Yes! There is Good News! April 21, 2018

“They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God.” There is much to be said about this scripture for it is, in essence, the over-riding covenant of God with man!

In the past two articles, we have been looking at a scripture at the end of the book of Revelation, chapter 21:1-4, and considering the good news therein. We now come to the scripture quoted above which is in many ways the crux of the gospel – the good news of the Kingdom of God!!

This statement, “They will be My people and I will be their God,” is found as a thread that runs throughout the entirety of the bible. We see it as God’s everlasting covenant made with Abraham in the book of Genesis 17:7-8. We see it in Exodus 6:7 where God reiterates to Moses His everlasting promise to His people Israel. And again in Exodus 29:45-46 we see this statement as it will be written in Revelation 21. It is spelled out in detail in Deuteronomy 26:16-19. And Jeremiah points out the words of this everlasting covenant seven times in his book of prophecy. And to show its future application unto the end time, Zechariah tells us this: “I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are my people’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.’” (Note the future tense used here.)

Paul picks up this thread in 2 Corinthians 6:16, “… For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said, ‘I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God and they will be my people.’ ” The writer of Hebrews quotes from Jeremiah in connection with this everlasting covenant, “I will be their God and they will be My people” (Heb. 8:10). There are many more instances of this most important statement throughout the bible. Would that we had the time and the room to explore each and every time this covenant statement appears in scripture.

Some may ask the very good question, “Is this a statement of the old or the new covenant?” In short, allow me to be somewhat glib, and answer, yes! This statement of covenant is an everlasting one and embodies the entirety of the bible. Our God is an awesome God and He, himself, tells us that He does not change (Malachi 3:6). In Hebrews 13:8 He tells us that He is “the same yesterday and today and forever.” In James 1:17 we read, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

The great God of the universe wants to be our God. He wants us to choose Him as our God. He wants us to live our lives as though we were His people. He tells us this in the Old Testament and the New Testament. Really, what could be more beautiful than to have such a relationship with our God who tells us that He is “abounding in loving kindness?”