One of the major lessons we learn from the Old Testament is that God is a faithful God. Story after story shows us that, despite the fact that God’s people refuse to obey Him, He will remain faithful to His covenant with them. The glory of His name depends on His faithfulness. Take the story of Moses, for instance. God had called Moses to lead His people out of Egypt. As they came to Mount Sinai, God gave Moses the regulations of the covenant that the people would have to keep. But the people broke the laws even before Moses and God had finished talking. When God told Moses that He was going to destroy his people, it was to His covenant faithfulness that Moses pleaded. God’s name among the nations depended on His being faithful to fulfill His promises to His people.
From the opening pages of the Bible, we find God making promises for His people in the future. In Genesis 3, God promises the snake that Eve’s seed would crush His head. He promises Abraham that through him all the nations of the earth would be blessed. He promises Moses that he will send His people another prophet (like Moses) that the people would listen to. He promises David that, one day, his son would reign on the throne forever. He would be a Father to him and establish His kingdom. He promises Isaiah that the people who walked in darkness would see a great light and that the Lord would come to His temple. He promised Daniel that 70 weeks were determined to make an end of sin. And the list goes on.
Finally, he promised to Joseph, a poor carpenter from Nazareth, that the child that his fiance’ was carrying was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and they would call His name Jesus, because He would save His people from their sins. The birth and death of Jesus was not a secondary thought of a God who all of a sudden realized He had to do something about this sin problem. It was part of His eternal plan, in which He moved the events of history to bring about the necessary conditions to bring His Son into the world. It was God being faithful to His promises that He had made throughout the Old Testament.
It is this same God who is faithful to His children today. If you are a believer you are His child. The promises He has made apply to you. He will never leave you or forsake you. He who started the good work in you will be faithful to completed it. He is working all things out for your good. In this day where you never know who you can trust, you can be assured that you can trust God because He always has been and always will be faithful.
FOR FURTHER STUDY
1. Read Luke 24:1-27. What portion of Scripture did Jesus use to show who He was? (Parents - you may want to turn to the table of contents of your Bible to show your children that “Moses and the Prophets” includes the entire Old Testament) What does this say about how we should read the Old Testament?2. What does it mean to you that God was faithful to promises that He had made for over 2,000 years? How does God’s faithfulness help you to live today?
Children’s Catechism Question
Q - Who made you?
A - God made me.
Adult Catechism Question
Q - Who is the first and best of beings?
A - God is the first and best of beings.
Hymn
Immortal, Invisible, God only Wise
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