06.25

Our God of Promises "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed
and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel. (Genesis 3:15)"

Although the Scriptures do not command us to make promises to God, we who believe in the
Lord have the liberty to make various kinds of promises. It is permissible to express our
devotion to God through promises, if they are in dependence upon His character and
capacities. "I will love You, O LORD, my strength" (Psalm 18:1). It is also acceptable to
make godly confessions through promises that are based on His promises to us. "He Himself
has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' So we may boldly say: 'The Lord is my
helper; I will not fear'" (Hebrews 13:5-6a). We are even allowed to make predictive
promises concerning the details of our lives, if they are subject to God's will. "If the
Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that" (James 4:15). Still, the work of God in our
lives hinges upon His promises to us. In fact, our God is characteristically a God of
promises.

The fact that our God typically works through promises is seen as early as the third
chapter of the Bible. There, God made a very strategic set of promises. "I will put enmity
between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise His heel." These prophetic promises were addressed to Satan, but they
were given in the hearing of Adam and Eve. Of course, they were recorded in the Scriptures
for everyone else to consider thereafter.

These promises revealed some of the consequences of spiritual rebellion, as well as
announcing God's remedy for the sin of man. "I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your seed and her Seed." These words declare the inevitability of spiritual
warfare, as well as the certainty of the cross of Christ.

Spiritual warfare is a major theme in Scripture. This warfare is documented throughout the
word of God. "Now Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel.
Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit? So the great dragon
was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole
world" (1 Chronicles 21:1; Acts 5:3; and Revelation 12:9). Nevertheless, the cross of
Christ would provide a victory over the enemy and an escape from this sinful world for all
who would embrace it. "Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus
Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil
age" (Galatians 1:3-4).

"Dear God of promises, may my promises be a peripheral issue in my thinking and living.
Conversely, may Your promises be central and foundational—especially, those promises
related to the cross of Jesus, my Lord, Amen."