History Repeats

Steve and I watched a British crime show last night where the chief inspector hired an assistant to research past crime histories to investigate a present crime. There’s nothing new under the sun, he reasoned. The past can predict the future.

This idea resonates throughout the Scriptures. I was reading on Habakkuk this morning, and the writer, O. Palmer Robertson, expressed this thought: “The prophets color the reality of the expectation of God’s [future] manifestation by recalling the many concrete instances of his intervening in the history of the past.” Not only the prophets. A quick look at many psalms or other songs of praise in the Old Testament is a history lesson of God at work in his people and the world.

Why are these events so carefully recorded and constantly reiterated for us? God has already proved himself over and over. He never changes. Therefore we can expect more of the same in our future.

Knowing his history sure gives me hope in my own relationship with him. When I see his faithfulness to a people who excelled in being unfaithful in return, I have hope that he will extend that grace to me. As I read of his power, his placing kings on their thrones, like raising up a powerful Babylonian empire to bring judgment, I don’t fear the Islamic strongholds growing in the Middle East. When I see how perfectly he orchestrated the circumstances and world events so that at just the right moment Jesus came, I can rest in his perfect timing for his return. As I watch him tenderly and intimately interact with individuals, I can know he will do the same for me.

In short, knowing God’s history revealed in the Scriptures supplies a foundation to believe and trust in him for today, tomorrow, and beyond. There’s nothing new under the sun. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.