The Covenant of Redemption
Introduction
The Old Testament Scriptures are a history of the Jewish people containing graphic and detailed instructions for their worship of God and how they should conduct every part of their lives.
Many Christians feel these details have little relevance to their own lives, except as stories for the children. They find the endless instructions for sacrifices and ordinances wearisome and pointless to spend time in study.
After all, why read of a covenant that has become obsolete?
However, Paul tells us “..that which is done away was glorious…” 2 Corinthians 3:11.
How can this be?
The ‘glory’ of the Old Covenant was Christ, its Mediator. He was the go-between of a covenant that revealed the plan of salvation, not in fact, but in type. Galatians 3:19.20. 1 Timothy 2:5.
When Moses met the Lord in the mount, he asked to see His glory, but was told, “Thou canst not see my face, for there shall no man see me and live.” Exodus 33:20.
The Lord’s instructions were, “Behold there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock; and it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, I will put thee in the cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by; and I will take away my hand, and thou shalt see my back parts, but my face shall not be seen.” Exodus 33:20-33.
When Moses came down the mountain, he was asked to cover his face as the glory was too bright for Israel to bear. Paul says of this, “if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away, how shall not the ministration of the Spirit be rather glorious?” 2 Corinthians 3:7.8.
There is more to the Old Covenant than the religious rites of the Jewish people. It contains lessons of Christ hidden beneath the symbols of the sanctuary. The obscurity becomes plain when “the veil is taken away”, not only for Jewish people in their era, but even today, for that veil is Christ. 2 Corinthians 3:16.
“The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him, and he will show them his covenant.” Psalm 25:14.
It is true the glory of the New Covenant is far greater than the Old, but Christians are admonished to see that the Old Covenant did have its glory. All its symbols pre-figured the Saviour. Its tabernacle was a copy of the heavenly, “according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount”, and its priests served as “an example and shadow of heavenly things”. Hebrews 8:5.
In the New Covenant, the glory of Jesus Christ is manifested openly to the world. Naturally it outshines the former glory by far, yet, there are lessons to learn from that which was done away.
“For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory, for even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth…” 2 Corinthians 3:9.10.
No longer is the gospel hidden. Christians can read the Old Testament and understand the meaning of the symbols, because, “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” 3 Corinthians 3:17.
Remember, the Old Testament was the Bible of the early Christian church, and from its pages the apostles taught the gospel. Paul wrote, “if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost, in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” 2 Corinthians 4:3.4.
Let us allow the glory of Christ to shine into our hearts from both the Old and the New Testaments.
The Promise
The everlasting Covenant of Redemption was formulated in heaven, promised at some point in eternity. It was covenanted even before the creation of this earth, before the existence of sin.
This covenant was a “counsel of peace”, between God the Father and His beloved Son. It was an agreement, that should sin arise, the Son would give His life as an atoning sacrifice. He would “build the temple of the Lord” and “bear the glory”. Zechariah 6:12.13.
The covenant involved a loving Father consenting to transfer justice from the sinner, to His own Son. This caused great heartache to the Father, however, as there was no other way to redeem man, He agreed. The solemn promise was made and sealed “between them both”. Zechariah 6:12.
The agreement on the part of the Father was not an arbitrary decision, but was in response to the voluntary offer of His Son. It is the Father who must administer justice, but the Son, equal in divine nature, was at liberty to volunteer to take the penalty upon Himself.
Thus the covenant was “foreordained before the foundation of the world”. Revelation 13:8. As the pledge was by the Most High God, Christ could prophetically be called the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” 1 Peter 1:19.
“Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith.” Romans 16:25.26.
In AD31, the Covenant of Redemption was ratified by the death of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. In that final cry, “It is finished”, Christ spoke to His Father, claiming that the conditions of the covenant had been fulfilled. His death was the signature in blood that the covenant was now a legal entity, and the Father acknowledged the fact.
Today the Saviour holds in His hands the emancipation papers of the human race – ALL SLAVES ARE FREE.
After man had sinned, God made known His covenant in the words of condemnation to the devil. “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Genesis 3:15.
This was the promise of a Redeemer who would “destroy the works of the devil.” 1 John 3:8.
When Adam and Eve repented, God accepted their penitent confession and immediately united them to His covenant. He did this based purely on their faith in the Saviour to come. He removed the fig leaf garments and clothed them with coats of skins. This act demonstrated the promise that the Son of God would die in their place.
The skin coats spoke of righteousness wrought out in the holy life of One who died innocently that they might be clothed. It did not involve obedience on the part of the recipients, for it was righteousness “without the law, even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe.” Romans 3:21.22.
Unlike the Mosaic Covenant, the Redemptive Covenant is not an agreement between God and man. Instead it is a gift from God to man.
“For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.
Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.” Romans 5:17.18.
The gift includes everything necessary for salvation, including righteousness that will completely satisfy the claims of God’s holy law. This righteousness is absolute. Nothing needs to be added to it, for Christ pleased His Father in all things, saying, “…. I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” John 15:10. John 8:29.
The righteousness of Jesus Christ will open the gates of the New Jerusalem for the redeemed. It is our title to heaven.
Prior to the ratification of the Covenant of Redemption, the gift of righteousness was given in anticipation of the cross. Christ’s death demonstrated the “righteousness (of God) for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.” Romans 3:25.
This means that until Christ’s death, God needed much forbearance, for it appeared to the universe that He did not have the right to forgive sinners. The taunts of Satan would have continually sounded in His ears, ‘How can you forgive that man? What right do you have to forgive him and not me?’
At Calvary, Satan’s accusations were silenced.
The Covenant of Redemption is totally a gift. All men, from the first man to the last, must receive it as Heaven’s great endowment to sinful man. Salvation is a divine work, “… and the robe, woven in the loom of heaven, has not one thread of human devising.” Christ’s Object Lessons p311.
“For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.” 2 Corinthians 3:11.
During the next ten generations, the family of Adam was given the opportunity to accept or reject God’s Covenant of Redemption. It is a sad fact that few accepted the wonderful gift.
Abel was one who valued the promise and “by faith offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts, and by it, he being dead yet speaketh.” Hebrews 11:4.
Through faith Abel claimed the righteousness of the Redeemer to come, and by this God was able to accept his offering as a righteous act. Cain did not have faith in the coming Messiah. This was demonstrated by his refusal to offer a sacrifice of blood. Instead he presented the works of his own hands. “… unto Cain and to his offering (God) had not respect.” Genesis 4:5.
If Cain had offered a lamb with his fruit of the ground as a thank offering, it would have been accepted. But Cain was rebellious. His religion was not acceptable to God.
From Adam to Noah, God had His witnesses, and these all “obtained a good report through faith….” Hebrews 11:39.
To Noah and his sons, God said, “And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you…. And this is the token of the covenant…. I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a token of a covenant between me and the earth…. and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every creature that is upon the earth.” Genesis 9:8-17.
This covenant included the promise that God would never again destroy the earth by a worldwide flood, but it was also a confirmation that the Son of God would restore mankind into divine favour, and the earth would continue with His blessing.
The rainbow appeared in the cloud from refracted sunlight passing through droplets of water, however, a glorious rainbow surrounds the Father and the Son upon the throne of heaven. It is a symbol of His ‘counsel of peace’ through the Son.
“And He that sat was to look upon like jasper and a sardine stone; and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.” Revelation 4:2.3. Ezekiel 1:26-28.
No matter what happens to the surrendered believer, God promises to protect them from eternal loss. “For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.” Isaiah 54:9.10.
Covenant Demonstrated
During the next ten generations, God’s witnesses continued in a direct line from Noah, culminating in a man who has become known as the ‘father of the faithful’. His name is Abraham.
While Abraham still lived in a heathen land, God called him, “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee, and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing, and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee; and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” Genesis 12:1-3. (This text may be the second call, as verse 4 records Abraham leaving Haran. However, five years earlier, God called His servant from Ur of the Chaldees. Genesis 12:4. 15:7)
This call included a number of promises:
- a land
- a nation
- a name
- a blessing and a cursing
- a blessing to the whole earth
When the patriarch was 75 years he left Haran and journeyed to Canaan. Once there, portion of the covenant promise was repeated, “Unto thee will I give this land.” Genesis 12:6.7.
The Land
The covenant to which Abraham was united was the everlasting covenant made between the Father and His Son, and therefore the land is that which rightly belongs by inheritance to the Son. This is not just the land of Canaan, but the whole earth. Canaan was only a symbol of the redemption of the earth.
Yet, literal Canaan was set aside for Abraham’s descendants, but it remained a ‘type’ of the greater promise.
Later the promise was stated again, “Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river Euphrates.” Genesis 15:18-21.
After Lot had departed for Sodom, God said to Abraham, “Lift up now thine eyes and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward, for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever…. Arise, walk through the land… for I will give it unto thee.” Genesis 13:14-17.
The patriarch understood the promise to be spiritual, for he desired a “better country, that is, an heavenly…. a city which hath foundations, whose Builder and Maker is God.” Hebrews 11:16.10. In his earthly sojourn, Abraham saw himself as a “stranger and pilgrim”, having no place to call his own, but ever embracing the promises “afar off”. Hebrews 11:13.
To make it absolutely clear that the promise was not the literal land, God allowed Abraham to wander Canaan’s hills and valleys one hundred years. When he died at 175, he was still a foreigner in the land. The only piece of real estate he possessed was the cave of Machpelah which he purchased to bury the dead. He too was buried there.
In the New Testament, God teaches the same lesson in unmistakable terms, showing that the patriarchs died in faith, “not having received the promises…. and these all, having a good report through faith, received not the promise; God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.” Hebrews 11:39.40.
This is good news, as it includes all the redeemed.
In Hebrews, the writer points out that there remains “a rest” for the people of God. Hebrews 11:9. There are a number of rests shown in this chapter, but one of them is that the land is still waiting for the redeemed. It is the same land promised to Abram – the earth renewed in Edenic beauty.
All who unite their lives with Christ will inherit this land, for “if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Galatians 3:29.
In the renewed earth, “the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them…. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” Isaiah 11:6.9.
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away. And He that sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new....” Revelation 21:4.5. Isaiah 35:1-10.
The nation
During all his years traversing the land of Canaan, Abraham was respected by the inhabitants as a great prince, but never as a nation. Isaac was not married until Abraham was 140 years.
When the covenant promise was repeated and officially cut with Abraham, God told his servant that his descendants would be afflicted and strangers in a foreign land 400 years, but afterwards they would come out with “great substance”. Genesis 15:13.14.
(Many take this text to mean that the Hebrews were slaves in Egypt 400 years, but this is not so. They were 215 years in Canaan, 94 years in Goshen Egypt as a free people, and 116 years in Egyptian bondage. From the time Abram left Haran to the Exodus was 425 years, plus the 5 years from Ur, makes 430; from the birth of Isaac it was 400. They were certainly “strangers in a land not theirs” for 400 and/or 430 years. Exodus 12:40. 15:13. Acts 7:6)
It was in Egypt that the descendants of Abraham became a great nation, “…the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew”. Exodus 1:12. “When the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt.” Acts 7:17.
Abraham’s great grand children went into Egypt as a family, but at the Exodus, they came out a nation.
However, the promise of becoming a great nation was not primarily a literal fulfilment, instead it was spiritual. Paul says that “they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.” Galatians 3:7.
“That is, they which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted for the seed…. neither because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children, but in Isaac shall thy seed be called.” Romans 9:8.7.
The fact that God fulfilled His promise in a literal way, must again be seen as a type of the spiritual promise. Few understood this, and later Jewish leaders boasted to Jesus, “We be Abraham’s seed…” John 8:33.
Paul declares further, “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He said not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.” Galatians 3:16.
The true ‘seed’ was Christ. He was the One to whom the promises were originally made, and through Him alone would Abraham become a great nation.
Even before Abraham became the father of Isaac, God took him forth to see the night sky and said, “Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them; and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.” Genesis 15:5.
Abraham believed, and the Lord “counted it to him for righteousness.” Genesis 15:6.
This is good news.
Those who believe will be like Sarah’s who, “through faith…. received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea ashore innumerable.” Hebrews 11:11.12.
Even her son Isaac, born of the century old patriarch, became a descendant of Abraham through faith. And Abraham and Sarah themselves, through faith in the promised Seed, became part of the covenant of Redemption.
“For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith’.” Romans 1:17.
“For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus, for as many of you as have been baptised into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, for ye are all one in Christ Jesus, and if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Galatians 3:26-29.
Yes, God’s true people are “…. an holy nation, a peculiar (purchased) people.” 1 Peter 2:9.
But not only are they a nation, they are also a “priesthood” – the priesthood of all believers. 1 Peter 2:9. By faith we are “built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 2:5.
This priesthood is not the Order of Levi, but a “royal priesthood”, one that relates to Christ, not as a descendant of Levi, but of Judah. Genesis 49:10. 1 Peter 2:9. Christ is the high priest of the Order of Melchizadec.
“For He testified, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizadec… For those priests (Levites) were made without an oath, but this with an oath by Him that said unto him, ‘The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec’.” Hebrews 7:17.21. Psalm 110:4. This was the Father’s pledge to His Son, sworn by an oath.
The Melchizadec priesthood is unlike the Levitical priesthood in many ways:
It is not by law, but by promise and oath. (Only the tribe of Levi could be part of the priesthood, and only Aaron’s direct line the high priest. Exodus 28:1.30. 30:30. But Christ’s priesthood was made by the promise and oath of God. Hebrews 7:28)
It has better sacrifices. (Unlike the literal priesthood, the sacrifice is not that of an animal, but the Son of God nailed to the cruel cross of Calvary once and for all. “For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.” Hebrews 10:14. 9:23. 10:10-12)
It has a sinless high priest. (Unlike the Levitical priesthood, Christ did not need to offer sacrifices for His own sins before serving at the altar. He was sinless. Hebrews 7:26-27)
It has a high priest who will never die. (Unlike the Levitical priesthood that had mortal priests, once Christ was resurrected from His voluntary sacrifice, He can never die. He was immortal. Hebrews 7:24.)
It is a priesthood that has a heavenly sanctuary. Christ is the minister of the “true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched and not man.” Hebrews 8:2. (Unlike the Levitical priesthood which had only a replica of the true tabernacle, Christ’s temple is the one from which it was copied. Exodus 25:9. Hebrews 8:5)
It is the priesthood of a “better covenant”, based on “better promises”. Hebrews 8:6. (Unlike the Old Covenant where the people continued in rebellion, promising to obey and then breaking God’s law, the promises of God and Christ will never be broken. Hebrews 8:6-8. 9:9-14) This is the great reality, the real covenant that guarantees salvation.
Not only is Christ the minister of the true tabernacle, but because He “suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.” Hebrews 2:18.
“Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:14-16.
The name
Abraham was originally given the name Abram, but when He was 90 years of age, God told him, “And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly…. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham, for a father of many nations have I made thee.” Genesis 17:2.4.5.
At this time, Abraham’s son Ishmael was four years old, and naturally the father expected the fulfilment to come through him.
But God’s ways are not man’s ways.
“And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her; yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.” Genesis 17:15.16.
At this promise, Abraham laughed and said, “Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? And shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?” Genesis 17:17. He then presented Ishmael before the Lord saying, “O that Ishmael might live before thee!” Genesis 17:18.
In compassion, God promised that Ishmael would become a great nation, but that he would not be the son through whom the covenant would be fulfilled. Genesis 17:20. As a result, the children of Ishmael became the mighty Arab nation, who today number billions. Their father Abraham is revered and seen as the great Patriarch of the religion of Islam.
But the Jewish people also look to Abraham as their father through Isaac. Of their claim to be the seed of Abraham, Jesus replied, “If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me…. This did not Abraham…. Ye do the deeds of your father…. Ye are of your father the devil and the lusts of your father ye will do.” John 8:39.40.41.44.
We must understand that Jesus is not speaking to surrendered, obedient believers, but to those who were sticklers for the letter of the Mosaic Covenant. Yet they were not keeping it.
Paul said of these Pharisees, “Behold, thou art called Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God, and knowest His will…. And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind…
Thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? Thou that abhorest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law, dishonourest thou God? For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you….” Romans 2:17-24.
Even the rite of circumcision lost its meaning. Instead of being a symbol, it became an end in itself.
“For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law; but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?” Romans 2:25.26.
Yes, the name of Abraham became great among the Jewish people, but only as their Patriarch. Paul explains the true meaning of those who are the children of Abraham.
“For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh, but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God.” Romans 2:28.29.
Separation from sin was the meaning of the symbol.
This Abraham understood, and God could say of him, he is “My friend”, for he “obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commands, my statutes and my laws.” Genesis 26:5. Isaiah 41:8. 2 Chronicles 20:7.
What a privilege -- Abraham, “the Friend of God.” James 2:23.
James tells us that by his works, Abraham testified that his faith in the Redeemer was genuine. James 2:22. It was a vibrant, active faith, that made him a “doer of the law and not a hearer only”. James 1:22.
It is through this living faith that Abraham’s name has become great in the earth. He believed and lived as in the presence of the Son of God, the One who has “a name above every name”. Philippians 2:9.
One day soon faithful Abraham, with the faithful of all ages, will, “at the name of Jesus…. bow (the knee)…and every tongue (will) confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:10.11.
Blessing and Cursing
“And I will bless them that bless thee and curse him that curseth thee.” Genesis 12:3.
Obviously God wanted all people to respect Abraham, however, although Judaism and Islam respect Abraham, both have rejected the Son of God. The Jew says: “Yeshua is not the Son of God”, and the Moslem echoes it: “Allah has no son”.
In harmony with the Pharisees and Sadducees of two millennia ago, both religions continue to deny Jesus to be the promised Son sent to redeem the world.
Scripture clearly reveals that “whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father…” 1 John 2:23. (Let us praise God that many are searching the Hebrew Scriptures and finding ‘salvation’ [‘yeshua’, the Hebrew name for Jesus] Said Jesus, “Search the Scriptures…. for they are they which testify of Me.” John 5:39)
God has made it clear that there are two covenants – one being a curse, the other a blessing. All men, no matter what their religious faith, are part of one covenant or the other. The Christian who performs his religion by rote is no different from the Buddhist turning his prayer wheel. Both have “a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.” 2 Timothy 3:5.
“For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh, but he of the freewoman was by promise.
Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants, the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. (Agar is Greek for Hagar)
But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.” Galatians 4:22-26. “For here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come.” Hebrews 13:14.
Unfortunately the rivalry that developed in Abraham’s household between Sarah and Hagar will continue to the end of time. Not only between the followers of the two groups -- Jews and Arabs -- but between Christians and non-Christians. Paul says, “But as then, he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.” Galatians 4:29.
But there is a third group, and it is the most subtle of all.
A Christian can be professing to be under the New Covenant, yet living under the Old. To this group especially Paul counsels, “Cast out the bondwoman and her son; for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.” Galatians 4:30.
If we are unsurrendered in heart, all our works are valueless with God.
Israel of old cried out in terror at Sinai, “All that the Lord has spoken, we will do”, but in a few weeks they had forsaken their God, broken His laws, and were dancing around the golden calf, as much rebellious as when they promised to obey. Genesis 19:8. 20:18.19. Deuteronomy 5:24-27. Exodus 32.
Those who truly accept the gift of God’s Covenant of Redemption, are “not children of the bondwoman, but of the free”. Galatians 4:31.
This is good news indeed.
Paul’s counsel to all surrendered, obedient Christians is, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” Galatians 5:1.
Earth’s blessing
The promise that in Abraham “all families of the earth (would) be blessed” could be fulfilled only one way – through the incarnation of the Son of the living God. Genesis 12:3.
This glorious event was dramatically portrayed to Abraham in the most difficult experience of his life. But after his victory of faith, it became the most wonderful demonstration of how God would fulfil the everlasting Covenant of Redemption.
Throughout his life Abraham believed God would give him a son, but he found it difficult to rest his faith completely in God. After the passing of some years, the patriarch suggested God accept the steward of his house, Eliezer, as his son. After all, he had been born in his house. God replied, “This shall not be thine heir, but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.” Genesis 15:4.
When Abraham was 86, Sarah suggested he take Hagar, her Egyptian handmaid, and have a son through her. Unwisely he accepted her advice and Ishmael was born. Genesis 16:1-4.16. When the boy was four years old, Abraham asked the Lord to accept Ishmael as his heir. Again God refused saying, “My covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.” Genesis 17:21.
And at the appropriate time, “Sarah conceived and bare Abraham a son in his old age.” Genesis 21:1.2.
Twenty years later, God said to Abraham, “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell to you.” Genesis 22:2.
This was the ultimate test.
Would Abraham now trust God completely?
Yes, trusting in the word of God alone, Abraham obeyed.
On the third day, Abraham “took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it upon Isaac his son, and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.” Genesis 22:6.
Silent, but confident in His God, Abraham climbed the slopes of Moriah with his son.
Suddenly Isaac turned to his father, “My father…. behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Genesis 22:7.
“My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering.” Genesis 22:8.
When they arrived at the appointed place, Abraham, with trembling voice, began to reveal the divine message to his son. Isaac was filled with amazement when he learned his fate, but offered no resistance. Willingly he yielded to the divine plan.
Abraham built an altar, laid the wood in order, “bound his son and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.” Genesis 22:9.10.
Suddenly a voice was heard. “Abraham, Abraham, Lay not thine hand upon the lad… for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son.” Genesis 22:11.12.
“By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac; and he that received the promises, offered up his only begotten son…. accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead.” Hebrews 11:17.19.
“And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns, and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of Isaac his son.” Genesis 22:13.
This agonising experience fulfilled three purposes:
That God might test the patriarch to see if he would act on faith alone.
That Abraham might understand the Covenant of Redemption.
That you and I might contemplate the agony God the Father experienced in giving His beloved Son to redeem us.
When the Son of God was speaking to the Jewish leaders about Abraham, He said, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it, and was glad.” John 8:56.
In many ways Isaac resembled Christ:
Christ is the only begotten Son of His Father.
Christ was crucified on Mount Moriah.
Christ was the one who carried the wood for the cross.
Christ was a willing and obedient Son.
Christ willingly laid down His life in sacrifice.
But at the moment Abraham passed the test and his son is spared, Isaac represented redeemed humanity. The ram caught in the thicket became a ‘type’ of the sacrifice of Christ.
“And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, ‘In thee shall all nations be blessed’.” Galatians 3:8.
The Covenant of Redemption was confirmed with Abraham’s son Isaac. “Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee, for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father, and I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed….” Genesis 26:3.4.
After Jacob’s repentance, God’s covenant was confirmed with him also. “And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven, and behold, the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, ‘I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac; the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed.
And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south; and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed, and behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest….” Genesis 28:12-15.
The covenant was confirmed with the patriarchs that they might understand God’s plan of salvation and teach it to others. But they were not the only ones united with the Covenant of Redemption. Every man, woman and child who accepted the Messiah and surrendered in heart and mind was joined to it by faith.
“So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham….” Galatians 3:9.
Yosemite is beautiful and Glacier View spectacular. So is the Word of God.
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