Introduction:

1. The church as part of God’s eternal purpose was a focal point of His incremental, progressive revelation in the Old Covenant.

2. Bit by bit the picture slowly grew clearer until the mystery was fully revealed in the apostolic age.

3. This lesson traces the progression of this revelation from the tragedy that necessitated it through the close of the Old Covenant.

4. Seeing the prophecies foreshadowed in this lesson fulfilled in the next vindicates the wisdom and power of God to bring about His will.

Discussion:

I. Humanity’s Tragic Fall

A. Humanity’s beginning was blissful:

1. Privileged to bear God’s image (Genesis 1:26-29).

2. Placed in the garden of Eden: lit. “delight” (Genesis 2:8, 15)

3. Plentiful food for limited toil (Genesis 2:9, 15-17; 3:17-19)

4. Potential for endless life (Genesis 2:9, 17; 3:19, 22-24)

5. Direct, personal fellowship with God (Genesis 2:15-22; 3:8-11)

B. Rebellion unraveled all these blissful realities.

1. Survival became difficult and painful (Genesis 3:16-19).

2. Death became reality as warned (Genesis 2:17; Romans 5:12).

3. Worst of all, direct fellowship with God was broken (Genesis 3:22-24; Isaiah 59:1-2; Revelation 21:22-22:5).

C. Amid the curses, God promised to put things right one day.

II. God’s Promise of Renewal (Genesis 3:15)

A. Genesis 3:15 is the first glimpse of God’s scheme of redemption.

B. This very vague promise would undergo some key refinements:

1. It was first narrowed from the seed of woman to the descendant of Abram (Genesis 12:1-3; 22:17-18).

2. Next it was narrowed to a descendant of Judah (Genesis 49:10).

3. Then it narrowed to a descendant of David (2 Samuel 7:12-16).

C. Though God fulfilled the promise to establish the nation of Israel, it was evident throughout that all was not well.

D. Because of Israel’s rebellion, the earthly reign of the Davidic dynasty ended as forewarned (1 Kings 9:1-9; 2 Kings 25).

III. The Prophets and the Coming Kingdom

A. God promised to restore Israel if they repented (Deuteronomy 30:1-10).

B. The prophets anticipated the day of this restoration (Isaiah 11:1-5; Jeremiah 23:1-8; 31:31-34; Amos 9:11-15).

C. Yet, the restored kingdom would be of a different sort.

1. It would rest on a different covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34).

2. Its ruler would be both Priest and King (Zechariah 6:12-15).

3. It would include peoples of every nation, not just Abraham’s descendants (Isaiah 2:1-4; Daniel 7:13-14; Genesis 12:3).

4. It would be indestructible and everlasting (Daniel 2:44).

IV. The Return from Exile and Messianic Hope

A. Cyrus’ decree signaled the beginning of restoration (2 Chronicles 36:22-23; Ezra 1:1-4).

1. The restoration of the temple further developed this restoration (Ezra 3-6).

2. Yet, no king was placed back on David’s throne at the time.

3. Neither was there the sort of peace expected (Isaiah 11:1-10).

B. Malachi closed the Old Covenant on a note of expectation (Malachi 3:1-4; 4:5-6).

C. The next 400 years of silence would see the Messianic expectation grow continually amongst God’s people.

1. The interplay between the Old and New Covenants is crucial to building and sustaining saving faith in Christ (2 Timothy 3:14-17).

2. This Messianic expectation was part of the fullness of the times when all was ready for God to send His Son (Galatians 4:4-7; Ephesians 1:7-10).

3. God was leaving a trail of evidence that any honest investigator of truth should be able to trace (Matthew 13:13-17).

4. In our next lesson, we will see this expectation reach a fever pitch until the coming kingdom emerged from the shadows of this mystery.