God's Grace in the Old Testament -Part 3

In Gen 15:9-21, God made a covenant with Abram while he slept, signifying that He alone would do everything to bring the covenant to pass. God alone passed between the slain animals, signifying the cost of the covenant. It would cost the life of His Son to ensure that our salvation was sealed.  Just as the pitch  (black tar-like substance) that God instructed Noah  to paint the Ark with prevented the vessel from sinking, so it would be Christ’s blood which would seal our atonement (Gen 6:14). All Abram and his descendants had to do was to bear the sign of the Covenant i.e. circumcision (Gen 17:1, 10-11).

In Gen 15:6, we read that Abram believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. His righteousness was by faith, and good works naturally followed. In fact, Abraham’s faith was so strong that not enough his love for his only son, Isaac, could surpass it! Did you know that Abraham believed God could raise the dead long before the Lord had raised anyone from the dead?

In Gen 22, we read the story of how God commanded Abraham (previously “Abram” until God changed his name) to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, on Mt Moriah. Isaac was the son given to Abraham and Sarah in their old age through the promise of God that Sarah, previously barren, would bear a child. God had promised that through Isaac, he would bless Abraham and make him the father of many nations yet now He asked him to sacrifice his only son! Abraham may have lied and doubted God on many occasions, but this time his faith did not waver. He clung to the Promise God had made to him, even as he walked with his young son to the foot of Mt Moriah. He told his servants in Gen 22: 5 to wait for them, that they would return after worshiping God. Abraham had faith that both he and his son would return home. God would provide the lamb for the sacrifice, and even if He didn’t and Isaac had to die, that God, by His Grace would raise him from the dead just to fufil the Promise that was made and confirmed so many times to Abraham.

We know the rest of the story. God did provide a lamb for Abraham’s sacrifice and Isaac’s life was spared. We see a picture of salvation in this story, salvation by God’s grace alone. Isaac was the son of promise, but he was not the promised Messiah (“seed of the woman”) of whom God spoke of in Gen 3:15. Through Isaac, Abraham would be a father of many nations, but through Jesus Christ would come the provision for every one of those nations to be saved from their sins.

In John 1:29-36, the Baptist upon seeing Christ cried: “Behold the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world!” On Mount Calvary, a Father and a Son fulfilled what was only a picture at Moriah. Jesus carried the wood of the cross up Calvary as Isaac did at Moriah. He was and is the Lamb whom God provided through His Grace,  the Saviour of those who trust in Him. He died the death we deserve, so we could live a life honouring God for His marvelous Grace. (Jn 3:16)

God's Grace in the Old Testament-Part 2

God’s grace is revealed in Gen 12 when God chose Abram and made him a promise that through him, all the families of the earth would be blessed. Abram did not choose God, neither was he immediately the man of faith that Hebrews 11 refers to.

It was a gradual transformation as Abram learned to trust in God’s grace. In Gen 12, God instructed Abram to leave  his country, kindred and father’s house and journey to a land which God Himself would show him. Abram obeyed God, but not totally. Instead of leaving everything he knew behind, he took his nephew Lot with him (Gen 12:1-4).

Many times Abram doubted God’s Promise. In Egypt, he was fearful and sought to preserve his life by lying that Sarai, his wife was his sister (Gen 12:13). Abram was still learning to trust in God. God was gracious, preserving King Abimelech from sin because He could see the integrity of his heart when he took Abram’s wife into his royal court. God was patient with Abram, blessing him with great riches, honour and favour despite his failures. When Lot chose the best land for himself, God in His grace reaffirmed His Promise to Abram. Abram became a generous and respectful man. He respected the property rights of others even though he knew that God would give his descendants the whole land. God’s grace was already changing him (Gen 13:10-18). He was learning that it was God’s great grace that made him a prosperous and successful man and he gave God all the glory for his success, attributing none of his success to others or to himself (Gen 14:22-24).

In Gen 15, God affirmed His Promise to Abram yet again. Abram had a crisis in faith, as he had no idea how God planned to fulfil the Promise; all he knew was that he remained childless and he couldn’t  see past his  circumstances. God was patient with Abram, conceding to his request for a sign or assurance that God would indeed give him the land as promised. God asked Abram to prepare some sacrifices and Abram fell into a deep sleep as God revealed in prophetic vision to him the things that would befall his nation.  The 400 years of oppression under Egyptian rule was revealed to him as well as the glory of the exodus from Egypt. God’s grace to the Amorites was also revealed to Abram; God was giving them time to turn to Him and repent of their evil. While Abram’s descendants were yet to possess their inheritance, the Amorites would have opportunity to turn to God.

God Himself passed between the slain animals. The Almighty Himself condescended to make a covenant, binding Himself on pain of death as an earthly king would bind himself when making a covenant with another. The difference was that it was a one-sided covenant. Abram did not pass between the animals for it was God alone who had made the Promise and He alone who would see it to completion through His plan of redemption by the blood of His own Son, “the seed of the woman”. Abram could not break the covenant for he had no part in the making of it. Neither his good works, nor the lack thereof could change the Promise and God’s plan to fulfil it. God’s grace was, and still is, beyond comprehension.