We often hear comparisons between the promises of the Old Testament and the New Testament focused on how the promises of the Old were conditional but the promises of the New are not. However it is very clear that the important promises of the Old are based on faith and not on works (Hebrews 11, Paul). It was by faith they received salvation, Rahab being one of them Hebrews 11:31 and who became a part of the genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:5).
Even in a very important promise given to the people of Israel, which feels very conditional, the conditionality is really faith in God. Deuteronomy 11:13 says “if you faithfully obey the commands” but then defines it as “to love the Lord your God and to serve him….” The condition of the promise is to keep one’s relationship strong with God. Everything else that was set out in the Law really had to do with keeping the people of Israel from drifting away from the Lord and being enticed by other gods in the land. The promises we have from God will be fulfilled but if we start following other gods, it is their promises that we will receive, which are quite empty.
Paul in 2 Corinthians 5 talks about the promise of the resurrection. He says that God “has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” (2 Corinthians 5:5) When we live by faith in God we can be confident that we will receive the promises God has made. Joshua marched around Jericho and saw the walls fall because he had faith in the God he and we serve. God said it, so it would be and did become so.
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