by By Erick Muriithi
When the head of the atheist movement in Kenya was asked why he became an atheist, he stated that he had been promised that God would heal his mother, and God didn’t. According to him, God did not keep his promises.
We may conclude that his deconstruction is lacking in objectivity, but we must bring ourselves to understand why so many people are apt to misunderstand God’s covenant promises. And with many pastors promising their congregants breakthroughs and success based off these promises, addressing the issue of Old Testament promises and their application to us is important.
Among the most commonly abused promises are those in Deuteronomy 28:1-13, Jeremiah 29:11 and Isaiah 60:22. It has become so common for modern day adherents of the prosperity “gospel” to quote these promises verbatim and appropriate them for themselves when making “prophetic declarations” and when “rebuking” bad circumstances. It is essential then, for us to consider the proper interpretation of these promises, and their proper application to the life of the church and of believers.
For this, we will look at Deuteronomy 28:1-13 as our basis. And the lessons drawn from this will help us better understand how to interpret and apply these promises.
A few steps will help us understand these promises:
1. Read the passage wholesomely and observe. What do you see in the passage? Certain words are crucial, and hence require special attention. For example, in Deuteronomy 28: 1-13, there’s the conditional clause “if”. When you encounter such a clause, it means that the promise is tied to a condition. Something must happen in order for the promise to be appropriated. And the condition for the promise is obedience. A wholesome reading of the passage would then lead to self examination — have I been obedient to God? And the answer is an honest “no”. Thus, I do not deserve any of these promises.
2. Consider the context of the book. What is the message of the book? What did the author intend to communicate in the book? Understanding the circumstances of the first audience is of uttermost importance. What did Moses intend the children of Israel to understand by these promises? What is the wider context of the book? Moses intended for the Israelites to remain faithful to God, as they entered and settled and lived in Canaan. The promises were supposed to motivate them to obedience to God. And the curses were intended to serve as a deterrent against disobedience.
3. Consider the historical context. The Bible has a big story. And every book of the Bible is part of and a contributor to this big story. The big story of the bible is redemption. It is the story of how God is bringing about the seed of the woman to crush the head of the serpent (Gen 3:15), bringing a savior to atone for the sin of mankind and bring the Abrahamic blessing to the nations (Gen 17), and he is doing this with Israel, the covenant people, in order to finally give rest to creation and dwell amongst his people (Rev 21,22; Exodus 40; Hebrews 4:1-6). God is bringing his people back to that rest that Adam enjoyed in Eden. The Bible starts in Eden lost and ends in Eden restored. This big story is what we call redemptive history, which is divided into five parts, namely; Creation, the Fall, redemption, consummation, and New Creation. Creation is God’s act of bringing the world and everything in it into existence so that we could enjoy the bliss of fellowship with him. The Fall is Adam’s sin and exile from the Garden of Eden. Redemption is the story of God sending a redeemer to pay for Adam’s sin to restore fellowship with God. Consummation is when we will be gathered home, and the story of redemption will be finally complete. The New Creation is how God will get rid of the old earth, and put us in a new earth to be with him in perpetual felicity. So the question you should ask yourself is, where does Deuteronomy lie in redemptive history? What was Canaan supposed to symbolize? Why are there not only blessings for obedience, but also curses for disobedience for God’s people going to the promised land? And the answer is the same problem that plagued the descendants of Adam. They have a sin problem. They are a rebellious and stiff-necked people. And even if they come to the Promised Land, they need these conditioning promises and curses to deter their disobedience, which at the end, just like Adam, did not work.
4. Cross the bridge through the lens of Christ and the cross. Many people cross this bridge without Christ Jesus. And thus, they end up missing the point of the passage. If you go through the lens of Jesus Christ, you will land at Galatians 3, which shows us how Jesus took the curses we deserve, becoming a curse for us, to redeem us from the curse of the law. And because of his perfect obedience, God grants to us the blessings that Jesus Christ deserves!
5. Consider the differences between the New Testament church and the nation of Israel. We are not the ethnic nation Israel to whom the promises and curses were pronounced. We did not partake of that covenant at Mt Sinai and hence can’t claim it’s terms and conditions, blessings and curses. Israel was on the journey to the Promised Land and the promises were to be realized in the Promised Land. What is the promised land for the Christian? Heaven. And the great blessing of the gospel is to dwell with God for all eternity. What this means is that we are to see these promises in the light of their final realization in heaven. God does and can give material blessings to Christians in this world. But God doesn’t guarantee that you will be healed of all your diseases here, that you will have a big house and a wonderful car, that you will live up to 70 years and that your children will not die prematurely. Christian’s still die of cancer, wallow in poverty, experience persecution, lose children and loved ones, are barren… Not every blessing from the atonement will be realized in this side of eternity. God may providentially heal us and bless us with wealth, but we must not assume it to be our guaranteed portion in this life.
Let us now have a practical example of this. Often you hear Jeremiah 29:11 quoted to tell people that God intends for them to be rich and buy cars and houses and be healed of their sicknesses.
But in the light of the above guidelines, how are we to correctly interpret it?
1. Observation- Jeremiah wrote a letter to people who had been exiled. They had already been taken from their homes, families and livelihoods and they had been carried off to Babylon. To the unknown. To be slaves and servants.
2. The book of Jeremiah was intended to be a warning to Judah that they would be exiled if they persisted in their disobedience, a promise of restoration after the judgement of exile was over, and a reminder of God’s justice even upon the idolatrous nations that surrounded Israel, including Babylon itself. The theme would be justice and restoration. And the letter that Jeremiah wrote lies in this context. It is a letter to people exiled for their sin, and who were having false prophets come up to them, declaring messages of victory and salvation for Jerusalem.
3. The historical context is quite clear. The letter is written after the first exile of Judah’s officials. God’s people have been exiled for their disobedience, alluding to the exile of Adam and Eve.
4. God is telling these people that they should settle down, work and adapt to life in exile. And He the promises that this restoration would only come after his judgement on the kingdom of Judah was complete, and seventy years have passed, in contrast to what the false prophets said. The plan that God has for them, is not material prosperity, and the future he has for them, is not many cattle and donkeys. It is to be restored back to Jerusalem, to Zion, the mountain of God; to that place of fellowship with God as God’s covenant people.
5. Using the lens of Jesus Christ, we see that Jesus suffered the exile that we deserve. He died the death we deserve in this world so that we would be reconciled to God. God’s judgement fell upon Jesus Christ for our sin.
6. Considering our differences with the nation Israel, we can see that we are not in a literal exile like they were, we are not expecting a literal return to a literal Jerusalem on earth. But we, as the redeemed church of God, we are expecting a restoration to Eden. In our spiritual Babylon, God calls us here, to live and build and work in this very world, as we await that day. He calls us to be lights in the world, to share the gospel. For God knows the plans he has for us, and he knows that as soon as the time is ripe for the judgement of this world, and as soon as that judgement is complete, we will be restored to Eden, in the new creation.
Please note, that this is not conclusive. But it is meant to offer a guide to understanding these promises. Soli De Gloria.
Eric Muriithi is a writer and Bible student who loves to engage in both polemic and apologetic discussions. He is involved in campus ministry at Egerton University, Kenya. He writes at https://erickmuriithi.art.blog/author/erickmuriithi/
