Paul the apostle is
continuing with his theme concerning the law of God and its lack of
effect upon the promise of God. Although there were people among the
Gentile church of Galatia who were promoting the keeping of the law
in addition to receiving Jesus as their Savior, Paul refuted their
teachings over and over again by showing that God gave the promise of
His grace long before the law ever came into the world. He continues
his thoughts in chapter three and verse seventeen where he wrote:
And this I say, [that]
the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law,
which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that
it should make the promise of none effect.
Paul
begins, “And this I say, [that] the covenant, that was
confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred
and thirty years after,...” Paul
makes reference to the time when the law was first given in these
words. The idea is that the law was in put into effect four hundred
and thirty years after the promise of blessing to the nations was
made to Abraham. When the Israelites went into Egypt under the rule
of Joseph, they later became slaves to the Egyptians. We read in
Exodus chapter twelve and verses forty through forty-one:
Now the sojourning of
the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, [was] four hundred and
thirty years. And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and
thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the
hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.
It was
shortly after Israel's departure from Egypt that Moses went to the
top of Mount Sinai where God gave him the ten commandments. These
laws were “unto” the revelation of Jesus Christ. For four hundred
and thirty years the world was under the dispensation of promise to
Abraham, and then the dispensation of God's covenant of the law was
put in place.
The
law, however, “cannot disannul, that it should make the
promise of none effect.” In
other words, the law doesn't do away with the promise of God. It
cannot make the promise of God void. No, rather, the law governed
over people and brought them to the realization that there was a
great need for God. The promise was still in place, and it was
fulfilled when Jesus came on the scene. Man was hopeless without the
grace of God not because the law was not good, but because man could
not keep the law. Man was flawed, not the law. The law did not make
the promise of God void, but it rather showed everyone how they were
in need of the promise of grace.
Have
we ever considered the importance of the promise and the law of God?
Do we know the difference and the need for both of them? As we study
through the book of Galatians, hopefully we are learning just how
wonderful God is. God has a plan, and He is working it out both with
promise and with the law, and we have the privilege of gaining
insight to His workings.
Next time we
discover what Paul says about an inheritance, so read ahead, and let
us join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look for
the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation
to Generation” in all major
bookstore
sites, www.amazon.com ; www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to
e-books, and find it
locally
at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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