Sinful Behavior - Wednesday Evening Class
Teacher
Lesson Summary
In this Wednesday evening class, Larry Johnson taught about God's covenants with Abraham and their fulfillment throughout Israel's history. Johnson began by reviewing the promises God made to Abraham in Genesis 12—that He would make Abraham a great nation, give him a great name, and make him a worldwide blessing. These initial promises were later formalized into specific covenants: the land covenant with Moses at Sinai, the Davidic covenant with David, the priesthood covenant with Phinehas, and ultimately the new covenant through Jesus Christ. The teacher explained how Old Testament institutions functioned as "shadows" of greater spiritual realities, citing Hebrews' teaching that the law contains shadows of good things to come. For example, circumcision shadowed the Holy Spirit as a sign of covenant relationship. Johnson then systematically demonstrated how God fulfilled each promise to Abraham. The descendants of Abraham through his wives became as numerous as the stars and sand—Jacob had twelve sons, Ishmael had twelve princes, and by Solomon's time Israel was as numerous as the sand by the sea. God gave them a great name through righteous laws, David's military fame, and Solomon's renowned wisdom. He granted them the land of Canaan, with Joshua's account confirming that every promise came to pass, and Solomon's kingdom eventually extending from the Euphrates to Egypt. The Davidic line ruled for 425 years, and the priesthood of Phinehas served for over 1,400 years until Jerusalem's destruction in 70 AD. However, despite God's absolute faithfulness to His covenants, Israel repeatedly broke their covenant obligations through idolatry, sexual immorality, and other sins.
Key Scriptures
I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing, and all the peoples of the earth will be blessed through you.
For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these things, it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated continually, make those who approach perfect.