The Bible is a love letter written across the span of centuries – from the beginning of time – from the Creator to the Creation. It’s a story of God’s unfailing love for His people, His plan for humankind, our inability to measure up to His goodness, and His will succeeding and overcoming every obstacle.
In the Beginning
God has had a plan in place since before the creation. Genesis 1 tells us that, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” He created order and detail. He perfectly planned every detail of his creation – the vegetation of the land, the birds of the air, the beasts of the land, and man with dominion over them all.
His plan didn’t just extend to the earth and its function. John 1:1-5 tells us that, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” Even the echo of the verbiage “In the beginning” shows the span of his careful control and planning through the millennia. God planned for every detail, including His plan for saving us from the fall through His son, Jesus Christ, who was with God from the beginning.
Jesus Christ wasn’t a side character or a Plan B. He was with God in the beginning, since before the beginning even. This shows us that God knew that humanity would be held captive by sin, unable to overcome on our own, and would need a perfect savior.
From Old to New
Looking at the big picture of the Old Testament, it tells the story and sets the stage for Israel’s inability to follow God’s commands. The Old Testament is a set up for the introduction of the main character – Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. It also shows us that no matter how God’s people stumble and struggle to maintain the Law of Moses, God’s plan is unstoppable.
Even when we zoom in from the big picture overview of the Old Testament to look at the individual characters and stories, they all show us the fallible nature of humanity and the infallible nature of God.
One of the most important stories from the Old Testament, the story how God rescued his people from Egypt, is just one of many examples. In fact, this story is so important, it is repeated multiple times throughout the Bible in both Old and New Testaments.
The theme of the story is that of God’s unstoppable nature and His ability to do the impossible. It also tells clearly how even God’s chosen people turned their backs on God again and again and again, even within the lifetime of those who saw the miracles He performed in Egypt and in their escape from the Egyptians. The exodus story shows God performing impossible miracles – the plagues of Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, the appearance of manna. It also shows the sinful nature of the Israelites who even after witnessing all of these miracles, failed to put their trust in God and obey His commands. It shows their need for a savior.
Fulfillment of Prophecies
Even in their failure and the failure of every generation afterward, God’s plan was unstoppable. The Old Testament sets the stage for both the need for a savior as well as for the culmination in all of God’s plans in the embodiment of His son, Jesus Christ. The Old Testament prophets collectively spoke of over 400 prophecies concerning the coming savior, which God promised them. Every single one of these prophecies were fulfilled by Jesus Christ. In Luke 24:27 Luke records Jesus himself speaking of His own fulfillment of the prophecies: “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.”
In Romans 3:21, Paul also states unequivocally the prophetic fulfillment of Jesus when he writes, “But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses[a] and the prophets long ago.” As Paul points out, Jesus Christ not only fulfills the prophecies of the Old Testament in relation to the coming savior, but Jesus also bridges the gap between humanity and our imperfections and God and his holiness. It is through the divine, perfect nature of Jesus Christ that God has fulfilled His unstoppable plan of redeeming humanity and restoring those who accept His gift to His righteousness.
Father God, Thank you for your unstoppable goodness, your unstoppable strength, and your unstoppable plans. Thank you that we in our imperfections cannot in our sin stop Your will from being done. Thank you for the forgiveness you offer us through the blood of Your son, Jesus. Help us humble ourselves in Your sight so that we may bring glory to You. Let our lives be a testimony of Your goodness, Your love, and Your divinity. Let our mistakes be redeemed in Your sight as You work all things for the good of those who love you. We love You, and we thank You. In Your holy name, Amen.