The promise of God is that if they break covenant,
particularly with respect to going after other gods and failing to give the
land its Sabbath rest, He will become the worst enemy they could possibly
imagine. They are certainly warned of
His jealousy and the vengeance He will take against those who are in covenant
with Him and yet fail to walk in His ways.
If, however, they will repent, the covenant will be restored. It is not the sacrifices that will restore
the covenant, it is repentant hearts, those who will confess wickedness and
return to the Lord. You can see this in
the reaction of the people in the book of Nehemiah when they hear the law for
the first time in their generation, they weep and mourn over not only their
sins but the sins of their ancestors, just as Nehemiah did in the beginning of
the book. God has promised this same
thing always to His covenant people, see 2 Chronicles 7 for the dedication of
the temple and Solomon’s prayer concerning this very matter.
Jesus points to the Christ, the anointed one of God, the
Messiah, and asks from whence He comes.
The people believe that this one is the son of David. Indeed Messiah will come from the line of
David and will bear a likeness to the great king, but His throne is from
everlasting and indeed David recognizes Him as Lord. In Jewish thinking the older generation
certainly did not refer to succeeding generations as superior to
themselves. The patriarchs were venerated
because of their antiquity above anything that comes after because those are
their children, not their lords. When
David refers to Messiah as Lord he is pointing to the reality that He predates
David and is greater than David for that reason, Messiah can, therefore, not be
a child of David’s line after him.
Paul leaves no room for pride in this introduction to the
letter to the Ephesians, the work of salvation is God’s from beginning to
end. All this was His plan from before
the foundation of the world, it was always destined to be this way. He chose us, He predestined us according to
His plan, and all that His glory would be known and displayed in the working
out of that plan. When we see that this
was always the plan and all things are according to His will we have a greater
appreciation for Him and for our own salvation.
It is not a matter of determinism which would render our lives without
purpose, mere automatons, it is a great freedom given to us which liberates us
from the slavery of sin to the freedom of children of God. Before Christ it is more proper to say that
determinism reigned in our lives through sin but we have been set free from
that bondage in Him. In repentance we
know true freedom for the first time!
There dwells the Lord, our King,
the Lord, our Righteousness,
triumphant o'er the world and sin,
the Prince of Peace;
on Zion's sacred height
his kingdom he maintains,
and, glorious with his saints in light,
for ever reigns.
the Lord, our Righteousness,
triumphant o'er the world and sin,
the Prince of Peace;
on Zion's sacred height
his kingdom he maintains,
and, glorious with his saints in light,
for ever reigns.
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