This is Spoken Gospel.

We’re dedicated to seeing
Jesus in all of scripture.

In each episode, we see
what’s happening in a Biblical text

and how it sheds light
on Jesus and his Gospel.

Let’s jump in.

God has sworn that he would make Abram’s
descendants so numerous that they could not

be counted, they would be a great nation
and would be a blessing to the whole world.

The only problem is, Abram is very
old, has no children and his wife is barren.

God knew Abram was doubting
his promises, so he visits Abram

in a vision where he
doubles down on his promises.

God entered into a traditional
covenant ceremony with Abram.

In this ceremony, animals would
be sacrificed and cut into two pieces.

Then, the people making the covenant
would walk between the halves

of each animal  as a physical
symbol which communicated,

“If I break this promise, let what has
been done to these animals be done to me.”

But here, God alone
passes through the animals.

By doing so, he was saying that
he alone would keep the promise,

and if he didn’t, he
would bear the punishment.

But Abram and his
wife’s doubts endure.

So, they decide to try and
create this countless nation

by having a child with
their servant, Hagar.

She immediately gets pregnant,
so Sarai sends her away in a jealous rage.

But God appears to
Hagar, tells her to return,

and promises to establish a
people through her child as well.

However, this child does not
receive the blessing that Abram wanted.

Hagar’s child would not be the child of promise,
but would remain to be the child of a slave.

That is because Abram tried to earn through
effort what God had promised through grace.

Both of these stories have so much to show
us about who Jesus is and what he has done.

Just as God promised to
uphold the covenant alone,

by passing through the animals himself,
Jesus keeps his own promises for us.

Despite all our faults
and sin, Jesus has done

and will do everything to save us from
what we deserve and bring us to himself.

All we are called to do is what Abram did
- receive the promises of God with faith.

Jesus’ sacrifice on the
cross is an intensified version

of what Abram experienced
in this cultural ritual.

The cross communicates that
even though we are the ones

who broke the covenant,
God has been torn apart for us.

Therefore, no punishment
remains for those who believe in Jesus.

Instead, all that remains is the promise.

The Apostle Paul, when writing the
book of Galatians, shows us that the division

between Sarai and Hagar’s
children actually still exists today.

We are enslaved when we
try to be a part of God’s family

and bring about God’s promises
through our own strength and effort.

We only become children of the
promise when we trust the promise.

If we simply have faith that Jesus has done
for us what we could not do for ourselves,

we freely receive all the benefits
of the promise from our father.

I pray that the Holy Spirit would show you the God
who upholds all the promises he makes by himself.

And that you would see Jesus
who has earned for us through the cross

everything he promised to us in grace.