| Series | Location | Subjects | Takeaways | Sermon Link |
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💡Big Idea
Takeaways and Next Steps
📖Bible Passage
He is Yahweh, our God. His judgments are in all the earth. He has remembered his covenant forever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations, [[Ps-105#v8|]]
Points
- By the time that David became king over Israel, the Ark of the Covenant had been lost for several years. It had been stolen by the Philistines. The Philistines placed it in front of the idol of their God. But their statue god Dagon fell over and their people were afflicted with tumors. So the Philistines returned the Ark back to the Israelites.
- But while the Ark was back in Israel, it was still kept in a different town, not in it’s rightful place.
- Many years later David remembered that the Ark was in the wrong place and then returned it to it’s rightful place.
- When the ark was returned, David sang a song of thanksgiving: 1 Chronicles 16:8-22 [[1 Chron-16#v9|]][[1 Chron-16#v10|]][[1 Chron-16#v11|]][[1 Chron-16#v12|]][[1 Chron-16#v13|]][[1 Chron-16#v14|]][[1 Chron-16#v15|]][[1 Chron-16#v16|]][[1 Chron-16#v17|]][[1 Chron-16#v18|]][[1 Chron-16#v19|]][[1 Chron-16#v20|]][[1 Chron-16#v21|]][[1 Chron-16#v22|]]
- This song that David sang here is almost word for word the same as Psalm 105
- God remembers His covenant with His people, even when His people forget that same covenant with Him.
- The Ark shows us that while God is the God of all people, He is especially the God of Israel. They are His chosen people and He is their God.
- Deuteronomy 32:8-9 When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the children of men, he set the bounds of the peoples according to the number of the children of Israel. For Yahweh’s portion is his people. Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. [[Deut-32#v9|]]
- Israel was not chosen because they were better or special or different but because God chose them.
- What does covenant mean?
- In the early church, the church fathers said very little about the covenants.
- Calvin taught that our greatest need was for God’s covenant of grace.
- Witsius taught that there were no conditions for receiving the covenant of grace.
- Witsius emphasized How can a person with no faith give himself faith?
- ❓ Is the covenant that God made with His people Israel, the same as the covenant He makes with us today?
- In the Bible there are many covenants made between men. But these are something different than when God makes a covenant with man.
- For example, countries will make a covenant of peace. We call this a treaty. Or man and wife make a covenant called marriage.
- Both parties must keep their side of the covenant.
- But the covenant between God and man is one-sided. He keeps the covenant.1
- For example, countries will make a covenant of peace. We call this a treaty. Or man and wife make a covenant called marriage.
- In the Bible there are many covenants made between men. But these are something different than when God makes a covenant with man.
- John Murray taught that the covenant of grace is one-sided in it’s inception, and even when I receive it, it remains one-sided.
- This is what we see in our text today: “He remembers his covenant forever”.
- He will never forget or forsake His covenant. He does not break His promises. This is our comfort.
- The covenant was first made in Eden
- Genesis 3.15 I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel.”
- Our text mentions that God will hold His covenant for a thousand generations:
- This is a very long time. His covenant lasts forever.
- Think of Joseph. He received promises from God that he would rule over his brothers. But what happened? He was beaten, enslaved and imprisoned. But God remembered his promises toward Joseph. God brought him out of prison, and placed him in a position of honor and power.
- God remembered His covenant with Israel, and parted the Red Sea to save them.
- We should never think “The LORD cannot help me.”
Application
- How should we respond to God’s covenant of grace?
- You may pray LORD, do as you promised.
- Seek the LORD. Seek His strength. (Psalm 105:4)
- God is powerful and can do very mighty things.
- God also has great spiritual strength.
- This was especially shown by God sending His Son to be born in Bethlehem. Look to Jesus’ life and see His strength when standing before Caiaphas, the High Priest who sentenced Jesus to death, and when hanging on the cross. What strength He had and has!
- Come to Him, all you who are weary and burdened. For He is gentle and you will find rest for your soul.
- Psalm 106:4-5 Remember me, Yahweh, with the favor that you show to your people. Visit me with your salvation, that I may see the prosperity of your chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation, that I may glory with your inheritance. [[Ps-106#v5|]]
Further Study
💬Discussion Questions
Footnotes
Footnotes
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❓ Is this entirely true? ↩