Wed.’s Devo - The Better Covenant

Read: Isaiah 28:14-30:11; Galatians 3:23-4:31; Psalm 62:1-12; Proverbs 23:19-21
Hezekiah had made a covenant with the Assyrians and paid them tribute for peace. The people put their trust in this covenant. But, Hezekiah broke that covenant and stopped paying Assyria which caused them to attack and Israel’s security was gone.
God made it clear that their security is found in him alone and he was going to send a cornerstone (Jesus). No army on earth or in the heavenlies would be able to stand against him. The people would be able to put their trust in Him and not be afraid.
God compared his discipline and judgement on his people to a farmer who has to break up the hard land to plant the seed. Every different kind of plant needs a different kind of instrument used on it to bear the fruit of its seed. So it is with his people. God has to use different ways to cause them to produce the fruit of salvation. It is all for our good.
Ariel in Chapter 29 refers to Jerusalem. God rebuked Jerusalem for being insincere in their worship and feasts, for their evil deeds, for their rebellion, for trusting in people who were not their own, for rejecting God’s true prophets, and for refusing to repent. God used Assyria to bring them back to him then turned and judged Assyria.
God would seal his truth for a time from his people. Even if they wanted to understand, they wouldn’t be able to receive it in their spirits. But the day will come when God will once again open the eyes of the Jews and they will come to see that Jesus is the Messiah that they have waited for. Then, they will be able to understand the prophecies and their meanings.
Chapter 30 is a rebuke to the kings that opposed God. He calls them rebellious children. They did everything on their own and it would all come back on them in a bad way.
The animals of the Negev are the beasts of burden that would carry gifts to Egypt to buy their favor and help. They would cross a desert full of wild animals carrying what they hoped would buy them help from Egypt, but instead it would prove to be a great disappointment to them.
In Galatians, Paul teaches that the law kept us in a prison of sin because our own righteousness could not set us free. The purpose of the law was to bring us to Christ. Our faith in Jesus has freed us to be a son of God. It doesn’t matter our background, or economic status or our sex, we are all the same in Jesus. If we are a Christian we are a seed of Abraham and an heir to the promise he was given.
Paul explained the two covenants that were given by the example of Abraham’s two sons. Ishmael was born by the slave woman, Hagar, but Isaac was born of Sarah, the free wife. Ishmael stands for the law who had to be pushed out of the house so that the son of promise might reign. This son was Isaac who was a type of Jesus, the child of promise. Grace was the second covenant and it is better than the law.
Lord, help us to live in the grace that you sent Jesus to the cross to purchase for our salvation. Thank you for the price you paid. May we honor your death with our lives.