Broken Promises
When God makes his covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15, instead of Abraham passing through the cut pieces of the sacrifice, God does.
When God makes his covenant with Israel at Sinai. Israel naively and ironically pledges, “all the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient” (Ex. 24:7). God then has Moses sprinkle blood on the people of Israel. But the blood didn’t represent what God would do to them if they failed to keep their promise; it was what he would do for them when they failed to keep their promise.
Fast forward a few centuries to the Last Supper. Twelve disciples have now replaced twelve tribes. Like Israel, the disciples also, naively and ironically, pledge their undying fealty. Jesus then picks up the wine and says, “this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28).
With his covenantal promise, God bound himself to his people. He was/is so incredibly committed to keeping his promise to us that he was willing to suffer the ultimate pain and consequence of our failure to keep our promise to him. Remember this the next time you’re tempted to think the cost of following Christ is too high. It’s as the old hymn says:
“Nothing good have I,
Where-by Thy grace to claim,
I’ll wash my garments white,
In the blood of Calv’ry’s Lamb,
Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe,
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.”