“…to give [the land] to his descendants…
…You have kept your promise because you are righteous.”
Nehemiah 9:8b
Last time we dug more deeply into the Promised Land and how God is the Owner of all. Today we see why the promise will surely come true.
“…to give [the land] to his descendants (zera – seed, offspring, grain, children, posterity, race, fruitful)…”
Abraham was with whom God made the original covenant, but those who would come after him were the ones who received the inheritance – both the first round and the returned exiles. It was to his offspring, posterity, race.
We live in a deeply divided time. Those languishing under abhorrent government rulings and incomplete theology are the ones who must pay. When we view these verses solely about national borders and current conflicts and even focusing on the nation state of Israel, we can miss the larger point. And repeat the same mistakes in other policies which seek to displace, humiliate, and lord power over those who are indigenous or seek asylum.
If we take verses about giving the land and try to apply them in a colonized sense in our day, assuming wealth or power means the favor of God, we will mock the Cross, trample upon His image bearers, and miss the overall Story of love, redemption, service, and majesty of a God of Justice.
Those who claimed being of Abraham’s seed as their righteousness tended to be the ones to whom Jesus – God in the flesh – confronted with righteously angry words. Hear me, not those of Jewish descent, those who, in pride, viewed themselves above others and, because of that, thought it their right to treat others beneath them.
Those who realized only He could bridge the gap between their brokenness and His perfection were welcomed, celebrated, ate among, made examples of, and followed Him to their own deaths because of their new lives.
Everyone has behaved in the prideful way described at one time or another. We all have moments of looking down our nose at others and feeling superior, treating others accordingly, if only in our thoughts. We are all guilty and all have the opportunity to repent.
But God forgive us, on this MLK Day and every day, if we use any part of His Word or ways to humiliate others, take what is not ours, believe in our rights over relationship, or reject those in need.
In contrast, those of Abraham’s spiritual seed, of which we non-Jews now belong because of Christ, inherit the promise.
“…You have kept (qum – to arise, stand, brighter, confirm, establish, fulfill, restore, surely stand, succeed) your promise (dabar – word, proposal, edict, idea, oath) because you are righteous (tsaddiq – just, blameless, Righteous One)….”
Now we arrive to the reason the promise was sure: Because He kept it. Kept here is confirm, establish, surely stand, succeed. Arise, stand, brighter.
Yes, this is what the One Righteous Seed accomplished. He kept the Law we could not keep. He succeeded in obeying the covenant perfectly where we failed. He surely stood before God as the perfect sacrifice we could never supply.
And why? Because He is righteous – just, blameless, the Righteous One. One of my favorite names of God is Jehovah-tsidkenu, the Lord Our Righteousness. Even in the midst of the old covenant and sacrifices and law, He was His peoples’ righteousness. It has always been Him, from first to last.
A literal rendering of this final section of “kept your promise” is “performed Your words.”
Yes, friends, what He says, He does.
Is God a human, that He should lie? A human being that He should change His mind? When He speaks, He acts. And what He promises, He fulfills.
The returned exiles, led by the Levites, were right to praise Jehovah-tsidkenu: both in His past and present faithfulness and His coming Righteous Seed, shining ever brighter.