The Law of the Kingdom

They will not teach again, each one his neighbor and each one 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 wrongdoing, and their sin I will no longer remember.”  Jeremiah 31:34  NASB

They will all know Me – Yeshua claimed that the Torah would not pass away until heaven and earth pass away.  “Heaven and earth” is an idiomatic way of saying “the creation,” and since there will never be an end to the creation, we should expect the “new” covenant to be around forever.  It is, of course, not new in the sense that it never before existed.  It’s the same Mosaic covenant transmitted in a new way—written on hearts instead of stone—but it’s still Torah, and according to Jeremiah’s prophecy, everyone will know it implicitly and follow it completely.  That makes perfect sense, right?  Torah is the expression of the divine will and that doesn’t change.

Consider some implications.  First, of course, is the implication that the Torah was never set aside, and never will be.  Christian replacement theology is simply wrong.  It’s a nice excuse, but it denies God’s sovereignty over all time and place.  But you already knew this.

Second, this claim sets aside the idea that the Kingdom will be radically different after the Messiah’s return.  “Thy Kingdom come on earth” reinforces the notion that the Kingdom is for this world, not some heavenly one.  Men are made for the earth, and that’s where the Kingdom will finally be manifested.  Heaven isn’t our true home.  Never was.  Never will be.  Soloveitchik recognizes this fact when he writes, “Only against the concrete, empirical backdrop of this world can Torah be implemented . . .”[1]  If Torah is eternal, then it means eternal life is here, in a world where Torah can be observed empirically.  Soloveitchik argues, “Atonement, according to Halakhah, is only operative within the realm of the concrete life of flesh and blood, of body and soul; it does not penetrate into the domain of transcendental existence.”[2]

Finally, the implications of this verse include a solution to the oddity it suggests.  “They will all know Me” is usually taken as a statement that people in the Kingdom will automatically follow God’s will, that there will be no more decision-making struggle about what is right and what is wrong.  Torah observance will be second-nature.  What’s odd about this is that is seems to suggest the end of free will.  Are we going to become human-divine robots, fulfilling the commands without the possibility of alternatives?  Do we lose our humanity when the Kingdom comes?  Does God give us free will now as a test in order to determine who won’t have it later?

That seems impossible.  We were not created free agents in order to become divine robots.  So, ethical choices will still have to be part of the Kingdom.  It’s just that somehow (and only God knows how) we will be so saturated with the presence of God that we will, at last, only choose His will.  There won’t be a divine operation removing the yetzer ha’ra from who we are.  It will just happen that the yetzer ha’ra will always serve the yetzer ha’tov.  We will choose Him—always!  That’s probably why the rabbis consider the coming of the Kingdom to be the true and final stage of forgiveness.  Free at last.  Won’t that be a great day!

Topical Index:  Kingdom, choice, Torah, free will, Jeremiah 33:34

[1] Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Halakhic Man (JPS, 1983), p. 34.

[2] Ibid., p.33.