The Old Testament Preaches the Gospel | Theocast

There is a famous movie and everyone pretty much knows the end of the movie.

It's Braveheart where he yells freedom.

I've seen it probably a hundred times.

You know, one thing I've never seen.

I've actually never seen the movie which that movie doesn't have that much of a draw for me because I just don't really know the

story behind it and that's how Most people read their Old Testament.

They know it's supposed to be about Jesus and they've read the new but they're just disconnected.

From the old and today's podcast is our attempt to give you the reasons of why you should read your Old

Testament and in doing so see the wonder and glory as it defines for us grace and

Leads us to Christ.

Stay tuned.

If you're new to theocast, you may not have heard of this word.

It's called pietism.

You ever felt like the Christian life is a heavy burden versus rest and joy that you wake

up.

Worrying about how well you're gonna perform instead of thinking about what Christ has done for you.

It's dread versus joy.

Really?

That's pietism.

Pietism causes Christians to look in on themselves and find their hope not in what Christ has

done but what they're doing and We have a little book for you.

It's free.

We want you to download it and we're gonna explain the difference between pietism and what we call confessionalism.

Reform theology really how it is that we walk by faith.

Seeing the joy of Christ and when Jesus says come to me and I will give you rest.

What does that look like?

You can download it on our website.

Just go to theocast .org.

Welcome to theocast encouraging weary pilgrims to rest in Christ.

Conversations about the Christian life from a reformed pastoral confessional perspective.

We'll throw in some law gospel covenant theology supernatural and humor.

Whatever we feel like today.

Your hosts today are Justin Perdue pastor of Covenant Baptist Church in Asheville, North Carolina.

And I'm John Moffitt.

I'm the pastor of Grace Reformed Church in Spring Hill, Tennessee.

Justin this is our second recording for the day for those that don't know we try and double up to give ourselves some time in

between our recordings, so I'm gonna let you talk cuz I need to cough for a second.

So say hello to the folks.

What's up fam good to be with you again.

You know, we record usually every other Wednesday.

Just got to pull in the curtain back here.

And yeah, so this is our second one today.

And so wait for day one.

Yeah, I was recording on Wednesdays that we've always recorded on Wednesdays.

We started doing this every other week thing I don't know how long ago, but it works weird because it allows us to

you know.

Get get other pastoral work done things like that.

Some people aren't tuning in to know those things though.

They do care about us and we're grateful as you also know John and I are pastors.

So we're preaching on Sunday mornings and a lot of times the conversations that we have on here are

birthed out of things.

That are on our minds and hearts as a result of what we're preaching.

So last week John has been in in first Peter.

And so last week we were talking about deliverance from Satan effectively the deliverance from the

kingdom of darkness and not deliverance ministries.

Yeah, and not deliverance like Appalachia craziness either.

But deliverance from the kingdom of darkness and from bondage to Satan.

So if you haven't listened to that episode go back and check it out.

This week we're pivoting to the Old Testament.

So I'm preaching Exodus and I'm in the early chapters and John and I were talking before we hit

record today about things and Wouldn't you know it that the gospel

being preached and defined by the Old Testament came up?

Hmm, and so that's effectively our conversation day, but let me tee it up this way.

There are a lot of ways that many of us have been taught to read the Old Testament that are less than helpful so if you're

out there and and you're newer to Redemptive historical reformed Christianity great or

maybe you've been in it for a while I still trust this is gonna resonate with you for many of us.

We're honestly growing up or cutting our teeth reading the Bible.

The Old Testament was kind of scary like we didn't know what to do with it.

It's kind of seems like a wasteland like maybe there's an occasional oasis here or there there's a promise.

There's a prophecy about the Messiah.

There's some grace over there.

But generally the Old Testament is hard.

It's law.

It's scary.

It's fire and brimstone and judgment and frightening.

Can we say weird or weird?

All right, that's one weird stuff in the sure.

You know and like you get you guys you've heard, you know, God was different back then he was harsh.

It was all wrath and judgment flooded the world.

Yeah, or another way that many of us have been taught to read the Old Testament is with a

law -centered mentality.

This is where we go through and we mine every text for what we're supposed to be doing.

Like I need to know my instructions what am I supposed to be doing and we're going to the text with that

in mind and Oftentimes because so much of the Old Testament is narrative or poetry or just God's

commentary on the history IE the prophets we're gonna introduce and create laws where there aren't any.

Kind of kind of a thing we do another way that we misread the Old Testament.

This one is very common.

This one is what I like to call the flannel board approach.

This is where we moralize the Old Testament.

So this is following around the Old Testament saints and we're trying to figure out how to be like them you know how to dare to be a

Daniel or how can we be like David or whatever and We tend to to heroize all the

characters in the Old Testament.

We don't really talk about their sin and their failure their weakness, though they are just like us and we

we turn the Old Testament into a collection of moral tales or like Aesop's fables kind of thing,

right and it's just not not helpful.

So those are just a few of the ways that we've been taught to approach the Old Testament that does not do us any

service.

There is a much better way to read the Old Testament and it is the way that the Apostles and

Jesus himself understood it and it is a testimony about God's

plan of redemption that is accomplished through Jesus Christ and so we're gonna be talking from Exodus a little bit today

and inevitably from other places in the Old Testament.

But John I'm gonna tee us up with What we both agree Genesis 3 15.

Yeah.

Occurs obviously very early in a very large book.

So not even I mean just a two three pages into a massive book we get this

promise this pronouncement from God to Adam and Eve they have they have sinned

the The devil has deceived them.

They have sinned they have broken God's covenant and God Pronounces what he's gonna do.

He says to the serpent.

I'm gonna put enmity between You and the woman between her offspring and your offspring

you will bruise his heel and he will bruise your head.

And we understand that to be God's pronouncement the promise of a Redeemer Who is right to

come and right all these wrongs and save the human race and we obviously understand.

This is a prophecy and a pronouncement about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

And so of course John wouldn't you think that if that is stated by God in Genesis 3

15 that the Big book that's called the Bible is about that promise and it's about the

accomplishment of it.

Wouldn't you think right?

Yeah.

Yeah, as you were saying this I had something coming to mind.

I've been listening and engaging to people that I don't agree with because it helps me.

I might be wrong.

Yeah, I might be wrong.

As a matter of fact, I was wrong for many years.

That's why I ended up where I am today.

You know, I started to rethink I was the dispensationalist rethinking covenant theology and like wow, there's a lot of points

here.

I can't argue with so.

As you were saying this Justin, I think about my brothers in the dispensational world who will say things like

well There's no such thing as the covenant of grace.

Because no, it doesn't even say that.

And so how can you say that there's like this overarching covenant because the Bible never really defines it.

I said well.

All right.

Let me give you an example.

Genesis 3 15.

It does something.

It does something to the reader and it's very important to understand this because this is gonna flow into Exodus.

It's gonna flow into the rest of the Old Testament.

It gives you a concept without giving you the word.

It actually defines it without giving you a word.

Here's is what here's the concept grace.

Right Genesis 3 15 without ever saying the word mercy and grace.

It's all gives you the concept of it.

That's right.

Now later on we learn the word and we use Genesis 3 15 as the way to define it

because the reason.

This is a really important part of this podcast that Justin I wanted to do is that One of the things I'm realizing is that

we're not allowing the Bible to define its terms.

This is part of what today is about is allowing the narrative of the Old Testament to

define terms.

And as you're reading first of all, we learned from Genesis 1 that God is above all other

gods.

We learned this in Exodus right that there are other gods.

So God is above all other gods.

Why because he's the creator sustainer of the world.

That he created humanity.

He set the terms and the moment that they broke the terms.

What are they faced with gospel?

They are faced with grace and that grace is defined as God's act holy

and man.

Receiving completely right that is the definition of it.

So that's that's the first interaction that we have with sin and grace in the Bible

and then You have to ask yourself, okay.

Well, how does grace work then then how does the gospel work and that's where you keep reading

you keep reading?

Yeah, the unfolding promise of the Messiah.

Amen the war the war between the seeds really so true.

So you were you've kind of said this I just want to repackage it.

Because I think it's an observation worth making.

Genesis 3 15 in Theological terms is often referred to as the proto you on Galilean meaning

the first pronouncement of the good news and it is Really really important.

I we agree with that and It's really important that we see like you said God doesn't

tell Adam and Eve anything to do.

He doesn't give them a command.

He doesn't put requirements on them in any way shape or form.

He actually requires nothing of them at all.

He just says Promises pronounces what he is going to do and if that

is true From Jump Street in terms of the first time the good news is uttered

then it's going to be true throughout.

We've said this before and it again sometimes gets people worked up and upset with us that the gospel

contains nothing in it.

Whatsoever that we are to do or to contribute it is completely a message of what God alone does through

Jesus Christ For us and then gives to us we receive it by faith not by words, you know, it's

by grace not by merit where the law Demands everything and gives nothing.

It's an exacting standard.

There's no mercy in the law.

It's you either keep it perfectly or you are condemned the gospel actually demands

nothing of us and gives us everything and That is true from Genesis 3 15 onward.

Yeah, that's a difficult concept for us as human beings because we're always wanting to introduce ourselves into the equation

somehow.

We're always wanting to introduce Works and merit and these kinds of things into the gospel and weave it into the

fabric of salvation.

Can't do that guys.

It's a collapsing of categories and you really you give it all away when you do that.

So as you trace the the story from Genesis 3 15 Onward.

I mean you have All kinds of things that I mean we could we could spend a long long time.

I mean surveying the Old Testament I mean a little shout out to our friends Chad Byrd and Daniel Emory Price on their Podcast 40 minutes in

the Old Testament.

We would encourage you to go check that out where they kind of walk.

They really do walk through the Old Testament and are showing you Christ throughout.

It's a good good podcast.

I has a book called the Christ key.

Yeah, excellent.

We we would wholeheartedly commend that as well.

Sam Rinehan's book the mystery of Christ is covenant in his kingdom is also really helpful on some of these Subjects as

well, but as you even follow the book of Genesis these themes repeat themselves.

God is calling people to himself who don't deserve it and who weren't seeking for him.

I mean he calls Abram out of paganism.

He preaches the gospel to him.

He says he's gonna make a people out of him and then I mean even you know, Abraham Isaac Jacob my goodness I mean we could talk about

Jacob's life for quite some time.

I mean these people are just like you and me John and they're just like every listener out there.

They're weak.

They're sinful.

They're frail.

They have no righteousness of their own and it is completely and only what God does for them

that results in their salvation and they are trusting the promises of God that are realized in Jesus Christ

and As we fast -forward through the book of Genesis people are familiar with the the remarkable Providences of God that

result in Joseph going down to Egypt to effectively function as a Savior as a type of Christ

to deliver God's people from Famine and from certain death, right?

And so then as the people are in Egypt, you know Joseph and that whole generation dies.

There's a new king in the land and he is oppressing the people of Israel because he's afraid of them.

They've become many in the land and what if a war breaks out he says and they side with the enemy.

This isn't gonna be good.

So he enslaves them and You know makes all these like there's black ops, you know.

Like we're gonna kill all the Hebrew male children and when that doesn't work because the midwives don't listen to him.

It's like, all right.

Well, we're just gonna throw all the Hebrew male children into the Nile River to their death.

You know, these kinds of things are happening.

So God raises up a deliverer in Moses and his life is miraculously preserved

through his own ark.

Right that the basket that he's put into is literally the same noun that shows up only in one other place in Scripture and that's

in The account of the flood just like Noah and his family are brought safely through water in an ark.

So is Moses and the Lord uses Three three like several women to

preserve Moses his life this is something the Lord will do over and over again as well where you know, even Pharaoh's own daughter is an

instrument in the Lord's hands and Many are familiar with the story.

I mean Moses ends up murdering a man when he's 40 years old he has to flee the land of Egypt into the desert and

He's there for 40 years and then the Lord appears to him in a burning bush.

And we're gonna get to some of these things in Exodus and then we'll just use this as a launching off point.

Many people are familiar with the account of the burning bush one thing that I was never taught when I was young John I don't know about you is who it

is in particular that comes to speak to him.

It's the angel of the Lord.

He's the messenger of Yahweh.

He identifies himself as Yahweh.

He speaks as Yahweh and we understand along with many through history that this is the Son of God.

So it is appropriate to say that this is Jesus Speaking to Moses from the burning bush and he says to Moses.

I have I have heard my people's cries and I have come down to deliver them.

What a word that is.

Go ahead.

That is such a it's such a powerful thing.

You and I are gonna do a whole pod on the angel of the Lord here very soon.

Yeah, I'd be great For Christ's notes, but you know the people hear the word angel and they're like There's no way Jesus can be an angel

and it's like well, that's because we don't understand.

Yeah, we don't have our titles correct here.

That's like saying that a human being can't be a mailman.

It's like well, that's just a description of a job.

But it the reason why this is important is that the angel of the Lord shows up a lot in the Old Testament.

It's always very important reasons and it's always Jesus.

That's right always and so it's important for us to understand that.

But specifically in this particular area you have these what's called Christophanies right where Christ is

showing forth and it's it's this pre Because it's this pre incarnate state.

It's what it is.

Right and it's it's when you when you start reading the when you actually allow the Old

Testament to be what it is a build -up of Vocabulary and theological concepts for

the gospel.

That's exactly what it is.

I mean literally when Jesus shows up He's like well the Old Testament's about me.

You should have had a Christology based upon the Old Testament.

I showed up on true, man I showed up a bunch you showed you and you know, it's not you know Encouraging about that John is it I

think a lot of times We wouldn't say it out loud like this just kind of what we think it's like Well way in eternity past

way back when before the world was a thing and time and space were thing God the Father Son and Holy Spirit planned redemption

praise the Lord and then it's like alright Creation happens and it's like God the Son is just kind of waiting.

Yeah.

Wait for my time.

He's just kind of waiting for his time, but it's like I'm not gonna get involved I'm not gonna get engaged until it's until it's my time to go

down there like in Becoming incarnate by the Holy Spirit via the Virgin Mary until then.

I'm uninvolved could not be further from the truth.

It's like Jesus God The Son has been intimately involved all along and I think when

you have the eyes to see this and you start to read the Old Testament and see how often he shows up and

Is speaking to people?

I mean dude, I can't wait Abraham shows up.

I know yeah, Genesis 18 I cannot wait to get to Exodus 33 and 4 when the Lord it

literally the in 34 or 6 and 7 which is where famously many people know these verses where

he reveals his name.

Again, he kind of defines it the Lord the Lord of God merciful gracious slow to anger abounding steadfast love right and faithfulness.

Well it right before that in verse 5 It says the Lord came and stood next to Moses and

then says this well, who do we think that is?

It's that's right.

It's God the Son.

It's Jesus coming down to define his own name and that all of this John Thinking

that Jesus is the one who says in Exodus 3 when Moses asks, what's your name?

He says I am who I am and then in Exodus 34 The Lord the Lord a God merciful gracious

low to anger makes it hit all that much more when Jesus shows up in the Gospels and To

say things like before Abraham was I am or when he catches up to the disciples on the Sea of Galilee in Mark

6.

And he means to pass by them like he did Moses in Exodus 33 and he says Take

heart.

It is I literally it says take heart.

I am right.

Like this is Yahweh incarnate and it's you see it So vividly and this is so

exciting to me and I noticed to you you see it So clearly in the New Testament when you're rightly reading the old.

Because the Old Testament is all about him, too.

That's right.

Yeah.

Well, it's not only about him.

It's about the gospel.

That that's what he would come and do right?

Yeah, this is why this is why a covenantal Supernatural reading of Scripture allows the

Bible to be what it is, right?

It and we kind of make fun of this word I know Pat likes to make fun of this word journey, but as you journey,

everybody's on a journey.

Hey, we all on a journey today.

That's right.

But as you plow through Scripture everyone to say it.

You're gaining you're gaining context.

Yeah, you're gaining Theology you're gaining like you said earlier vocabulary vocabulary,

but more importantly, it's this Justin when Jesus raises from the grave and Finally

fulfills like it's like the pinnacle of the story In and all those

times then later on John goes look I wrote these things that you might see and

Believe and in believing have eternal life.

That's the whole point guys.

The whole point of the Bible is for you to see God is sufficient.

He is sufficient to save the Exodus is the greatest example.

Though the Old New Testament uses as the sufficiency of God's power to save his people.

Absolutely, he did what he did physically he does spiritually.

That's the exactly what I did in the Exodus physically.

I'm doing spiritually because out of Egypt came my son and who will do that Jesus.

Amen and even in the Transfiguration when Jesus is speaking to Moses and Elijah.

He literally is talking about in our English.

It often comes across its rendered departure, but the literal word is Exodus.

He is speaking to Moses and Elijah about the Exodus that he was going to accomplish.

Dude, it's it's shot through scripture these themes of Deliverance and

redemption and rescue and God bringing his people out of bondage.

Like we talked about last week into a land that he is gonna give them eternally, right?

This is not a New Testament idea.

Like this is all through the scriptures when you have eyes to see it.

Hey guys real quick.

Some of you are listening to this and it's encouraging to you, but you have questions.

So, where do you go?

How do you interact with other people who have the same questions and share resources?

We have started something called the Theocast community.

We're excited because not only is it a place for you to connect with other like -minded believers all of our resources there

past podcast.

Education materials articles all of its there and you can share it and ask questions.

You can go check it out.

The link is in the description below.

I Just want to jump in here too.

I think Exodus is one of the greatest Examples since you're going through it right now.

It's a great examples between the wars between the kingdoms because it starts in Genesis 3 for sure.

Yeah, and then who who is Moses coming to because the Pharaoh asked him.

Well, what God are you represent exactly because there's multiple gods when Pharaoh himself would have understood himself

to be a an incarnate deity.

An incarnate God, right?

So what is God do he shames the rest of the gods?

Utterly ashamed of them.

Right and he doesn't do so saying you don't exist.

He acknowledges their existence and utterly shames them by using plugs to shame them.

And then what does he do when he pulls him out?

He's like, all right.

I just proved to you.

I am the supreme Elohim, I am God, right?

Therefore you will have no other gods before me.

It's the first command.

Right.

So all of this should help us in our narratives when we get to the new and all of a sudden Jesus is like Well Satan is the god of this

world and we're like what?

Well, that shouldn't shock you if you're a job and if you've read Exodus.

This is not a shocking situation and then Paul's like hey Just so you know as you proclaim the gospel there

are gonna be other entities out there that don't like this.

Well that we know that look Justin what I think is interesting.

You were talking about the children being killed.

Man, the evil one and that whole force of evil.

They have been going after children.

Forever right.

Exodus is a great example.

Then they start murdering their children to Balak the Balak or Balaam and yep,

then you get into the New Testament.

Yeah.

Yeah Moloch.

That was it.

Then you get into the New Testament.

He goes after the children again trying to kill the Messiah and he's still striking parallels in that and the Exodus.

Yeah.

Absolutely, and abortion today is like the evil one has been just utterly destroyed.

And then this is what Jesus says.

He has come to steal our joy and our hope to destroy our faith and to kill and he is

murdering Millions of babies right now and all of this should be for us.

Well, we learned about this.

This isn't shocking.

This is part of the narrative all the way back starting in Genesis.

Sorry in Exodus.

No, you're right.

So I'm gonna I'm gonna track a few Chapters super quick here in Exodus and talk a little bit more about some really

marvelous things in terms of how we relate to God and about the gospel for a second, so Repeatedly one of the

cool things that shows up in Exodus over and over is how the the cries of his people the the cries Of God's people make

their way to him and he hears another thing that is Marvelous is that

the Lord sees the predicament of his people and he visits his people and

and he knows.

Like he's intimately acquainted with what they're going through and he remembers his covenant you know that he made with Abraham to give

them a land right into to make them numerous and Whenever God says he's gonna remember here.

He says I'm gonna remember my covenant or I remember my covenant.

It's not that he's calling to mind something that he's forgotten or it's like, you know.

This was kind of in the in the recesses of my brain somewhere and now I'm calling it to the front.

It's not that at all.

It's that God is now going to act.

To deliver on the promises that he's made.

So those things show up over and over again but Moses goes before Pharaoh Moses and Aaron and

and they just lead off with.

Thus says the Lord and to you like you were alluding to a minute ago.

I mean Pharaoh is kind of like Yeah, I mean who who is Yahweh that I should do what he says?

Like I don't know him.

That's right.

I'm not inclined and I'm not inclined to let the people of Israel go.

I mean that's effectively what he says.

And so then Moses and Aaron kind of pivot sort of an interesting pivot like in their own Schemes in my opinion where they're like well

You know the God of the Hebrews has met with us and if we can't journey out in the wilderness and make sacrifices to him He's probably gonna kill us which is

Interesting because Pharaoh's like you're talking to me about sword and pestilence falling on you.

I'm the one holding the sword, you know, and I could put a little something on you if pestilence is what you're after.

You know, it's just it's an interesting thing.

So, of course this all results in Pharaoh keeps saying listen, the people are lazy.

The people are idle they got too much time on their hands, which is why they're constantly you all you guys are always talking about needing to go and Take a vacation

out into the desert to sacrifice to your God or whatever.

You need to get to work.

And so he makes their lives harder by taking away the straw, right?

They got to go get their own straw to make bricks with and there the Israelite foreman are getting beaten because the

brick quota is not being met now because there's a lot more work to do and no time to do it and So

this results in the Israelite foreman going to Pharaoh and like why are you treating us like this?

Hmm, you know, this is unreasonable and Pharaoh isn't hearing it.

He says, you know, you're still not gonna get straw and your quote is not gonna be reduced get back to work.

And so then as the foreman are leaving Pharaoh, they run into Moses and Aaron in the waiting room, right?

And they say to Moses may the Lord look upon you and judge you because you have basically

ruined our lives and you've put a sword into Pharaoh's hand with which he's gonna kill us and

Really shocking to me is how the Lord then or excuse me Moses then turns to God and

Says very blunt direct honest things.

He says Lord effectively this why do you do evil to this people?

Ever since I've come here and I'm saying the things that you've told me to say Pharaoh has

only done evil things to this people and you have not delivered your people at

all it's like He said what he just said to the Lord you you have

not done Blessed thing to help your people since I came here and started saying what you told me to

say.

And what's shocking is what the Lord doesn't do he doesn't drop the hammer.

He doesn't strike Moses dead.

He then says Moses Just wait and see what I'm gonna do just watch and see what I'm about

to do.

And then he functionally preaches the gospel to it.

This is amazing.

This is in Exodus 6 I'm not gonna labor this long, but it goes this way.

Yeah, he says I'm and I'm saying his name Yahweh.

That is the Lord, right?

So he says I am Yahweh.

I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

I will deliver you from slavery.

I will redeem you.

I will take you to be my people.

I will be your God.

I will bring you into the land.

I will give it to you as a possession.

I am Yahweh.

That's how he says it and it's like that is who I am.

And who I am means all of that for you.

That's right Redemption and deliverance and I'm gonna take you to myself and I'm gonna be your God and I'm gonna give

you a Land to be your possession forever.

That's who I am.

And that's what I'm gonna do for you.

I'm the Lord.

What a marvelous statement and just for our purposes right here kind of where we started with Genesis 3 15 How God did

not require anything of Adam and Eve there is not a whiff of synergism in Exodus 6

synergism meaning us working with God.

Us cooperating with God for salvation.

It is monergistic.

There's one person working and it is the Lord and that is the good news.

That he is the Savior and he does it all and that's who he is.

And he's a Redeemer by nature.

Anyway, just wonderful stuff wonderful stuff man.

I think is awesome.

I mean what's interesting is you fast -forward to Israel's unfortunate history and their constant rebellion and

Turning to because they just they keep turning to other gods is what they just keep doing.

You eventually get to the book of Hosea and you read Hosea and you just realizing like what a what a rough book.

I mean, it's really it is and at the end.

He divorces Israel and says I'm done with you.

And then at the end he's like not really.

His heart won't allow him to that's right.

Horses are he divorces her so he can bring her back.

Yeah, right he like turns her over to herself so he can then ultimately redeem her and bring her back and It

is an interesting story and it's got a lot of characters.

It's got a lot of movement and I understand at times as you read your Old Testament.

You can get into the weeds and you forget that like hey look.

Sometimes we need setup because that setup becomes very important later on like the law.

Little Biblical law and all of that that that's really important.

If you're not reading it in light of what it's for it can become very.

You know like whoa and the genealogies people kind of get all wigged out about the genealogies.

But hey, listen, you know why the genealogies matter.

It's not so we get the age of the earth, right?

I mean not to get into that.

Oh my gosh.

Go ahead.

Yeah, we have to have a genealogy because the there was a promise made Dude that from the

line of Adam that went through the line of Noah.

He had to purify the generation Abraham.

So we know from Noah Abraham.

Yeah, and it wasn't Judah David.

Yeah, that's right and so as you follow this you have to understand that like we're looking for the Messiah who

becomes the Savior of the world and the whole Old Testament is about God's preservation of

His promised Messiah through humanity and he uses Israel as a means to preserve it the witness

nation in the planet.

That's what he ends up using.

Why because all glory goes to the king and not to the kingdom.

Word so genealogies just briefly I mean typically Leviticus and genealogies is where people are just like man.

I'm checking out of my Bible reading plan.

You know, I just can't do this.

I just got to skip over this or fly right by it or something.

But genealogies preach a word to us and they preach the gospel to us.

Like you're saying it's it's it allows us to trace How God really does keep his promises

in time and space and how he has been faithful through all of these generations.

To keep working as a Redeemer.

Mm -hmm, and it it also shows us a number of things something else to me that was striking.

Even in the genealogy that's there in sorry I'm leaning away from the mic even the genealogy that's there in Exodus

6.

You know that zeros in on the tribe of Levi because that's where Moses and Aaron come from.

There are a number of generations that are recorded there.

Yeah, it's like man God God works on his own timetable, too.

And like the Lord is is accomplishing through this Moses and this Aaron, right.

Promises that he had made back to Abraham.

That's right.

Many many many many generations ago.

And so I'm mindful of like Peter's words, right?

Don't do not count slowness with the Lord as some count slowness.

Mm -hmm, right?

He is not dilly -dallying.

He's not knowing he's accomplishing all of his purposes and his plans in his time.

You know in geology show us that too.

You know, this is like total comedy at this moment.

But it is funny the two men Who never die and don't get to live out their life

are the two men that are really described as like some of the most?

Righteous men in the Old Testament and God's like yeah, you're too righteous.

I can't use you up you go.

I Gotta get the bag.

I'm using the bad guys and you're too righteous and I'm not gonna wait for you to turn bad.

So what up you go Enoch and oh you go Elijah and we're gonna use Abraham.

I Sorry, this is total joke, but it is funny.

It's it's kind of like, all right I want to become so holy and righteous guys like yeah, you're too good I'm gonna take you home.

The point is he uses broken vessels and draws straight lines with crooked sticks.

That's all that's it's always got to work with right?

That's what he does.

I mean you ever wonder why he just took him home.

I mean, he doesn't tell you he does not tell you he doesn't but it is funny.

It's like well, he's too righteous.

I'm gonna take him home.

So that's all told us I know I just thought of it that's how my brain works that's how brain works guys.

Yeah, so I just wanted to recap it back.

So Justin this being said We find a lot of comfort when we finally get to the New Testament in the

New Testament writers.

So are looking at the old going.

Yeah, it's about Jesus this is about the unfolding story of redemption about how God's sovereign grace and

Mercy is brought upon people who can prove over and over again.

They cannot earn God's favor and God's favor.

So God's wrath is revealed and it needs to be revealed because it helps us Understand that one cannot be righteous

before the Lord based upon their own obedience.

So God's wrath is revealed and it's good and it's healthy for us to see and the law is revealed.

Also good and holy purposes.

Yeah, right and the law is wonderful and this is why we love the law because the law exposes us to the holiness of God

in our need of a Savior and Therefore God never left us hopeless was.

I think is interesting.

Justin is that before he gave the law?

He gave the gospel, which is interesting.

I mean technically you can say he gave the law to him to to Adam the first original covenant of works.

Yeah, but the promises of the gospel first came and then the law for clarification.

I mean Paul is super clear on this in his letters.

Yeah.

Mm -hmm.

So we just want to encourage everyone as you read the Old Testament that you should engage it.

It's it's a beautiful story.

It is ancient.

Listen, I'm tired of people who are like, they just make it sound like if you don't if you'd struggle with the Old Testament.

There's something wrong with your education or there's something wrong with your intellect.

It's an it's a dead language old book guys.

It's complicated.

All right, it's hard to read.

Let's just acknowledge that it's gonna take some work.

It's gonna take work to preach it to understand it and study it but it's worth it, right.

It's worth the work, but I get it.

I get so frustrated.

It's like it's a fifth grade leading level.

Anybody should be able to understand it and I'm like and that's why we don't have heresies because it's so easy to understand.

But this is why agree and this is why the Lord and his economy Has set it up like where we need the

church and we need preachers and teachers and all these things.

Because I've had a number of conversations with people.

I'm only three sermons in to Exodus.

But like it's sweet the conversations you have at the back door.

About the gospel and people are just like man, this is bomb like we're getting Jesus and gospel from

Exodus.

This is like blowing my brain up in every good way.

And I'm just so full of joy and hope and peace and man.

The Old Testament is just coming to life in a way that never did before that's all wonderful.

But like this is part of what we're saying is we all you and me included John.

I mean we have needed to be shown this and we have we need to be taught how to read the Old

Testament this way and When you have somebody that can plainly break it down and lay it out for you.

It can become something where it's like, yeah.

Okay, I get it I see it and now I'm able to to better engage it when I realize that God gives

us in the Old Testament effectively.

He gives us history.

He gives us writings and then he gives us his commentary on the history and the prophets.

But then when we realize that this is all about redemption, it's all ultimately and even in revealing God's law he's

doing that for good and holy and redemptive purposes when it comes to his people and and he

institutes all kinds of ceremonial laws that point us to Christ and The work that he would come and do and there's

all these things and then I mean I loved I mean some of my favorite sermon series that I've ever preached or the minor prophets like just to see how

the Lord is is Working and All these dynamics are at play and how he uses

even Great nations in the history of the world to accomplish all of his purposes of redemption for his people.

I mean, it's it's remarkable yeah, dude, I mean it's still we need to be taught this and

When we are it does pop and things come to life.

Yeah, go ahead and then I might.

Yeah, I've got one last statement.

I'll throw it over to you and then we'll close it down.

I believe you should read the Old Testament answering this question.

Can God be trusted.

That's what it's written for.

Can he be trusted?

Does he keep his promises?

And the answer to that is yes.

Because then if he can be trusted everything he has said therefore we should believe without exception.

Yeah, read your Bible that way.

Can the can he be trusted the other question that I might put alongside that is Genesis

315.

Who is this promise seed?

That's right.

You know, that's he made the promises coming exactly.

Yeah, can you trust in the grave?

That's right.

That's that's that's the exact opposite.

Yeah, he can be true is this promised Redeemer and the Old Testament is getting us there man and

man.

It's glorious when you see that God has not changed the gospel has always been there.

Jesus has always been present and personally involved with his people as a Redeemer and Gosh,

it's encouraging.

So don't don't ever go back to the Old Testament.

I mean listen to good teaching learn don't go back to the Old Testament with some of those bad Frameworks that we talked about at the beginning.

I gotta leave it for you.

Read it looking for Christ in every good way.

You know a movie I've seen the end of but never like I don't have an appreciation for the movie like other people do.

But I've seen the end of the movie probably a hundred times, but never seen the actual movie is Braveheart.

I've seen that scene right?

I know I've never seen.

I know I know it's so bad.

But what's interesting is your response right there, dude?

Because the beginning of the movie is what makes it so great, but the end is pretty it's

pretty motivated.

I don't really know what's going on.

You know, it's just more like oh like that's a really good speech, dude.

I almost last week for our podcast last week.

We were talking about freedom almost.

Anyway, but my point is we get to the New Testament often we're like wow, this is really great what Jesus has done.

And we're over here going bro.

No, no.

No, you got to go back to the beginning.

You don't understand everything you missed.

It's in full color.

It's got some narrative.

It's got backstory, and this is why Jesus says You search the scriptures thinking that in them you

find eternal life, and it is they that bear witness about me.

Which it's why he says eternal life.

That's right.

I am the eternal.

It's so good.

It's so good.

All right, Justin.

Well, we nerded out enough.

We got to go, but thank you for listening.

I pray this is encouraging to you.

Don't be discouraged keep engaging in God's Word look for Christ in all of Scripture.

And I don't mean under the rock where you know, there's some kind of it, but he is the point of the story.

It's building towards him.

While we wait we thus hope so my encouragement to you is being a good church.

That's preaching to you the gospel where you receive the supernatural nature of the Word and sacrament and prayer and fellowship

speaking of Justin.

We totally could have announced this at the beginning.

I forgot but GRN registration our conference Is open and ready

and you're gonna want to come this year because we are talking about The means of grace the

supernatural nature claiming fellowship.

That's right reclaiming the means of grace where myself Justin and I are gonna be all three of us

myself Justin and I are gonna be lecturing and preaching on the supernatural nature of the

ordinary means of grace and You're gonna want to be there for that so it's a suggested donation of $20.

That's it's three days or two days full two days of conferencing together in Nashville.

So go to Theocast .org we have a link there for you.

We'll see you next week.

Hey everyone before you go Justin I first wanted to say thank you.

And if this has been encouraging to you in any way, please feel free to share it.

But we also need your support and it's when you give that it really helps us financially reach more people.

So the next time you consider giving to a ministry.

We hope that you would pray about Theocast and partner with us as we share the gospel around the world.