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Many biblical scholars consider Jeremiah 31:31–34 to be the most important passage in the book of Jeremiah and believe that it contains the deepest insights in the whole of the Old Testament. This passage speaks of a “New Covenant” in the Old Testament. The prophet says that the Lord God will write His law on the heart of the individual. The text gives us a clear picture regarding the fulfillment of the covenant in the believer in Jesus Christ and of His covenant with Israel.”

In the Old Testament, the theme covenant plays an important role. The Hebrew word that is used for covenant in the Old Testament is ברית which means a contract or agreement between God and his people. Covenant can also mean a formalized relationship between two persons or groups or between God and his created world. It can also mean to agree (with); to enter into a formal agreement; to grant or promise by covenant. The idea is to remain in mutual commitment which paradoxically recognized both the initiative of God in the arrangement and insisted on the reality and necessity of human choice as well. According to a covenant treaty, there is a demand to preserve a commitment from the people. The term covenant can be conditional or unconditional.

Significance of the Covenants in the Bible

Adamic           –          Creator

Noahic            –          Sign of protection

Abrahamic     –          Blessing of the nation

Mosaic            –          Deliverer / liberator

Davidic           –          Monarchic period

The Need for a New Covenant

The significance of the covenant that we find in the prophets is that they walked closely with God, knowing the mind of God and declared God’s will to their contemporaries according to their own historical context. The message has its impact in the present, sometimes continuing into the immediate future. Those reading a prophetic message later in history could discern its significance in their lives and consider it to be as if spoken for their sake. Prophets were not foretellers, but forth-tellers. They were people called by God to speak on God’s behalf. God’s servants the prophets are the guardians and the interpreters of the covenant stipulations (laws), the will of God for the people of God in God’s world. True prophets share the pathos of God and they are constantly attentive to the thoughts, words, and deeds revealed in the cosmic realm. They frequently call back people who have become apostates, who reject God’s kingship or leadership in their lives.

The need for a ‘New Covenant’ is to change the inner nature of human beings that they may be able to obey God’s law or commandments. It is God who changes the desires of the heart. In verse 33, “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”, He will write His “law” within their hearts. It will be on their minds and will influence their actions/life style. Moses’ old covenant was written on a slab of stone (Exodus 31:18; 34:28–29; Deuteronomy 4:13; 5:22). What was needed was a covenant written in their hearts, a change from inside to the outside of depraved sinful man. Man’s sinful, rebellious nature demands a radical change that only God can accomplish.

The Covenant and the Prophets

In the prophetic books, we read that the nation came under the judgement of God when the people completely ignored the Mosaic covenant and did not follow God’s commands. In such situations, the prophets strongly condemned the priests, kings, and people for their disobedience to the Mosaic covenant, especially under the rule of the Davidic kingdom. Therefore the prophets insisted that the priests did not know the law (Hosea 4:6, Jeremiah 2:8). The prophets warned Israel of impending consequences because of their breach of the covenant. During the monarchical period, the prophets kept alive the idea of covenant, and their warnings and preaching was essentially a reminder to Israel of its failure to keep the covenant.

Thus prophets were indeed concerned with the covenant, even though they avoided the use of the word. And they demanded absolute fidelity to Yahweh and his commandments, they warned the Israelites, and they made them aware of God’s promises. Therefore the function of the prophets is to warn Israel about the consequences if they break the covenant and condemn them for that but encourage them to keep the covenant. The keeping of the covenant would bring blessings; if not kept, it would be followed by curses. Since the people of Israel could not keep the covenant law as it is too difficult for them, therefore Prophet Jeremiah talks about the ‘new covenant’ to help the people of Israel understands their relationship with God. Thus, Jeremiah spoke about a “New Covenant” which would be written in the hearts of people.

The Lord promises the success of the new covenant and God takes the initiative to renew the covenant. In contrast to “thou shalt not”/”thou shalt,” found in the Mosaic Covenant, instead “I will put,” “I will write,” “I will forgive” are the words found in the ‘New Covenant’. It is God who changed the covenant actor from the second person to the first person, by taking initiative to help the people of Israel to renew their hearts as they could not keep the law of the old covenant. The new covenant is a demonstration of God pursuing the guilty sinner until he/she comes with a repentant heart to the Lord and finds a ransom from self. The new covenant is a covenant of sovereign grace. It accomplished what the law and the old covenant could never do.

This new covenant law clearly speaks about the paradigm shift of God’s grace from rejection to acceptance, which is sheer God’s grace for the Israelites and also for all humankinds. It is the duty of the individual to keep the covenant, and God will continue to provide the Holy Spirit to carry it out. The new covenant is an intimate personal relationship with God. The passage clearly teaches us that every individual must have their own experience with their God to be included in this covenant, cf. John 3:1-16. The new covenant is for eternity; it cannot be broken again. The text reminds us about the nation turning to the Messiah. This includes all Israel, not only the chosen individuals; the salvation of the Lord is for all. The prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah and also the Apostle Paul see the final and eternal restoration of Israel (Isaiah 59:20f; Jeremiah 31:33; Romans 11:25–26).

Jeremiah 31:33–34 is an accurate description of the new covenant under which the true Christian lives. It encourages the Christian to have communion with God and helps us to walk with the Holy Spirit. Theologically, a covenant is to show people how God communicates and acts accordingly. Through this ‘New Covenant’, God helps us to remain in communion with God to live a life in all its fullness in and through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Rev. Dr. N. Subramani,

Associate Translation Director and Translation Consultant,

The Bible Society of India

The Sourashtra Bible was dedicated to the glory of God on 1st May 2022 at Madurai, Tamilnadu State. On the dedication day (1st May 2022), the meeting began with the auspicious presence of Rt. Rev. Dr. M. Joseph, Bishop of CSI Madurai Diocese and huge number of Sourashtra believers and families. It was amazing to see how people were waiting to receive the Word of God in their heart language. The Sourashtra Bible is a great joint venture between the Bible Society and Indian Bible Translators. We all are happy and praise God for the Bible dedication which brought many Sourashtra people to glorify God. The crowd was excited and praised God in the Bible dedication and there was huge praises and glory to God for the Bible in their heart language. The entire group expressed their thanks to BSI for bringing out such a beautiful Bible in Sourashtra language.

The efforts of BSI were very much appreciated on the dedication day for all their support and help rendered through the process. The Sourashtra Bible translation took about 15 years to complete. The Sourashtra community had their origin in Gujarat State that had migrated to different parts of South India. The community who settled in Tamilnadu state merged their language with Tamil language; hence they have a distinctive language. This Sourashtra Bible is a Tamil script based with the Sourashtra language. The dedication of this Bible was held with the presence and blessings of Rev. Dr. N. Subramani, Associate Director, Translation Department of the Bible Society of India.

The Annual Thanksgiving Service of the Dimapur Auxiliary and other programmes in the month of April 23 to 25 was very eventful and fruitful. Dr. Hrangthan Chhungi, the Associate Director, Department of Church, Public Relations and Resource Mobilisation was the Speaker for the Thanksgiving programmes on the Saturday 23th evening and Sunday 24^th whole day.  The active participation of the hosting Church, Christian Revival Church of Itanagar Branch and other branches such as Tangsa, Wancho, Naharlagun and Hanagar; Kohima Branch, Churachantpur Branch and the Dimapur Branch were highly encouraging. The hospitality and the enthusiasm of the hosting branch that was newly formed in the year 2021 are greatly appreciated and commendable.

The participation and leadership of the Auxiliary Committee members such as Rev. Dr. N. Paphino, President, Rev Tenga Seb, Treasurer, Mr. Those Krahoh, Rev. Tar Choya, Rev. Tai Ete, Rev Vanmawia under the leadership of Rev. Dr. Yiepetso Wezah, the Auxiliary Secretary is a good indication of the strong support the Dimapur Auxiliary is having across the branches of the Dimapur Auxiliary. The Kohima Branch received the Certificate of Acknowledgement as the highest contribution, followed by the Churachandpur Branch, then the Itanagar Branch. The Volunteer Certificate was also awarded to Mr. Lhokishe Shohe for 10 years of untiring dedication for mobilizing fund for the ministry of the Bible Society of India.

There is a high demand of Bibles in the State of Arunachal Pradesh in many of their native languages. As of now, there are 24 major tribes speaking 24 different languages. Out of these 24 different languages spoken in this State, Bible is available only with 4 languages. This is a great challenge for the people of Arunachal Pradesh and for the Bible Society of India in our translation work too. As they have expressed their eagerness to have Bible in many more heart languages of the State, let us continue to uphold the growth of the BSI works in the State of Arunachal Pradesh so that many more native people can have Bible in their own heart languages soon in the days to come.

The Installation Service of the newly appointed Auxiliary Secretary of BSI Kerala Auxiliary, Rev. Jacob Antony Koodathinkal was held on 1^st May 2022 at CSI Christ Cathedral Church, Melukavu. The BSI President & CNI Moderator, Most Rev. Dr. P. C. Singh led the Divine Service and delivered God’s message. Bishop P. C. Singh said that it is our dedicated willingness to God’s call matters most. Whoever is willing to respond to God’s call; for them He will give grace and strength to serve His people. The BSI Kerala Auxiliary President, Most Rev. Dr. Yuhanon Mar Chrysostomos Metropolitan, Rt. Rev. V. S. Francis (Bishop, CSI East Kerala Diocese), Rt. Rev. Dr. K. J. Samuel (former BSI President & former CNI Moderator), Rt. Rev. Dr. K. G. Daniel (Bishop Emeritus, CSI East Kerala Diocese), Rev. Dr. M. Mani Chacko (General Secretary, BSI), Rev. Biju Joseph (Clergy Secretary, CSI East Kerala Diocese), Rev. P. C. Mathewkutty (Treasurer, CSI East Kerala Diocese), Rev. Mathew Skariah (former BSI Kerala Auxiliary Secretary), Mr. Jacob John (Treasurer, BSI Kerala Auxiliary), Dr. Josemon George (Secretary, BSI Melukavumattom Branch) spoke on the Occasion.

Rev. Jacob Antony Koodathinkal in his response message, said that he is taking over the responsibility as the Auxiliary Secretary relying on God’s strength and wisdom. “It’s not my ability, but I am available to do His work”, he added. The Installation Service was blessed with the presence and prayers of many priests and lay members of CSI East Kerala Diocese, Kerala Auxiliary Committee members & Staff and other invitees.

The Induction Ceremony of the new Auxiliary Secretary took place on 2^nd May at the Bible House, Kottayam in the presence of BSI General Secretary, Rev. Dr. M. Mani Chacko. The General Secretary spoke from the Word based on the text John 3:30, that says “He must increase, but I must decrease” with a message of Christian leadership, which is both a collective and servant leadership. The BSI Kerala Auxiliary Committee members & Staff welcomed the new Auxiliary Secretary and promised their co-operation and guidance. The Auxiliary Secretary shared his testimony and thanked all the members for their love and support.

On May 4, 2022 at 4:00 p.m. the Bible Society of India Central Office, The Book Room and the Karnataka Auxiliary had a Thanksgiving and Farewell function for one of our staff Mrs. Ankamma on her retirement day after serving the Bible Society of India for 39 long years. Mrs. Joyce Pallat and Mr. Daniel from the Marketing Department had given remarkable farewell speeches. Two of them talked about their fond acquaintances with Mrs. Ankamma as a woman of kind, caring and loving nature. She served the BSI with thankful heart and always with a smile on her face. She had fulfilled the works that were entrusted upon her in the office with dignity and joy. The extra miles she walked in visiting colleagues when they were in the hospital bed with food and prayers was greatly appreciated by those who had experienced her love and concern. On her response to the farewell speeches, she exclaimed with tears of joy from her heart, saying “I cannot express my thankfulness to the Bible Society of India for your kindness and love, you taught me many good stories about the Love of God that are found in the Bible. The money I had collected in a Collection Box is for the ministry of the Bible Society of India” She then presented a  neatly wrapped Collection Box to the General Secretary of the BSI with tears of gratitude.

The progamme was beautifully anchored by Mrs. Gladys Loganathan. The BSI Choir rendered a beautiful pre-recorded song for Mrs. Ankamma. Mrs. Ankamma was presented cheques, shawls and beautiful citation as a mark of gratitude from the Bible Society of India.

The Ao Naga Audio Bible was released on April 10, 2022 at the Dimapur Ao Baptist Church, Dimapur, Nagaland. The program was well attended by the members of the Church and the Ao Baptist Church Association Leaders. The release program began with a word of prayer by the Senior Pastor Rev. Wati Jamir. A brief report on the project was shared by Mr. Apok Jamir the then Secretary, Literature and Education, ABAM, this was followed by greetings from Rev. Dr Yipesto Wezah, Auxiliary Secretary of Dimapur Auxiliary, the Bible Society of India. The release of the Ao Naga Audio Bible was graced by Rev. Dr. W. Along Jamir, Director, Translation, The Bible Society of India. The message was delivered by Rev. Dr. Mar Pongen, the Executive Secretary of ABAM. Closing prayer and benediction was offered by Rev. Dr N. Tzudir, former Senior Pastor of DABA.

The Ao New Testament was released in 1929 and the complete Bible in 1964. The release of the Ao Naga Audio Bible adds a new accomplishment for the Ao Naga people in availing the Word of God. Special mention of appreciation and thanks were made by the leaders from the Ao Baptist Church Association to the Bible Society of India for all the support and making the Audio Bible project possible.

Sourashtra Bible Release and Dedication Service

Installation & Induction Service of the new Auxiliary Secretary, Kerala Auxiliary

Rev. Jacob Antony Koodathinkal on 1^st May and on 2^nd May, 2022.

Thanksgiving andFarewell to Mrs. Ankamma,

BSI Marketing Department Staff

United Bible Society Day of Prayer

First day of April 2022 is a special day for the BSI organization as we were waiting for a long time to implement the upgraded, updated and integrated Enterprise Resource Planning into our system. The beginning of Financial year 2022-23 was dedicated for the full implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning ODOO to the BSI operations.

A short Thanksgiving program was arranged to praise and thank God for all the good things God has done to the ministry of BSI. This full implementation of ERP is possible only because of God’s providence, leading and blessing all our efforts.

We greatly appreciate the visionary leadership of our General Secretary Rev. Dr. M. Mani Chacko to implement the best of the systems to BSI operations. And this is the historical moment of transforming to a new operating system for the efficient functions of BSI.

We also recognize the efforts and support of all the ERP Committee Members Mr. Philip Prabhakar, Mrs. Jolly Thomas, Mr. Tinku George and Mr. Paul Stephen, the convener for ERP implementation. The encouragement and support of the Senior Management, Heads of Departments, Auxiliary Secretaries, staff working on ERP in the Central Office as well as Auxiliaries are well recognized.

Under the guidance and support from the ERP Committee, a few modules of ODOO were implemented from April 2021. The implementation initially began with Sales, POS, Inventory, Receipts, and later other modules of accounting were introduced.

To implement and configure the BSI operations, Technical support from Odoo experts and consultants were taken. Mr. Webster, Marketing staff was entrusted as a single point of contact with the technical team. We recognize and appreciate the untiring efforts of Mr. Webster in taking up this responsibility. Interaction with respective stakeholders and developers for effective implementation were planned and executed. Training the users across BSI Departments and Auxiliaries, managers and team leaders were done in the past one year. We appreciate the excitement and enthusiasm shown by the staff/users in trying to learn, adapt and master the modules on which they work. Now we are happy to inform you that the ERP is fully implemented for BSI operations from the beginning of the Financial year 2022-23 i.e., 1^st April 2022.

The ERP is an effective tool to be used on real time and to improve the effectiveness of the BSI operations, reducing duplication of efforts, minimizing the complexity of work across Central Office and 17 Auxiliaries, following the ever changing Indian Statutory compliances such as FCRA rules, Income Tax rules, Commercial Taxes, etc.

The Department of Church, Public Relations and Resource Mobilisation held multiple programmes with Tamil Nadu Auxiliary, Calcutta Auxiliary, Northern Zone Auxiliaries such as Jabalpur, Allahabad and North West India.

WITH THE TAMIL NADU AUXILIARY:

On March 5^th 2022 a programme was conducted for Women and Youth in Nagercoil Town at Concordia Seminary, India Evangelical Lutheran Church campus for a training programme on ‘Church Relations and Resource Mobilisation’ with 120 participants. We are so grateful to the volunteers including staff and students of Concordia Seminary, local Pastors and Branch Leaders who also fully participated in the programme.

On March 6^th 2022, Bible Sunday was conducted in Tuticorin Town at six churches of the Church of South India. The response of the congregation members in these churches was remarkable. The commitment of the Tutikorin BSI Branch leaders, the volunteer-resource persons and the Staff of BSI was praiseworthy.

On March 7^th 2022, programme was conducted for the Visually Challenged People in Erode town. 24 Braille Bibles and 5 Audio-Tamil Bibles were presented to selected visually challenged persons in the presence of 30 visually challenged persons and 20 people who had donated for the Braille Bibles from the BSI Erode Branch. The talk from all the resource persons and melodious singing by the visually challenged persons gave us the satisfaction and the joy of giving for those who are vulnerable. May God continue to bless the ministry of the Bible Society of India as the agent for transformation of life especially for the visually challenged community and the faithful donors for Braille Bibles and Audio Bible.

We are truly grateful to BSI Tamil Nadu Auxiliary Sr. Secretary Rev. Moses Devadason, and BSI Staff Rev. D. Manogar, Mr. J. Suresh Kumar, Volunteers Resource persons – such as Rev. Dr. B.J. Premiah, Mr. D. Davis Martin, Mr. V. Premkumar and all the Branch leaders in Nagercoil, Tuticurin and Erode for their commitment to the Bible cause.

WITH CALCUTTA AUXILIARY:

On March 23 to 28, 2022, the CPRRMD conducted a very meaningful programme with the Calcutta Auxiliary. On 24^th and 25^th March, 2022 we had two significant events pertaining to Church, Public Relations and Resource Mobilisation mandate such as Church Leaders and Auxiliary Committee Meet and The Cohort Initiative Programme (an initiative of special fundraising programme) where the Auxiliary Staff, Auxiliary Committee Members, Clergies from the Catholic, CNI, Baptist, AG, Methodist, Independent Churches, and Christian Business Entrepreneurs, Institutional heads and BSI well wishers and friends came together. The sharing and fellowship of these two days were very encouraging, where some of our participants were exposed to the ministry of the Bible Society for the first time and had made very promising commitment in our conventional and Cohort fundraising activities and continue to journey with us for the Bible cause in bringing the Bible closer to people and people closer to Bible for transformation of lives.

Church Leaders and Auxiliary Committee Meet and The Cohort Initiative Programme

On 26^th March 2022 we had a very important programme of opening of BSI Haldia Branch at Haldia industrial town. The programme was started with Project Implementation for the Poor Widows and Suffering Women by gifting Bibles to100 women from around 10 different churches in Haldia town for their spiritual growth and meditation on the Cross in a time when the Churches are observing Lenten season. On 27^th March we had Bible Sunday in different Churches with many new believers. The two days spent in Haldia were an eye opener for the BSI team to learn how the Bible lovers, irrespective of their social economic condition are eager to be part of the family of BSI and give their best for the Bible cause.

Various individuals were nominated and appointed as committee member of the branch. The newly BSI Haldia Branch Leaders are as follows:
i. Rev. Bapi Gorai (Presbyter Incharge, Haldia Presbyterian Church) was proposed and appointed as President for the Haldia Branch.
ii. Rev. Sital Ch. Samanta (Presbyter Incharge, Tamluk Emmanuel Baptist Church) was proposed and appointed as Vice President for the Haldia Branch.
iii. Rev. Abhijit Shome (Presbyter Incharge, Assembly of God Church, Haldia) was proposed and appointed as Secretary for the Haldia Branch.
iv. Ps. Anup Rana (Presbyter Incharge, Marquis Church, Geaonkhali Area) was proposed and appointed as Treasurer for the Haldia Branch.

It was on 23^rd March, we had a very meaningful time of interaction with the BSI Calcutta Auxiliary staff at a round table, sharing our experiences as staff of the BSI, the journey and commitment that we have. We also had a very fruitful time of understanding the CPRRMD mandate and the important part which the Calcutta Auxiliary is playing in fulfilling the many responsibilities given to the Auxiliary under the leadership of the Auxiliary Secretary Rev. Philip Bari.

On the evening of the 23^rd March we had a very meaningful Scripture Engagement programme with the Kolkatta City Slum Dwellers at Madar Tala Basti also known as “Caddiebasti”, as a good number of men are caddies for the two golf clubs that are nearby. The slum houses a little over 200 families and the area is densely populated. The women do cleaning or house work and the children attend local schools with much difficulty. In a very small house church hut we have gathered around 60 people, the commitment of the Christian community in this area is encouraging as they worship in this place on Sundays and some other time for Bible study engaging themselves with the Word of God. For all those who had received the Bengali and Hindi Bibles were so thankful to God and the ministry of the BSI as for them it was the first copy of the Bible to have as their own.    

The leadership of Rev. Philip Bari, Auxiliary Secretary, Calcutta Auxiliary and the team work of the staff, the support from the Auxiliary Committee members, Branch leaders, Pastors, Mary Jones Women Fellowship, Churches, Volunteers, Well Wishers and Donors are greatly commendable and appreciated.

TRAUMA HEALING WORKSHOP CONDUCTED IN JAIPUR ON MARCH 28 TO APRIL 1, 2022.

The Department of Church, Public Relations & Resource Mobilisation successfully conducted the initial Equipping Session of the Trauma Healing Workshop comprising BSI Northwest India, Allahabad and Jabalpur Auxiliaries in Gyan Deepa Pastoral Centre, Jaipur, Rajasthan.

There were 28 participants including BSI staff and volunteers.  We envisioned a healthy and vibrant community where anyone who is traumatized receives healing, support and attention they need to fully recover and reach their highest potential through the Lord Jesus Christ and God’s Word.

Core lessons like: “If God loves us, why do we suffer?” “What is the wound of the heart?” “Addictions” “Domestic Abuse” were dealt with during the sessions.  The participants were blessed and are now equipped to practice healing groups in their own context.

We are thankful to God for God’s protection and providence.

Every year March 8^th is observed as International Women’s Day to celebrate women’s rights and to inspire people to act for gender equality. The theme for 2022 is “Break-the-Bias”, which highlights the importance of challenging the gender biases in the interest of creating a more inclusive and gender-equal society across the globe. 

By following a very meaningful Order of Worship specially prepared by the BSI Ranchi Auxiliary for the International Women’s Day, the BSI Offices at the Central Office and in all the 17 Auxiliaries observed this day meaningfully throughout India. We pray that this special day of observance will have meaning in our ministry to ‘break-the-Bias’ in all walks of life.