2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Readers,
God is leading me to review some basic covenant principles to prepare us for a look at the crucial issue of oneness in covenant. We already revisited the Abrahamic covenant and the basics of the animal sacrifices that were germane to the old covenant previously. Today, we will briefly review the transition from the old covenant to the Covenant of Grace (new covenant). No mention of this subject would be complete without saying something about the refiner’s fire that each believer must go through in not only in making the decision to come to faith, but also in decisions along that way that further his maturity in that faith.
The metaphor of the process by which precious metals are extracted from ore is used in the Scriptures to describe the process of sanctification. Ore is a mixture of impurities and precious metal, each substance having its own melting point at which it can be extracted. That means that it must be subjected to several fires of increasing temperature to extract all the impurities, so that the precious metal can be exposed and retrieved. That is the way that God works in our lives, guiding us through challenges to our faith, which lead us to become more mature in our faith. Thus, we are being perfected and gradually brought closer to Him. The goal He has for us is joy and fellowship eternally with Him in heaven. What a blessing that goal is in our lives! He also, through the death of His Son on the cross, makes it possible for us to know that bliss eternally, being victorious as Christ was, over spiritual death. ZECH 13: 9 is a good example of this, “And I will test the third that survives and will purify them as silver is purified by fire. I will test them as gold is tested. Then they will pray to Me, and I will answer them. I will tell them that they are My people and they will confess that I am their God.” The importance of this message is made even more meaningful when it is put in its proper historical context. God, through Zechariah, is speaking at a time when the Jews were returning from seventy years of captivity in Babylonia and later Medo-Persia. He was referring to that one third remnant who will come to faith during the Tribulation, and He is reminding us that He has no intention of giving up on the Jewish people. God keeps His end of His covenant with us.
Zechariah’s penultimate position in the OT is interesting. Only the book of Malachi follows it in the OT. This is certainly an indication of the approach of the new covenant yet to come. Malachi confirms this with MAL 3: 1. “The Lord Almighty answers, ‘I will send My messenger to prepare the way for Me. then the Lord you are looking for will suddenly come to His Temple. The messenger you long to see will come and proclaim My covenant.” Those words almost sound as if they are a part of the NT, certainly akin to MT 3: 3 in which John the Baptist is quoting IS 40: 3, “Someone is shouting in the desert, ‘Prepare a road for the Lord; make a straight path for Him to travel!’” We learn from this that the arrival of John the Baptist to “prepare the way” for the coming of the Lord Jesus at the beginning of the Latter’s public ministry is no accident. It was prophesied as far back as Isaiah’s time, three hundred years before Christ’s birth. We also learn that a new covenant is going to be established from the one that had been in force during Zechariah’s and Malachi’s time. LK 7: 27, “For John [the Baptist] is the one of whom the Scripture [MAL 3: 1] says, ‘God said I will send My messenger ahead of you to open the way for you.’”
The hindsight of history lets us know that these prophecies are accurate and true. JN 1: 29, 36, “The next day John [the Baptist] saw Jesus coming to him, and said, ‘There is the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world!’…when he saw Jesus walking by, he said, ’There is the Lamb of God!’” Every prophesy about the Messiah given in the OT was fulfilled or will be by Jesus Christ. The statistical chances of that happening under ordinary circumstances is zero. Yet, He fulfilled them nevertheless, ample proof, in my mind at least, that God’s supernatural hand is all over this. What we read in MT 26: 17-29 about the Lord’s Last Supper is entirely consistent with every prophecy made about this. The importance to us of recognizing that our taking of the bread and wine represent the body and blood of Christ, the sealing of the Covenant of Grace to replace the old covenant making eternal forgiveness possible for believers should never be lost on us.
Since I couldn’t complete the entire review in today’s message, I will do so in tomorrow’s. Please meditate on what all of this means to each of us personally. We never waste time when we go to the Father in prayer and take the sacrament after examining our own lives. Our Source of forgiveness is eager to hear from us and eager to speak to us. Listen for Him and know that He loves each of us with a fervor beyond compare.
PRAYER: O Lord, You challenge us to review the wonderful teachings You have given us on the transition from the old covenant to the new one and to place them in their historical context for greater understanding. What a blessing this understanding gives us, so that we can begin to appreciate the great sacrifices You have made for us, not the least of which is Your Son on the cross! His blood shed for us seals the new covenant, making Him our Passover Lamb. No one teaching replacement theology, that foolish belief that You have given up on the Jews, tells the truth. Everyone one, Jew or Gentile, who has come to faith in Your Son will not only be saved, but will have Your active guidance and presence through the sometimes painful process of sanctification. You have given believers the gift of the Holy Spirit, the opportunity to turn from sin, and the hope of the resurrection out of Your profound love for each of us. In return, we humbly approach You today with our adoration, worship, loyalty, trust, obedience, reverence, glory, honor, praise, and thanks.
As we inch closer to a careful examination of the oneness of covenant, we will, as promised above, complete our review of the principles of the new covenant tomorrow. Bask in the warmth of the Messiah’s love and that of the Father. Know that they are eager for us to turn to them for guidance, protection, provision, encouragement, and love. These things will be delivered, that I know. With our faithful obedience, our lives are blessed abundantly as a result of the love of our Abba. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn