56 – God the Promise Maker & Keeper

From Genesis to Revelation, God continues to make promises and He keeps every one of them.

After Adam and Eve ate the fruit, God promised that the Messiah would be born of a woman to crush Satan’s head. He promised Noah with the rainbow that He would never again flood the whole earth. God promised Abraham a blessing to his family and to bless all nations through him—which foretold the Messiah, Jesus. God promised David that his family line would never end and that one of his descendants would establish a kingdom that would last forever; also foretelling Jesus, one of David’s descendants.

God made many other promises to Israel and to all people. God made some promises to Israel specifically, but the writer of Hebrews applies such promises to all Christians. Jesus promises he will always be with us. At the end of Revelation, Jesus promises that he is coming quickly with reward for the righteous and to eradicate wickedness from Earth.

God is the Great Promise Maker, but He is also the Great Promise Keeper.

While some of His promises are for Israel specifically—just how prophecy has multiple fulfillments—God’s promises have lasting principles that apply to anyone who follows Him.

When God told Israel that they would go off as captives to Babylon, He promised them that He would return them and “heal their land” if they repent. This was specifically for Israel. But, that does not mean God will turn away everyone else who repents just for not being part of Israel; God didn’t say that. By demonstrating His conduct with Israel, God demonstrates His conduct in redeeming anyone.

God’s promises to Israel secondarily apply to all people because Jesus, a Jew and descendant of King David, died at the Cross for all people.

Each promise from God has multiple levels of fulfillment. Jesus does not only save us, but he continues to “save” us all the rest of our lives.

The time has not come for every promise’s fulfillment, but in time, God keeps every promise.

God’s promises are a reason why we can trust Him. To know God is to trust God as the Great Promise Keeper.

Genesis 3:15; 12:1-3; 15:12-16; 17:1-8, 8:20-22, 2 Samuel 7:1-17, 2 Chronicles 7:14, Psalm 27:1, Isaiah 41:11-13; 43:1-7; 54:9-17, Matthew 18:20, John 3:16, Hebrews 13:5, Revelation 22:6-21