Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

“When Abram was ninety-nine years old, Yahweh appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty. Walk before me and be blameless. I will make my covenant between me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.” Abram fell on his face. God talked with him, saying, “As for me, behold, my covenant is with you. You will be the father of a multitude of nations.“

(Genesis 17:1-4)

“They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is written through the prophet,

‘You Bethlehem, land of Judah,
    are in no way least among the princes of Judah;
for out of you shall come a governor
    who shall shepherd my people, Israel.’”“

(Matthew 2:5-6)

Chapter sixteen is Abram and Sarai’s attempt to make God’s promise come to pass according to their culture and their efforts. It doesn’t work out with harmony – but God still honours the promise that He made with Abram (Genesis 15:4-7) by making Ishmael a nation. In chapter seventeen, God mentions ‘covenant’ twelve times. And in chapter eighteen, while reminding Abraham of the promise, God acts like the promise has already come to pass – Genesis 18:17-19. In Matthew, we see the result of ANOTHER promise (a location promise) tied to the promise to humanity (Genesis 3:15) and Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3). A promise they did not doubt because God is faithful in ALL His promises and through ALL His covenants. God is a God of covenant, of promises, of agreement between two (and more) parties. And He is ALWAYS the one to initiate it.

Humanity can JOIN in a covenant. We can RESPOND to a covenant. But we do not INITIATE the covenant. It is always God’s idea. He sets the terms and the boundaries – which is only just, because He IS God. There will be things He says He will do. There will be things we need to do to remain in the covenant, or to receive the blessing of the covenant. We each have a part to play. But because God sets them and God cuts them, the ultimate responsibility for them is with God. He sent His Son to ratify them. To seal them with perfect blood so that they can NEVER pass away. One sacrifice at one point in one place, for all of time everywhere. Jesus’ covenant with the Father is the final covenant and the sealing of all covenants before. That’s why in Jesus we are all saved and in Jesus we are all blessed. He is THE child of the promise. He is THE prophesied saviour.

Summary

God initiates covenant with humanity and it is our choice whether we will abide by the covenant or not. God doesn’t forget them. God holds to them. If we want to benefit by them, we need to obey them. This we do not from fear or greed, but from love for Him who offered us covenant in the first place.