March 4 I Friday

Numbers 29-31

Mark 9:1-29

“For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through Him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God.”   —2 Corinthians 1:20

When God makes a promise, He will fulfill it. Whatever He says He will do, He does. We know this is true because Scripture shows us this time and time again. In Genesis, right after sin enters the human condition, God confronts Satan for the deception of man. He says, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will crush your head, and you will strike His heel” (Genesis 3:15).

      God is imposing upon Satan hostility and conflict, almost like He is saying, “There will be enmity between My people and your people.” This creation will not be handed over to you. There will be a battle.” The time will come where the Seed of the woman will cause the downfall of Satan. In other words, through the lineage of humanity will come One who will be the ultimate ruin of Satan and his followers. This is the promise of God to humanity. Right after the fall of man, God initiates His plan of salvation.

      In Genesis 12:2, God calls Abraham and tells him, “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.” God begins to unravel how the promise made in Genesis 3 will come to pass through Abraham and His descendants. In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul confirms that God was announcing the gospel to all people through His call of Abraham by writing, “Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: ‘All nations will be blessed through you’” (Galatians 3:8).

      Later in Genesis, God reveals to Abraham that he would give birth to a son and that the promised Seed would come through his descendants. Paul illuminates what this means for us: “The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say ‘and to seeds’, meaning many people, but ‘and to your seed’, meaning one person, who is Christ” (Galatians 3:16). Who would have a vested interest in stopping the descendants of Abraham, whatever the cost? Certainly Satan and his followers! Hence, what we see throughout the rest of Genesis and into the book of Revelation is Satan at war with the people of God. Yet, God preserves His promise through the most volatile and vulnerable of circumstances.

      May we remember the promises of God and fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, who, for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat triumphant over Satan—fulfilling God’s promise in Genesis 3.

Prayer: Almighty God, I praise You that for every promise You make, You will fulfill it! What perfect assurance and confidence I can have in You! Thank You, Lord.