1). "Observe and obey all these words
which I command you," (Deu 12:28) 'and He said to them:
"Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today,
which you shall command your children to be careful to observe--all the
words of this law."'(Deu 32:46)
The words of 'this covenant' mediated by Moses in
Deuteronomy are one and the same with the words of "this law",
which He exhorts Israel to obey. They are the words Moses spoke that day.
They are distinct from the words of His covenant of Exodus 20-24. "These
are the words of the covenant ... besides the covenant which He made with
them in Horeb. "(Deu 29:1). One thing, besides another does not
equal one thing, but two things jointly applicable.
"Words" in this context is actually a technical
legal term for the legally binding official terms of a covenant. The Ten
Commandments were the official terms of the Exodus 20-24 covenant. "So
he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he neither ate
bread nor drank water. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the
covenant, the Ten Commandments." (Ex 34:28). Virtually the
whole book of Deuteronomy is the official document of "this
covenant". "These are the words of the covenant which
the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land
of Moab..."(Deu 29:1). "Observe and obey all these
words which I command you, that it may go well with you and your
children after you forever," (Deu 12:28)
So Jeremiah 11 exhorts Judah to "Hear ye the words
of this covenant ". This is similar to what Paul did in Gal
4:21b "do you not hear the law?". He then proceeds to
refer to the story of Hagar & Ishmael from the law. Jeremiah does the
same thing. He reminds Judah of something directly in the official
'words' of "this covenant". "Cursed is the man who does
not obey the words of this covenant" (Jer 11:3c). This is not a
direct quote of the text as we know it, but the meaning is one and the
same with "Cursed is the one who does not confirm all the words
of this law by observing them." (Deu 27:26) This verse, of
course, is from the same "this covenant" Moses mediated in
Deuteronomy, not any made as of Exodus 24. "This covenant" and
'this law' are one and the same. So while the text is not perfectly
identical, the thought is.
There is nothing similar in the words of any covenant
documented as of Exodus 24. So the initial direct connection between
"this covenant" of Jeremiah 11 appears to me to be with
"this covenant" of Deuteronomy. This is a double connection
with the designation "this covenant" along with the actually
contents, terms or words of "this covenant".
Jeremiah 11 continues with additional information about
"this covenant". "which I commanded your fathers in the
day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace,
saying, 'Obey My voice, and do according to all that I command you; so
shall you be My people, and I will be your God,' that I may establish the
oath which I have sworn to your fathers, to give them 'a land flowing
with milk and honey,'" (Jer 11:4-5)
Certainly this reference is strong with the time of Exodus
19-24. "in the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt"
typically brings to mind a connection with the covenant of Exodus 20-24.
However, it is a general reference to a general time. The exact day would
connect us to Exodus 12:17. The events of Exodus 19, some of which
seem to be included in Jeremiah 11:4-5 took place about 45 days
later.
"Obey my voice" appears in Ex 19:5. On the other
hand, "All that I command" appears twice in Deuteronomy 12. It
isn't really used in connection with the Exodus 24 covenant. Actually the
verse that seems to combine both these thoughts is Deuteronomy 30:2.
"return to the LORD your God and obey His voice, according to all
that I command you today, " What Moses commanded was commanded
by God. (Deu 29:1). The purpose for the covenant of Deuteronomy was to
keep Israel in compliance with His covenant of Exodus 20-24, so Israel
could be established as God had promised the Patriarchs. Similar words
are used on both occasions.
What is important to remember though, is that the historical
record left in especially the law indicates the covenant of Deuteronomy
was in process on Moses second forty-day stay on Mount Sinai
shortly after the episode of the golden calf. This is when He begins to
clarify how He will reconcile Himself to Israel.
According to Exodus 19:5 everyone in Israel was to represent
Him. It was likely within 50 days that He was set to destroy them.
"Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn
hot against them and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great
nation." (Ex 32:10) "Then I took the two tablets and
threw them out of my two hands and broke them before your eyes. And I
fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and forty nights;
I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all your sin which you
committed in doing wickedly in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to
anger. For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure with which the
LORD was angry with you, to destroy you. But the LORD listened to me at
that time also."(Deu 9:17-19).
Somewhere during or after Moses fast for Israel God resolved
to preserve them. He distanced Himself from the people, but talked to
Moses far outside the camp. (Ex 33:7) It doesn't appear to be a long time
until Moses goes up Mt. Sinai again. His first words to God on the
mountain are: "If now I have found grace in Your sight, O Lord,
let my Lord, I pray, go among us, even though we are a stiff-necked
people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your
inheritance." (Ex 34:9) He's still pleading for a restoration of
Israel's relationship with God.
God's response, "Behold, I make a covenant".
This is present tense. It's in the process, and will result in awesome
things being done with Israel. He then says, "Observe what I
command you this day". The following 16 verses discuss topics
already covered in Exodus 20-23. "for according to the tenor of
these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel" (Ex
34:27b). His covenant was confirmed in Exodus 24. They were bound by oath
to conduct themselves accordingly. That covenant, His covenant, was
already made and still in tact. It was not in the process.
Moses was on the mountain for 40 days (Deu 34:28).
More was discussed than just what is recorded in Exodus 34. "Afterward
all the children of Israel came near, and he gave them as commandments
all that the LORD had spoken with him on Mount Sinai" (Ex
34:32). In particular the curses of Leviticus 26 were given at this
time "on Mount Sinai". "These are the statutes and
judgments and laws which the LORD made between Himself and the children
of Israel on Mount Sinai by the hand of Moses." (Lev
26:46) The instruction of Leviticus 27 came then (Lev 27:34) as
well as the requirement for regular animal sacrifices (Lev 7:37-38, Num
28:6).
"Therefore He said that He would destroy them, Had
not Moses His chosen one stood before Him in the breach, To turn away His
wrath, lest He destroy them" (Ps 106:23). "Remember the
Law of Moses, My servant, Which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel,
With the statutes and judgments" (Mal 4:4). The covenant that
resulted from the pleading of Moses was commanded while Israel was
still in the area around Sinai also known as Horeb.
Some instruction may have come from the tent of meeting set
up outside the camp (Ex 33:7), some on Mt. Sinai and probably some from
the tabernacle once it was finished. The plan was in
motion from the first day of Moses second forty-day stay on Mount
Sinai. "Behold, I make a covenant". This could
have been within 90 days or so of the speaking of Exodus 19:5.
Plus or minus six months or even a year from the speaking of
Exodus 19:5 is insignificant considering Jeremiah was written some 700
years later. The intention to add a second covenant was determined
within that time and therefore certainly commanded within that time
frame. "This covenant" was not actually made until just
before Israel went into the Promised Land, but the great bulk of it was
communicated in the area of Sinai at the same approximate time probably
within 100 days of Exodus 19:5. Jeremiah 11:4-5 does not disqualify
"this Covenant" of Deuteronomy, which is clearly indicated in
verses 2-3 from being "this covenant" of Jeremiah 11:4-5.
Jeremiah 11:6 again exhorts Judah to heed 'these words'
and 'the words of This covenant', which verse 8 indicates He
"will bring upon them all the words of this covenant".
This is a direct threat that the nation will receive punishment according
to their disobedience. The only place general or national
punishments are prescribed is in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 27-28.
These punishments, usually called curses, are not part of any covenant
made as of Exodus 24. The description connected with them and the
timing according to the historical record of Leviticus and Deuteronomy
place them after the confirmation of the Exodus 24 covenant.
"Brethren, I speak in the manner of men: Though it
is only a man's covenant, yet if it is confirmed, no one annuls or adds
to it." (Gal 3:15) One does not add even to a covenant
made by error prone men. The words that would come upon them could
not be added to any earlier covenant. However, Deuteronomy 27-28 is
obviously a part of "this covenant" of Deuteronomy. The
curses of "this covenant" of Deuteronomy are the only
words that would fit the description of Jeremiah 11:8. They fit very
well.
Daniel 9 records many of the problems Judah had.
"..O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His
covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His
commandments, we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done
wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your
judgments." (vs 4b-5) " We have not obeyed the voice
of the LORD our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us
by His servants the prophets. Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your
law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore
the curse and the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of
God have been poured out on us" (vs 10-11) "As it is
written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us;"
(vs 13a)
The problem is they disobeyed His covenant, His commandments
His Judgments, His precepts, His laws and His voice, but the curse comes
from The Law of Moses. It was not a part of His covenant. Deuteronomy and
the Law of Moses were added as a second covenant, "this
covenant", distinct from His covenant that allowed Israel to live
even though deserving of death according to His covenant. There is
no positive identifier in "This covenant" of Jeremiah 11:6
or 8 that fits with any covenant made as of Exodus 24. It fits well
with the covenant of Deuteronomy made in Moab.
"For I earnestly exhorted your fathers in the day I
brought them up out of the land of Egypt, until this day, rising early
and exhorting, saying, "Obey My voice" (Jer 11:7).
Again we focus on 'Obey my voice'. He exhorted them to obey
from certainly Exodus 19:5 'until this day'. This exhortation was
repeated over and over again. It is not a blank check to allow God to add
whatever He wanted to His covenant or any other covenant.
When used in Exodus 19:5 "obey my voice"
is used in a simple Hebrew parallelism with 'My covenant'. It is simply a
Hebrew speaker's way to reinforce the importance of keeping His covenant.
Daniel 9 quoted above, shows it again in parallel connection to His Law,
which again is one and the same with His covenant. (Hos 8:1, Ps 78:10)
The fact that He was exhorting them 'to this day' also witnesses to it
not being open-ended. Once would have been enough.
In fact "obey my voice' is simply another way of saying
"do what I tell you". This is evident in Rebecca's use of the
phrase three times in Genesis 27 (see vss. 8, 13, 43), which are also
varying forms of parallel expressions like that in Exodus 19. She is just
urgently exhorting Jacob to do as she is commanding. That is exactly what
God had done 'until this day'. He wanted them to obey His covenant, which
is clearly defined as to contents and timing of confirmation in
Deuteronomy 4:12-23.
Verse 10 indicates the real problem is not the breaking of
"this covenant", but the one confirmed earlier from which it is
distinct, i.e. "My Covenant". As it turns out Jeremiah 11
echoes the imminent fulfillment of the prophesy of Deuteronomy 29:24-27.
"All nations would say, 'Why has the LORD done so to
this land? What does the heat of this great anger mean? Then people would
say: 'Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God of
their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the
land of Egypt; for they went and served other gods and worshiped them,
gods that they did not know and that He had not given to them. Then the
anger of the LORD was aroused against this land, to bring on it every
curse that is written in this book." (Deu 29:24-27)
"They have turned back to the iniquities of their
forefathers who refused to hear My words, and they have gone after other
gods to serve them; the house of Israel and the house of Judah have
broken My covenant which I made with their
fathers. Therefore thus says the LORD: "Behold, I will
surely bring calamity on them which they will not be able to escape; and
though they cry out to Me, I will not listen to them. Then the
cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry out to
the gods to whom they offer incense, but they will not save them at all
in the time of their trouble." (Jer 11:10-12)
It seems apparent that the calamity Jeremiah 11:11
threatens, will come from the curses written in Deuteronomy, "this
covenant". The words of "this covenant" will descend
upon them. It would not come from His covenant confirmed as of or
before Exodus 24, but from "this covenant" (Jer 11:2), "this
book" (Deu 29:27) and "this covenant" (Deu 29:9, 12, 14),
which are the same.
So the positive connections indicate that the rather out of
context phrase, "this covenant" is used because that
immediately connects it with "this covenant" of Deuteronomy.
The designation of "this covenant" is not really out of
context, because the other covenant from which it is distinct, is
"My covenant" of verse 10. "This Covenant" of
Jeremiah 11 is therefore not a covenant made as of Exodus 24, but is the
same "this covenant" Moses defined in Deuteronomy.