Last night I was reading in Habakkuk and Zephaniah, and I was thinking about the relationship between YHWH and the people of Israel throughout the Old Testament. He gave the Law, they broke it, He got mad, they repented, He forgave because of His great love and faithfulness. Till they messed up again, and the cycle repeated.
I had never really thought of the coming of the Messiah from THEIR point of view. What was it like to (try to) live by the Law and wait and hope expectantly for a Redeemer ... for 800+ YEARS? (Just using Isaiah as a benchmark). To live in the days of prophecy and destruction, to hear of One coming from the Root of Jesse... generation after generation after generation. Yet they knew they were the chosen ones and believed in the One True God.
Then, can you imagine how the people in Jesus' time felt when they realized they were in the presence of that One? (And yet some did not see Who was in front of them, but that is for another day) : )
We live now in a time of a New Covenant. The sin debt has been paid, bought with a blood price that we didn't have to pay. We have the whole Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and every book from Matthew to Revelation (in addition to the OT).
We have access to the Father through the Son, with the Holy Spirit left with/given to us to guide and be our daily companion. Wow. Do we have it good, or what.
Put yourself in the shoes of those who lived before the Incarnation, and lived by faith. They lived their entire lifetimes hoping, waiting, watching.
We are so blessed. We have it all. Praise God for the New Covenant and for the One who was willing to come to (limit Himself to) time and space (as a Man) where He had not before. (That is, again, musings for another day!)
Blessings.
I don't think that I would have done very well in OT days. There were so many laws in the Bible. I am so thankful that Jesus was the fulfillment of the Law.
ReplyDeleteTonight starts the Hebrew celebration of Pentecost! The greatest Pentecost since Acts 2!
ReplyDeleteYes!!! Can you imagine the burden of always knowing that no matter how hard you tried, you would always fail!!! Thank God for the grace of Christ!!!
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of what Christ endured for the sins of man I become overwhelmed. I am flesh. I sin every day. I sometime frustrate myself repeating the same sin. I am humbled my Lord gave His son for humanity. For by His stripes and shed blood our sins are forgiven and we have eternal life. If that's not enough...we have a companion every moment to accomplish all things...
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