Jeremiah 31:38-40 - The Church - the New Jerusalem

Jeremiah 31:31-34 describe the New Covenant, while verses 35-37 talk about the everlasting nature of the covenant. This was God’s commitment to His people to save and keep them. In verses 38-40 is God's promise of rebuilding the city of Jerusalem. After dealing with His people in Babylon, God promised that the ruin of Jerusalem would be rebuilt. The landmarks and boundaries of the new city are laid out and described in these three verses.

According to verses 38b-40, the city would stretch from “…the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. The measuring line will go out farther straight ahead to the hill Gareb; then it will turn to Goah. And the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the brook Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be holy to the Lord.” Here we see the formerly defiled places such as the “whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes’ purified. And Jerusalem would once again become the set apart city of the Lord and not be destroyed or overthrown forever.

Physically, Nehemiah and those who returned from the Babylonian captivity rebuilt Jerusalem. More detail can be seen in Nehemiah 3. However, more than the physical Jerusalem, we know that there would be a spiritual fulfillment of this promise.

In Hebrew 12:18-24, we see a reference to the heavenly Jerusalem. It is called the City of the Living God. We cannot get away from the idea that the author was referring to the church, the assembly of God’s people. It’s here that the promise of the presence of God can be experienced. The believers of Christ, the firstborns of God, have come to this city already. This suggests that everyone wanting to enter this new city must acknowledge God as Father, for He has no grandchildren. Everyone who joins the church must come through Jesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant. Jesus Himself promised that the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church. She will stand forever. Let us live responsibly as members of this rebuilt Jerusalem. Let us sink our roots deeply here and live for the praise of His glory.