MY PERSPECTIVE, Gary Damron
We often see that unlikely people are used in spite of failures because of their trust in God and His faithfulness. Adam and Eve in the Garden sinned, but even then God had a plan of reconciliation in mind. He prophetically pronounced curses: enmity between the serpent and Eve, hatred and hostility between her seed and his. From then on, Satan has sought to injure us, but eventually “the seed of woman” will crush him.
In Genesis 12:2, Abraham received a promise from God. “’And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great.’” This man who had only one promised son was told he would have as many children “’as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore.’” Many of us may not be genetically linked to Father Abraham. Yet everyone who has found faith in Jesus becomes a descendant by faith of him, and our calling goes far beyond having sins forgiven. In the very next verse, the word seed is used again. “’In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice’” (Genesis 22:17, 18).
If you read the first part of Genesis chapter 22, Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son Isaac. After he responded in faith and obedience, God provided a replacement sacrifice, a ram caught in a thicket.
Jews, Muslims and even Christians sometimes make the mistake of looking to Abraham rather than the seed [Jesus, the Son of God] to purchase our redemption. Paul in Galatians chapter 3:16 said that the promised seed of Abraham is Christ. Verses 7-9 explain that “those who are of faith are sons of Abraham”, including Gentiles [non-Jews], and receive the blessing given to him.
A similar promise was given later to King David through the prophet Nathan (2 Samuel 7:8-17). “’When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant [singular] after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house [dwelling] for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever’” (verse 12).
In the same way that Paul connected Abraham and God’s plan to the promise, Jesus linked Himself to David. In Matthew chapter 22, He asked the Pharisees a question. “’What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?”‘ Knowing all the Messianic prophecies in Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, they replied, “’The son of David’”. So, the seed that was promised to deal with Satan and his attacks was Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.
Paul also addressed the question of why believers had followed The Law - Ten Commandments, rules and regulations of the Old Testament - for many centuries. “Why the Law then? It was added because of transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed would come to whom the promise had been made” (Galatians 3:19).
It’s a challenge to think of ourselves in a broader sense, as one of many peoples around the world, but that’s what we become, not only as a member, but one who joins in God’s ministry of reconciliation. Here’s a summary of what Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:16-20: Christ, who was a sinless man, on the cross “became sin on our behalf”, transforms us into a new creature, and all is made new. God reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry, and word, of reconciliation. We each then become an ambassador of Jesus, helping others who are separated from our holy Creator due to sin that entered into Eden, to find reconciliation.
So, from the beginning, God has had a plan to reconcile us from the first human’s first sin. His Son Jesus redeems us from sin and its consequences, and brings new life. Not just so we can be saved and on the way to heaven, but so we can join in a ministry of reconciling and bringing others to the kingdom.
Even as we move to the last book of the Bible, Revelation chapter 12 summarizes the ongoing conflict. From the time Satan was cast out of heaven, through the ages until today, he has attacked the “seed of woman”. But by the time we reach the final chapters of the book, we see the fulfillment of Genesis chapter 3 - the defeat of Satan - fulfillment of the blessing promised to Abraham - and the establishment of the kingdom promised to David. It’s thrilling to see how the Bible operates as a whole with the same message: Jesus is the Redeemer that God planned from the beginning.
God had the plan of reconciliation from the very beginning, and believers are privileged to share it. Only Jesus as He hung on the cross could say to the thief, “‘this day you will be with Me in paradise’” and only the Savior could say “‘Father forgive them.’”
