The promise was conditional in that the people were expected to obey the Lord in order to receive any promises. God never gives that which is holy to the dogs (new testament)Read Exodus 32:10...Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation. Didn't the Lord say in Genesis 17:8 that he would be their God? And yet in Exodus 33 he tells Moses that he will send an angel before them but he himself won't go because the people are stiffnecked and if he were to go he would consume them in a moment. The end result was that only Caleb and Joshua were allowed to enter in because they remained obedient and faithful.
A further example about how God expects obedience in exchange for a promise or covenant.
Concerning David, God said these things to him...And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established forever. II Samual 7:16 Unconditional right? Now go to 1 Kings 9:4 where God is talking to his son in succession, Solomon. And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel forever, as I promised David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of israel. But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them; Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name will I cast out of my sight, and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people:
Chris |
