Grace in the Old Testament
God’s great grace is displayed throughout the Scriptures—from his marvelous act of Creation of everything that is, as described in the first chapter of the Book of Genesis, to the closing verses of the Book of Revelation, which tell of his grace upon us and the soon return of Jesus Christ for his people.
Many fail to see or realize that God’s grace is abundantly displayed—even throughout the Old Testament.
For example, after Eve committed high treason against God by disobediently eating the forbidden fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, the Lord still chose to use her as an instrument of judgement over her wily tempter, the serpent (i.e., Satan). As the Lord prophesied, one of Eve’s descendants would one day “crush the head” of the serpent, delivering humanity from the power of Satan’s grasp. In other words, God’s grace was upon Eve, and her descendants, despite her terrible deed of rebellion.
God displayed his grace time and again when He chose men like Abraham, Noah, Moses, and others, to serve him and his purposes. Clearly, these were imperfect men and none of them were worthy in and of themselves.
It was only by God’s grace that Noah and his family were saved from a worldwide deluge. God’s judgement enveloped the entire earth, but the grace of God rested upon Noah and his family.
God entered into an everlasting covenant with Abraham by which all the families of the earth would be blessed. Indeed, that unbreakable promise is a powerful display of God’s grace.
The heavenly manna which wafted down from the sky like dew and fed the children of Israel in the wilderness for forty years was a tangible, daily display of God’s mercy and grace, especially in light of the Hebrew’s constant complaints as they wandered.
Joshua, when leading an entourage of Levitical priests, musicians, and warriors as they circled around the walls of Jericho, experienced a tremendous manifestation of God’s grace when, upon the Lord’s instruction, they blew their trumpets and shouted all at once, and Jericho’s walls came tumbling down. At that instant God’s grace came in the form of supernatural, miraculous power displayed on behalf of his people.
We need to expand our thinking, and when we do, we’ll find that God’s great grace is manifested everywhere, in both the Old and New Testaments—and in our lives, especially as we cooperate with God’s purposes.
God’s grace truly is greater than we imagine!
Until the next time, walk in the Spirit… and be a blessing!