After long years of judgment in exile, God proclaims comfort for his people. He will bring them into the land of promise, he will lift their judgment, and he himself will come to them as a gentle shepherd gathering his flock. In the incarnation, God has come to his people in the Person of his Son—the one who calls himself the good shepherd and who lays his life down for the sheep.
Into a dark world, God brings a promise of light. Warfare will cease and joy will come. And the cause of this change...? The birth of a child who will sit on David's throne and rule eternally.
In a world of suffering and sadness, God gives his servant confidence that the Lord himself will come and stand upon the earth—and that his servants will see the Lord in resurrected bodies. Here is stunning gospel hope for a broken and dying world.
In a world of suffering and sadness, God gives his servant confidence that the Lord himself will come and stand upon the earth—and that his servants will see the Lord in resurrected bodies. Here is stunning gospel hope for a broken and dying world.
While rulers of the kingdoms of the world rage against the Lord and his rule, God places his King on the throne of his kingdom. The Lord promises blessing for all who take refuge in him. Jesus is God's true and universal King, and we must fear him, honour him, and seek refuge in him.
The covenant blessing of God does not spare God's people the experience of battling enemy forces, but it does guarantee their ultimate victory. Added to this, in a remarkable event (the encounter with Melchizedek) God adds renewed blessing, while pointing forward to the One who will fulfill the covenant promises in a day to come.
When Abram could not see the way forward for the fulfillment of the plans and purposes of God, the Lord reaffirmed the covenant and taught Abraham that he—the Lord—was his shield of protection and the substance and source of his reward. The promise-making and promise-keeping God is faithful and all-sufficient for his people.
As Abraham begins to enter into the blessings of God in terms of land and goods and people, we see a godly spirit of generosity come through (and perhaps we see the start of a contrast with Lot). The blessing of God is meant to make his people a blessing to others.
When Abram could not see the way forward for the fulfillment of the plans and purposes of God, the Lord reaffirmed the covenant and taught Abraham that he—the Lord—was his shield of protection and the substance and source of his reward. The promise-making and promise-keeping God is faithful and all-sufficient for his people.
Here is the foundational promise of God, fulfilled in Jesus and the gospel. It all comes from God and his initiative. Abraham is the recipient, as we are recipients in Christ. This blessing is meant to go to the world—and so our missionary mandate is found here. The folly of Abraham here reminds us that the blessing rests on grace and not merit.
