And some 2,000 years earlier, the Apostle Paul says the very same thing to the Galatians. In discrediting the twisted teaching of the Judaizers, he explains how the entire OT points to and looks forward to the coming of Christ.
It's all about Jesus.
Paul pumps his brakes for just a moment and reminds his readers of his feelings for them and their standing with the Lord. He calls them "brothers." This is the Greek noun αδελφοι/adelphoi, which is plural and should be read as "brothers and sisters.”
The apostle has been pounding them relentlessly over their desertion from Jesus (Gal 1:6). He's called them fools or idiots for believing the Judaizers (Gal 3:1). Yet, he reminds them that they are still brothers and sisters in the faith. Through the use of this one word, the man from Tarsus let's the Galatians know they are still very dear to him.
Paul goes on to draw a parallel from human contracts and formal agreements. "To give a human examples, brothers, even with a man-made covenant..." (v15). In the ancient near east, they were called covenants. It's a little different from today's contract, but there are similarities.
A covenant is an agreement between two parties, often one king to another. It was ratified by animal sacrifice, cutting them in two thus indicating what would happen if someone violated the agreement. That's exactly what happens in Gen 15. God confirms His covenant promise to Abram in just this way (Gen 15:9-11, 17).
While that's just a bit different from 21st century contracts, one similarity remains. Once the contract is signed, it's a done deal. "No one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified" (v15). Despite what we see in sports today, contracts are NOT made to be broken. They are pledges with conditions that must be met.
Paul says it's the same with covenants. Once a man-made agreement has been reached, there's no turning back. There's no changing it. Nothing is added. Nothing is subtracted. And if that's with a human covenant, how much more will God stand by His promises.
The apostle now applies the idea of man-made treaties to God's pledge to Abraham. "Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, 'And to offsprings' (v16). He tells us to take a close look at God's original promises found in Genesis.
When Yahweh graciously reaches out to this dude named Abram, He pledges to bless Abram and his offspring or seed. Paul wants us to see that God did NOT make this promise to ALL of Abe's kids, grandkids and great grandkids. He made this covenant with Abe and one very specific descendant.
Paul makes it as plain as he possibly can for us at this point. When God made His contract with Abram, He was "referring to one, 'And to your offspring,' who is Christ" (v16). Let's be clear about this. When the Lord told Abram about the promised future blessings of his one specific descendant, He was talking about Jesus.
In other words, the fulfillment of what is called the Abrahamic Covenant is found in Jesus. All this talk of the Promised Land, Promised Seed and Promised Blessing is ALL ABOUT JESUS!
One of the great things about the Bible is how God provides interpretation for earlier people, prophecies and passages we read in His Word. Many times in the NT, we see Paul and the other writers explain what was happening as they compose under the inspiration of God's Holy Spirit.
I love a well-written and researched Bible commentary. But there is no better authority to provide insight into Scripture than the Divine Author Himself.
This is just part of what scholars call Progressive Revelation, the idea that later passages provide a fuller revelation of what was written earlier without invalidating the earlier text. And the main thing we see is that the radical Rabbi from Nazareth is one true Hero of the story of the Bible.
It's all about Jesus.
Even Jesus Himself gets into the act. That's exactly what He tells the Pharisees when they scoff at His claims. "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about Me" (Jn 5:39).
He goes on to say that even the human author of the first five books, the Pentateuch, knew he was writing about Jesus. "For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me" (Jn 5:46).
It's all about Jesus. Ned Flanders was right.
©2012
Jay Jennings
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