Only Pagan Idols Needs What You Have To Offer (The Abrahamic Covenant Part 1)

[0:00] it's really good to see a couple visitors and those of you who have been with us for a little bit just want you to know you are in our prayers we pray for each one of you every week and for those that God will continue to bring as well it's only because he's alive and he's ministering among us that we come come here that's the only reason so to give you a place of kind of the place where we're at with our teaching series is that we have preached through the book of John in the fall we'll continue preaching through a book of the Bible that'll be our normal pattern but we've had a special treat I think this spring which is to do a series on covenant theology our confession states that God was pleased to reveal himself by way of covenant and so we're seeing through the Bible how God has revealed himself the first covenant happened between Father Son and Holy Spirit outside of time and space and that's the covenant of redemption then we saw how the Lord made a covenant with mankind with Adam as the first federal head after Adam we saw the covenant that the Lord made with Noah and all the earth and now we're going to continue with the covenant that the Lord makes with Abraham the covenant with Abraham begins earlier like in Genesis chapter 12 and it continues really till Genesis 22 27 it just keeps going but we're picking one key passage one key chapter as our focus for today so today's sermon text is all of Genesis chapter 15 Genesis 15 verses 1 through 21

[1:38] I read this believing that this is God's inspired inerrant infallible clear and sufficient word it's God's very own word for his very own word for his people when I'm done reading I'll say this is the word of the Lord if you receive it as that you can say thanks be to God Genesis 15 after these events the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision do not be afraid Abram I am your shield I am your exceedingly great reward but Abram said Lord God what can you give me since I am childless in the air of my house is Eleazar of Damascus Abraham continued look you have given me no offspring so a slave born in my house will be my heir now the word of the Lord came to him this one will not be your heir instead one who comes from your own body will be your heir he took him outside and said look at the sky and count the stars if you are able to count them then he said to him your offspring will be that numerous Abram believed the Lord and he credited it to him as righteousness he also said to him I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess but he said Lord God how can I know that I will possess it he said to him bring me a three-year-old cow a three-year-old female goat a three-year-old ram a turtle dove and a young pigeon so he brought all these to him cut them in half and laid the pieces opposite each other but he did not cut the birds in half birds of prey came down on the carcasses but Abram drove them away as the sun was setting a deep sleep came over Abram and suddenly great terror and darkness descended on him then the

[3:43] Lord said to Abram know this for certain your offspring will be resident aliens for 400 years and in land that does not belong to them and will be enslaved and oppressed however I will judge the nation they serve and afterward they will go out with many possessions but you will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age in the fourth generation they will return here for the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure when the sun had set and it was dark a smoking pot and a flaming torch appeared and passed between the divided animals on that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram saying I give you this land to your offspring from the book brook of Egypt to the great river the Euphrates river the land of the Kenites Kenizzites Kadmonites Hethites Perizzites

[4:46] Rephaim Amorites Canaanites Gergashites and Jebusites this is the word of the Lord thanks be to God you may be seated the grass withers the flower fades but the word of the Lord endures forever amen let's pray Lord we believe in the Holy Spirit we believe that the Spirit of God dwells in the people of God we ask that your Holy Spirit will illumine our minds help us to see your truth in these words that we've read from the Bible that you inspired that you breathed out through Moses we pray Lord that as we see your truth we see the gospel being revealed by further steps that it will be cut to the heart that we will repent and that we will come to you again Lord in trusting faith today we ask this for your glory for our good for Christ's sake amen

[6:22] I'm going to read you something off my phone from National Geographic the article said TikTok specifically hashtag witch talk is fueling interest in the spiritual movement called neo-paganism inviting you to immerse yourself in full moon rituals spellcasting and more a resurgence in interest in pagan practices reconstruction reconstruction reconstructing ancient pagan practices that includes crystals tarot cards astrology and herbal magic has brought paganism from the fringes to the center in 2001 134,000 practice paganism openly like that now the number is over 1.5 million Americans a pagan is a follower of a polytheistic or pantheistic nature worshiping religion you're worshiping the creatures the creation anyone who denies that the triune God of the Bible

[7:39] Yahweh the great I am is the only true God is a pagan a pagan is anyone who worships something less than the true God anyone who worships an idol is a pagan even if they wrap that idol in biblical language there's an ancient God with a lowercase g a fake God an idol that was the head of the Sumerian pantheon the name of this idol was sin this this idol was represented by the moon and the the moon changes throughout the month so this God was a lowercase g God that changed this was a fake God that was hungry for the offerings of grain and cattle and flocks that would be given to the pagan priests specifically if a woman was barren or a couple would child were childless they would pray to this fake God this was a God that was needy a God that wanted you to bring things to that God and to those priests so that in turn you would receive a favor from that fake God it was transactional relationship what's interesting is that the temple to this fake God of the Sumerian pantheon it was located in Ur of the Chaldeans this was the dominant God of the land that Abram and his father Lamech were from in 1 Corinthians 10 20 we read

[9:13] Paul's warning to the church the things which the Gentiles sacrifice to they sacrifice to demons if you are not worshiping the one true God of the Bible you are worshiping a demon there's no other options available so beloved congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ this is probably the longest title I've ever picked for a sermon here it is only pagan idols need what you and I have to offer that's my message for you today because I believe that's the point of Genesis 15 the true God is not like any of these idols only pagan idols need what you and I have to offer I'm going to set up five contrasts as we walk through this passage here's the first one idols bait you with what you want idols bait you with what you want but Yahweh

[10:15] He gives you all that you need Yahweh gives you all that you need notice how this chapter begins we read in verse 1 after these things Yahweh's word came in a vision so is it a sound or is it a sight?

[10:34] this is similar to the book of Revelations I heard and then I saw it's a sound and a sight it's a revelation from the spiritual realm to a man like Adam that has senses and he's a spirit and it's Yahweh's word it's Yahweh's message in this vision Yahweh maybe we should use this word more Yahweh means I am who I am creator of all that exists the first mover above all that is not God that's what Yahweh means and Yahweh's message came to Abram in a vision Yahweh knows the heart of man he knew Abram's heart we can infer Abram was feeling Lord I have no shield on earth well this is during the bronze age of history you can look up online a Sumerian shield in the bronze age it would be a large bronze shield that would give you an extreme advantage in hand to hand combat in other words if you don't have a shield you have no chance at winning the Lord says don't be afraid Abram

[11:54] I am your shield in the chapter right before this the Lord had already given Abram a Gideon like victory over these four wicked kings that had swept through the plain of the land of Canaan the Lord the Lord had shown his power he had been his deliverer and Abram Abram's heart is still fearful isn't that true for us we can look and see very recently ways that God has answered so many prayers he has been so faithful every morning his mercies are new but yet for some reason our hearts fear and there is much that we can fear every day there's plenty to fear but these fears are like artillery from hell and each little fear it has an effect on us in this body even just in our brain our amygdala get inflamed our focus is taken hostage we're unable to absorb truth no wonder this is such a strategic weapon of Satan through these little darts of fear he can render believers essentially useless unless the Lord becomes your shield this is why

[13:18] Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus Ephesians 6 16 take up the shield what is the shield take up the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one and the psalmist testifies this is real Psalm 1830 Yahweh's word is tested he is a shield to all those who run to him Abram is surrounded in this land his last interaction was with the king of Sodom Sodom was a land of wickedness and he's the king over all that wickedness he stood there protecting the ability of these people to be extremely wicked and after the Lord gave Abram this great victory the king of Sodom said Abram you keep the loot Abram said no I don't want you to have anything over me to be able to say I'm the one who made Abram rich that's just like the gods of the nations that's how demons work it's quid pro quo bring me a sacrifice and I'll have your back that's the mindset of the king of Sodom and the Lord is showing

[14:34] Abram you're a man of faith following my call on your life you are not like the world I am not like those idols the Lord ministered to Abram through Melchizedek his name means the king of righteousness and the city over which he ruled as king and priest is Salem which means peace and here the Lord is saying Abram not only am I your shield I am your exceedingly great reward how so Melchizedek a priest of God most high he's a shadow of the air that will come through you he's a shadow of the great I am who will take on flesh from your line that's how I will be your exceedingly great reward and he blessed you he blessed you in this land your heir the great I am from my line he will bless the nations including those of wicked ones who are now under the binding of

[15:36] Satan reward is also covenantal language covenants require more than one party a covenant is more loving and more personal than a mere contract and it's also more binding and there's more at stake than a mere relationship and a covenant sets up obligations it sets up sanctions there are terms that must be fulfilled those are the covenant obligations and then there are sanctions that are positive or negative there are blessings for obedience and there are curses for disobedience and this first verse is really a thesis statement of what the Lord will illustrate in the rest of this chapter Abraham I am your shield in this covenant I am your reward in this covenant I am all that you need and he's about to show

[16:37] Abraham how this is so our confession states God was pleased to stoop down so to speak and express his saving grace by way of covenant John Gill took this interpretation as well the Lord would reward Abraham in a way of grace with greater and better things than Abraham could even know to ask for and want God would give Abraham himself as reward see idols want to bait you and me they want to dangle something that we want or at least our flesh thinks we want and the Lord gives you himself to meet all of your vast needs to have the Lord himself as your reward it's exceedingly great that's the language in verse 1 to have God himself as our reward it is vastly superior it's hugely better it's enormously advantageous it's awfully good you and

[17:48] I have had pagan thoughts of God we've thought that God needs something from us I'm sure that even in our flesh we have thought that we can leverage our obedience or something we give in exchange for a reward that God would give us back God is teaching Abram and he wants to teach me and you I am who I am I am not like any other God or pagan idol I am eternal infinite I am the unchanging creator and I stoop down near to you to be your shield and your reward oh believer I am your creator all heaven and earth is mine already I am not in a transactional relationship with any of my followers I am who I am and in

[18:49] Christ you get me you you get the greatest reward you get all that you need idols bait you with what you want but Yahweh he gives you all that you need the second contrast is that idols can only barter they're creaturely and that's all they have to work with that's their only currency is to barter and trade to barter means to swap one thing for another some of you are following the NBA would you trade one Jokic basketball card for three Jason Tatum cards no maybe five right would you trade ten chickens for one piglet you gotta weigh the cost you gotta measure it out that's how a relationship works with an idol idols can only barter but Yahweh Yahweh alone can freely bless

[19:52] Yahweh alone can freely bless we know what's on Abraham's heart here he says Lord is my slave gonna be the one who gets the inheritance think of it from Abraham's point of view he had left this land of his fathers in Ur his father went partway and stopped then Abram left them as well so here he is a sojourner without relatives and family all alone trusting by faith in God and he thought he had Lot Lot's dad had died and here's his nephew who could get his inheritance and now Lot left him went to live in Sodom instead so Abram's all alone but God had already told Abram in Genesis 13 I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth more than any man can count you can turn back to that look at Genesis 13 verse 16 Yahweh promised

[20:53] Abraham to have offspring like dust and now in verse 2 Abram says Lord Yahweh what will you give me since I go childless the pagan gods in Ur I would barter with them we would go and we would ask the God at the temple to please give us a child I go childless following you by faith well the Lord had promised children like dust the particles of dust are so small you can't count them it's going to be numerous and vast dust but when you hear dust you also think of a man who was made from dust you think of a mortal man on this earth an earthly blessing in our confession of faith we read that God's covenant is revealed in the gospel first of all to Adam in the promise of salvation by the seed of woman and afterwards by further steps until the full discovery was completed in the

[21:57] New Testament so here we have the Lord revealing his promise to save men made of dust like Adam being fully revealed and taken even higher being elevated look at verse 4 so back in our sermon text Genesis 15 verse 4 behold Yahweh's word came when we see the word behold pay special attention this is like underlining making it bold get your attention verse 4 the Lord says one who will come out of your own body will be your heir yes the Lord will give him Isaac the Lord will give him a great nation of Israel but he's talking about one here who will be a great heir and as he's giving him this promise of a great heir from his own body from his own line the Lord gives him an illustration of this in verse 5 Yahweh brought him outside and said look now toward the sky and count the stars if you are able to count them he's saying consider these stars study them intently so as to learn from them and the

[23:12] Lord says so your offspring will be he had first said your offspring will be like the dust of the earth creaturely formed by God's own hand like Adam having a body now he's adding to that promise he says the offspring from the air that's coming from your line this great offspring will not only be like the dust they will also be like the stars they will have a body they will be mortal but look up at these celestial signs that rule the night they revolve around the sun that's how the offspring will be this great nation that are spiritual that are lifted up to God the Lord the creator of the stars and all he will take on a man's body and a soul unto the person of God the son God was promising

[24:13] Christ to Abraham and he was promising it freely Abraham believed in the promised seed just like Eve by faith our confession clarifies this that justification of believers under the Old Testament was in all respects the same as justification of believers under the New Testament God freely offers sinners life and salvation by Jesus Christ and God requires faith in him to be saved the Lord gives to all those he ordained to eternal life his Holy Spirit making them willing and able to believe the Lord is promising these great blessings to Abraham and he only requires one thing from Abraham in response and that is faith Abraham obeys God by believing this promise receiving it by faith look at verse six

[25:17] Abraham believed in Yahweh Yahweh I believe you can take dust like me and make me an air like the stars a spiritual being in the heavens and God credited this faith to Abraham for righteousness this is the same promise and the same offer that God gives you and me today Galatians 3 7 says you who are of faith are children of Abraham we are fulfilling the prophecy that was clarified again in Daniel 12 3 we who receive Christ by faith we are those who shine as the brightness of the expanse those who turn many to righteousness who shine as the stars forever and ever the Lord promises that if you put your faith in Christ he will bless you spiritually he will lift you up with Christ and he requires one thing of you that's faith believe him respond in obedience he says oh believer

[26:25] I am the giver of life and I am building a great nation I'm taking dust and I'm making it into stars you bring your sin and I give you my righteousness in exchange I love that hymn that we just sing all the fitness God requires is that we confess our need of him idols can only barter but Yahweh alone he can freely bless the third contrast is that idols can only disappoint but Yahweh's word stands forever idols can only disappoint they bait you with what you want and your expectations will never be met but Yahweh's word by contrast it stands forever when he gives himself with his word he will never disappoint his steadfast love endures forever look at verse seven

[27:26] Yahweh said to Abram I am Yahweh who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldees to give you this land to inherit it Abram said Lord Yahweh how will I know that I will inherit it with the focus on the land I want you to drop your eyes down to verse 18 in that day we are told Yahweh made a covenant with Abram saying I have given this land to your offspring so this covenant in Genesis 15 it is mediated with Abram as the federal head representative and it's a promise of land this land of Canaan that the Lord is promising to Abram and the Lord fulfills this on one level with the people of Israel but we also need to take all of the counsel of the Lord and shed it back on this the Bible says that once the Lord has ratified a covenant nothing else can be added or taken away from that so let's turn in our Bible to Galatians chapter 3

[28:34] Jeremy read this for us earlier Galatians 3 we read in Genesis 15 in that day Yahweh made a covenant with Abram saying I have given this land to your offspring Galatians chapter 3 verse 15 says once a covenant has been confirmed no one makes it void or adds to it now the promises were spoken this is verse 16 to Abraham and his offspring he doesn't say to descendants as of many but as one to your offspring which is

[29:37] Christ the Lord is making a covenant with Abram and Christ who will come from Abram that's the interpretation Galatians 3 16 gives us so now we need to understand this covenant of God that can't have anything added or taken away from it promising the land ultimately to Christ it's an inheritance a possession that will last forever and ever and it's a covenant that God makes that is gracious Abram is receiving this freely by God's grace now I'm going to pull a catechism question from the Westminster larger catechism because it summarizes this truth very well I believe the question is this with whom was this covenant of grace made the answer is the covenant of grace was made with Christ as the second Adam and in him all the elect as his seed so as we search our

[30:46] Bibles and we see what is the offspring all of the promises attached to you and your offspring we're told that even in this first promise of a land by grace it's given to Abram by faith in Christ in Christ's seed as the offspring the conclusion I believe we have to draw from this covenant transaction is that the covenant of grace is made between the triune God and his elect in Christ that's what the covenant of grace is so the only souls in the covenant of grace are those to whom Christ's redemption has been applied are you in the covenant of grace you are if Christ has applied his redemption his finished work to you you're receiving his grace Romans 8 19 says for the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God all of creation wants to see who are these who will be heirs of God who will be like the stars who are those that

[31:54] Christ purchased their redemption and how do you know you know when the Holy Spirit applies this redemption to these believers Acts 3 25 we read that God promised Abraham through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed this is only possible through Jesus Christ through Jesus Christ who comes from the line of Abraham all the peoples of the world will be blessed who believe in him while you're there in Galatians would you look back at verses 2 and 3 Galatians chapter 3 verses 2 and 3 what Paul is getting at with the church in Galatia is this you know from the story of Abraham he's justified by faith not by works you know that but look at what Paul writes in verses 2 and 3 did you receive the spirit by works of the law or by hearing of faith you received the word you received the gospel you first believed and were justified the same way as

[33:01] Abraham are you so foolish having begun in the spirit are you now completed in the flesh the same God who justifies you by faith he wants to grow you and sanctify you by that same principle of faith and grace not by your works your works don't get you into the covenant of grace or the kingdom of God and your works are not what keep you in the covenant of grace why is that it's because you are Christ's reward Christ is the one who will receive the land and the nations based on his personal perfect and perpetual obedience the only way that the word of the Lord can stand forever in this covenant as if Christ fulfills it Christ is the one who has to merit and fulfill the covenant obligations in order to receive the blessings so that the word of God will stand true idols can only disappoint but

[34:06] Yahweh's word it stands forever the fourth contrast is this idols make you slave for your worth to them you have to slave and work to make an idol happy to get something back but Yahweh he gives you terms that you cannot keep all his terms do is humble you as unworthy when you hear the high stakes of the holiness of God and what he requires the effect it should have is not I can do that better than anyone else it should be I cannot do that just like anyone else I can't I'm unworthy I have to receive from him freely let's look at verse 9 the Lord says to Abraham bring me a heifer that's a female cow that's three years old and a female goat a ram a turtle dove and a young pigeon these are the exact same animals that God will later require in the sacrificial system he's foreshadowing how he will make atonement and give the people a picture of the sacrifice that would wipe away sins in the finished work of

[35:24] Christ in verse 10 Abraham obeyed he brought these things and divided them in the middle and laid each half opposite the other but he didn't divide the birds so Abraham takes these animals he cuts them in half and he lays one half on either side of this aisle just like we have an aisle down the middle here and the blood from these animals is draining down into the center so there's going to be a little pond of blood from all these different animals mixing together right in the middle but the animals cut in two set side by side this is not a sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins this is different what's going on this is a covenant sealing ceremony it's how we're going to ratify a covenant between two parties this is what kings would do when one king would conquer another they would set this up as a picture of the maledictions of covenant breaking if you break this covenant that we're making between me and you may what happened to these pieces be done to you and your family and your houses turned to rubble and everything burned and that's what's going on the one who passes through stamping in the blood and letting that blood splash up on your legs takes on the obligations to fulfill the covenant that you just made let's turn to

[36:50] Jeremiah 34 you can see for yourselves this principle of covenant obligations Jeremiah chapter 34 the reason this is important is because the covenant that the Lord makes it's more correct if we say that it is conditional it is conditional upon someone keeping the terms of the covenant when the Lord makes a covenant with the nation of Israel it's on a principle of works and that's what we see in Jeremiah chapter 34 verses 18 through 20 the Lord makes a covenant with the nation of Israel we get a description of the leaders of Israel the princes the priests the representative heads of all the people look at what verse 19 says Jeremiah 34 19 all Israel has transgressed my covenant they have not performed the words of the covenant which they made before me when they cut the calf in two and passed through the parts

[38:06] Israel was submitting themselves to keeping the terms of God's covenant and they represented that by cutting an animal in two passing through letting that blood splash up on them may the blood of this this covenant curse be on us if we break it and now Jeremiah is a covenant prosecutor he's saying the people of God have failed to keep what they promised me they would keep and so I'm going to punish them by sending them into exile now notice back in our passage Genesis 15 the next verse is surprising Genesis 15 verse 11 we read that the birds of prey came down on the carcasses and Abram drove them away birds of prey are like vultures things that are going to eat a dead animal that's just sitting there and it takes a while before they can smell that before the aroma is blowing on the desert plains and these animals will come so time is passing

[39:10] Abraham set up this covenant ceremony but time is passing the animals are coming down Abraham has to drive them away and that's because Abraham he refuses to pass through the pieces he's not disobeying God he's humbled he's being meek he knows that if I pass through these pieces I'm obligated to keep the terms of a covenant with the holy God the Lord said in the sermon on the mount blessed are the meek the lowly the modest the humble the ones who know they need God's grace the ones who know they need an alien righteousness not their own and what is the promise attached to that blessing they shall inherit the earth believer you and I deserve the sword we deserve to be cut we deserve

[40:15] God's wrath for our sin for breaking his covenant we cannot fulfill the terms of the covenant of grace on our own and that's how the covenant with Yahweh works it's not like the idols the idols want to keep you on the hook you're my slave you gave me you promised you would do this now you owe me that's not Yahweh Yahweh wants you to be humble he wants you to confess I am unworthy I am unable to keep your law perfectly for myself I need your righteousness put on me the last contrast is how it ends for those who follow idols versus those who follow Yahweh idols and pagans those who worship something less than the one true God they will face Yahweh's judgment one day he is a just God and he will punish all those who worship something less by contrast if you are in the covenant of grace by Christ's finished work

[41:26] Yahweh himself is your shield I am shields you from the wrath you deserve back in our sermon text Genesis 15 we get another vision in the middle of the night in verses 15 14 and 13 God is foretelling the rest of Abraham's life in the exact history of the people of faith before Joshua leads the next generation into this very land I want to draw special attention to verse 16 it's unusual I think for a very important reason Genesis 15 verse 16 God is saying at my time in the fullness of time my kingdom of priests this nation that used to be slaves they used to be dust and now they're stars they're a nation of priests they will enter this land and they will judge those who live there but it will only be at my right time because for now the iniquity of the

[42:37] Amorite is not yet full that's a little unusual right why the iniquity of the Amorite well Deuteronomy chapter 1 verse 44 tells us that the mountains of Judea so the southern part of Israel where Judea is the tribe of Judah that is Amorite hill country Moses referred to Og the king of the Amorites as a very tall man whose bed of iron was 13 and a half feet long in Deuteronomy 3 11 and the Lord is giving this vision of this great nation led by Joshua whose Hebrew name is Yeshua entering to conquer and possess the promised land and as he enters he brings the judgment of Yahweh the holy God and he takes back these hills of Judea he takes

[43:37] Zion to be his holy hill and to set up the kingdom where there will be a tabernacle a temple and also a throne he takes back the hill of the Mount of Olives where the I Am will pray and he'll intercede for all those the Lord will draw and another hill that was possessed by the Amorites is Calvary and from that hill the promised seed from long ago will crush the enemy's head the great and final Yeshua Jesus Christ that's the end of those who worship idols that's the end of every pagan who settles for something less than God himself but there's more good news with this vision it's that Yahweh is your shield this covenant is conditional someone must fulfill the covenant terms and though it's conditional it is unilateral it is one sided and look at verse 12 with me when the sun was going down a deep sleep fell on Abram on top of that was terror and great darkness that fell on him it's unilateral because Abram brings nothing to this covenant he's knocked out he's quiet and in this this quiet passive state the Lord acts this is a picture of while we were sinners in darkness we were under the terror of God's wrath falling upon our sin and in that very condition

[45:30] Christ died for us look at verse 17 it came to pass that when the sun went down and it was dark it was dark it was shadowy this is mysterious it's uncontainable behold pay attention in this vision Abram's apprehending something he describes it in his prophetic idiom this way it's a smoking furnace furnace and a flaming torch passing between these pieces a smoking furnace the furnace in the bronze age was used to refine metal you would take metal that was covered in dross but you would refine it several times through the fire you would know that all the dross had been cleared off of it when it started to shine and serve like a mirror and a flaming torch a torch that's bright in this extreme darkness it's a blinding light it's a reminder too of this image of the glory cloud of

[46:40] God who's going to leave the people of Israel through the wilderness the fire cloud and pillar two vertical columns of smoke that's what's passing through to ratify this covenant of grace consuming these separate parts uniting them into one glorious bright shining cloud drifting upward toward heaven where angels long to watch it's the Lord himself who takes on all of the obligations of covenant keeping the Lord takes you and me who are like dust and we're we're parts we're all divided up but he unifies us he draws us into his consummate work and as we're swept up into the glory cloud of God by the work of Christ in our place we're reflecting his glory to the world we're being lifted upward toward God Hebrews 6 13 says that God made a promise to Abraham and since he could swear by none greater he swore by himself how do you know that

[47:48] Yahweh will be your shield and your great reward it's because God himself submitted to the covenant terms that he set up he fulfilled them by taking on flesh by becoming our righteousness by dying on the cross to pay for our sin and then putting that on you as a free gift of grace we who simply receive him as Abraham did by faith I am I am who I am I took on the covenant obligations I passed through the wrath and the punishment that you deserved for you let's spend some time reflecting on this word of the Lord and this picture of Christ's finished work for us A Thank you.