Remembering God’s Blessings

We need to prepare for our future by remembering our past.

Deuteronomy 1:1-5 These are the words that Moses spoke to all the people of Israel while they were in the wilderness east of the Jordan River. They were camped in the Jordan Valley near Suph, between Paran on one side and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Di-zahab on the other.

2 Normally it takes only eleven days to travel from Mount Sinai to Kadesh-barnea, going by way of Mount Seir. 3 But forty years after the Israelites left Egypt, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses addressed the people of Israel, telling them everything the LORD had commanded him to say. 4 This took place after he had defeated King Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon, and at Edrei had defeated King Og of Bashan, who ruled in Ashtaroth.

5 While the Israelites were in the land of Moab east of the Jordan River, Moses carefully explained the LORD's instructions as follows.

Deuteronomy 1:8 Look, I am giving all this land to you! Go in and occupy it, for it is the land the LORD swore to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to all their descendants.'"

In my previous post we saw that God brought the second generation of his chosen people back to the Plains of Moab. That's the place where the first generation did not have enough faith that God would take them safely to their promised new home.

Moses knows that his own time on earth is coming to an end, so he focuses on preparing the people for what lies ahead. He understands that this new generation was either small children or not yet born when God unleashed the plagues on Egypt, buried their enemies in the Red Sea, or when God spoke from the thunder of Mount Sinai. After all of those miracles, their parents still failed to trust and obey God, but we will also see that their children will be no better.

The wilderness years should have been a forty-year lesson in faith, passed from parent to child, but the parents failed their children. Instead, the older generation taught mainly by negative example, their children grew up seeing their parents complain, fear, rebellion, and unbelief instead of learning a deep trust in God.

After forty years of wandering, the people have learned almost nothing about themselves or their Creator. The book of Deuteronomy is Moses’ final effort to teach the new generation what they must know and do in order to enter the Promised Land successfully.

God brought them to the land twice.

Deuteronomy 1:26-27 "But you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God and refused to go in. You complained in your tents and said, 'The LORD must hate us. That's why he has brought us here from Egypt-to hand us over to the Amorites to be slaughtered.

The new generation must learn about God's love and what he has done for them to prove his love. They unfairly complained about God and swore that he must hate them and he must have brought them so far just to kill them. But the truth is, they have always been treated better than they deserved. As bad as they were God could not be convinced that he should curse them and he went out of his way to prevent Balaam from cursing them.

Moses wants to help them learn from the past to see that the evidence of God's love for his people and even though they can't win against the Canaanites, God still can. They can look to God who can or they can look at their lack of resources or the giants in the land and say "we can't."

God controls history and blesses his children.

Deuteronomy 2:7 For the LORD your God has blessed you in everything you have done. He has watched your every step through this great wilderness. During these forty years, the LORD your God has been with you, and you have lacked nothing."'

The new generation needed to learn that their circumstances were not a measure of God's love for them. For centuries, their circumstances have been marked by hardship and tragedy. 

Think about their past, before Egypt they endured famine. In Egypt, after a brief period of prosperity, they suffered under slavery. Then, in the wilderness, they faced conditions that were impossible to survive, but through it all God remained faithful, providing for them and keeping His promises.

Israel survived the wilderness only because God provided for them, they had a supernatural supply line that Egypt could not duplicate. Egypt had no such provision to rely on, and after the plagues and the loss of their military at the Red Sea, they were hurting severely. Egypt had already been weakened by God’s power so that the wilderness that looked like a curse to God's people was actually an incredible blessing

I wonder how God's people, who had done little but complain for forty years, reacted when Moses told them, "You have lacked nothing." If anyone was complaining at that moment, I bet they stopped!

God is able to defeat even the strongest enemies and giants.

Deuteronomy 3:21-22 "At that time I gave Joshua this charge: 'You have seen for yourself everything the LORD your God has done to these two kings. He will do the same to all the kingdoms on the west side of the Jordan. Do not be afraid of the nations there, for the LORD your God will fight for you.'

The same God that protected and provided for his people as they survived the impossible for forty years would also provide military strength for them to get rid of the Canaanites. 

It is remarkable that they could wage war at all, they didn't have raw materials and a plant to manufacture weapons, they didn't have food to send to the front line and they didn't have a mobile hospital unit to take care of wounded troops. 

But they didn't need logistics, they already survived for 40 years despite the lack of logistics. These former slaves without military training were supposed to have faith by now that the same God who brought them out would also bring them in.

It sounds silly to us but we do the very same thing.

Colossians 1:13-14 For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.

God's people are no different today. We have been rescued from slavery to the kingdom of darkness and are being led through our own wilderness—a place where God teaches, refines, and shapes us. Yet, like Israel, we are often quick to focus on what we lack instead of recognizing how faithfully God has cared for us. He has sustained us, taught us, and provided exactly what we need, yet we still grumble. 

Deuteronomy 4:20 Remember that the LORD rescued you from the iron-smelting furnace of Egypt in order to make you his very own people and his special possession, which is what you are today.

We need our own Moses today to teach us the same lesson. Despite being delivered from the bondage of sin, we often complain while living in blessings that previous generations could scarcely imagine. Our hearts can still be marked by unbelief and rebellion against our loving God, just as the writer of Hebrews warns: 

Hebrews 3:12 Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God.

God intentionally leads us through seasons where our own strength and resources are insufficient. The wilderness exposes our dependence on Him so that His power, faithfulness, and love become unmistakable. What seems unsustainable apart from God becomes the very place where He proves that He is enough.

The Blessing Is The Lord's

Will God keep his promise after 40 years of grumbling and disobedience?

Numbers 22:3-5 And when the people of Moab saw how many Israelites there were, they were terrified. 4 The king of Moab said to the elders of Midian, "This mob will devour everything in sight, like an ox devours grass in the field!"

So Balak, king of Moab, 5 sent messengers to call Balaam son of Beor, who was living in his native land of Pethor near the Euphrates River. His message said: "Look, a vast horde of people has arrived from Egypt. They cover the face of the earth and are threatening me.

After wondering around in the wilderness for decades, God's people are approaching the Promised Land again, but this time it is the grown children of the previous generation that God said would not enter. The first generation refused to trust God but the second generation seems to be doing better as God has given them success in battle against their enemies because they put their faith in his ability.

But their success brought about a new problem, the nations fear God's people and will do anything to protect themselves even when Israel didn't threaten any violence against them. As they approach the Promised Land the attacks begin with King Sihon, this win for Israel gave the Moabites their independence from King Sihon but instead of being thankful King Balak and his people were fearful that Israel would be their new captors.

Balak didn't know that God already told Israel not to attack Moab, his unfounded fear reminds me of Pharaoh's fear of God's people while they were living under his reign in Egypt. (Exodus 1:7-10) Satan used that unjustified fear to try to get rid of God's people once and he is about to use fear again to get rid of the threat that God's people would have a Messiah that would be the end of him.

The Ways Of God

The only way to defeat God's people is to reverse the blessing that God gave to Abraham and his descendants. But God has already confirmed the blessing with Abraham, Isaac and again with Jacob seven times and then he reconfirmed it again with his people at Mount Sinai so how could there be any doubt?

But there will always be doubt because the blessing is so amazing and God's people are so undeserving. This is the way we think today, shouldn't we have to do something? How could it be a gift that can never be taken away? How could such a blessing come to such a faithless and disobedient people without some strings attached? 

Is God Really For Them?

Exodus 19:5 Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me.

Didn't God say that if they obeyed him then they will be blessed? Perhaps Satan is hoping that God will take the promise back after the way God's people have behaved for the past 40 years in the wilderness. 

The covenant God made with Moses had an obedience clause (Exodus 19:1-6)

Just before the law was given at Mount Sinai, including the Ten Commandments, God promised that he would treat his people in accordance with the way that they treat him. In the covenant God made with the people through Moses it was clear that they would be blessed for following the rules and disobedience would bring punishment which could mean that he would hold back his blessings.

So this covenant was conditional, maybe Satan was hoping that this covenant was a good sign for him but the promise made to Abraham didn't have any of these terms.

The covenant God made with Abraham was unconditional Genesis 12:1-3)

God's people have disobeyed and complained about God so much that maybe Satan is counting on God's holy justice and wrath to overrule his mercy and grace. But when God made this covenant he knew how the people would be, he knew his people would fail to live up to his standards. 

God gave the covenant anyway even though the laws that he was going to give them in the future at Mount Sinai wouldn't be followed. God would hold back some blessings but their disobedience would not cancel out the blessing of the Promised Land.

Is The Blessing Still True

Moses reminds Israel multiple times that the Promised Land is due to God’s oath to the patriarchs, not because Israel did anything to deserve it. None of their bad behavior could cancel the promises to Abraham but they could delay the fulfillment of the promise.(Deuteronomy 6:10, 9:5, 29:13, 30:20)

It will seem like God has good reason to cancel it and Satan will make sure to accuse them but thankfully what Satan says about them and what they think about themselves is not what matters. 

The most important question for any of us is what does God think about us?

Excerpts from "John Darby Synopsis of the Bible" explains it so well:

It is of the highest interest to see the special character of this prophecy. It is God who, of His own will, interferes to take the part of His people against the enemy, and that even without their knowing it, or asking for it.

The people know nothing about it; they are perhaps still murmuring in their tents against the ways of God with them. It is God declaring His own thoughts and confounding the malice of Satan.

He can see no iniquity in the redeemed people. How could He see any in those who are washed in the blood of the Lamb?

It is amazing that God's people were so unfaithful, Satan comes along to point out this fact by accusing them like he accused Job, but once again God wins the debate with Satan in the life of his children in the wilderness wonderings just as he did before in the life of Job.

New Testament Fulfillment & Final Confirmation

The New Testament shows us that God's unconditional promise is partially fulfilled with the arrival of Jesus. (Luke 1:68–73, Hebrews 6:13–18) And they knew that it was fulfilled in spite of their imperfections. Just look at what Paul wrote in his letter to the Galatians:

Galatians 3:17-18 This is what I am trying to say: The agreement God made with Abraham could not be canceled 430 years later when God gave the law to Moses. God would be breaking his promise. 18 For if the inheritance could be received by keeping the law, then it would not be the result of accepting God's promise. But God graciously gave it to Abraham as a promise.

The promise was made to bless us even though God knew the law that was given later would not be fulfilled. Man hasn't changed, we are all guilty still today for not fulfilling the law but thankfully God is also the same today and he will complete the fulfillment of his blessing despite what we do.

Galatians 2:16 Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.

I must strive to obey God's rules even though I will never come anywhere close to the command to be holy as he is holy but thankfully my performance doesn't terminate the promise. (Matthew 5:48 // 1 Peter 1:16)

God could not and would not revoke his blessing to his people no matter how bad they have been on the short trip across the wilderness that turned into 40 years. The wilderness experience shows me that God is willing to give grace and mercy that cannot be lost.

Balaam could not prophecy or give a curse against God's people way back in the Old Testament and despite his efforts God is still for his people and he will see them through to the Promised Land.

The great promise of eternity with him is still good!

God's Appointed Times - A Weekly Sabbath

The first event on God's calendar.

Leviticus 23:3 "You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of complete rest, an official day for holy assembly. It is the LORD's Sabbath day, and it must be observed wherever you live.

Genesis 2:1-4 So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed. 

2 On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation. 

4 This is the account of the creation of the heavens and the earth. When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,

Deuteronomy 5:12 "Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you.

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In the beginning God created, day after day he didn't stop creating until his work was perfectly completed, then he rested. But don't get the idea that he was tired and needed to re-energize as a result of his labor, his rest was a result of the fact that creation was 100% perfectly finished. (Psalm 121:3-4)

Thankfully God is always working and never gets tired, if he stopped sustaining his creation then everything would fall apart. When we spend time creating something we will eventually need to spend time restoring our energy level but that's not true of God. I have to wonder if work was tiring for Adam and Eve before sin entered our world.

God introduces the idea of resting right after he completed the work of creation but we don't have any evidence that God told man to rest one day out of seven until after the exodus from Egypt. 

God knew that we would be dissatisfied with our work. 

Contentment will always be a struggle for us, no matter how hard we try we will execute our plans and never produce the exact outcome that we were striving for. We can look back on our work and see the imperfections staring back at us and we will have to say that it is good enough.

God knew that we would use work for evil:

• We work to gain God's favor
• We work to gain favor with the people around us
• We work so that we can feel good about ourselves

God knew that we would need to change our focus.

Ezekiel 20:20 And keep my Sabbath days holy, for they are a sign to remind you that I am the LORD your God.' 

We need to turn our eyes upon God and put more effort into knowing and enjoying him instead of the achievements that our work gets us. God wants us to want him more than the blessings that we can gain from our daily grind. 

I need to make sure that I keep my treasure in proper perspective, my time and abilities are from God so therefore everything I produce also comes from him. All of my flawed outcomes are made possible because God gave me the time and ability to make my treasure.

God wants me to rest from earthly labor and he also wants me to rest from my attempts to earn my salvation. The Sabbath helps me remember that I cannot produce holiness in myself, I will only be good enough when I put my faith in Jesus work instead of my own.

God gives us rest for today and for eternity.

Matthew 11:28-29 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

This is the one gift that nobody will return because everybody can use some more of the gift of rest. When Jesus came into our world his people were in a very desperate state of mind, the country had been invaded for hundreds of years by various political leaders, some of them invaded the temple and stole anything valuable while others broke the temple rules, desecrated and defiled the place. 

Even the religious leaders made the burden of the people even worse as the turned the Sabbath into a legalistic nightmare. The religious leaders sought to so narrowly define the rules of the Sabbath to the point that nobody could really enjoy the day. It got so bad that every other day of the week was far more enjoyable and restful than the Sabbath.

Hebrews 4:1-2 God's promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it. 2 For this good news-that God has prepared this rest-has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did them no good because they didn't share the faith of those who listened to God.

God is still looking for people that will rest in him. People that will trust his love and care enough to have peace with him for this life and for eternity. I can look forward to eternal rest and enjoyment in God’s presence in the new place that he is preparing for me. (Isaiah 26:19, John 14:1-4, Revelation 14:13)

Thank you Lord for the gift of rest. I need to realize that my work will never be perfectly complete as your work of creation was. I will be tempted to keep working but it will never be fulfilling. Help me to focus on you and your work in my life.

RELATED ARTICLES

Resting on the Sabbath and Unpacking Its Treasures (firmisrael.org)

What Is the Sabbath in the Bible and Should Christians Observe It? (bibleproject.com)

How is Jesus our Sabbath Rest? (gotquestions.org)

Redeemed To Be God's People

God's people are at God's mountain to begin a new relationship with him.

Exodus 19:3-5,8 Then Moses climbed the mountain to appear before God. The LORD called to him from the mountain and said, “Give these instructions to the family of Jacob; announce it to the descendants of Israel: 

4 ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians. You know how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. 6 And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.’ This is the message you must give to the people of Israel.”

8 And all the people responded together, “We will do everything the LORD has commanded.” So Moses brought the people’s answer back to the LORD.

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So far the theme of Exodus has been the salvation of God's people, the first eighteen chapters shows us how God redeemed his people from the kingdom of darkness, and now it is time for his redeemed people to learn how to live for him.

God wants to transform his people from a bunch of beaten down former slaves into a Godly nation that will appreciate his blessings enough to worship him and show his goodness to the rest of the world.

Instead of the forced obedience at the hands of their harsh taskmasters in Egypt they needed to learn how to please their redeemer voluntarily. At Mount Sinai, God will make a new covenant that will replace the covenant made to Abraham.

You have seen and you know (Exodus 19:4)

God has done some amazing things to fulfill the promises that he made and to show his people that he loves them. 

They know that the promises made hundreds of years ago to Abraham came true. They know that he just released them from bondage and wiped out their enemy when they crossed the sea on dry ground and they know that God has provided for their physical needs out in the wilderness when there wasn't any natural resources.

God brought them to the place where he predicted, before they left Egypt, that they would come to worship him. (Exodus 3:12) God was true to his word every step of the way despite the attitude of his people.

If you will obey me (Exodus 19:5)

They have an amazing future ahead of them if they get it right, God's people will be here at the mountain for the next eleven months learning about him and how to please him, but with all of this close contact with God they will still struggle to trust and obey.

God's people will act like they are not, they will rebel against all that they have learned about him and behave just like the rest of the world, even with the huge miracles that God performed on their behalf.

You will be my special treasure (Exodus 19:5)

God reminds his people of how special they are, the whole earth belongs to him and he could have chosen anything, any place or anybody to be his most prized treasure. But you don't get to be God's people without having a relationship with him and you can't have a relationship with him if you are not pleasing to him.

As God promised Abraham, they have been blessed to be a blessing, their experience with God will be the main revelation of God to the world at that time. If they live by God's rules they will be a holy nation of priest that will be a testimony to the nations of God's goodness and his desire to redeem the entire world just as he redeemed Israel.

We will do everything the LORD has commanded

God's people agree to his covenant, they are officially God's children, as a nation anyway but individually they would each have to put it into practice daily, this is a personal decision they all had to decide for themselves.

We usually look at God's law as a burden but it is celebrated in the Bible, obeying God's law was seen as a source of delight and a blessing, (Psalm 19 and 119) the people enthusiastically committed to obey without complaining. But Moses knew that as good as it seemed at the moment they would fail to keep the the law just like all of us. (Deuteronomy 28:47-48, 31:29)

Moses was the mediator between God and his people, a mediator with many flaws, but thankfully Moses was a type for the perfect mediator that will came. 

1 Peter 2:5 And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. 

1 Peter 2:9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

The ultimate redeemer and mediator has brought us into a place of great privilege, we are called to be holy priest that display God's goodness, but too many of us are living as disobedient children. 

We can be so far short of God's standards that the world has a warped view of God and how to spend eternity with him. If God is truly good then it should be easy to show it so that others will agree upon his goodness and want to get in on what you have. We must remember that we have not been blessed so that we can hide the blessings. 

God's blessings to me are to be used to glorify him and to bless the world around me. I need to live to please him so that the world can see how satisfying life is when it is lived according to God's rules. My life should be as a priest that shows God to the world and lets them know how to live with him for eternity.

Redeemed And Learning To Trust God

The wilderness will teach us to trust God on the way to our promised land.

Exodus 15:13 “With your unfailing love you lead the people you have redeemed. In your might, you guide them to your sacred home."

Exodus 16:7-10 In the morning you will see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your complaints, which are against him, not against us. What have we done that you should complain about us?” 8 Then Moses added, “The LORD will give you meat to eat in the evening and bread to satisfy you in the morning, for he has heard all your complaints against him. What have we done? Yes, your complaints are against the LORD, not against us.”

9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Announce this to the entire community of Israel: ‘Present yourselves before the LORD, for he has heard your complaining.’” 10 And as Aaron spoke to the whole community of Israel, they looked out toward the wilderness. There they could see the awesome glory of the LORD in the cloud.

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We recently learned that God's people went from the highest most joyful situation to the most extreme low. One moment the redeemed were rejoicing that they were out of Egypt and the next moment they are regretting that they left. It didn't take long for their memories of the past to look good compared to what they were dealing with at the moment.

God's main goal and purpose for our life is not what we focus on, he doesn't worry about how to provide for our physical necessities, we have the worst time trying to see that God is working and he usually has a good purpose behind our trials.

God was not surprised by any of these circumstances that his people encountered in the wilderness, he showed his power through the plagues and the release of his people from Egypt, he brought thousands of people across the sea on dry ground and had the sea swallow their enemy. 

Despite all of this, there are still questions about God's faithfulness, he should be trusted to continue to help them in the place that he has brought them, but his people have a long way to go in their spiritual journey. This section of the book of Exodus shows us five things that God does to teach us to trust him more. 

How does God provide for our journey home?

1. God test us

God will put you through test to show you what he already knows about you. He already knows what the spiritual MRI is going to show about your heart, he knows about the attitudes, the unbelief and the lack of faith, the test results are for your benefit.

Don't waste the opportunities when you are in the school of faith. It is important that you learn from your test so that you may avoid a retake. When his people grumbled for water the second time they didn't realize that it was a retake and they had failed the test again. (Exodus 15:22-27, 17:1-7)

2. God gives us daily bread 

The sweet bread from Heaven was a foretaste of what they could have when they get to the land of milk and honey. You would think that the promised future that they were reminded of would help them get through the wilderness experience with more finesse.

Having enough to eat today should have helped them trust God with their empty pantries every night. God's rule's stated that they were only allowed to have food in the pantry on the night before the Sabbath, on this one night the food would be preserved for the next day instead of spoiling. (Exodus 16:1-36)

3. God treats us better than we deserve

Praise God that we get what we don't deserve and we don't get what we do deserve! God's goodness to lowly, self righteous, prideful humans is extremely way beyond what we deserve!

The lack of trust started way back in the Garden of Eden and it hasn't gotten any better. It goes against our nature to trust God so each generation has to learn the same lessons that the previous struggled with.

4. God fights for us

The force that God used against their enemies was a foretaste of what he will do when they get to the Promised Land. God will give them victories against mighty forces that they shouldn't to able to defeat without his power. (Exodus 17:8-16, Exodus 14:13)

Anything or any person that weakens your trust in God is your enemy. If it fights against your ability to trust in God and find satisfaction in him then it is pulling you away from him toward something inferior. 

5. God gives wisdom 

An entire nation of selfish people were going to have their share of problems as they make their way to the Promised Land. A multitude of wise counselors would need to help them get along with each other along the way.

Without the wise advise of Jethro, Moses would have burned out and wouldn't have been able to minister to God's people. God's leader was taking on more things, even good things, than he could deal with on a long term basis. (Exodus 18:13-27)

We are too prone to engrave our trials in marble and write our blessings in sand.

-Charles Spurgeon

God knows that his people need to learn to trust him on their way to the Promised Land so that they will trust him in the Promised Land for the new challenges they will face there. They would be so much better off when they arrive at the Jordan River if they would have learned to trust God before they got there.

Looking ahead in the story we know that God's people suffered extreme consequences because they didn't trust him to help them take possession of the land. It's a lesson that God's people still have difficulty with today.

Psalm 95:8-9 The LORD says, “Don’t harden your hearts as Israel did at Meribah, as they did at Massah in the wilderness. For there your ancestors tested and tried my patience, even though they saw everything I did.

Since God has redeemed us and brought us out of slavery to sin we should know that he will provide for us completely until he takes us home. We are concerned more about our daily bread but God wants to focus on growing our trust in him.

Help me Lord to focus on the awesome things that you have done for me and your promises for my future. You gave me an abundant amount of evidence in my past to prove that I should trust you completely until I am home in eternity with you.

RELATED ARTICLES

Raining Bread from Heaven (bible.org)

Where's My Promised Land

God's children are still waiting for a better country.

Video: TobyMac "Promised Land"

Head down as I punch this clock

The hours roll, they never stop

And I can't ever seem to get ahead

Always tryin' to do what's right

Straight and narrow, it's gettin' tight

Don't know how much longer I can stand

And I'm wonderin'

Yeah, I'm wonderin'

Where's my promised land?

Out here on this desert road

It's hot as fire but I've grown cold

Circlin' like a plane that never lands

And even though the questions change

The answers always stay the same

Maybe someday I will understand

Well, I've run this Earth for many years

If there's one thing I know

There's nowhere on this side o' Heaven

Where streets are made o' gold

I've long laid tell my grand illusions

Lookin' toward the day that I'll be home

I won't give up on this race

Broken but I still have faith

That this old life is all part of a plan

And I can feel it in my soul

One day, I'll stand before the throne

With nothin' left but hope and these two hands

Through all these seasons

I'm still believin'

You're my promised land

In all my grievin'

I'm still believin'

You're my promised land

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God's people want to see results and when it doesn't appear that God is at work we get discouraged. A lot of the time we fail to realize that God's timeline is much bigger than the span of our lifetime. Generations of God's people have lived and died crying out to God to see his plan come to pass without any indication that he had listened to their prayers.

Hebrews 11:13,16 All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. 16 But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

God's people have been saved and sent out to show the world the glory of God. We are called to live in enemy territory to be ambassadors for our new homeland. This world will resist us as it did God's people on the way to Canaan, the route to the Promised Land is long and hard, but the promise is still true.

Perfect Gifts: A Promise

The promise of Christmas is an example of God's faithfulness.

Romans 1:1-4  This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News. 2 God promised this Good News long ago through His prophets in the holy Scriptures.

 3 The Good News is about His Son. In His earthly life He was born into King David's family line, 4 and He was shown to be the Son of God when He was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord.

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We have all made a promise that we knew when we made it that we wouldn't even try to keep it sometimes we have our fingers crossed when we say it as if that is a mute button that gets rid of the promise. Our promises and our decision to keep them tell a little bit about who we are. One of the ways that we can learn more about God is to study his promises made and his record for keeping his promises.

Paul said in the book of Romans that he was sent out with the good news that God had promised long ago. God fulfilled hundreds of promises when Jesus came into our world. If you take the time to study God's record for keeping promises you will find that you should be able to believe that he is actively involved with our world and that he cares for you.

Since God kept his promise to send his son the first time we should be expecting him to send him back to us. And if he is coming back then you should be concerned about your relationship with him when he returns.

John 14:3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.

Christmas at its best is a glimpse of something that is still on the way. The beautiful decorations, the angelic music and the tastiest food give us great pleasure but it is nothing compared to what is on the way for God's children.

Every child of god should be anxious for the promise that some day we will live forever with our Savior and we will know perfect love, peace and joy that will never end.

Serving God Despite The Opposition

God's people will have opposition from many different sources.

Exodus 4:31 Then the people of Israel were convinced that the LORD had sent Moses and Aaron. When they heard that the LORD was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.

Exodus 5:3-5 But Aaron and Moses persisted. “The God of the Hebrews has met with us,” they declared. “So let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness so we can offer sacrifices to the LORD our God. If we don’t, he will kill us with a plague or with the sword.” 

4 Pharaoh replied, “Moses and Aaron, why are you distracting the people from their tasks? Get back to work! 5 Look, there are many of your people in the land, and you are stopping them from their work.”

We found out in my previous post that the unqualified get called by God into ministry that is way over their head. We learned through Moses that a lack of skill or specialized training seems to be what God is looking for in the people that serve him.

It must have been a great relief to Moses when he returned to Egypt and the people of Israel were convinced that he is on a mission from God to help his people. They seem to be thrilled that out of nowhere, after God's promise seems to be on the edge of failure, God finally sends a rescuer to put an end to their suffering in Egypt.

Wouldn't it be great if ministry was always this easy? Isn't it a beautiful thing when God sends a leader, the leader goes to God's people and the people agree to their leadership and their program that the leader wants to implement. So far their isn't any opposition and all is well but Moses hasn't been to see Pharaoh yet.

Suddenly the Israelites situation has gone from bad to worse, Pharaoh decided that he had been too easy on the Israelites by providing them with the materials that they needed to make bricks, so for now on they had to produce the same quota of bricks without any help getting the material they needed to make them.

Exodus 4:21  And the LORD told Moses, “When you arrive back in Egypt, go to Pharaoh and perform all the miracles I have empowered you to do. But I will harden his heart so he will refuse to let the people go.

The blame game started up immediately despite the fact that they were so sure of God's plans and God already told they wouldn't be released and allowed to go until God steps in and forces Pharaoh to let them go.

God's people don't like opposition and they are quick to let their God appointed leaders know about it. It is a shame that God's people treat their leaders this way but it may be worse that the leaders run back to God and complain to him when God already warned them there would be opposition to his work.

Exodus 5:22-23 Then Moses went back to the LORD and protested, "Why have you brought all this trouble on your own people, Lord? Why did you send me? 23 Ever since I came to Pharaoh as your spokesman, he has been even more brutal to your people. And you have done nothing to rescue them!"

We should expect that difficult days are going to come our way when we are serving God. When we are God's friend and we are being used in ministry then we are an enemy to Satan and he will start working overtime to oppose us.

Satan is already actively opposing God's plan to bring the Messiah to the world to redeem his people. The chances of the Lion of the tribe of Judah surviving all of the opposition to God's purpose and his people are extremely small but that's just how God works.

God allows his promises to come to the edge of failure for a purpose, God's people have to wait until there isn't any human ability to accomplish God's promises so that God is the only one that can get credit for making them happen. God knows that we will try to steal his glory if there is any way to explain away his miracles.

When God's people are doing what he ask them to do they should expect opposition from the world and also from God's other children that don't understand how he is working. We know that the world has a great reason to oppose you but Satan will convince some of your church friends to also go against you.

Serving God requires that we remember:

• How strong and how desperate our enemy is.
• The helpless, desperate condition of the people that you are serving.
• Your own weakness and inability for the task.

We must rely on God's strength and his timing in order to accomplish his work.

Promise Keeping God

God's promises are sure in the most difficult situations.

Exodus 1:5-8 In all, Jacob had seventy descendants in Egypt, including Joseph, who was already there. 6 In time, Joseph and all of his brothers died, ending that entire generation. 

7 But their descendants, the Israelites, had many children and grandchildren. In fact, they multiplied so greatly that they became extremely powerful and filled the land. 8 Eventually, a new king came to power in Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph or what he had done.

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The last few chapters of the book of Genesis seem like a story where the good guy and his family are rescued and you might think that they all live happily ever after. But if you keep on reading your Bible you will see in the very next book that this idea couldn't be further from the truth. 

It looks like God is blessing his people as they settle down in Egypt, they have political favor, the Egyptians are thankful for the contribution that Joseph has made to their country, they are living in the best part of the country, have plenty of food and they are making plenty of babies. What could go wrong?

It didn't take very long before they lost favor politically and then it was all down hill from there. The memory of the goodness of God to Egypt through Joseph eventually faded away and the good times and blessings that God's people enjoyed in Egypt had all disappeared. 

God's people will soon learn that when our lives are full of comfort and we feel like we are blessed with the things that the world has to offer it can make us willing to settle for lesser blessings when God is attempting to move us up to his best.

That's where Satan wants God's people to live, just short of the full promises of God, he doesn't want them to enjoy all of God's promises that he made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The pleasures and comforts of Egypt were a sure way for God's people to be okay with living short of their full potential.

Genesis 3:15 And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.

The promises of God have been attacked by Satan since the original promise back in Genesis 3:15. Throughout the rest of Genesis there was always opposition to the promise but it became worse after God committed himself to one person's descendants, after God chose Abraham's family to be his people, Satan knew where to focus his efforts. In the book of Exodus we see the attack continue.

As soon as God's people multiply enough to become a great nation they become persecuted. But Pharaoh doesn't realize who is in charge and he certainly doesn't believe that his actions are being used for God's purposes. Pharaoh doesn't know that he is going to be used by God to accomplish God's promises to his people.

As life in Egypt becomes uncomfortable the people will long for God's promised land where they would be delivered from their oppression. As we study the book of Exodus we will see that their wait will last for hundreds of years without a word from God. 

What if you waited your whole life for God to do something? What if your children and grandchildren passed away and God still hasn't spoken and things continue to get worse? It reminds me the words of the prophet in my post "Why Doesn't God Do Something?":

Habakkuk 1:2 How long, O LORD, must I call for help? But you do not listen! “Violence is everywhere!” I cry, but you do not come to save. 

More often that we want, God's people must wait for him to keep his promises in his timing and through the means that he wants to use. It has been 400 years since God promised Abraham that his descendants would inherit the land of Canaan and it would be 80 more years until Moses led them out of Egypt. But after all of that they still wouldn't get to the land on the express route.

We want God to work on our timetable, the only time we like God to be slow is when we want him to be "slow to anger" when we sin. It is very difficult for those of us that are stuck in a finite world to deal with the perceived slowness of an infinite God. From our point of view, his promises seem to be failing in so many different areas that we begin to lose hope.

Psalms 33:10-12  The LORD frustrates the plans of the nations and thwarts all their schemes.  11  But the LORD’s plans stand firm forever; his intentions can never be shaken.  12  What joy for the nation whose God is the LORD, whose people he has chosen as his inheritance.

Satan has used circumstances, things and people (even Godly people) throughout the ages in a failed attempt to outdo God. A famine, an evil government and the false gods of Egypt will not be enough to stop our promise keeping God. God's people that were stuck in Egypt could count on the covenant promises that God made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

We have no reason to doubt the promises of God for our future as well. God's word is very clear that he is in charge, he has a plan and his plan will not fail despite all of Satan's efforts.

Hebrews 10:23,35 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 35 So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you!

Since God protected his promise to redeem us by protecting the lineage of our Savior, I can be sure that he will also come again to take me to my eternal home.

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God Promises His People

Jacob receives the promises of God without working for them.

Genesis 28:3-4 May God Almighty bless you and give you many children. And may your descendants multiply and become many nations! 4 May God pass on to you and your descendants the blessings he promised to Abraham. May you own this land where you are now living as a foreigner, for God gave this land to Abraham.”

Romans 9:10-12 This son was our ancestor Isaac. When he married Rebekah, she gave birth to twins. 11 But before they were born, before they had done anything good or bad, she received a message from God. (This message shows that God chooses people according to his own purposes; 12 he calls people, but not according to their good or bad works.) She was told, “Your older son will serve your younger son.”

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In the previous post we saw how an entire family was working outside of the will of God. Isaac and Esau conspired together to go against God but Rebekah and Jacob were also outside of God's will even though they were trying to accomplish God's will. They really thought that they needed to help God and protect his interest even if it meant sinning.

Because of all of this deception the family became even more dysfunctional than it already was. As a result of all of these sinners actions, Jacob would have to leave everything behind even though he received the blessing and would be the heir of God's promises.

But before Jacob leaves home his father Isaac willingly reaffirms the blessing to Jacob without the deceit that happened the first time around. Validating the authenticity of the blessing will be helpful to Jacob when he begins to be confronted by guilt and doubts start to creep in.

Despite the wrongs that were done to get the blessing God's plans would not be changed. God said that Jacob would be the heir of the covenant that he made with Abraham and nothing that man can do will change that. Jacob hadn't done anything to be chosen and he didn't do anything that would make God change his mind. 

The conflict between our rotten sin nature and God's holy grace lives on in God's story with mankind. Jacob proves that he isn't the hero of the story that deserves the blessing any more than his brother or his forefathers did but he receives it anyway.

Genesis 28:12-13 As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway. 13 At the top of the stairway stood the LORD, and he said, “I am the LORD, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants.

After Isaac confirmed that Jacob was the chosen son, Jacob gets another confirmation that would be much more impressive. God restated the covenant that he made with Abraham and Isaac while Jacob slept. Jacob found out that resting in God's grace and mercy is much better than striving to accomplish his will by working it out in the flesh.

God made all three provisions of the original promise to Jacob: the land, descendants who will be like the dust of the earth, and that all the families of the earth would be blessed through his descendants.

Jacob learned that the gateway to Heaven cannot be approached by our good works and determination. Jesus told us the same thing, he saw people all around him that were striving to get to God by grit and determination, he taught them over and over again that you can't get yourself to heaven.

John 1:49-51  Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!”  50  Jesus asked him, “Do you believe this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.”

51  Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth.”

In Jacob's dream Jesus was up in Heaven at the top of the ladder that God provided but now Jesus has come to earth to be our access to Heaven. Jesus told his audience everyday that he is the straight and narrow way that we must use to get to Heaven. (John 3:16, 5:18, 10:9, 14:6)

Jesus wasn't all talk, his claims were validated by his extraordinary abilities, he saw Nathanael under the fig tree and he sees each of us. Jesus miracles proved his identity so that we will know that he has the authority to tell us how to get to heaven. We are saved only by resting in His Word and His work on our behalf. 

Thank you God that you provided us access to Heaven that mankind has been struggling to achieve. Help me to rest in you and in the promises that you have made. (Isaiah 64:6, Titus 3:5)

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The Promised Son Fails

The heir of the promise didn't do anything to deserve God's blessings.

Genesis 26:1-3  A severe famine now struck the land, as had happened before in Abraham’s time. So Isaac moved to Gerar, where Abimelech, king of the Philistines, lived.  2  The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt, but do as I tell you.  3  Live here as a foreigner in this land, and I will be with you and bless you. I hereby confirm that I will give all these lands to you and your descendants, just as I solemnly promised Abraham, your father.

Genesis 26:10  “How could you do this to us?” Abimelech exclaimed. “One of my people might easily have taken your wife and slept with her, and you would have made us guilty of great sin.”

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It seems that God really wants us to know that we don't do anything to deserve his promises. Looking at the life of Abraham and Isaac we learn that the school of faith is never closed and  the test keep coming until the Lord takes us home.

Right after the death of his father, Isaac received confirmation from God that he was next in line for the promises and he would have his favor but it didn't take long to prove that he isn't any better qualified for those promises than his father was.

Struggling to Trust in God’s Promises: Isaac Lies about Rebekah 

(Genesis 26:1-17)

• Isaac didn't go to Egypt but he still had problems with his ungodly peers that brought him a lot of fear and grief.
• Just like Abraham, Isaac feared for his life because of his beautiful wife and he repeated his father's lie. 
• Abraham and Isaac were both reprimanded by ungodly men for their sin and it seems like neither of them repented.
• Sometimes God's people seem less like their father than the people around them.

Struggling to Live with Sinful Men: Isaac Quarrels with the Men of Gerar 

(Genesis 26:18-25)

• Isaac was well known by the elites of his day but not well liked by them. Sometimes God's blessings will bring hate and resentment from the people around us that don't have the blessings.
• Isaac's neighbors didn't tell him to his face to get out of town but they did make it impossible to stay. Isaac kept the peace and moved on each time there was a dispute. 
• To Isaac these wells were a necessity for survival, but to the Philistines these were a claim to the land and a means to support his growing household and livestock.
• Isaac may not have realized it but it was the disputes over the ownership of the wells he dug or reopened that served to guide him in the direction of the land of promise.

Struggling to Recognize the Sovereignty of God: Isaac Makes a Covenant with Abimelech 

(Genesis 26:26-33)

• God came through greatly on his promise to prosper Isaac if he resisted the urge to move to Egypt to get away from the famine.
• Abraham and Isaac both offended Abimelech and they were both approached later to make a treaty with him.
• Maybe Abimelech wanted God's favor and blessings and he thought that he could get it by becoming Isaac's friend.
• Isaac had nothing to gain by making the covenant with Abimelech. Isaac already learned that his safety and his prosperity came from God and not the king.

God's covenant with Abraham was passed on to another undeserving sinner that had many flaws. Thankfully God's covenant was an unconditional one that did not rely on the faithfulness and good works of Abraham, Isaac or any of us.

Galatians 3:2-3, 9  Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ.  3  How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?

9  So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith.

Thankfully the new covenant that Jesus offers (Luke 22:19-20) is also given freely without needing to deserve it. God's blessings and care for us is based on what the ultimate promised son (Jesus) did for us instead of what I have or have not done. God's promise of redemption that he made way back in Genesis is still good no matter how bad mankind has become and how little we deserve them.

Thank you Lord for the new covenant with the better high priest that paid the final sacrifice for every sin for those that believe in him. (Hebrews 8:1-13)

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My Promised Future

Waiting for the promised son and the promised land.

Genesis 15:6 And Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD counted him as righteous because of his faith.

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God has been at work in Abram's life but, as we saw in the previous post, even though Abram experienced great success in life it wasn't enough to keep him from fear and discouragement. Abram needed to put his focus back on the promises so God came to remind him that he is Abram's shield and reward.

It was naturally easy for Abram to doubt, so far God seems to be doing nothing to come through on his promises for land or for a son, Abram is in a rush to get to the fulfillment of the promise.

God knows that Abram, just like all of us, one of the reasons we get discouraged so easily is because we live by the clock and we try to get God to do the same. The world makes promises to us and they make good on the promises the same day or within a minute but God doesn't usually work that way, he doesn't care about same day delivery or minute rice.

The Promised Son Is Delayed

God assures Abram that the promise for a son is still good but the doubts keep growing as the biological clock keeps ticking. Maybe God isn't paying attention to the details, he might not realize that Sarah is already infertile, God needs to do something before Abram is also unable to reproduce.

Soon the anxious couple will decide to give God some help to make God's plans come to pass. (Genesis 16:1-2) They had a promise from God but they still felt the desperation and disappointment that most childless couples feel. They couldn't see that God was waiting until there was no way that they could produce a child on their own so that he would get the glory for a miracle baby.

The Promised Land Is Delayed

If Abram thought he had to wait too long for the promised son to become a reality that was nothing compared to the amount of time that would pass before the promised land would become a reality. There are so many things that must happen before God allows Abram's descendants to take the land so God gave Abram a glimpse of the long range plan so that he could have peace despite the fact that he couldn't see an progress being made.

God uses a dramatic ceremony that was common in that time to help ease Abram's doubts. Typically, both covenant partners would walk between the pieces of the sacrificed animal but this time God was obligating himself to fulfill his promise without any requirements from Abram.

Genesis 17:6,18-19 I will make you extremely fruitful. Your descendants will become many nations, and kings will be among them!

18 So Abraham said to God, “May Ishmael live under your special blessing!” 19 But God replied, “No—Sarah, your wife, will give birth to a son for you. You will name him Isaac, and I will confirm my covenant with him and his descendants as an everlasting covenant.

The delay continued and God would come to assure Abram that his promise was still good. (Genesis 17:1-22) Abram didn't know that we don't graduate from the school of faith until God takes us home and he didn't have any idea that he would be in a best selling book as an example for us.

Abram's journey of faith shows me that it is okay to have doubts and questions when it looks like God isn't doing anything that he promised. We need to realize that most of God's people didn't get to see a lot of progress in the fulfillment of God's promises.

Abram's journey of faith shows me that God's promises are received by grace without works. I am saved not by making promises to God but by the promises of God that he made to me. God didn't accept the son born to Abram through works, the son that God accepted was the promised son that came through a miracle pregnancy, the impossible son that would later become the sacrificed son. (Genesis 22:1-19)

God's people didn't realize that the promised son and the promised land was a preview of something much bigger and better. God only partially fulfilled his promises through the Jewish people, they didn't know about the new promise that would come, they didn't realize the promises would be expanded to every nation, tribe and tongue from around the world.

Philippians 3:20 But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.

God's people are still waiting for the ultimate fulfillment of the promised son and the promised land. The promised son came once to pay the penalty for our sin so that when he returns we will be able to enjoy the promised land with him for eternity.

The world will make promises to you and a lot of the time they will come through on those promises right away but we need to be patient enough to wait for the best promises. We need to be careful to not be content with these temporary promises and miss the eternal joy that God's promises bring.

Opposition To God's Promise

The Bible assures us that God's promise cannot be stopped.

Genesis 3:15  And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.

Hebrews 2:14  Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death.

1 John 3:8  But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil.

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First the good news: the end of Satan is coming despite his best efforts to stop it from happening but the bad news is that he is still very much at work despite the fact that he is sure to fail.

Ever since his rebellion Satan has been actively plotting against God, first he lashed out at us because we are God's most prized creation and then he immediately started working against God's plan to redeem us.

It is amazing that even the chief of all the evil angels is no more than a created being under the authority of God. Satan and the evil angels who follow him can do their evil work only within the limits that God allows.

We see a lot of injustice in the Bible as a result of sin but just recently I have come to realize that a lot of tragic events that happened in the Bible were probably a result of Satan fighting against the coming of the promised Messiah that would undo his work.

The Promise Opposed 

At first Satan didn't know who to focus on, the Messiah could have come from anyone's ancestors, but after God committed himself to one person's descendants they became the focus of Satan's hostility and they would need to be protected.

• Evil Cain needed a Godly brother and then he needed another brother because he got rid of the first one.
• Noah's family needed to be rescued from the quick spread of sin because they were the last Godly people on the planet.
• All of the descendants of Shem (Noah's son) that led to Terah (the father of Abraham) were probably attacked by Satam in order to 
• Abram was God's chosen but after he arrived in Canaan he kept on traveling without a word from God. He went to Egypt and unwittingly allowed his wife to become part of Pharaoh’s harem which would keep Abram from having the promised son.
• Jacob had to be protected from Esau and from Laban (Genesis 27:41, 31:29)
• Pharaoh ordered all male Hebrew infants to be murdered and later be attempted to destroy Israel when they were backed up against the Red Sea with nowhere to go.
• The lineage of King David had to be protected as Israel went to war over and over again to claim the Promised Land.
• The Assyrian and the Babylonian armies killed so many Jews that they could have wiped out anyone of King David's ancestors that would lead to Jesus.
• When Haman attempted to destroy all the Jews throughout the Persian Empire he probably didn't know he was working for Satan.
• In the New Testament it is easy to see that Satan was attempting to stop the promise when Herod killed all of the babies or when he tempted Jesus to sin.

The Promise Guaranteed

In each of these examples it appears that God’s promise would certainly fail only to have God intervene and protect his promise. No matter what Satan does it cannot change the ultimate end of world history found in Revelation.

Satan has used circumstances, things and people (even Godly people) throughout the ages in a failed attempt to outdo God.

Psalms 33:10-12  The LORD frustrates the plans of the nations and thwarts all their schemes.  11  But the LORD’s plans stand firm forever; his intentions can never be shaken.  12  What joy for the nation whose God is the LORD, whose people he has chosen as his inheritance. Acts 5:38-39  “So my advice is, leave these men alone. Let them go. If they are planning and doing these things merely on their own, it will soon be overthrown.  39  But if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God!” Hebrews 6:17  God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind.

Thankfully we have God's word to keep us from being without hope from all of the evil around us. God's word is very clear that he is in charge, he has a plan and his plan will not fail despite all of Satan's efforts.

Since God protected his promise to redeem us by protecting the people that were a part of the lineage of our Savior I can be sure that God's plan and his promises will come to pass. God will continue to work out his plan to destroy the work of the Devil, just as surely as our Savior came to redeem us, I know that he will also come again to take us to our eternal home.

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Quit Making The Bible About You

His name isn't mentioned in the Old Testament but it is all about Jesus.

Video: What The Bible Is Basically About

Hebrews 1:1-3 Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. 2 And now in these final days, He has spoken to us through His Son.

God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son He created the universe. 3 The Son radiates God's own glory and expresses the very character of God, and He sustains everything by the mighty power of His command.

When He had cleansed us from our sins, He sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.

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The Bible is God's story revealing himself to us so that he can know him. Thankfully God's desire is to be known, from the beginning in the garden he revealed himself when he could have stayed obscure and mysterious if he had wanted, but that would be incredibly sad for us.

God inspired men to write his story and protect it from evil forces that would love to destroy it. Think about how many thousands of years old the earliest scrolls are and how many opportunities Satan has had to get rid of it, there were evil kings that ruled Israel without any fear of God and there were the kings of other countries that invaded Israel, Satan would have loved for those ancient manuscripts to be gone.

The Bible is God's love story and Jesus is the main focus of the story, from Genesis to Revelation, because he is the greatest display of God's love. I found two extensive list online of the ways that Jesus is revealed in the Old Testament and how Jesus is portrayed in each book of the Old Testament:

It all starts with Adam, God created Adam perfect without sin, just as Jesus is without sin, but Adam sinned, and through him sin entered the world. God tells Adam and Eve someday their great-great-great-great…. grandson will save the world from sin.  He will crush the snake, and death will be conquered.

Abel showed us Jesus because he died blameless for someone else’s sin, just as Jesus died blameless for our sins.  But Abel’s death cannot save us.

God sent Abraham away from a loving father into a dark world to act as a light to the rest of the world.  God sent Jesus to act as a light to a dark and sinful world to show them the way back to God.

Isaac was a willing sacrifice on that altar, fully believing his father that all would be well.  Jesus was a willing sacrifice for us on the cross, knowing His death paid the price once and for all for our sins.

Jacob shows us how far God will go to pursue a lost sheep.  Just like the story of the prodigal son, Jacob was brought home to God.

Because of the sins of his brothers Joseph was handed over into slavery, but because of their actions Joseph was able to save his family in Egypt.  Jesus was handed over to death by lies and half truths, but because of his death and resurrection we are saved from sin.

In Exodus we find the story of the Passover Lamb, and Christ is the sacrificial Lamb given for us.

Moses was called out of 40 years of wilderness to lead his people to freedom from slavery to Egypt.  Jesus was called out of 40 days of wilderness to lead his people into freedom from slavery to sin.

In Leviticus we read of the high priests making sacrifices for the people, and Christ has become our High Priest, making the perfect sacrifice to atone for our sins.

In Deuteronomy Moses prophesied of a prophet who would come that would be greater than Himself. Jesus is that Great Prophet.

In the book of Joshua, Joshua met the Captain of the Lord's host. That man is Jesus Christ.

In Judges, the leaders were judges who delivered God's people, each of them typifying the Lord Jesus.

Ruth was rescued from poverty by her bridegroom Boaz.  The church was rescued from their poverty of sin by its bridegroom Jesus.

Samson shows the folly of trying to do it all yourself.  We can do many of the right things, but without the light of the world we cannot truly follow God.

In 2 Samuel when the king is being enthroned, the entire scene is descriptive of the Lord Jesus.

The books of Kings speak of the glory of God filling the temple and the Chronicles describe the glorious coming king, both referring to Jesus, the King of Kings.

Saul looked like the perfect king.  He was handsome, he was tall, he was strong, but he did not follow God and ultimately was a weak king because of it.  Jesus did not look like a king, he was common, he was a carpenter, but he is the True King.

A true king, one that pursued God and loved him with all his heart, king David pointed his people to God.  Jesus was both man and God and lived a perfect life. Jesus is the perfect king of all.

Solomon shows us the folly of a church not daily relying on God.  He followed God for a while, but his house was built on his own wisdom, not God’s and at the end of his reign it was washed away.

Ezra depicts Jesus as the Lord of our fathers. Job says clearly that the Redeemer is coming! Esther offers a picture of Christ interceding for His people. Christ appears time after time in the Psalms, including when David describes Him as "the Shepherd."

All the kings of Northern Israel show us what life without God is like.  It’s painful, there are lies, murder, blasphemy, and more hurt.  In the end a world without God falls, and the kingdom of Israel fell.

Hezekiah became king after many who had not followed God.  He wanted to bring Israel back to God, and did.  Jesus wanted to bring Israel back to God, and there were many Pharisees telling him it could not be done.  But ultimately Jesus brought the world to God.

Jonah ran from God, which Jesus never did, but then Jonah sat in the belly of a big fish for 3 days, and preached the words of redemption just like Jesus.  Jesus was dead and in a grave for 3 days, and resurrected to preach the words of life to the world.

Isaiah was given a vision of heaven and what Jesus will come to do.  He tells of Jesus birth, and his eventual death and resurrection.

God called Hosea to love and marry a woman who did not love him, he stayed a faithful bridegroom, though his bride was not faithful.  Jesus too has married a faithless wife, the church.  Though we wander far from His love at times, Jesus will always stay faithful.

Josiah became king as a young boy.  He followed God from a young age, just as Jesus showed us in Luke that He followed hard after God from a young age.

In Daniel we see Jesus ruling and triumphant.  We do not see Jesus the sacrificial lamb, we see Jesus coming at the end to punish and to reward.  He rules eternal and forever.

Jeremiah the weeping prophet shows us a Jesus who cries for the world’s sins.  Jeremiah cries for the fate of Jerusalem, a city he loves and knows will be destroyed.  Jesus hundreds of years later cries for Jerusalem as He looks at a city caught in sin and bound for judgment if they do not repent.

Ezekiel gave us Jesus’ favorite title, the Son of Man.  Over and over God calls Ezekiel “Son of Man,” and Jesus called himself “Son of Man.”

Joel describes Him as the Hope of His people. Amos tells us that Jesus is the judge of all nations. Obadiah warns of the coming eternal kingdom.

Jonah offers a picture of Jesus being dead for three days, then coming back to life to preach repentance.

Zephaniah says that He will be the king over Israel. Zachariah is the prophet who speaks of Jesus riding on a colt. Malachi is the one who calls Him the Son of Righteousness.

Without the Bible we would have no hope of really knowing God, he would be a distant and mysterious being, thanks to scripture we have a lot of information about God and his character. Without the Bible we would not know that our lives have meaning and purpose much greater than ourselves. We would not know love or the reality of eternal life.

Now that there are so many copies of the Bible and it has been copied into so many languages, instead of destroying the Bible, Satan's new strategy is to get us to neglect reading it and to doubt it's message when we do read it.

Satan will ask you, "Did God really say that?" We need to be "digging the word" so that we will know for sure what God said.

Thank you Lord for protecting your story and allowing us to read it and learn about you. I don't want to neglect Bible study because it is the best revelation of who you are and why I am here.

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