(remember, these are unedited/draft show notes, not a transcript — listening is always better — and if you listen AND follow along below, you’ll see why)
Conversation Starter:
What is “salvation history?”
Intro:
If today you don’t leave this podcast with a bigger sense of God and His love for you, I will have failed. And that’s our Conversation Starter question today: What is “salvation history?” and more importantly, “Why should we care?”
Hey Hopeful, welcome to ForTheHope’s Daily Audio Bible and a chance to see our stories and work in light of God’s story.
I didn’t plan it, but today’s OT segment talks about Solomon completing construction of the temple, while our NT segment has Jesus talking of an interesting juxtaposition of near future and long-term future stuff, including the destruction of the temple.
So as I sometimes do around here, I’m calling an audible and reading the OT segment first. And then we’ll tackle the Conversation Starter to close things out.
ORIGINAL TESTAMENT SEGMENT:
As we get rolling in 2 Chronicles, I want to acknowledge that sometimes reading a historical account of a time 900ish BC about how a building was built may not be the most interesting stuff. But today’s a good day to look at the big picture. If nothing else, catch the grandeur of what is being accomplished here. It relates to our Conversation Starter.
Passage: 2 Chronicles 3-5:1
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 40
Words: ~1206
NEW TESTAMENT SEGMENT:
Our NT segment begins today with something that, frankly, I should have read with chapter 20. Recall that ch20 ended with a warning against the Scribes and Pharisees which, more accurately, would be a warning against those in a position of responsibility. The last line was, “They devour widow’s houses and say long prayers just for show. These will receive the harsher judgement.”
Passage: Luke 21
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 38
Words: ~812
Wisdom SEGMENT:
Passage: Proverbs 13:18-19
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 2
Words: ~32
THE BOTTOM LINE:
Salvation history is the effort to understand God’s personal redemptive work in what we know of as time. After all, He has a unified plan for all of history. God spoke the cosmos into existence, and in the biggest picture, this is an understanding of reality that tells us about who He is, who human beings are. The conflict of the story enters as we learn why there is brokenness and pain and suffering in the world (in our lives), and it climaxes one of the most important moment in all — at least for us — the plan for redemption through Jesus’s sinless life, atoning death and bodily resurrection. It’s the great turning point in the story.
The unity of God’s plan makes it appropriate for him to include promises and predictions at earlier points in time, and then for the fulfillments of these to come at later points. Sometimes the promises take explicit form, as when God promises the coming of the Messiah, the great Savior whom Israel expected (Isa. 9:6–7). Sometimes the promises take symbolic form, as when God commanded animal sacrifices to be offered as a symbol for the forgiveness of sins (Leviticus 4). In themselves, the animal sacrifices were not able to remove sins permanently and to atone for them permanently (Heb. 10:1–18). They pointed forward to Christ, who is the final and complete sacrifice for sins.(1)
As it relates to what we’re reading now, Chronicles reveals that
God chose Israel to be his people, through whom he would bless all peoples, especially by raising up the ultimate heir of David to rule them. He gave his people the privilege of worshiping and obeying him, but sadly, they were unfaithful, and he disciplined them severely. For all that, the exile was not the end of Israel’s story. Members of the restoration community were the heirs of Israel, both of its mission and of its privileges.(2)
And in Luke
Jesus comes as the messianic King to deliver the poor and needy and downcast (4:18–19). He fulfills the whole OT (24:44–47), especially its promises of everlasting salvation. The fulfillment of his mission comes with his crucifixion and resurrection.(3)
So how does the temple fit? And why is that a big deal? There are at least two big reasons.
One, it shows that there is nothing that we can build that is too big to fail.
Two, we now have the benefit of looking back on more of history and more evidence for the truth claims of Christianity than ever, including Paul pointing out in 1 Co 6 that we — you and I — are now the temple of the Holy Spirit when we believe and trust Jesus, repenting of our junk and declaring Him king.
And if that doesn’t mess with your head a bit, humbling and you into reverence and awe and worship, I don’t know what might.
<the very end is audio only>
ForTheHope is a daily audio Bible + apologetics podcast and blog. We’ve got a passion for just keepin’ it real, having conversations like normal people, and living out the love of Jesus better every single day.
Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in digitally-extended communication and connection, an award-winning speaker, award-winning author, and a passionately bad guitarist. Follow him on Twitter -- @RogerCourville and @JoinForTheHope – or his blog: www.forthehope.org.
Sources and resources:
(1) Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 23.
(2) Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 699.
(3) Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 1937.