Welcome back, fellow study friends! We just dived into week 2 of Understanding the Times, and this week’s lesson is entitled Understanding the Past: What Lessons Can We Learn? If you missed yesterday’s intro, check it out before moving forward here!
Before the foundation of the world, God chose to bless us with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3-4). But how would He convey that blessing?
Great question! God planned a series of covenants in order to convey that heavenly blessing to earthly humans! Though the Bible reveals many more covenants than what we will include here, we’ll focus on three major covenants. The first is the Abrahamic Covenant.
At creation, God gave man free will, and man abandoned God. (Not a surprise to Him!) Such wickedness reigned that God judged the world with a world-wide flood. The world was in desperate need of redemption! So, God chose a pagan, idol-making Gentile to bring about a people group through whom He would bless the world. Read Genesis 12:1-3.
God’s stated purpose to Abraham: “…all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Ah-ha! God would transport His promise from the foundation of the world through Abraham and His descendants! The Jewish people would become the vehicle of world redemption!
The Abrahamic Covenant is, therefore, the Covenant of Decision. God decided to impart His blessings to the entire world. What was the blessing? Salvation!
The plan, though, was not a simple one. The Abrahamic Covenant represented:
- A Birthing call – God “birthed” a chosen people through whom He would transmit His blessing.
- A Suffering call – According to Genesis 15:11-12, vicious birds of prey came down and Abram had to drive them away. In addition, “terror and great darkness” fell upon him. Did those vultures represent the evils that would plague Israel throughout history, to bring about terror and great darkness?
- A Priestly call – Abraham ultimately offered Isaac…until God provided Himself a sacrifice! Interestingly, John 8:56 tells us Abraham “rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” What day did Abraham see? The day of Jesus’ resurrection…the gift of redemption? Did Abraham see Jesus the Messiah?
Oh, it gets better! But meditate on the points above. God performed a miraculous work through Abraham, and the Apostle Paul later wrote of the miracle. We’ll take a look at that tomorrow!
Stick with us, Bible students! We’re learning valuable lessons of the past that we can apply in the present! See you tomorrow!
