GOD SEEKS OUT MAN AFTER THE FALL
COMMENTARY
In Genesis 3:15 God made the first promise concerning the one who would redeem man from Satan’s power, taking back the power Satan had usurped. The promise was that the “seed of woman” would crush Satan’s head. The Woman is Mary the Mother of God. Her offspring, Jesus, is the seed that will defeat Satan and overcome death.
The Old Testament is full of Christ, the Anointed One, though oftentimes in a veiled form. Throughout biblical history God continues to reveal His plan for salvation through the prophets, covenants, and the psalms of David.
The Old Testament is filled with blessings and curses; curses, when man disregards God, and blessings, when man remains faithful. Man separates himself from God. God lifts man back up in His mercy, man falls again and again, and God remains faithful, calling man to repentance and solidarity with Him.
GOD CHOOSES THE JEWISH NATION THAT THEY MAY REVEAL HIM TO ALL NATIONS
Among all the nations in the world, God chose Israel as the one He would work with. This was the nation that God delivered out of slavery in Egypt, the nation to whom God gave the land of Canaan, and the nation through whom would come Jesus, the Messiah. God chose them not for anything they were but because He was going to form them into a people, a light to the nations of this world.
“For you are a people holy to the LORD, the LORD, your God, has chosen you from all the peoples on the face of the earth to be a people specially his own… the LORD brought you out with a strong hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt…Know, then, that the LORD, your God, is God: the faithful God who keeps covenant mercy to the thousandth generation toward those who love him and keep his commandments.” DEUTERONOMY 7:6-9
THE CALL OF ABRAHAM
“The LORD said to Abram: Go forth from your land, your relatives, and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the families of the earth will find blessing in you.” GENESIS 12:1-3
God blessed Abraham and his descendants because of Abraham’s faith, a living faith that resulted in diligent obedience to God’s instructions and law. “Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring” (Genesis 28:14).This promise was repeated to Abraham’s son, Isaac, and to Abraham’s grandson, Jacob (Genesis 17:21; 26:24; 28:1-4, 13)
OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECIES OF A MESSIAH
Messiah would be born of woman Genesis 3:15
Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Micah 5:2 Messiah would be born of a virgin. Isaiah 7:14 Messiah come from the line of Abraham. Genesis 12:3 Messiah heir to King David’s throne. 2 Samuel 7:12-13 Messiah would spend a season in Egypt. Hosea 11:1 Messenger prepare the way for Messiah Isaiah 40:3-5 Messiah be rejected by his own people. Isaiah 53:3
God chose Israel as a “model community” to show the world his path, placing them at the exact intersection of the three continents so the nations could be drawn to them. Jesus, the promised Messiah in the prophets brought the New Covenant, opening the doors directly for the nations to come to God through his salvific work.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it….And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.” JOHN 1:14
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things were created through him and for him.He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead… For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile all things…making peace by the blood of his cross…”
COLOSSIANS 1:16
Hello, Tom,
Thank you for continuing your meaningful messages in your blogs.
The list of scripture passages here shows the long history of the revelation of God’s plan for our salvation. It clearly shows the ties between the Old and New Testament and how they lead to Christ’s incarnation, the importance of His life among us and the meaning of His Crucifixion.
We will benefit from dwelling on these readings, learn the way to Jesus and by our actions grow closer to Him.