Abram’s faith in God to give a child to him and Sarai is
growing weak through the passage of time.
He isn’t rejecting God but has resigned himself to not having a child
according to the promise. The Lord goes
further than a promise by making this a covenant promise to Abram. The ceremonial aspects of the covenant would
be familiar to the original audience for this story. The animals would be killed and split in half
to form a walkway and this is called cutting the covenant. Both parties would pass between the pieces
and the understanding would be that if I fail to keep my obligations concerning
the covenant let it be to me as it is to these animals, death. Notice, however, that Abram is neither asked
to make a vow nor to pass through the pieces.
God makes the promise and also takes the covenant vow to perform under
the promise. Ponder what it means that Jesus
died on the cross for our sins in light of His divine/human nature.
Jesus does a miraculous healing of a man who had been
crippled for 38 years and then adds a twist to the healing that gets Him in
trouble with the Jewish leaders. He could
simply have healed the man but He didn’t, He also commanded the man to take up
his bed and walk. It would be quite an
accomplishment to walk, much less carry something after 38 years of disuse of
his legs. The problem is that the man is
now carrying a burden on the Sabbath which is against the restrictions to do no
work. The leaders surely recognized the
man as having been at the pool for nearly four decades but that isn’t what they
see, they only see a law-breaker and demand an explanation. The man passes the blame to Jesus who told
him to do this but he doesn’t even know who Jesus is until He returns and
instructs the man to refrain from sin lest something worse happen to him. What is the man’s reaction, to go and tell the
leaders exactly who healed him but the focus is that Jesus is the one who
caused him to sin. Wow! For the healing on the Sabbath they
persecuted Jesus, for his answer, “My Father is working until now, and I am
working”, they determined to kill him.
They couldn’t see the truth, that He is equal to the Father. It ain’t blasphemy if you can back it up.
The covenant is better because the sacrifice is better. The writer walks through the temple and
explains that the old covenant only gives access to earthly things but the new covenant
gives us access to heavenly things. The
old cannot perfect the conscience, it can only deal with outer things but the
new can deal with the inside of the cup, our souls, and can perfect us (not completely)
in Him. We have been given a new heart
and a new spirit. The former sacrifices
only deal with the flesh, Jesus’ sacrifice and the consequent giving of the
Spirit, enable us to go from dead works to true service because our hearts are
right, flesh and spirit reunited and working together for the glory of
God. The old covenant was a wonderful
thing but the new is far surpassing. He
has given His life that we might share His life.
Fear not, I am with
thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen and help thee, and cause thee to stand
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen and help thee, and cause thee to stand
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.
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