2 Corinthians 1:20(NKJV)
20For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.
When Israel came to Egypt as a family of 70 people, they had an identity. They were called the Children of Abraham. The name Abraham was not their ancestor’s original name. He had been called Abram. Abraham was the name given to him by God when a blood covenant was made between he and God. That covenant was connected to a promise.
We will look at both the covenant and the promise later, but for the moment I want to focus on their identity. They were the people of the covenant and people of the promise. That was not a religious thing nor a traditional thing. It was at the heart of who and what they were.
During their time in captivity, their identity changed. They still knew of Abraham’s covenant. They still carried the mark of circumcision in their flesh, but this had become their religious identity not the source of their spiritual life.
Yesterday we talked about the Roman army and how they used standing as a tactic to defeat the enemy. They used their shield and their battle shoes to become a wall that not only withstood the onslaught of the enemy but actually caused the enemy to be broken against them.
In Paul’s illustration the Shield is faith in the Word. The shoes are the peace that comes from knowing we are in right relationship with God through the gospel. So in difficult situations we must have the Word of Faith and the peace of relationship to stand on. If we have those things, along with the rest of the Ephesians 6 armor, we will not only withstand the attack we will break the devils power with our stand.
When the time came for them to stand at the crossing of the Red Sea, they didn’t seem to have the capacity to do so. How could that be? Standing in the Old Testament is not different than standing in the New Testament. They were people of the promise. They were the people of the covenant, which is the basis for relationship. When confronted with this situation they should have had what it took to stand, but they didn’t.
Now let’s not be too hard on them. This was a life threatening situation. They were going to die if God didn’t move for them. We might not do much better given the same circumstances. Still when Moses told them to stand it was in response to their reaction. They said nothing of the covenant. They never even brought it up. They didn’t ask, “What about the promise of God to Abraham?”
You might say that they didn’t know the promise. That is not true. We will look at Genesis 15 this week, but let me just refer to it right now. Moses wrote down a specific conversation between God and Abraham. How did he know what was said between them? Did he just make it up? If so I am not sure that we can call these verses the bible. Did the Holy Spirit just reveal it to him? This is possible and although it sounds very spiritual, I don’t think that’s what happened.
In those days it was common for people to transmit their heritage from generation to generation through both oral and written histories. The covenant between God and Abraham was at the heart of their identity. They would have passed the stories down. One of the reasons God says he picked Abraham was that He knew Abraham would teach his children.
So from generation to generation they heard the telling of this conversation. The recited the details of the covenant and the promise connected to it. They knew the story intellectually. By the time Moses delivered them from Egypt it was not longer a spiritual reality for most of them.
There were exceptions to this. Joshua and Caleb were exceptions. Moses parents were exceptions. We learn in Hebrews 11 that they did what they did by faith. Faith in what? The covenant and the promised. For most of them, however, it was just religion and tradition.
Why can’t we stand today. There has never been a generation in the church that has had more great bible teaching. There has never been greater access to the Word of God and to the means to understand it. We have tapes, CD’s, the internet and books at our finger tips. We know the promises.
There is a greater understanding among many of us as to what the new birth via the Gospel really means We are new creatures in Christ Jesus. We are the righteousness of God because of what Jesus did for us. We know our relationship.
Yet with all this, when it comes time to stand we often sound like the children of Israel. We are going to die!!!!! Why? It is because the promise has become part of our religious identity but we do not stand on it as the source of our life.
Today’s verse tells us that all the promises of God in Christ are yes and Amen. Israel had a religious knowledge of the covenant and the promises, but they did not really accept them. They believed they make them “Israelites” but they didn’t believe God actually intended to keep them.
We need to make a decision today that we are people of the covenant and people of the promises. They are who we are not just what our religion is. We can stand on them. When we face impossibilities, find a promise to stand on. Ask for help if you need it.
Once you find that promise, meditate on it to build you shield of faith. Remind yourself that it is “yes and amen” in your life because you are in covenant relationship with God through the Gospel. Then stand against the enemy and watch as he is broken on the wall of The Shield of Faith and the shoes of the peace of Gospel relationship.
Leave a Reply