As we look back at Holy Week, I marvel at how God did what He did. Not just providing the Lamb, the way of salvation—but how He moved from Genesis to the Gospels. Although the narrative of salvation is thick and complicated, it is sure and unbreakable.
So how did God do it? Through selecting a people to be his.
The mystery of election is that God chose a specific people through whom to draw all people to himself. Through one nation, God would save all nations. What at first seems exclusive, is actually inclusive.
You see, God called Abraham from pagan worship and said to him, “Go.” And Abraham went to an unknown land and began to follow Yahweh. As Abraham’s descendants increased, God kept saying, “Follow me so that others will see that I alone am Lord.” God brought his people out of Egypt and bestowed on them the gift of the Law (yes, it is a gift!), that they might know his character deeper and live in the way best for them.
They cried for a king. Even as God was setting them apart, they demanded to be like other nations.
So God gave them a king. Saul. He was strong and beautiful. But he forgot how to worship. He forgot he’d been set apart.
Then God chose David. One person to represent Israel—a leader after God’s own heart. Even amidst his failures (which were monumental), David did not forget how to worship. Confession and praise bubbled from within him like fresh streams of water.
The Lord said: “I have a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant, I will establish your line forever and make your throne firm through all generations.”
God’s faithfulness thrums through the Old Testament as He nurtures his people and brings about his plans. His faithfulness digs deep into each generation, sprouting seeds of goodness that grow up for the blessing of the next generation.
Sin blocks man’s ability to reciprocate that faithfulness. Though Yahweh showed his ways to Israel, they could not stay the true path.
Another leader was needed to fortify this covenant faithfulness, to do what Israel could not.
God sends a King, again. The true King, his Son. The election of one man through whom all men can come to the eternal God and be saved. Jesus is the culmination of election, the door thrown open wide, providing entrance to the presence of God.
The cross is the crowning work of God’s faithfulness. The nails pierced Jesus hands, but the events of holy week nailed down for all mankind the blessing of salvation, the joy of belonging to the Father.
God’s faithfulness to us has been established—firmer than the strongest foundation, surer than tomorrow’s sunrise.
So let us rejoice in the establishment of God’s faithfulness, the assurance of his deliverance and reign. That no matter our personal failures, or the world’s chaos, the throne of David—upon which Jesus sits—will forever be victorious.
“O LORD God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O LORD, and your faithfulness surrounds you.”
And it surrounds us now too, because God chose a people, through whom He sent Jesus, through whom we are embraced in his faithfulness.
Sondra Kraak 