“On That Day”
Scripture References: Genesis 3:14-15, Deuteronomy 31:27-29, 4:26-31, 30:6, Jeremiah 31:33, Ezekiel 36:26-27, Isaiah 25:6-9
Introduction:
“Don’t spoil the ending for me!!”
We’ve probably heard this phrase before. I’ll set the scene…maybe there’s a popular movie or TV series that just came out. You’ve been wanting to see this movie or series for a long time now…the anticipation is killing you. But there’s one problem…you come across a group of friends (or even strangers) who have seen it already and are talking with excitement about all the thrills and plot twists. They eventually get to the point where they are about to give away the climactic ending…so you shout: “Don’t spoil the ending for me!!”
While this can be frustrating when we’re talking about movies and entertainment…what I find interesting is that the Word of God through His scripture is consistently in the business of giving away the ending.
In this case we should welcome these Biblical ‘spoiler alerts’ with open arms and full hearts! Let’s look at some examples of what I’m referring to…
Devotional:
Our first ‘spoiler alert’ comes pretty early in the Bible. The first instance of human rebellion we read about, happens in the beginning. The Serpent deceives – Adam and Eve rebel. God pronounces curses and punishments for this rebellion…both on His human image bearers and the Serpent…but even as God is pronouncing these curses and punishments – we get a bit of a ‘spoiler alert’…
The Lord God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this,
cursed are you above all livestock
and above all beasts of the field;
on your belly you shall go,
and dust you shall eat
all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.” -Genesis 3:14-15 ESV
God declares that there will be this constant struggle between the offspring of the woman and the offspring of the serpent. The spiritual offspring of the serpent will deliver many blows to the offspring of the woman…these blows ‘to the heel’ may cause momentary staggering, but they are not fatal blows. This ‘seed of the woman’ will be the one to deliver the crushing blow to the head of the Serpent.
Right away, we have this prophecy…this indication that this rebellion is not the end. Sin and death will not have the final say. We continue to see instances of this as we read through the Bible. Even as the people of Israel are preparing to enter the land of Canaan…the land of promise…God speaks through Moses and delivers another ‘spoiler alert’…
“For I know how rebellious and stubborn you are. Behold, even today while I am yet alive with you, you have been rebellious against the Lord. How much more after my death! Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears and call heaven and earth to witness against them. For I know that after my death you will surely act corruptly and turn aside from the way that I have commanded you. And in the days to come evil will befall you, because you will do what is evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger through the work of your hands.” -Deuteronomy 31:27-29 ESV
Moses knows these people…he knows they will eventually fail. He knows the covenant curses laid out in the law will eventually come upon them, so he just tells them flat out – ‘you are going to fail’…but he also knows who God is and that He has plan of mercy and grace. Moses points to this earlier in Deuteronomy…
“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will soon utterly perish from the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess. You will not live long in it, but will be utterly destroyed. And the Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord will drive you. And there you will serve gods of wood and stone, the work of human hands, that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, you will return to the Lord your God and obey his voice. For the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them.” -Deuteronomy 4:26-31 ESV
Spoiler alert…you are going to rebel, go into exile, suffer, repent, return…and God will remember you. He will keep His covenant. Even though you didn’t hold up your end of the covenant, God will still hold up His end.
In case the people of Israel forgot…the prophets continue to remind them of this even in the midst of their rebellion. God sends prophets to speak against Israel and their sins of idolatry, oppression and injustice. They warn them of what is to come if they do not repent and return to the Lord. But we’ve already seen the spoiler alerts…we know the people will rebel and bring the covenant curses upon them. The question is: how is this cycle broken? We cannot keep the law…we can never live up to the standard that God has set. Is this cycle of ‘rebellion – exile – repentance -restoration’ just supposed to continue forever? Well, Moses and the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel have already answered that question as well. We need a new heart…
Moses: “And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.” -Deuteronomy 30:6 ESV
Jeremiah: “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” -Jeremiah 31:33 ESV
Ezekiel: “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.” -Ezekiel 36:26-27 ESV
On our own, we will always fail. God gives a new heart and gives us His Spirit. A new covenant written not on stone…but on our very hearts. This means despite our failures and sin…through faith in Jesus Christ, in His death and resurrection…we have a promise of new life. Isaiah presents this spoiler alert to us as well…
On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,
of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
And he will swallow up on this mountain
the covering that is cast over all peoples,
the veil that is spread over all nations.
He will swallow up death forever;
and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,
and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,
for the Lord has spoken.
It will be said on that day,
“Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.
This is the Lord; we have waited for him;
let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” -Isaiah 25:6-9 ESV
Death is swallowed up forever. There is no greater promise than that. Death is swallowed up and we will dwell with the Lord forever in perfect fellowship to share in that communion meal, the marriage supper of the lamb…
In this case…this is the best spoiler alert you can possibly imagine and I welcome it with open arms and a full renewed heart.
“Hallelujah, what a day it will be!
For at home with You, my joy is complete
As I run into Your arms open wide, I will see
My Father who is waiting for me” –‘On that day’ by CityAlight
Amen.
Sean Wagner