I still feel that we need to see something more clearly concerning the law of life. Jeremiah 31:33a says, “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares Jehovah: I will put My law within them and write it upon their hearts.” I would ask you to pay attention to the phrase within them, or in their inward parts, as in the King James Version. Most Christians do not understand what is meant by within them. For many years as a Christian I never heard a message or read something concerning the inward parts. It is only in the last few years that the Lord has guided us to pay attention to this term, which also appears in Psalm 51:6. In the new covenant God promises to put His law in our inward parts and write it in our hearts. In Jeremiah law is singular, not laws. Moreover, He first puts His law within us, and then He writes it upon our hearts. This is the order in this verse.
In Hebrews the apostle quoted this verse twice. The first time is in 8:10a, which says, “For this is the covenant which I will covenant with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will impart My laws into their mind.” We have to learn the way to study the Word. The best way to study is to compare related passages. Then we can see the differences, and by the differences we can know something deeper. In the quotation of Jeremiah 31:33, law becomes laws. Here there is no longer only one law. Something else also changes. Within them, or in their inward parts, becomes into their mind. By this we can realize that inward parts refers to the parts of the soul, because the mind is one part of the soul. There is no passage in the Bible that tells us what the parts of the soul are, but if we read the entire Scriptures and pay attention to this matter, we will find adequate proofs to confirm that within the soul there are at least three parts. The leading part is the mind, and there are also the emotion and the will. By comparing Hebrews 8:10 with Jeremiah 31:33, we realize that the inward parts are the parts of the soul, of which the mind is the leading part. Hebrews 8:10 continues, “And on their hearts I will inscribe them.” Them is plural, referring to the laws.
Hebrews 10:16 is the second quotation of Jeremiah 31. This verse says, “This is the covenant which I will covenant with them after those days, says the Lord: I will impart My laws upon their hearts, and upon their mind I will inscribe them.” There is a difference between Jeremiah 31, Hebrews 8, and Hebrews 10. I do not think the apostle made a mistake. There is a real purpose in his making a change. In Jeremiah there is the singular law, while in Hebrews there are the plural laws. This is the first difference. Then in Jeremiah there is the inward parts, while in Hebrews there is the mind. This is the second difference. Then even between the two quotations in Hebrews there are changes. In chapter eight the mind is first and then the heart, but in chapter ten the heart is first and then the mind.
However, there is one consistency in all three passages, in the original and in the two quotations. They all use put or impart first, and then they use write or inscribe. The King James Version uses the word write in Hebrews, but the Greek Interlinear version uses the word inscribe, and the Amplified Bible uses engrave in 8:10. Both inscribe and engrave mean something deeper than write. To engrave is to write by cutting or carving, and to inscribe is to cut in, to write not with an ink pen but with a knife. To put or impart, however, is very general. To put the law somewhere is general, but to inscribe it somewhere means much more. For me to put a composition on you is easy, but to inscribe it on you may require a whole year. Moreover, you must cooperate with the inscribing. Sometimes because you feel the pain you may stop cooperating, and I can do nothing. The writing is here, but I will not be able to inscribe it on you.
According to the lexicon, to put or impart means to give or to pass on. To impart His laws into our mind is to give His laws to us in our mind. After this giving, however, there is the need for engraving. To inscribe or engrave is much deeper than giving. This is why these passages refer first to imparting and then to inscribing.
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