Theology Friday: Old Testament Promises

Do Old Testament promises apply to me or just Israel?  Depending on how "churched" you are, you may not know all of the controversy that surrounds this question.  Dispensationists line up on one side while Covenental theologians line up on the other.  If you don't know what those words mean, don't worry, you don't need to.

There are tons of different promises in the Old Testament.  God speaks to many people and promises a variety of things.  The Bible records those words and conversations.  We need to treat those words and conversations like we would any other to understand them.  The key to understanding biblical promises is context.  CONTEXT, CONTEXT, CONTEXT.  The truth is that some of the promises in the Old Testament apply to us and some of them don't.  You have to read the context to see which is which.  Here are a few categories that promises might fall into...

Ezra: The Sovereign God Keeps His Word

                Last week, we left off with the temple about to be completed.  God overcame the obstacles the Israelites faced when they took a step of faith.  Today, we will see a success story and we will witness God’s amazing faithfulness to His promises.

The Completion and Celebration

Read Ezra 6:13-22

                We have finally made it!  The Israelites have completed the Temple!  Is there hope for God’s people?  Yes!  The sovereign God has rescued His people from exile.  He has brought them home.  He has overcome all of their obstacles.  Verse 14 tells us why the Temple was finished.  It’s because God Himself decreed it.  There is hope for God’s people because God is sovereign and God is with them!

You can do it, Put your heart into it!

Two Sunday mornings ago, I went hunting.  Don't worry animal lovers, I wasn't hunting deer.  I was hunting for an iPad accessory so that I could hook up my iPad directly to a projector.  Every Sunday, I use a Keynote presentation to teach the 1st-6th graders a Bible lesson.  I usually use my Mac to run the presentation.  But the week Michaela was born, my Mac up and broke.  But with my baby girl in my arms, that was the last thing on my mind.