God’s Promises
[Balaam] took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor: God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it” (Numbers 23: 18-20).
“He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king [The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh [Mediator/Messiah first mentioned Job 9: 33 & 19: 23-27; (Daniel 9: 25,26) See also Zechariah 9: 9; Matthew Chap. 2: esp. verses1,2] come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be (Genesis 49:10)] is among them” (Numbers 23:21).
At his mother Rebekah’s insistence, Jacob (Heb. Jacob = supplanter) deceived Isaac and supplanted Esau. Jacob took Esau’s right of the firstborn and his inheritance. “And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son” (Genesis 27:18)?
“Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and [Isaac] felt [Jacob], and said, The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau” (Genesis 27:22).
Jacob deceived Isaac. “Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau” (Genesis 27:32).
“As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated” (Romans 9:13). “I have loved you, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the Lord: yet I loved Jacob” (Malachi 1:2). “As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated” (Romans 9:13).
As creatures, we do not have the same understanding as God. God does not experience disappointment, personal failure, anger or hatred in the same way as mankind. God knows what is good. Good does not entail degrees of “goodness.” There is good, and then there is everything else. Everything that is not good to God is unacceptable to God. He is patient with His creatures and creates a means by which our imperfections can be washed clean before they are brought to His presence.
When God had finished creation, at the end of the sixth day He declared it to be “very good” (Genesis 1: 31). On the seventh day, He stopped or “rested.“ Creation, through His creatures, is still being worked out as children are born into the world. God created in such a way so that – after having set the universe in motion – the parts of that creation have continued on according to His design.
It is the simplicity of this truth that mankind finds so maddening about God. The rules of the operation of the universe precede men and give the selfish nature of man no room to improve upon it. God’s laws of nature, when transgressed, always bring pain and suffering to all of His children. It is when we try to supersede the laws of nature that we find ourselves creating more problems, which in turn require more intervention, and which in turn cause more complicated problems.
God expects his law to be obeyed. God is not troubled personally because He has always revealed truth. Through many means he has revealed the consequences of the actions of men who act against His law. Time itself always reveals both truth and lie. Unfortunately for many there will be consequences when the test is finished and the grade mark appears.
“All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Jesus, the Son of God is the advocate (lawyer) who stands between us and God. He is the one who represents us as we stand in judgment, having broken God’s law. He earned that status by living a sinless life, a life made possible by the perfect knowledge of the Law indwelling in Him1. He then paid the price of all judgments against us through offering His perfected life as a sacrifice for the transgressions of the world. Without this advocate to speak for him, no man will bypass this judgment and will be condemned.
God has made a way to escape judgment through confession and repentance. Man is made faultless, not for any purpose of mankind; but, because God receives glory when mankind admits their guilt, makes confession and turns to God’s wisdom for a solution. God through this process is able to fulfill the perfection of His creation. He shows the perfection of his original design, he expresses his affection for his creation, and he turns what was evil back to the good.
“Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being.
Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.
For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said;
‘The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.
It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. This is the covenant I will establish with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord.
I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts.
I will be their God, and they will be my people.
No longer will they teach their neighbors, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.
For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.’ ” – Hebrews 8
God’s promises are Irrefutable and Irrevocable, but they don’t work in the way we want them to work. But, if you look to God, believe on the Christ, and work towards understanding how He wants His creation to work, you will understand because He will “take you by the hand” and He will “put [His] laws in [your] minds and write them on [your] hearts.”
- Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me; but if not, believe Me because of the works themselves. John 14:11
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