Our study of covenant promises continued last week with Abraham in Genesis.  God called him to be a blessing as he led the nation of Israel.  God called him out of Ur of the Chaldees and into the land of promise.  God called him to trust that he would truly fulfill the destiny of his name as the father of many nations.  Isaac and Jacob and the sons of Jacob would be born as a result of God’s covenant promises.

My favorite description of Abraham is found in Hebrews 11:12 which reads: “Therefore there was born even of one man and him as good as dead at that as many descendants as the stars of heaven in number and as innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.”   I like to think of it this way:  everywhere Abraham walked, he had confirmation of this covenant promise from God.  If he looked up, he saw the uncountable stars.  If he looked down, he saw the uncountable grains of sand by the seashores. 

Those who made it into the “Hall of Faithers" of Hebrews 11 were people of the covenant.  People of faith.  People who trusted God for the culmination of their future at His feet after having seen Him fulfill His promises.  The generations after Abraham blessed us with the scriptures.  The gospel story.  The Savior Himself.  I live on the other side of Calvary with all of you and we are a part of that covenant of faith. 

Four thousand years ago, Abraham walked this earth.  Three thousand years ago, David was King of Israel.  Two thousand years ago, Jesus was born, lived, died, was buried and then raised from death to life.  He walked this earth for forty days before ascending to His Father.  One day He will come again for His church.  Here is a simple timeline of biblical events: 

Creation & Fall of Man & The Flood
Abraham 2000BC
Egyptian Bondage 1800BC-1400BC
Time of the Judges 1400BC-1000BC
Time of the Kings 1000BC-600BC
Assyria Conquers Israel 722BC
Babylon Conquers Judah 586BC
Nehemiah builds the Jerusalem Wall 444BC
Four hundred years of silence:  Jesus!

In Genesis 3:15, God promised Adam and Eve Jesus.  God promised Noah preservation. God promised Abraham seed and land:  a people and a place to dwell on earth and in heaven in the city God would build. In the book of Exodus, God promised Moses that these promised land people would become a kingdom of priests and stand as a nation marked by holiness.  This promise hinged on their willingness to be obedient.  God would give Moses the “Ten Words” which would come to be called The Law.  In Leviticus, it would expand into the holiness code.  God was serious about Israel and Judah being the people who would live to be a blessing to the whole world.  The whole world HAS indeed been blessed by the scripture writers and the Savior, Jesus.  

When the people followed the Lord, they were fulfilling His covenant for them.  Sadly, they spent a lot of time failing to be obedient.  Each failure cost them dearly.  In spite of their continued disobedience, God’s plan would not be thwarted or side-tracked.  His plan WILL be accomplished just as He has said.  The writer of Hebrews paints a picture in Hebrews 2 of how sad it is to see the purpose of God roll exactly on schedule while we miss being in the “flow” of it because of our own disobedience. 

After their exodus from Egypt, the Israelites came to camp for a year at the foot of Mt. Sinai (also known as Mt. Horeb).  During this time, God would provide both the commandments on stone tablets as well as the blueprints for building the tabernacle and all its furnishings.  The 70 people who joined Joseph in Egypt had now become two million.  They had prospered just as God had said they would.  But they had been rubbing shoulders with Egyptians who worshipped Pharaoh and the sun god (little “g”) RAH.  They had no idea how to live as a holy nation, a priestly nation, a nation of worshippers who served the Creator and Redeemer.  

As Moses led them to the foot of the exact mountain where he had witnessed the burning bush, he would help them understand the identity of the Tender and Sustainer of the fire by night and the cloud by day.  They would come to understand the blood sacrifice of an innocent.  They would seal their covenant by circumcision.  They would appoint priests and set aside Levites to serve as worship leaders. 

They would learn about daily bread with their manna rations.  They would come to know their freedom is found in follow-ship.  Every step along their path from Egypt back to the land of promise was a confirmation that they had not been abandoned by the One True God.  On this side of Calvary, we live in the New Covenant accessible only through the shed blood of Jesus.

God promised Adam fruitfulness.
God promised Noah preservation.
God promised Abraham blessing.
God promised Moses a holy nation priestly kingdom.

Every step of covenant leads to Jesus.  Every covenant promise builds on the ones that were given before.  Never forget to notice the thread of covenant through scripture. God spells covenant J-E-S-U-S.