The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Deuteronomy 34:4,
"Then the Lord said to him [Moses], 'This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, "I will give it to your descendants." I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it.'"
At the end of Israel's forty year sojourn in the wilderness, just before they were to enter into the land promised Abraham's descendants, the Lord showed it to Moses. Moses was not allowed to enter into the land with Israel, but he did get a view of it from the Lord.
Why did the Lord give this land to Abraham's descendants? Why did he choose Abraham's descendants to be his own chosen people, a people he would do unique things through?
Paul speaks of the many unique things God did to and through Israel. The answer to the above questions are found within it. "Theirs [the people of Israel] is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen." Romans 9:4-5.
"Then the Lord said to him [Moses], 'This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, "I will give it to your descendants." I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it.'"
At the end of Israel's forty year sojourn in the wilderness, just before they were to enter into the land promised Abraham's descendants, the Lord showed it to Moses. Moses was not allowed to enter into the land with Israel, but he did get a view of it from the Lord.
Why did the Lord give this land to Abraham's descendants? Why did he choose Abraham's descendants to be his own chosen people, a people he would do unique things through?
Paul speaks of the many unique things God did to and through Israel. The answer to the above questions are found within it. "Theirs [the people of Israel] is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen." Romans 9:4-5.
The Lord had decided to redeem a people from all the nations of earth for himself. This he did before time began, knowing of mankind's fall in the Garden of Eden that would take place. Because of Adam's and Eve's rebellion, all mankind enters life as members of a lost and fallen race, separated from God and doomed to eternal death. It is this eternal death God decided to provide redemption from.
God determined to provide a substitute for us - to take on our punishment, on our behalf, that would free us to eternal life. He sent his Son, Jesus Christ, as that substitute to die on a cross. He determined that all who would choose him by embracing him in faith would be redeemed, his death being credited to our account in God's court.
Consequently, God needed a vehicle to bring his Son into the world. He needed a people to speak to all mankind through (the prophets who wrote the Scriptures) as well as to provide non verbal communication through to aid our understanding of what he was doing (Israel's religious calendar, temple worship, etc.). The history of Israel we read of in the Scriptures is the account of how the Lord developed this people to be what he wanted for when Jesus Christ was to come into the world two thousand years ago. Not a perfect people by any account, but perfect for God's redemptive purposes.
God found in Abraham the kind of faith he would require from all who want eternal life. Creating a nation from Abraham and giving them the promised land to develop their national identity fulfilled God's need of that vehicle for his plan of redemption.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
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Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
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