Fight the Good Fight of the Faith: Some Reflections on the Dividing of the Promised Land

As I mentioned in the last devotional post in this series, we are moving ahead at warp speed through the last half of the book of Joshua, but, fortunately, Joshua lends itself to that. By the end of ch. 12, the Israelites have essentially taken all the Promised Land. They have broken the backs of their enemies, destroyed the strongholds, and basically won the war, but there is still a lot of "cleanup work" to be done. So, God divides the land between the twelve tribes of Israel and commands them to go into their various regions and kill or drive out the remaining Canaanites. That is what chs. 13-22 are mostly about, so we are going to summarize and skip almost all of it, with the exception of ch. 20, on which this Sunday's sermon will be.

However, even though we are skipping most of the dividing up of the land, that does not mean there's nothing for us to learn from that section. There are probably many theological and spiritual truths we could glean from it--too many to put in one post--so let me just hit a few highlights from these chapters.

First, one of the things that comes out in these chapters is that God gives the Israelites more land than they can possibly settle, at least at this point, but that should not surprise us at all. Our God is an abundantly gracious God. Christ Himself is far more full of grace than we are of sin and folly. When we go to the fountain of God's grace, it is kind of like taking a drink from a river. We can drink all that we can possibly hold and not even begin to drain the river of grace.

Second, God distributes the land to the tribes Himself, which is an important act of grace on God's part. Think about what would have happened if God had just said to the Israelites, "Here's the land, now go divide it up among yourselves." Do you think they would have done that without fights, without disagreements? Not hardly. Nothing can cause a family to turn on one another faster than dividing up an inheritance--"I want this land," "We deserve more because we're a bigger family," etc.--and the Israelites were no different. God knows their sinful hearts. He knows that if He had just sent them into the land with no instructions on dividing it up, they would have turned on each other, and there would have been a huge civil war that might have destroyed them. So, in His grace and wisdom, God divides the land Himself and proportions it as He sees fit. Therefore, when they go to settle the land, their property lines are clearly marked by God Himself, and no one can argue with that.

Third, the Levites do not get a specific territory. They are the one tribe that does not get a plot of land solely to themselves. Instead, they get allotted 48 cities distributed throughout the entire Promised Land. Why is that? Well, the Levites are the tribe specifically tasked with the service of God in the Tabernacle, later the Temple, and for the whole people of God. So, God does not put His ministers in one region but spreads them out throughout the whole land. This shows us that God is very concerned for the pastoral care of His people. If the Levites had one territory, say surrounding Jerusalem, then the tribes in the North would have to travel very far simply to get a circumcision or a funeral done. Instead, God distributes His servants throughout the land, so that they are close to all Israelites for weddings, funerals, circumcisions, or any other spiritual guidance that the people need. God loves His people and wants them to be cared for spiritually, and we can see that even in how He divides up the land!

Fourth, the dividing up of the land revealed a tension in which the Israelites would have to live for a time: the Promised Land was theirs--they had won the war--but there was also still a lot of "cleanup work" to be done to purge the land of Canaanites. So, the war was over, but the losers were still there and those Canaanites weren't going to be done away with easily. This is a kind of spiritual picture of how we live in the Christian life. For us, Jesus has won the war: sin has been defeated, death has been defanged, and the devil has lost. The war is essentially over--Jesus has won. Yet, we live in a tension like the Israelites. Though sin, death, and the prince of despair have been beaten, the losers still fight. We still must die a physical death, though it no longer has the sting of hell for God's people. The devil can still tempt us, but he must flee at the name of Jesus. And, while we are no longer slaves to sin, there are still many, many "Canaanites" in our hearts that need to be purged. Even though the war has been won, this life is still a battle that we have to fight by faith in Jesus each and every day, just like the Israelites had won the war but still had many, many Canaanites to get rid of.

But, God has not left us to live in this tension and fight these battles alone. He has give us His Word, prayer, worship, His people, and, most of all, the Holy Spirit to give us the strength to fight. As Paul says in Ro. 8:11, "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you." Because the Spirit dwells in us, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is at work in us--resurrection-power working in us. So, while there is much work to be done--many more "Canaanites" in our hearts to be purged--we can know that "it is God who works in us, both to will and to work for his good pleasure."

Those are just a few spiritual highlights from this section of Joshua. I would encourage you to read through it yourself, even though it may seem boring and repetitive, and see what the Spirit shows you about Jesus and the battles we fight for the Christian life.

By His Grace,
Taylor

Solus Christus: Jesus is Coming Soon

While focusing on Jesus' second advent so far this week, we have seen that He is the Lion and the Lamb and that He will bring us into the New Heavens and New Earth. For our final Advent meditation I would like to look at Jesus' words about His immanent return. We find them at the very end of our Bibles in Re. 22:

⁶ And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”
⁷ “And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
⁸ I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, ⁹ but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”
¹⁰ And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. ¹¹ Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”
¹² “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. ¹³ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
¹⁴ Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. ¹⁵ Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
¹⁶ “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
¹⁷ The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.
¹⁸ I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, ¹⁹ and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.
²⁰ He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
²¹ The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen. (Re. 22:6ff)

In the above Scripture passage I’ve italicized Jesus’ words just so there’s no mistaking who is speaking to whom. This is, of course, a theologically packed passage (as many of the passages at which we have looked have been), but I want to use it for our last Advent meditation because three times in it Jesus says, “I am coming soon.” Do you think He means it? If you repeat something to someone three times in a single conversation, don’t you really mean it? But, it doesn’t seem “soon,” does it? When you pray for Christ’s return, do you sometimes feel like a child in the back seat of your parents’ car on a long road trip asking “How long?” and always hearing “Soon”? Almost two thousand years doesn’t seem “soon” to me. Of course, I’m not the only one who’s thought that for even the early Church wondered why Jesus had not yet returned. Many of them thought Jesus would return before they died, and even Paul appears to have believed this early on in his ministry (cf. 1 Th. 4:15). After several decades passed they started to wonder, “What happened to ‘soon’?” If they asked it then, how much more may we ask the question two thousand years later?

As you might imagine, there have been many over the centuries who have attempted to answer this question in a variety of ways. Indeed, this is a very complex question on which Christians have come to no sort of consensus. That means I don’t believe I have the final answer to this important question, but I would like to give you two things to consider that I think will help put the question in a less ominous context. First, consider Peter’s answer to this question. Peter acknowledges that his readers were asking this question and answers it but not in the detail for which we (or they) might have hoped:

¹ This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, ² that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, ³ knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. ⁴ They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.”
…⁸ But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. ⁹ The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. ¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief…. (2 Pt. 3:1-4, 8-10)

Peter knows there will be “scoffers” who will basically say, “Where’s your God now? It’s been two thousand years and He said He would come ‘soon.’” His answer is not a systematic defense of how “soon” can be reckoned with a long delay of Jesus’ second advent. He simply says, “Look, God doesn’t perceive or calculate the passage of time the way you and I do, so stop acting like He does and forcing our view of ‘soon’ on Him. What you call ‘slowness’ I call ‘patience’ for the Lord is waiting so more can repent and believe.” Then, Peter tells us that the day will come like a thief, which is the proverbial way of saying that we have no idea when it will come. He wisely doesn’t try to answer a question no one can answer completely but appeals to God’s timelessness and mercy for an explanation of His delay. There are more God wants to become Christians and He is waiting until they do (cf. Mt. 24:14).

The second thing I think we need to consider is the nature of biblical prophecy. There is in prophecy a characteristic perspective that foreshortens time and presents the future from a theological perspective as a whole with the chronological gaps unaddressed. So, for example, the prophets of the Old Testament could move from the destruction of Judah to the coming of the Messiah in a single step even though there would be almost six hundred years in between. The same is true of Revelation. In it, the future is presented theologically and is seen in terms of its entirety, not in its chronological detail. Prophecy is a theological interpretation of history, however long it endures. Think about that for a moment. Theologically speaking, what is the next important event after Jesus’ death, resurrection, ascension, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost? It’s the second coming of Christ. Everything in between is incidental compared to those important, redemptive events. John’s prophecy in Revelation, then, can make a chronological jump of unknown duration because theologically Christ’s second coming is near, and it is looked at as part of the redemptive whole of Christ’s work. So, Christ is coming soon, but we need to look at “soon” from God’s perspective on time, in the context of His awesome mercy, and theologically not chronologically.

Today let this final day of Advent remind you that Christ is coming soon. What He means by “soon” may be different than what you and I think of as “soon,” but we know it’s the next important redemptive event and it could happen at any time. Remember that God is delaying Jesus’ return because He is rich in mercy towards the unbelieving world, not because He’s trying to drive Christians crazy. Ask Him to give you a love for the lost like He has because as our love and compassion for the lost grows, we will understand His delay and see it as a chance to spread the gospel more. Ask Him to give you a deep anticipation of His immanent return so that your love for Him will increase, your love for this world will decrease, and your concern for the lost will grow. Perhaps today could be the day.

By His Grace,

Taylor

Solus Christus: The New Heavens and New Earth

Yesterday we began to look at Jesus’ second advent for traditionally the Church has looked at both during the season of Advent. We saw from Re. 5 that Jesus is the Lion and the Lamb who deserves all glory, honor, and praise, and He will one day return to bring into the new heavens and the new earth so we can give Him proper praise for all eternity. For today’s mediation we’re going to look at John’s description of the new heavens and the new earth that Jesus will bring:

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Re. 21:1-4)

That is what the new heavens and the new earth will be like. Did you notice the covenantal refrain? As we talked about when we discussed God’s covenant work in general, this is the point to which He has been leading and continues to lead all His people. He has increased His fellowship with His people through His covenants and the Church enjoys the most intimate fellowship with Him ever experienced because of Jesus’ first advent and work of redemption. However, there is more to come. When Jesus appears in His second advent and ushers in the new heavens and the new earth “God himself will be with them as their God.” We will walk and talk with God in our new, glorified bodies forever. That’s the end towards which our loving and just God has been relentless pushing since before there was time. That’s what we were created for. That’s what Jesus guaranteed for us in His first advent and will bring to fruition in His second.

Did you also notice the promise of complete and utter joy? God “will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” In yesterday’s mediation we asked “Will the miseries of this age really end?” and answered “yes!” because Jesus has assured it with His life, death, resurrection, and ascension. In today’s passage we see what life will be like when “the former things have passed away.” When everything in this world is gone (cf. 2 Pt. 3:10-12) and Jesus brings in the new heavens and the new earth there will be no pain, no crying, no tears, and no mourning—nothing that can ever eclipse the pure and utter joy of the “dwelling place of God [being] with man.” Nothing. That’s what Jesus won for His Church in His first advent and what we know will one day come. As Peter tells us, “According to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”

On this day of Advent remember that Christmas only marks the beginning of the end. Jesus completed His work of redemption during His first advent and we enjoy the first fruits of that redemption now—“justification, adoption, and sanctification, and... assurance of God’s love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Ghost, increase of grace, and perseverance therein to the end.” (WSC #32, #36) But, there is more to come. When Jesus returns in His second advent all believers will receive their new, glorified bodies (cf. 1 Co. 15:50-55) that will be “perfectly and immutably free to do good alone,” (cf. WCF 9.5) and they will enter into the new heavens and new earth that John described for us in today’s passage. Remember that all this has been guaranteed in Christ’s first advent and work of redemption and that no one can take it away from those who truly repent and believe. Ask God to give you opportunities to share this good news—the gospel—with someone today and ask Him to give you the strength not to duck when He does. Praise Him for all the benefits He has given you in Christ, and ask Him to speed the day so you can enter into the glorious world-to-come where the “dwelling place of God is with man.” Live expectantly looking for Jesus’ second advent. Perhaps today could be the day.

By His Grace,

Taylor

Solus Christus: The Lion and the Lamb

We’re approaching the end of the Advent season, which means that soon we’ll celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Christmas day. In the last few Advent meditations, we’re going to look at Christ’s second advent, i.e. His second coming which could happen at any time. To that end, we’re going to look at a few passages from Revelation for our final devotions. Today’s comes from Re. 5, which shows us the unapproachable glory and worthiness of Christ and the praise that He deserves:

¹ Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. ² And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” ³ And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, ⁴ and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. ⁵ And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”
⁶ And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. ⁷ And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. ⁸ And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. ⁹ And they sang a new song, saying,
“Worthy are you to take the scroll
    and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
    from every tribe and language and people and nation,
¹⁰ and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
    and they shall reign on the earth.”
¹¹ Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, ¹² saying with a loud voice,
    “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
    to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
    and honor and glory and blessing!”
¹³ And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,
    “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
    be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”
¹⁴ And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped. (Re. 5:1-14)

Worthy is Jesus because He was slain, and by His blood He ransomed God’s people. He is the Lion and the Lamb at the same time. Christmas proclaims the event of Jesus’ birth but we know that He was born so that about thirty years later He might die for His people. We know that He was born to go into battle against sin and death as the Lion and be sacrificed on our behalf as the Lamb. He’s both the great warrior and the great sacrifice, and it was through that very sacrifice (what He was born in His first advent to do) that He won the battle against sin and death for His people. And, it’s in this very death that He showed He is worthy of all praise, glory, and honor—every bit we can muster and much, much more. Unfortunately, since we live in a fallen world, He still doesn’t get the praise He deserves from humanity; even from the Church. But, one day He will return and set things right, and on that day “every knee [shall] bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

On this day of Advent remember that there is another advent coming—Jesus second coming. The world doesn’t look very good right now, I know. We’re constantly bombarded with temptation and tragedy, and sometimes we wonder if it really is going to end. The Church has been waiting two thousand years. Will it end? It will. The Lion has won the war against sin and death because He became our Lamb in His first advent, and though the loser still fights, Jesus will soon return to put an end to this age, to bring His people into the new heavens and new earth where sin and death can’t touch them, and to throw the devil, his demons, and all God’s enemies finally and eternally into the Lake of Fire. Then we’ll stand before the throne of Jesus and with “myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands” and give Him the glory that He’s due. We’ll sing His praises forever and ever. What a glorious day it will be! What a glorious eternity it will be! Remember that His first advent was only the beginning; what we celebrate at Christmas was only the beginning. The best is yet to come. Ask God the Father to send God the Son back soon—to haste the day—so we can begin eternity in the bliss of the new heavens and new earth and give the Lion and the Lamb the praise He truly deserves.

By His Grace,
Taylor

Solus Christus: The Covenant of Consummation

For this week of Advent we’ve been looking that the covenants God made with man in the Old Testament, and we’ve seen how they’re related to one another since they’re all under the one covenant of grace that Jesus fulfilled for us in His life, death, resurrection, and ascension. Remember, think of the covenant of grace as an umbrella that covers all of Scripture from the fall of Adam to the end of Revelation. Under this umbrella, the individual covenants of the Old Testament build on each other as ever-increasing waves of revelation about the covenant of grace until they climax with Christ’s fulfillment of that overarching covenant. We’ve looked at the covenant of commencement made with Adam and Eve after the fall, the covenant of preservation made with Noah, the covenant of promise made with Abraham, the covenant of law made with Moses, and the covenant of kingdom made with David. We’ve seen that with each covenant God’s fellowship with man was increased and that each ultimately pointed to Jesus Himself. For today’s Advent meditation we’re going to look at the “new covenant” from Jer. 31:31-34:

³¹ “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, ³² not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. ³³ For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ³⁴ And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

Does this fit into the unity of the previous covenants? It does. In fact, it represents the promised fulfillment of the earlier covenants, which why it’s sometimes called the “covenant of consummation.” First and foremost, the covenantal refrain is clearly stated in v. 33, “I will be their God, and they shall be my people,” connecting it to the thread that weaves through all the previous covenants. Furthermore, in this passage God promises the covenant of consummation will be better than the covenant of law, but it still connects the two. This covenant will still have the law, but it will be written on the hearts of God’s people. Also, just a few verses later, in Jer. 32:39-41, Jeremiah prophesies that in the covenant of consummation God will “plant them in this land,” clearly alluding to the promises of offspring and land in the covenant of promise and connecting those two covenants. Finally, in a parallel prophecy found in Eze. 37:24-26, the covenant of consummation is overtly connected to the covenants of promise, law, and kingdom, all in one statement:

²⁴ My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd [covenant of kingdom connection]. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes [covenant of law connection]. ²⁵ They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived [covenant of promise connection]. They and their children and their children’s children shall dwell there forever [covenant of promise connection], and David my servant shall be their prince forever [covenant of kingdom connection]. ²⁶ I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them [covenant of consummation establishment]...

Here Ezekiel shows that in the covenant of consummation all the promises of the God in the previous covenants find their fulfillment. So, the covenant of consummation doesn’t appear on the scene as something previously unknown to the people of God, but rather represents for them “the collation of all the old covenant promises in terms of a future expectation.” That future expectation is Jesus, and Jesus Himself claimed to fulfill this covenant when He instituted the Lord’s Supper:

¹⁹ And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁰ And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” (Lk. 22:19-20)

It’s through the new covenant—the covenant of consummation—that believers have even greater fellowship with God than the Old Testaments saints could’ve ever imagined. With the incarnation of Christ (what we celebrate at Christmas), John tells us in his gospel that God became flesh and dwelt—literally “tabernacled” (alluding to the Old Testament Tabernacle)—among man (cf. Jn. 1:14). With Christ the very presence of God walked, dwelt, “tabernacled” among men. Yet, the greater fellowship of the covenant of consummation didn’t reach its zenith there. Christ purchased salvation for His people and through their union with Him believers have received the Spirit of adoption as sons and daughters so that they might be able to cry out to God, “Abba! Father!” Such an intimacy and fellowship with God (calling Him the Hebrew equivalent of “daddy”) would never have been imagined in the Old Testament. Yet, the covenantal trajectory of ever-increasing fellowship and presence has another level still to come. The final stage of intimacy and fellowship in the covenant of consummation has yet to come. Soon Jesus will return again (in His second advent) to finalize the presence and fellowship that He inaugurated in His first advent. Re. 21:1-3 describes what God’s fellowship with His people will be like at that time:

¹ Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ² And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.”

God’s covenantal refrain finds is pinnacle in the covenant of consummation. In the present age, believers are adopted as sons and daughters of God through their union with Christ and can call God “Abba.” In the new heavens and the new earth, the ever-increasing trajectory of fellowship seen in all the previous covenants will climax when God recreates all of creation and grants uninhibited, unmediated fellowship with “God Himself.” He will walk and talk with His people just like He did with Adam before the fall.

This is what we celebrate at Christmas, and it’s also that to which we look forward and for which we pray, for we know that the best is yet to come. When one considers God’s work of redemption throughout the ages in His covenants, what He has already done in Christ (in the first advent), and what He will soon do in Christ (in the second advent), the only proper response is praise. We should say like Paul in Ro. 11:33-36:

³³ Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
³⁴ “For who has known the mind of the Lord,
    or who has been his counselor?”
³⁵ “Or who has given a gift to him
    that he might be repaid?”
³⁶ For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

On this day of Advent think about “the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God” in His work of redemption that He began with His promise to Adam and was fulfilled in Christ. All these covenants and God’s redemptive work in them provide the foundation for all the hope we have in Christ and celebrate at Christmas. When we observe Advent, whether we consciously think about it or not, all these covenants have brought us to where we are in Christ today. Praise Him for His glorious work that brought redemption in Christ. Ask Him to magnify His glory in your heart so that you can’t help but break out into spontaneous praise of “the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God.”

By His Grace,

Taylor

The Gospel According to Joseph: Hope, Even in Death

This Sunday's sermon will be the final sermon in our series: The Gospel According to Joseph. As we said in the beginning and have reiterated many times throughout this series, there is too much in this story to cover it all in nine sermons (or even nine sermons plus nine devotionals). In every passage, there is some Christ-centered content that we just do not have time to cover. So, in this short devotional, we are going to talk briefly about the hope that the final chapters of Genesis give us, which we will not have time to cover in a sermon.

Both Ge. 49 and Ge. 50 end with death--the deaths of Israel and Joseph. Death may seem like a bad way to end such a great story, but when we look at the faith of these two men, we can see that in their deaths we're given hope--the hope of the gospel. Back in Ge. 47-48 (cf. The Gospel and Finishing Faithfully), we saw in Israel preparing for his death that his true hope was not in the physical land of the promise but in the God of the promise who was preparing a "better city, that is a heavenly one" for him and his descendants. In Ge. 50:24-25, we see Joseph express the same hope (a hope that we saw he had back in Ge. 41 as well, cf. The Gospel and Perspective) as he tells his brothers and descendants to take his bones with them to the promised land when they return. This is the hope that the author of Hebrews highlights in He. 11:13, "These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth." And, this is the hope that we have as well--a hope beyond the sin, pain, and death of this world.

We too will die as "strangers and exiles on the earth," for this world is not our home. Our home--our true inheritance as sons and daughters of God--is life without sin, sadness, or death in the new heavens and new earth with God Himself. John describes it for us briefly in Re. 21:1-4 (one of my favorite passages in all of Scripture):

¹ Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ² And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. ⁴ He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Emphasis added)

That is our hope, brothers and sisters in Christ, and even in death it is an anchor that will not fail.

Death is not the way it's supposed to be. We were created for so much more, but sin has brought the pain of death into our lives, which is in fact is something that I have seen tragically and clearly in my own congregation recently. Yet, Christ has defeated death for us (cf. 1 Co. 15:55) and given us hope even in the midst of it. This is why Paul says in 1 Th. 4:13 that we do not grieve as those who have no hope. Now, that doesn't mean we don't grieve. We do, for death is not the way it's supposed to be and someone we love has had to endure it, and now we have to continue as "strangers and exiles" in this world without their comfort and companionship. Yet, we grieve as those who have the hope of the gospel, for we know that believers are redeemed in Christ (Ro. 3:24), live in Christ (Ga. 2:20), and even die in Christ (1 Th.4:13-14), and we know that we will see them again when we too go to our true home. We have the hope of knowing that even in death our Savior is with us and will bring us into a world so much better than our life as "strangers and exiles" here on earth--our true inheritance with Him in the new heavens and new earth for all eternity. We know that the death of a believer (even untimely, early ones) means they're finally home, receiving their true inheritance from Christ, which gives us hope. Death, as the Heidelberg Catechism says in the answer to question 42, puts an end to our disease of sin and begins our eternal life--our true inheritance. Christians have hope, even in death.

So, even though this great story ends in death, it's good ending. It's an ending that reminds us that this world isn't our home, that we have a glorious inheritance awaiting us in Christ, and that even in the midst of the pain of death in this life, the loved ones of believers can grieve with hope instead of grieving with fear and despondency. Rest in that hope that the story of Joseph, Jacob, and Judah gives to us here at the end.

By His Grace,

Taylor

The Gospel According to Joseph: Jesus is Coming Soon!

In this Sunday's sermon, one of the things that we will see is Israel's hope in the promises of God that looked forward beyond the promised land to "a better city, that is, a heavenly one" (He. 11:16). Now, he didn't know as much about it as we do, but he knew enough to place his hope not in this world but in a "city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God" (He. 11:10). We know now that this city is the new heavens and new earth (cf. Re. 21) into which Jesus will take us when He returns.

When thinking about Jesus' return and the solid hope we have in it because of the truth of the gospel, sometimes we wonder why He has not yet returned. Didn't He say He was coming "soon"? Well, yes He did in Re. 22:

⁶ And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”
⁷ “And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
⁸ I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, ⁹ but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”
¹⁰ And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. ¹¹ Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”
¹² “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. ¹³ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
¹⁴ Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. ¹⁵ Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
¹⁶ “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
¹⁷ The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.
¹⁸ I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, ¹⁹ and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.
²⁰ He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
²¹ The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen. (Re. 22:6ff)

In the above Scripture passage I've italicized Jesus' words just so there's no mistaking who is speaking to whom. This is, of course, a theologically packed passage, but I want to use it for this devotional since His return to take us home is our ultimate hope and because three times in it Jesus says, "I am coming soon." Do you think He means it? If you repeat something to someone three times in a single conversation, don’t you really mean it? But, it doesn't seem "soon," does it? When you pray for Christ's return, do you sometimes feel like a child in the back seat of your parents' car on a long road trip asking "How long?" and always hearing "Soon"? Almost two thousand years doesn't seem "soon" to me. Of course, I'm not the only one who's thought that for even the early Church wondered why Jesus had not yet returned. Many of them thought Jesus would return before they died, and even Paul appears to have believed this early on in his ministry (cf. 1 Th. 4:15). After several decades passed they started to wonder, "What happened to 'soon'?" If they asked it then, how much more may we ask the question two thousand years later?

As you might imagine, there have been many over the centuries who have attempted to answer this question in a variety of ways. Indeed, this is a very complex question on which Christians have come to no sort of consensus. That means I don't believe I have the final answer to this important question, but I would like to give you two things to consider that I think will help put the question in a less ominous context. First, consider Peter's answer to this question. Peter acknowledges that his readers were asking this question and answers it but not in the detail for which we (or they) might have hoped:

¹ This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, ² that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, ³ knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. ⁴ They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.”
…⁸ But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. ⁹ The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. ¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief…. (2 Pt. 3:1-4, 8-10)

Peter knows there will be "scoffers" who will basically say, "Where's your God now? It's been two thousand years and He said He would come 'soon.'" His answer is not a systematic defense of how "soon" can be reckoned with a long delay of Jesus' second coming. He simply says, "Look, God doesn't perceive or calculate the passage of time the way you and I do, so stop acting like He does and forcing our view of 'soon' on Him. And, what you call 'slowness' I call 'patience' for the Lord is waiting so more can repent and believe." Then, Peter tells us that the day will come like a thief, which is the proverbial way of saying that we have no idea when it will come. He wisely doesn't try to answer a question no one can answer completely but appeals to God's timelessness and mercy for an explanation of His delay. There are more God wants to become Christians and He is waiting until they do (cf. Mt. 24:14).

The second thing I think we need to consider is the nature of biblical prophecy. There is in prophecy a characteristic perspective that foreshortens time and presents the future from a theological perspective as a whole with the chronological gaps unaddressed. So, for example, the prophets of the Old Testament could move from the destruction of Judah to the coming of the Messiah in a single step even though there would be almost six hundred years in between. The same is true of Revelation. In it, the future is presented theologically and is seen in terms of its entirety, not in its chronological detail. Prophecy is a theological interpretation of history, however long it endures. Think about that for a moment. Theologically speaking, what is the next important event after Jesus' death, resurrection, ascension, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost? It's the second coming of Christ. Everything in between is incidental compared to those important, redemptive events. John's prophecy in Revelation, then, can make a chronological jump of unknown duration because theologically Christ's second coming is near, and it is looked at as part of the redemptive whole of Christ's work. So, Christ is coming soon, but we need to look at "soon" from God's perspective on time, in the context of His awesome mercy, and theologically not chronologically.

Today let He. 11:8-16, 39-40 (which will be discussed in Sunday's posted sermon), and the above passages remind you that Christ is coming soon. What He means by "soon" may be different than what you and I think of as "soon," but we know it's the next important redemptive event and it could happen at any time. Remember that God is delaying Jesus' return because He is rich in mercy towards the unbelieving world, not because He’s trying to drive Christians crazy. Ask Him to give you a love for the lost like He has because as our love and compassion for the lost grows, we will understand His delay and see it as a chance to spread the gospel more. Ask Him to give you a deep anticipation of His immanent return so that your love for Him will increase, your love for this world will decrease, and your concern for the lost will grow. Ask Him to help you be a testimony to the hope that you have in the gospel to the lost around you and younger generations. And, pray like John, "Come, Lord Jesus!" Perhaps today could be the day.

By His Grace,
Taylor

Solus Christus: Jesus is Coming Soon

For our final Advent meditation I would like to focus on Jesus’ second advent and look at His words about His immanent return. We find them at the very end of our Bibles in Re. 22:

⁶ And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”
⁷ “And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
⁸ I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, ⁹ but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”
¹⁰ And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. ¹¹ Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”
¹² “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. ¹³ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
¹⁴ Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. ¹⁵ Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
¹⁶ “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
¹⁷ The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.
¹⁸ I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, ¹⁹ and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.
²⁰ He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
²¹ The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen. (Re. 22:6ff)

In the above Scripture passage I’ve italicized Jesus’ words just so there’s no mistaking who is speaking to whom. This is, of course, a theologically packed passage (as many of the passages at which we have looked have been), but I want to use it for our last Advent meditation because three times in it Jesus says, “I am coming soon.” Do you think He means it? If you repeat something to someone three times in a single conversation, don’t you really mean it? But, it doesn’t seem “soon,” does it? When you pray for Christ’s return, do you sometimes feel like a child in the back seat of your parents’ car on a long road trip asking “How long?” and always hearing “Soon”? Almost two thousand years doesn’t seem “soon” to me. Of course, I’m not the only one who’s thought that for even the early Church wondered why Jesus had not yet returned. Many of them thought Jesus would return before they died, and even Paul appears to have believed this early on in his ministry (cf. 1 Th. 4:15). After several decades passed they started to wonder, “What happened to ‘soon’?” If they asked it then, how much more may we ask the question two thousand years later?

As you might imagine, there have been many over the centuries who have attempted to answer this question in a variety of ways. Indeed, this is a very complex question on which Christians have come to no sort of consensus. That means I don’t believe I have the final answer to this important question, but I would like to give you two things to consider that I think will help put the question in a less ominous context. First, consider Peter’s answer to this question. Peter acknowledges that his readers were asking this question and answers it but not in the detail for which we (or they) might have hoped:

¹ This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, ² that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, ³ knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. ⁴ They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.”
…⁸ But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. ⁹ The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. ¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief…. (2 Pt. 3:1-4, 8-10)

Peter knows there will be “scoffers” who will basically say, “Where’s your God now? It’s been two thousand years and He said He would come ‘soon.’” His answer is not a systematic defense of how “soon” can be reckoned with a long delay of Jesus’ second advent. He simply says, “Look, God doesn’t perceive or calculate the passage of time the way you and I do, so stop acting like He does and forcing our view of ‘soon’ on Him. What you call ‘slowness’ I call ‘patience’ for the Lord is waiting so more can repent and believe.” Then, Peter tells us that the day will come like a thief, which is the proverbial way of saying that we have no idea when it will come. He wisely doesn’t try to answer a question no one can answer completely but appeals to God’s timelessness and mercy for an explanation of His delay. There are more God wants to become Christians and He is waiting until they do (cf. Mt. 24:14).

The second thing I think we need to consider is the nature of biblical prophecy. There is in prophecy a characteristic perspective that foreshortens time and presents the future from a theological perspective as a whole with the chronological gaps unaddressed. So, for example, the prophets of the Old Testament could move from the destruction of Judah to the coming of the Messiah in a single step even though there would be almost six hundred years in between. The same is true of Revelation. In it, the future is presented theologically and is seen in terms of its entirety, not in its chronological detail. Prophecy is a theological interpretation of history, however long it endures. Think about that for a moment. Theologically speaking, what is the next important event after Jesus’ death, resurrection, ascension, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost? It’s the second coming of Christ. Everything in between is incidental compared to those important, redemptive events. John’s prophecy in Revelation, then, can make a chronological jump of unknown duration because theologically Christ’s second coming is near, and it is looked at as part of the redemptive whole of Christ’s work. So, Christ is coming soon, but we need to look at “soon” from God’s perspective on time, in the context of His awesome mercy, and theologically not chronologically.

Today let this final day of Advent remind you that Christ is coming soon. What He means by “soon” may be different than what you and I think of as “soon,” but we know it’s the next important redemptive event and it could happen at any time. Remember that God is delaying Jesus’ return because He is rich in mercy towards the unbelieving world, not because He’s trying to drive Christians crazy. Ask Him to give you a love for the lost like He has because as our love and compassion for the lost grows, we will understand His delay and see it as a chance to spread the gospel more. Ask Him to give you a deep anticipation of His immanent return so that your love for Him will increase, your love for this world will decrease, and your concern for the lost will grow. Perhaps today could be the day.

By His Grace,

Taylor

Solus Christus: The Covenant of Consummation

For this week of Advent we’ve been looking that the covenants God made with man in the Old Testament, and we’ve seen how they’re related to one another since they’re all under the one covenant of grace that Jesus fulfilled for us in His life, death, resurrection, and ascension. Remember, think of the covenant of grace as an umbrella that covers all of Scripture from the fall of Adam to the end of Revelation. Under this umbrella, the individual covenants of the Old Testament build on each other as ever-increasing waves of revelation about the covenant of grace until they climax with Christ’s fulfillment of that overarching covenant. We’ve looked at the covenant of commencement made with Adam and Eve after the fall, the covenant of preservation made with Noah, the covenant of promise made with Abraham, the covenant of law made with Moses, and the covenant of kingdom made with David. We’ve seen that with each covenant God’s fellowship with man was increased and that each ultimately pointed to Jesus Himself. For today’s Advent meditation we’re going to look at the “new covenant” from Jer. 31:31-34:

³¹ “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, ³² not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. ³³ For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ³⁴ And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

Does this fit into the unity of the previous covenants? It does. In fact, it represents the promised fulfillment of the earlier covenants, which why it’s sometimes called the “covenant of consummation.” First and foremost, the covenantal refrain is clearly stated in v. 33, “I will be their God, and they shall be my people,” connecting it to the thread that weaves through all the previous covenants. Furthermore, in this passage God promises the covenant of consummation will be better than the covenant of law, but it still connects the two. This covenant will still have the law, but it will be written on the hearts of God’s people. Also, just a few verses later, in Jer. 32:39-41, Jeremiah prophesies that in the covenant of consummation God will “plant them in this land,” clearly alluding to the promises of offspring and land in the covenant of promise and connecting those two covenants. Finally, in a parallel prophecy found in Eze. 37:24-26, the covenant of consummation is overtly connected to the covenants of promise, law, and kingdom, all in one statement:

²⁴ My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd [covenant of kingdom connection]. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes [covenant of law connection]. ²⁵ They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived [covenant of promise connection]. They and their children and their children’s children shall dwell there forever [covenant of promise connection], and David my servant shall be their prince forever [covenant of kingdom connection]. ²⁶ I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them [covenant of consummation establishment]...

Here Ezekiel shows that in the covenant of consummation all the promises of the God in the previous covenants find their fulfillment. So, the covenant of consummation doesn’t appear on the scene as something previously unknown to the people of God, but rather represents for them “the collation of all the old covenant promises in terms of a future expectation.” That future expectation is Jesus, and Jesus Himself claimed to fulfill this covenant when He instituted the Lord’s Supper:

¹⁹ And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁰ And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” (Lk. 22:19-20)

It’s through the new covenant—the covenant of consummation—that believers have even greater fellowship with God than the Old Testaments saints could’ve ever imagined. With the incarnation of Christ (what we celebrate at Christmas), John tells us in his gospel that God became flesh and dwelt—literally “tabernacled” (alluding to the Old Testament Tabernacle)—among man (cf. Jn. 1:14). With Christ the very presence of God walked, dwelt, “tabernacled” among men. Yet, the greater fellowship of the covenant of consummation didn’t reach its zenith there. Christ purchased salvation for His people and through their union with Him believers have received the Spirit of adoption as sons and daughters so that they might be able to cry out to God, “Abba! Father!” Such an intimacy and fellowship with God (calling Him the Hebrew equivalent of “daddy”) would never have been imagined in the Old Testament. Yet, the covenantal trajectory of ever-increasing fellowship and presence has another level still to come. The final stage of intimacy and fellowship in the covenant of consummation has yet to come. Soon Jesus will return again (in His second advent) to finalize the presence and fellowship that He inaugurated in His first advent. Re. 21:1-3 describes what God’s fellowship with His people will be like at that time:

¹ Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ² And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.”

God’s covenantal refrain finds is pinnacle in the covenant of consummation. In the present age, believers are adopted as sons and daughters of God through their union with Christ and can call God “Abba.” In the new heavens and the new earth, the ever-increasing trajectory of fellowship seen in all the previous covenants will climax when God recreates all of creation and grants uninhibited, unmediated fellowship with “God Himself.” He will walk and talk with His people just like He did with Adam before the fall.

This is what we celebrate at Christmas, and it’s also that to which we look forward and for which we pray, for we know that the best is yet to come. When one considers God’s work of redemption throughout the ages in His covenants, what He has already done in Christ (in the first advent), and what He will soon do in Christ (in the second advent), the only proper response is praise. We should say like Paul in Ro. 11:33-36:

³³ Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
³⁴ “For who has known the mind of the Lord,
    or who has been his counselor?”
³⁵ “Or who has given a gift to him
    that he might be repaid?”
³⁶ For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

On this day of Advent think about “the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God” in His work of redemption that He began with His promise to Adam and was fulfilled in Christ. All these covenants and God’s redemptive work in them provide the foundation for all the hope we have in Christ and celebrate at Christmas. When we observe Advent, whether we consciously think about it or not, all these covenants have brought us to where we are in Christ today. Praise Him for His glorious work that brought redemption in Christ. Ask Him to magnify His glory in your heart so that you can’t help but break out into spontaneous praise of “the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God.”

By His Grace,

Taylor

Advent: Day 23

This is the final day of Advent this year. It is Christmas Eve, which means tomorrow we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Today's reading comes from the last book of the Bible, looking forward to the second Advent (second coming) of Jesus:

¹ Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. ² And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?" ³ And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, ⁴ and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. ⁵ And one of the elders said to me, "Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals."
⁶ And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. ⁷ And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. ⁸ And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. ⁹ And they sang a new song, saying,
"Worthy are you to take the scroll
    and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
    from every tribe and language and people and nation,
¹⁰ and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
    and they shall reign on the earth."
¹¹ Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, ¹² saying with a loud voice,
"Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!"
¹³ And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,
"To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!"
¹⁴ And the four living creatures said, "Amen!" and the elders fell down and worshiped. (Re. 5:1-14)

Worthy is Jesus because He was slain and by His blood He ransomed God's people. He is the lion and the lamb at the same time. Christmas proclaims the event of Jesus' birth but we know that He was born so that about thirty years later He might die for His people. It is in this very death that He showed He is worthy of all praise, glory, and honor. Unfortunately, since we live in a fallen world, He still does not get the praise He deserves from humanity, even from the Church. But, one day He will return and set things right, and on that day "every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Php. 2:10-11)

Oh Lord, haste that day!

By His Grace,
Taylor

Advent: Day 21

This week of Advent we have been looking that the covenants God made with man in the Old Testament (OT), and we have seen how they are related to one another since they are all under the one covenant of grace that Jesus fulfilled for us in His life, death, and resurrection. Remember, think of the covenant of grace as an umbrella that covers all of Scripture from the fall of Adam to the end of Revelation. The individual covenants of the OT build on each other as waves of ever-increasing revelation about the covenant of grace until they climax with Christ's fulfillment of the overarching covenant of grace. We have looked at the covenant God made with Adam and Eve after the fall, the Noahic covenant, the Abrahamic covenant (AC), the Mosaic covenant (MC), and the Davidic covenant (DC). We have seen how with each God's fellowship with man was increased and how each ultimately pointed to Jesus Himself.

Today we are going to look at the so-call "new covenant" (NC) from Jer. 31:31-34:

³¹ "Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, ³² not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. ³³ For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ³⁴ And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."

Does it fit into the unity of the previous covenants? It does. In fact, it represents the fulfillment of the earlier covenants. First and foremost, the covenantal refrain is clearly stated in Jer. 31:33, "I will be their God, and they shall be my people," connecting it to all the previous covenants. Furthermore, in Jer. 31:31-34 God promises the NC will be better than the MC but still connects the two. This NC will still have the law, but it will be written on the hearts of God's people. Just a few verses later, in Jer. 32:39-41, Jeremiah prophesies that in the NC God will "plant them in this land," clearly alluding to the promises of offspring and land in the AC and connecting the AC to the NC. In a parallel prophecy found in Eze. 37:24-26, the NC is overtly connected with the AC, the MC, and the DC in one statement:

²⁴ My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd [DC connection]. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes [MC connection]. ²⁵ They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived [AC connection]. They and their children and their children's children shall dwell there forever [AC connection], and David my servant shall be their prince forever [DC connection]. ²⁶ I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them [NC establishment]...

Here Ezekiel shows that in the NC all the promises of the God in the previous covenants find their fulfillment. So, the NC does not appear on the scene as something previously unknown to the people of God, but represents for them "the collation of all the old covenant promises in terms of a future expectation." (O. Palmer Robertson, Christ of the Covenants, p. 42) That future expectation was Jesus. Jesus Himself claimed this fulfillment when He instituted the Lord's Supper:

¹⁹ And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." ²⁰ And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood." (Lk. 22:19-20, emphasis added)

It is through the NC that believers have an even greater fellowship with God. With the incarnation of Christ (what we celebrate at Christmas), God became flesh and dwelt, "tabernacled" (the literal translation) among man (Jn. 1:14). With Christ the very presence of God walked, dwelt, "tabernacled" among men. Yet, the greater fellowship of the NC does not stop there. Christ purchased salvation for the elect and through their union with Him, believers have received the Spirit of adoption as sons so that they might be able to cry out to God, "Abba! Father!" Such an intimacy and fellowship with God (calling Him the Hebrew equivalent of "daddy") would never have been imagined in the OT. Yet, the covenantal trajectory of ever-increasing fellowship and presence has another level still to come. The final stage of intimacy in the NC is yet to come. Soon Jesus will return again (in His second advent) to consummate the presence and fellowship He inaugurated in His first advent. Re. 21:1-3 describes God's presence at that time:

¹ Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ² And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God." (emphasis added)

God's covenant refrain finds is zenith in the NC. In the present age believers are adopted as sons (and daughters) of God through their union with Christ and can call God "Abba." In the new heavens and the new earth, the increasing trajectory of fellowship seen in all the previous covenants will climax when God renews all of creation and grants uninhibited, unmediated fellowship with "God Himself." He will walk and talk with His people just like He did with Adam before the fall.

This is what we celebrate at Christmas, and it is also that to which we look forward and pray for we know that the best is yet to come. When one considers God's work of redemption throughout the ages in His covenants and considers what He has done in Christ (the first advent) and will soon do in Christ (the second advent), the only proper response is praise. We should say like Paul in Ro. 11:33-36:

³³ Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
³⁴ "For who has known the mind of the Lord,
    or who has been his counselor?"
³⁵ "Or who has given a gift to him
    that he might be repaid?"
³⁶ For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

Amen!

By His Grace,
Taylor