In this 29th old testament prophecy that Jesus fulfilled, we see the Graciousness of the Lord declared to Moses, and later revealed in the coming of Jesus Christ:
Exodus 33:19 Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”
As Moses has been in such close fellowship with the Lord up on Mount Sinai, he asks the Lord for the privilege of being able to see God face to face. The Lord promises to show Moses His glory as He passes by, and along with this, makes the declaration that He will be gracious to whom He will be gracious…
The revealing of who God is and allowing the dwellers of earth to see the face of God, is seen in the new testament by Jesus Christ:
John 14:9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father?’ “
John 10:30 ”I and My Father are one.”
There are some who claim that the God of the Bible is not fair and just. It is a claim that satan has made since the beginning and is the basic excuse that he has used for his rebellion of God.
The fact is that there are natural laws of the universe that God put into place that govern everything in life. We are all familiar with the law of Gravity and know the consequences of not obeying it. The law of electricity when used correctly can be a tremendous blessing to man. When disobeyed it can cause immediate death.
So also are the laws of sin and death.
God pronounced that all human souls belong to Him by nature of His creation of every human being. He stated that any soul who sins, and violates His moral law, will die eternally.
Ezekiel 18:4 “Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father As well as the soul of the son is Mine; The soul who sins shall die.
For all persons born from Adam, the process of this eternal death begins at birth and continues daily until the physical body perishes. At the moment of death, the soul and spirit exit the body to await judgment by God.
For the person who chooses the only method of redemption that God has created to save all men from eternal death, at the ceasing of the bodies functions, this soul and spirit depart the body to be with the Lord.
2 Corinthians 5:8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.
The fact that God has been gracious enough to create a plan to redeem man at all is a miracle of life. God owes man no apology for the penalty of eternal death. He owes no explanation. The very fact that He has provided man a second chance at all is truly amazing and a vivid display of just how gracious and merciful He has been towards man. This plan of salvation for all men is unparalleled, in that there was no plan of salvation provided for the angels when they fell.
The Lord’s statement to Moses is that He “Will be merciful to whomever He wants to show mercy.”, shows us that it is His desire to show mercy to man.
God chose to exercise mercy and His grace to anyone who simply believes what He says:
Romans 10:9-13 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”
Does it make sense that Jesus as the eternal creator would die for sinners such as you and I?
No. I don’t understand why He would do this, but I am thankful that it is true. I will never understand why God loves someone like me, and why He would allow His only Son to die for my sins. How grateful and thankful I am though, that He does love me that much.
The fact is that God had planned before the creation of man, the earth, or the universe, that Jesus would come to earth as a man and be the Savior of all those who would believe in His sacrifice for their sins.
Revelation 13:8 …the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
2 Timothy 1:9 (God) who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began…
Titus 1:2 in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began…
The fulfillment of this 29th old testament prophecy is found in the Gospel of Luke where Jesus is described as coming from the house of David, predicted by the old testament prophets, declared since the world began, and according to His graciousness in offering salvation to anyone who simply believes what He says:
Luke 1:69-73 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David, As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began, That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us, To perform the mercy promised to our fathers And to remember His holy covenant, the oath which He swore to our father Abraham:
Aren’t these amazing old testament prophecies concerning the coming of the Savior of the World wonderful? Isn’t it awesome that Jesus has perfectly fulfilled all of these and is thereby qualified to be our Savior and the place where we should rest our hope?
Rob Robinson
