The Worldwide Scope of the Covenant
Our reading for Thursday, January 10, 2013: Genesis 27:1-29:14 Click here to open
My selection: Genesis 28: 13-14
13 And behold, the Lord stood above it and said,“I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. 14 Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
My reflections: The Lord God had previously given His covenant to Abraham and reiterated it to Issac and, now, to Jacob. It is significant that each time the covenant is explained, the Lord promises that blessing will extend through it to all the families of the earth. It is striking that this obvious feature of the covenant was almost completely lost by the Jews in later centuries. Paul described the relationship between Jews and Gentiles as one of having had a “dividing wall of hostility” (Ephesians 2:14). Christ fulfills this vision of a ladder connecting heaven to earth (John 1:51) and in Him that wall was broken down.
Have we, evangelicals, reconstructed a wall of hostility with those who do not yet believe? Have we erred as did the Old Testament Jews in being too inward focused? Or have we also watered down the gospel so that some are teaching that people of other non-Christian religious traditions may be saved despite having no identification with Christ or His Church? We are prone to go to extremes.
My challenge: Seek to make disciples of all nations, but be faithful to the Scripture. Only through faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, may sinners be saved. Through the gospel of Jesus Christ blessing is coming to all the families of the earth.
Our reading for Friday, January 11, 2013:Genesis 29:15-31:21 Click here to open.